Tech Task #5

I found an amazing telecollaborative project at http://www.friendsandflags.org/ The name of the project is called "Friends and Flags". The idea behind the project is to "create multicultural awareness". It is free to Register, and students in over 50 countries are participating. It's quite simple. Your class puts together packages so that students in other countries of the world can see what the culture from your country is like. The packages can contain organized binders or CD-Roms. You can include anything you would like that represents your culture. Along with this package, each student is to bring a bead from home that represents themselves as an individual, within their culture. The project is focused on creating the largest bead necklace in the world. This necklace is to be a symbol of peace. 'Every bead is a symbol of a human and they are on one chain. The chain is our world. We do not want it to break" I would definitely use this project in my classroom. It fits the grade 5 Social Studies curriculum perfectly and I know the students would have an amazing time doing this. It would also be simple to integrate technology into this, having students use different programs to create culture information packages and then burn them onto one CD to send. There are many interesting telecollaborative projects out there, but because I love multiculturalism, I decided to choose this one. I hope that some of you will find this useful for your classrooms in the future. Don't be shy! Check it out!