NetGen2010 Project for Speech class

Wow!  Speech class plans have been rearranged for the rest of the third quarter and all of the fourth quarter.  I'm excited to pass on that we are now part of a global project, and Speech students will be collaborating with students from the USA and from other countries.  The project is part of the NetGen2010 Flat Classroom Project.  At this point, I have joined the Flat Classroom Project Wiki, the Flat Classrooms Ning, the Grown Up Digital Ning, the NetGen2010 Google Group; have signed up for a Timebridge Group; and have signed up for Elluminate meetings.  As I have received numerous emails from the project leaders since inquiring into the project, my first reaction was that I met the Hippy Geeks of the internet.  They were so welcoming that I could almost feel them trying to hug me through the computer!

The project itself organizes students into teams of six to seven - incorporating students from the US and students from other countries in each group.  Students will utilize Chapters one, three (chapter three in particular), and five of Don Tapscott's book Grown Up Digital and the 2010 Horizon Report to research and disseminate the information from each texts to create wikis and videos on their proposals for the use of various technology as tools for education and business.  Each Pleasant Plains student is in a separate subgroup team.

My students have currently joined the Flat Classroom Project Wiki, the Flat Classrooms Ning, the Grown Up Digital Ning, and the PPHS group of the Grown Up Digital Ning.  Each also has a Speech Journal Blog to blog on the activities/ideas about the project.  Next week I will get the students set up with Diigo accounts as well.

The Speech students have reacted with a mix of frustration and excitement to the project.  They are excited to be a part of something "real" - something that matters.  They are also frustrated because we don't have all of the project information yet.  I have been relaying the project information as I have been made aware of it myself.  Most of the project plan will be made clear when the students begin working with their respective teams.

While the students are nervous about the project, the overall atmosphere is positive.  They are excited about activity on the nings - "friending" some of their team members already.  I'll update the blog on our progress as often as I can.