always learning

The 2008 Flat Classroom Project is well under way in Australia, Qatar, Spain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the US! And they need your help!

Next week begins the first stages of the Sounding Board process, when students in classrooms around the world peer review the completed work to date and offer constructive feedback. There are so many fantastic projects to peer review, that as many classrooms as possible are needed to act as Sounding Boards. Any and all age-levels are welcome as peer reviewers!

Not only is the process of peer review a component of the new NETS standards, but it is an incredibly valuable way for students to connect and collaborate in a meaningful way. It’s also a perfect introduction to globally collaborative projects for classrooms that may not have had much experience like this before. Of course, for those who are active online collaborators, this project offers a perfect opportunity to experience a far-reaching, well-organized, and truly authentic global project.

For the past few years, students in my classes have acted as a Sounding Board for the Horizon Project and the Flat Classroom Project – the first year I worked with grade eight students, and the following year with grade five students. Both groups learned so much from the process of evaluating student work on such exciting and engaging topics, and both groups commented on how valuable this kind of real-world application of technology is for them.

I have volunteered to coordinate the Sounding Board classrooms and we would love to have as many classroom as possible participate. We will hold a planning session in Elluminate on Thursday Nov. 6 at noon GMT (convert to your local time here) to help coordinate this process so that it’s as easy as possible for all classrooms involved.

If you’re interested, please sign up on the Sounding Board wiki page today!