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The Global Virtual Classroom
is a project of the
Give Something Back
International Foundation

2010-2011
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Teacher Collaboration Tips

  • Classroom Strategies
  • School Support
  • Community Support
  • Fit Into Schedule

How To Motivate Students?

  • clocksMake your new friends real. Mount two more clocks on the wall to display the local time in your GVC partner schools. Mark your partner schools’ and your own locations on a world map.
  • Get personal. Let your students choose e-mail pen pals from the other schools.
  • Be a collector. Make a GVC scrapbook to keep all the letters, photos and other things you receive from your partner schools.
  • Posted ProfilesPrint and post. Post the students’ self-introductions on the bulletin board. Print out messages from the on-line forums and post them. Print out pages from your website and post them or hand them out to your students to take home.
  • Get in touch. Write a class letter and send it to your partner classes through the mail. Or, send them a video tape or audio tape of the class working on the website or introducing themselves.*
  • video conferenceMake the most of multimedia. Use chat, instant messaging or video conferencing to allow your students to communicate in real time with their virtual classmates.**
  • Grade your students' GVC work just as you would any other class assignment.
  • Reward. Present individual students with awards for creativity, improvement, leadership skill, artistic talent, hard work, etc.

*Before exchanging video tapes, find out what tape format your partner schools use (VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, digital, etc.), in addition to the broadcast standard used in their countries (NTSC, PAL, SECAM, etc.)

** Be aware that the GVC Project Manager cannot offer technical support for collaboration software such as SKYPE, ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger or Powwow. Please contact their developers.

If you have a great idea or tip, please submit and share with us -- we might post it on this website or in our blogs.

How to Get Support From Your School, Including Administration and IT

  • Consult. Talk to them about your project needs and the schools’ requirements and policies before getting started.
  • helping with technologySpeak up. Make a multimedia presentation to your school administrators. If you can arrange it, do it together with your overseas partners using real-time chat or video conferencing.
  • Share the fun. Invite your school administrators, including IT administrator, to a kick-off party.
  • Try a cross-curriculum approach. Ask fellow teachers in related subjects to get involved, such as language teachers, computer science teachers, art teachers, or others.
  • Share your knowledge. Offer to share what you've learned with fellow teachers. Some experienced GVC students may also be able to tutor other students in basic computer skills and website design.

How To Get Community Support

  • Get parents involved. Some of them may be able to offer language or computer expertise.
  • Mentors. Identify local mentors or coaches to help you implement your ideas.
  • Publicity. Let everyone know what you're doing, through your local television, newspaper or school newsletter, presentations to the local school district board, parent-teacher association or other groups.
  • Reach out. If you're participating in the Global Virtual Classroom Contest, ask people from your school and community to critique your site before the deadline and offer suggestions for ways to improve it.

How to Fit GVC into Your Lessons and Schedule
GVC projects benefit students and teachers best when they are related or integrated into your curriculum.

  • Integrate. Choose a project topic that integrates themes or curriculum you have already planned for the year. You can use the same homework you normally assign as part of the project. For example, students' research, reports or essays can easily become part of a website. If you can, grade students on the project work they do or the effort they make.

  • maps of team countries Intellectualize. Find ways to make GVC topics and activities more academic. Almost all GVC project tasks can be turned into lessons. For example, ask students to use maps to figure the time difference between you and each of your partner schools. Make a GVC task into a writing exercise or a research assignment at the library.

  • Think big. Use students' enthusiasm for any topic to encourage the "big picture". If your team is interested in the environment, assign them to research local ecology, water quality, wildlife, climate, etc. complete with bibliography. If it's pop music, they could explore the role of music in culture, or the history of recording technology. If it's holidays, they could explore religious beliefs, cultural festivals, food, sports, and national events.

  • Collaborate. Many GVC projects are naturally cross-curricular, due to their broad topics. Take advantage of the opportunity to work with your fellow teachers. Show your students how different academic subjects such as history, art, music and science, can come together on one topic. Plus, you may build more in-school support.

Practical ways to make the most of your busy class schedule:

  • Ask students to do most of their project work off-line, and save precious Internet time for essential communication.
  • discussing workAsk students to research using conventional off-line methods like the library.
  • Empower students to plan and lead task groups; let them know they are responsible for completing tasks and sticking to deadlines.
  • Start an after-school GVC Club.

Teachers are the best judge of how to make Global Virtual Classroom the best possible experience for students. We look forward to your feedback and we welcome your best tips and ideas.

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