The Global SchoolNet is one of the pioneers in telecollaboration for schools. This organization centered attention on the value of email and videoconferencing via CU-SeeMe. (An example of CU-SeeMe in a classroom can be found at http://www.teleport.com/ ~dberkam.) More recently, it has promoted a list (HiLites) on which new telecollaboration projects can register its interest and locate potential partners (eg. climate, forest growth) and prepared a new Web tutorial for professional development (available on a CD). Newsday encourages students to produce their own newspaper and share it with others or incorporate contributions of others ala a newswire around the world.
In between, this foundation has sponsored treks around the world for students to track, career awareness, scientists-on-tap (with JPL and the USGS), language translators and international conversions for time, currency, and email, geography puzzle contests, and current event newsgroups to name a few. To receive or register your project on HiLites, announcements of new telecollaboration projects, try http://gsn.org/gsn.projects.registry.html/.
The Well-Connected Educator, co-sponsored by NSF and Microsoft and Compaq, resembles an online 'zine to which teachers, administrators, parents and community constitutents can contribute. It is bolstered by two interesting features; contributors can be coached by writer mentors and a forum allows visitors to express their opinion on emerging, hot topics about technology and education.
The imagination of this group for inventing new applications of telecollaboration seems limitless. With such a potpourri of offerings it would be a good idea to check the site once a month to learn what's new. A new project might just hit the spot for your current curriculum activities.





