Participant's Guide:
Making it Work with Winning Attitudes

• Start simple.
  Begin by joining a project that may only involve one time data collection and a single e-mailing. With each project you do, you'll learn more and be able to deal with increasing levels of complexity: sending to multiple addresses, using word processor and E-mail in tandem, frequent exchanges, etc.
• Be committed to the project.
  Most participants will be, just like you, Internet pioneers. You will have to learn new skills, and you will probably encounter new challenges. Be prepared to ask questions and to figure things out by yourself too. Tell yourself you won't let your partners down!
• Be a student.
  You're here to learn as well as teach. You don't have to know how to do everything before your start. Explain to your students about the newness of the Internet and how you'll have to problem solve. Encouraging and promoting creative problem solving is a major goal of education, so, let's practice what we preach.
• Share your discoveries.
  It's not because you're a novice that you have nothing to contribute. Tell your partners about your discoveries and about the things you found that work! If it worked for you, it might work for others too. But also tell them about what doesn't work. You might get advice. You will find that it's easy to break the wall of silence with people who chose communications as a working tool.
• Ask for help.
  You don't get it? You don't know how to do it? Ask questions. The project co-ordinator will try to figure things out and answer you. You can also ask other project participants, some of whom might be more experienced than you.
• Don't give up.
  Remember your commitment and finish the project to the best of your abilities. Do what you can. Once you join a project, remember students at other schools are depending upon your input. If you can't meet the project requirements, offer to do some compromise solution. And if you signalled problems as soon as they become apparent, instead of waiting, chances are alternatives will be found more easily.
• Make friends.
  By participating in a telecollaborative project, you are meeting people who share your interests. Take the opportunity to open a channel of communication. Build a Friendship and Support Network. "Speak" to the other teachers. All you risk is meeting interesting people!