Online Collaborative Projects: Creating "Call for Participation" Projects

Unless you plan to do the project on your own, you'll need some partners. Before you ask people to join your project, you need to do some planning. First, create a "Call for Participation" that provides potential participants an overview of your project. Second, develop the materials that you and your participants will need for the project such as lesson plans and project guidelines.

Call for Participation

A "Call for Participation" should have the following elements:

Topic/Title:
Content/Curriculum Areas:
Outcomes/Standards:
Overview/Summary:
Target Audience, Ages of Participants:
Timeline or Schedule (begin/end):
Registration Information & Dates:
Participant Requirements (location):
Type/Level of Interaction:
Technology Needed:
- (hardware, computer/student ratio, software, time needed on line)
Format Used:
- (email, chat, video conferencing, forum, web, traditional mail)
Procedure (project description and assessment):
How to Participate:
Contact Person:

Project Materials

A project should also have the following project materials:

Project Materials
Projects Guidelines
Lesson Plans
Activities (Observation, Discussion/Analysis, Creation/Synthesis, Exchange, Evaluation)
Classroom Management Ideas
Student Materials (such as worksheets, guidelines)
List of Participants
Assessments

Create Project Materials
Using the guidelines above create a "Call for Participation" and the materials for your project. Use the following questions to evaluate your project.

The Call for Participation

Is the project title and theme interesting and reflective of the activities?
Are the content and curriculum areas clearly stated?
Are the content area goals and objective, outcomes, and/or standards clear?
Do the outcomes match the activities and assessments?
Is the project summary clear, descriptive, and concise?
Are the activities including information to be exchanged detailed?
Is the target audience, grade level and/or age of the participants stated?
Is the timeline and schedule of the program clearly stated including a beginning and end? Are registration times included?
Is the type and level of participant interaction clearly described?
Is the technology required complete including hardware, computer/student ratio, software, and time needed on line?
Is the format used for communication and information exchange stated such as email, chat, video conferencing, forum, web, and traditional mail?
Are the procedures for the project clearly described and realistic?
Are directions provided for registration and/or participation?
Are the number of participants and size of the project described?
Is contact information included?
Is an email address and website addressed provided?

The Project Materials

Are the project guidelines comprehensive?
Are the lesson plans complete?
Do the activities describe what students will do (Observation, Discussion/Analysis, Creation/Synthesis, Exchange, Evaluation)?
Are classroom management ideas included?
Are student materials (such as worksheets, guidelines) age appropriate?
Is a list of participants available?
Are student assessments and project evaluations included?