Online Projects

It's time for our annual back-to-school guide to Web-based projects you can do with your students. Participating in an interactive project can be a great way to integrate technology use into your social studies, science, language arts, math or other curriculum. Participation is free unless otherwise noted.


One Day on Earth is a collaborative effort to collectively document the 24-hour period of October 10, 2010 with video and photography. One Day on Earth has built free online educational toolkits to facilitate school participation..The toolkits include lesson plans, worksheets, slideshows, project ideas, and recommended viewings and readings. Grades K-12,sStart now to be ready to film or photograph on Oct. 10.

Making Global Connections Using Glogster allows classrooms all over the world to share digital posters about their communities. This could be a great project for a teacher who wants to try out using Wikis and Glogster in their classroom. Grades K-8, school year 2010/2011.

Use Wikis, Voicethread, Skype and other tools to collaborate with global partners in the One Day One World project. Students will practice digital communication skills and compare their lives with those of peers in other countries as they share answers to questions such as "What's in your closet?" or "What sports and games do you play?" Ages 5-21, Sept. 1 - Dec. 1, 2010.

If you are using Facebook in your school, try joining North and Central American Facebook Friends. This project will use Facebook to facilitate sharing of first-hand accounts of life in different regions of the United States, Canada, Central America, and the Carribbean. Ages 10-13, Oct. 1-May 30.

In Digital Storytelling, students participate in an email exchange to discuss the process of digital storytelling, develop a story topic, write their story, create or find appropriate images to support their story, and share their story with partner classes. Grades 3-10, ongoing.

National Geographic's Geography Awareness Week invites teachers to explore the world with a different geography theme each year. The site offers tools and resources for educators to bring geography to life through school and community events. Grades K-12; 2010 theme Freshwater!; November 14-20, 2010.

CIESE sponsors online collaborative projects, partner projects, and projects that utilize primary sources and real-time data such as earthquake monitoring or remote sensing data from cargo ships. More projects are available. Most projects are for grades 5-12; math and science; various start dates. A few sample projects are highlighted below:

• Water Purification: schools collaborate to design water purification systems for use in developing countries.
• Global Water Sampling: Students from around the globe will team up to test fresh water, comparing the water quality of local rivers, streams, lakes or ponds with other fresh water sources around the world.
• Biodynamic Farming: Collaborate with students from around the world to design an aquaponics system that sustains plant and animal life.

Journey North from the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project, engages students in a global study of animal migration. Students track the migration patterns of birds and mammals and other natural events. Scientists provide their expertise, while students share their own field observations on seasonal change with other classrooms. Grades 4-12; Journey South begins in fall, Journey North in Spring.

Journey South's Symbolic Monarch Butterfly Migration is a great way to integrate art, science, social studies, and language arts for elementary students. Students in the United States and Canada create paper butterflies that will migrate to their counterparts in Mexico for the winter. This is also an excellent activity for bilingual or Spanish immersion classes. Grades 1-6; butterflies must be mailed by October 12.

The Kids' Science Challenge asks kids to come up with an original idea or design that relates to three fields of scientific inquiry or engineering: Sports on Mars, Detective (Forensic) Science, and Bio-Inspired Designs. Students may enter individually or as a team, and teacher materials are provided. Grades 3-6, begins Oct. 1.

The International Schools CyberFair is a White House-endorsed program that encourages youth to become community ambassadors by working collaboratively and using technology to share what they have learned. Students will conduct research about their local communities and publish their findings on the Internet. The theme for CyberFair 2010 is "Believe and Unite!" Grades K-12; 2011 program begins October 2010.

The U. S. Department of State sponsors the Doors to Diplomacy challenge to encourage middle school and high school students around the world to produce web projects that teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Each winning student team member receives a $2,000 scholarship, and the winning coaches’ schools each receive $500. Ages 12-19, registration in fall.

The Internet Science and Technology Fair offers students an opportunity to work online with technical advisors from corporations, federal laboratories, and academic research centers. Students relate National Critical Technology applications to real-world problems and present their research findings on a Web site. Grades 3-12; enrollment Sep. - Dec., 2010.

Quest Atlantis uses strategies from online role-playing games to motivate students to go on learning "quests". Completing Quests requires that members participate in real-world activities, such as conducting environmental studies, researching other cultures, and developing action plans. Ages 9-12, ongoing; this is a pilot project, teachers not in the pilot may contact project staff to join.

Wise, from the University of California-Berkeley, provides Web-based science activities that encourage students to examine real-world evidence and analyze current scientific controversies. Each unit includes goals and lesson plans. Teachers must register (no cost) and may then customize units for their own classroom use. Grades 5-12; ongoing.

GeoGame, from Global SchoolNet, teaches students geography terms and map-reading skills while increasing their awareness of culture and geography. Students use maps, atlases, and other reference materials to match the description of each location in the game with the name of the corresponding city. Students may also create clues about their city for other students to use. Grades 3-6; ongoing.

Started by a teacher in Illinois, the Fairy Tale/Folk Tale Cyber Dictionary is a project for K-2 students to share folk tales with other kids around the world.

To find other global projects or to post your own, use the Global Schoolnet Internet Projects Registry, the iEARN Collaboration Center or the ePals Global Community.


Created 8/2010
Last updated 6/29/2011