Scott

= = = = =Seven Steps to Flatten Your Classroom=
 * Global Collaborative Project Design**

Use the following chart to design your project Download a worksheet of the table below.

**PART A**
Student will show their photo story to the group and will be graded following project rubric** ||
 * Project Design**
 * **Project Name** || **Welcome to Life Around Here!** ||
 * **Link to curriculum** || (list main subject and curriculum areas as well as topics) ||
 * **Aims of the project** || (state clear aims for creating **global**, **collaborative** project using this curriculum idea)
 * Students will create a Digital Story to showcase the exciting and not so exciting things around the place they live.** ||
 * **Link to standards** || (if any standards are being referred to eg ISTE NETS) ||
 * **Student level/age** || (state the grade level AND age range for the project)
 * grades 9-12** ||
 * **Topics for investigation** || (state the topics covered eg Communities around the world 2010 compared with 2020: a comparison of urban and rural communities from social, economic and geographic perspectives)
 * Local people, places, and things** ||
 * **Required outcomes** || (state what each student is expected to have contributed and created eg a video, a poster)
 * 1) **Each student will create a picasa account to upload and share photos**
 * 2) **Each student will research and create a minimum of three photo story slides that describes "Life Around Here"**
 * 3) **The photo story must include a title with all contributors, audio, ending slide, and a citation slide.** ||
 * Optional outcomes || (state what each student or classroom may choose to contribute or participate in eg a real-time interaction, an audio introduction, a video walk showing the school environment) ||
 * Length of activity || (state the total length and devise a brief timeline for participation)
 * two week project: start on _, end on __ Due Date** ||
 * Assessment || (create common assessments)
 * Student will upload their photo story to the class wikispaces.

PART B
Seven Steps to Flatten Your Classroom
 * Connect || * Tools and strategies will be put into place to connect teachers and then students in preparation for collaboration, including ensuring Web 2.0 and other tools are available in school (and outside preferably)
 * **Students will sign up for picasa to upload and share pictures**
 * Tools and strategies for connecting classrooms - what platform(s) eg wiki, Google Apps, Moodle, Ning
 * **Picasa**
 * **wikispaces**
 * Expectations for connection protocols
 * **STudents will connect via Picasa and Wikispaces to create their Photo Story** ||
 * Communicate || * More tools and strategies for monitoring and facilitating communication
 * Methods for communicating teacher-teacher, teacher-student and student-student
 * Expectations for communication - asynchronous and synchronous
 * Guidelines for reliable, culturally sensitive, gender appropriate, language sensitive, context aware communication ||
 * Citizenship || * Teach how to be a reliable, responsible and ethical online learner and collaborator
 * Establish agreed standards for educational networking (avatar development, online profile, customization of online spaces, managing an online presence)
 * Define practice for: Copyright, Intellectual Property and fair use, creative commons ||
 * Contribute & Collaborate || * Establish a mechanism for equal and fair contribution opportunities and expectations
 * Provide mechanisms for discussion between students while jointly researching, contributing and collaborating ||
 * Choice || * Determine outcomes that provide a challenge and engage students
 * Consider varied outcomes, or varied topics that provide choices for participation, promote higher order thinking and problem solving and build in success ||
 * Create || * Establish clear guidelines for format and submission of the final product(s)
 * Construct templates if needed
 * Consider a 'competition' or opportunity to share the work beyond the immediate participants ||
 * Celebrate** || * Define a culminating activity when the work is completed as a form of celebration
 * Build in time for presentations and reflection/evaluation of the project ||