Global projects for your students

The ISTE Standards for Students include many opportunities for students to work collaboratively to support and contribute to learning.

Communication and collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
2. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
3. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures
4. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems

I love involving students in global projects where they have opportunities to collaborate with other other students to contribute to a common cause. Many of these global projects require teachers to sign up early in order to make those connections. It may be the end of this school year, but it's time to start thinking about these projects for next year. Take some time to check them out and sign up your class!

Global Read Aloud

I worked with several classes this year on the Global Read Aloud. It was a great experience communicating with other students to hear their thoughts on a common book. It was neat to know that other classes shared a love for reading and found commonality in a great book. This year's Global Read Aloud is structured a little different, but it still promises to be a great opportunity for anyone involved. Choose a book to read, connect with a class, and discover a common love for great books! Sign up as soon as you can - the official project start date is Oct. 6, 2014.

Save Our Rhinos

This project was started by a teacher in Capetown, South Africa after watching some rhinos during a vacation in 2012. Realizing the enormity of the problem of poaching, she launched this project to bring awareness to the plight of rhinos - calling it the Save Our Rhinos project. Classes can sign up to host a traveling rhino (much like a Flat Stanley project) and complete a few other activities to promote awareness of the endangered rhinos. The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2014, so be sure to sign up before space runs out!

The Global Classroom Project

Started in 2011 by two teachers on opposite sides of the globe, The Global Classroom Project is a rich resource for finding new ways to connect, share, learn and collaborate globally. You can find all kinds of projects to collaborate on with classrooms in over 35 countries. You can check out a variety of projects from the current year and start making connections.

Mystery Skype

Mystery Skyping is probably me new favorite activity. I tried it for the first time this year and was blown away by how engaged the students were. I've scheduled several more Mystery Skypes before the end of this school year. I've heard about classes Skyping with all 50 states and many countries around the world. That's a goal I want to have for next year: Skyping with all 50 states!

Adventure '14

This a global cultural project scheduled to take place in November 2014. For one day this year you can take your class on a worldwide adventure with 275+ Schools from 30 Nations without leaving your classroom! Thousands of children across the globe would like your class to join them on possibly the world's biggest virtual cultural exchange!  Using a webcam and projector you'll meet children from across the world, get to know a little about where they are from, and work with them on a global project! More information and sign up can be found at the Adventure '14 webpage.

There are many other ways to collaborate globally. What have you tried in your classroom? What other projects can students get involved with? Let me know in the comments below!