Cross Canada E-mail

I. Briefly review the project proposal form. Discuss the project theme, outline and time line; review the project and curriculum objectives.

Students developed geography, communication, and language arts skills, and better understood and appreciated what it means to be Canadian, as they explored the history, geography, economics, and culture of Canada through e-mail and the world wide web. Students at St. Joseph's Elementary, Carbonear, networked with other classes/schools across the country who had a similar interest in learning more about their country. Students at St. Joseph's created a data base of schools from different regions of Canada, who wanted to exchange e-mail's, ask questions about issues in different parts of the country, and provide information and other web-based resources about their own region.

Sixteen classes/schools from different parts of Canada sent and likewise, received over a period of 2 months, individual e-mail's, focusing on the geography, history, and culture of Canada. The e-mail messages included a brief introduction of students' school, plus information about the Canadian experience in that region - for example, the way people live, their beliefs, customs, relations with others, ways of working and playing, etc. Students traced the origins of the different e-mail's they received. They began to appreciate the vast geography of our country, and also began to appreciate the unique way of life in those different areas. Student also shared links to specific Canadian web pages that might be of interest to other students.

II. Show the audience the outcome of the project proposal.

The finished product may be interesting and informative, but the process that the students and their teachers went through was a unique experience. Results and a tour of the project can be seen at: http://www.k12.nf.ca/stjosephselem/ccem

III. Briefly comment on any successes or problems that were encountered throughout the life of the project.

Getting 16 schools to participate was very rewarding. The schools were from different parts of Canada, different size communities, and different age groups. Some schools were well equipped with ICT, while others were trying to work from one computer linked to the Internet.

IV. Comment on any aspects of the project that you would do differently.

A real learning experience! Project was fine, but I learned how to be better prepared for running a project such as this.

V. Comment on if and how the project can be expanded next year.

The project will be expanded next year. An effort to get more schools involved will be made. More research and more in-depth participation by individual schools. Different schools could prepare a web page about their our region that could be linked to the project site.