ACP Online Collaborative Projects

For what grades are these projects most appropriate? These projects are intended for grades 7-10 with older grades welcome to participate. Additionally, if educators are interested in participating and willing to work with the curriculum packets, grades as young as fourth are welcome.

What is the cost to participate? There is no cost to participate.

How many applicants are chosen to participate? Nearly all applications are approved to be a part of these exciting projects.

What will my students be doing? Your students will be involved in an online conference with students from around the United States and the Former Soviet Union. Your students will participate in a chat with these same students as well.

When can I do a project with Azerbaijan? Working with Azerbaijan will begin in 2003 with the Images and Perceptions curriculum and the Social Justice and Change for the Future curriculum.

When do the four projects take place?

Series I:
Application due: September 18
Dates of project: September 30-October 17

Series II:
Application due: October 16
Dates of project: November 4-November 21

Series III:
Application due: January 22
Dates of project: February 3-February 26

Series IV:
Application due: March 26 Dates of project: April 7-April 22

What language will we be communicating with? Communication between all students and educators involved in the project will be in English. However, curriculum and orientation materials are provided to the Armenian and Azerbaijani participants in their languages.

What will the projects entail? The six week schedule is as such:
Week 1: notification of participation
Week 2: orientation to the program, educator downloads the curriculum for the project (teacher and student handbooks included) and cultural orientation materials
Week 3: educator discussion via online conferencing, educators begin curriculum unit in classroom
Week 4: student discussion via online conferencing
Week 5: student discussion continues and includes a chat
Week 6: evaluation

How long is the project? Projects range from 3 weeks to 5 weeks in length.

Can I participate in multiple projects? Yes! We welcome your participation in multiple projects. One option is to participate in the same project during two different time periods: once with Azerbaijan and another with Armenia. Another option is to be involved in whichever projects match your schedule, regardless of the other country involved. Or you can be involved in only one project. It is entirely up to you.

Why are there two calendars for each project? There are four different project themes, with each project occurring twice during the school year, once with Armenia and once with Azerbaijan. You, the American teacher, are able to choose a project based on the most appropriate theme for your class or based on the time period which would match your schedule [see calendar].

Why not just do online chats or online conferencing? Based on the successes of the Azerbaijan School Connectivity Program activity with Lincoln High School in California, we have found that classroom activities combined with online conferencing produces positive results. Students have a better understanding of the country which they are communicating with and bringing technology into the classroom is something that everyone can benefit from.

When our project is over, can we continue communicating with the other American, Armenian and Azerbaijani schools? The WebX boards will stay up and be monitored until the end of the semester, but we encourage you to exchange personal e-mail addresses and would be happy to give you guidance in continuing communication.

Why are these projects so short when last year-s were the entire year? Shorter-term projects keep momentum up and aren't as intensive, which allows more schools to participate, given curriculum and testing requirements. The project length also allows for flexibility for teachers to select the best possible time to participate.

What about my curriculum requirements? During the 2001-2002 school year, many involved educators found these projects to be easily workable with requirements set by their district or state. One option may be to discuss with other educators in the online conferencing forum which begins before student involvement in developing ways to demonstrate how the projects relate to requirements. Project Harmony would be glad to assist the group as well.

Who will my "partner" be? In this series of projects, there will not be one-on-one partnerships. Rather, 5-10 schools from each country will be involved, to encourage increased school participation. Additionally, we would encourage you to reach out to other educators involved in the project in order to begin one on one partnerships independently.

What will I have to do in my classroom? Project Harmony will provide you with resource lists for you to begin to prepare your class for the project. Additionally, the online forum with other educators will allow you to discuss resources with each other. After one week of online discussion among educators, the students will join in the conference. At the end of the series, the students will chat and you will be expected to fill out evaluation forms. We hope that you will continue the activities in your classroom, however.

Why should we participate?

Being a part of these projects allows students and teachers to establish and develop more a sophisticated international connection which promotes a greater sense of the global landscape and the ever-changing political and economic climate.

Projects like this allow schools to utilize growing technology

Internet projects allow schools and individuals of diverse backgrounds to be exposed to a multicultural experience.

Is there special hardware or software my school needs to participate? No, all you need is a web browser and a plug-in for Adobe Acrobat to participate.