Virtual Tour: an ESl and ELA Project

Would you like to visit our school, our region ?  Would you mind 
if, in turn, we visited yours?
         
We can't afford to travel all over the country or the world, 
but my students can prepare a "Virtual Tour" that will take 
your class on a tour of our class, our school, our town and 
more.  This "Virtual Tour" would take the form of a Web page 
with pictures and text that they would send to you by E-mail. 
This document can be viewed in your Web Browser.  In return, 
they would like to take a "Virtual tour" of your class. So we 
would expect to receive a Web page that tells us all about you. 
         
Eventually, later on during the year, we would like to publish 
these "Virtual Tours" on our school's web site. 
         
Benefits for other classes: sharing information, finding out 
about the similarities and differences between two regions etc. 
They would also react to our visits and of course create visits 
of their own and send them to us.
         
Project coordinator: Chantale Simard
E-mail: simardc@csnormandin.qc.ca
         Polyvalente de Normandin
Normandin, Québec, Canada 
         
         
Project Level of Difficulty: 
A longer term "Gourmet" project since we will all be learning 
how to create simple Web pages.
         
Subject Area(s): 
English Second Language (ESL reading comprehension, writing 
and oral production objectives),  but a regular English 
class can work on a project like this and reach its own 
objectives, especially in Social Studies and ELA.
         
Target Group(s): Students of 11-14 years of age
         
Language: English
         
Software Needed: 
E-mail.  Software for making Web pages such as Microsoft 
Publisher, Claris Homepage, Microsoft Front Page, AOL Press (Free), 
Netscape Communicator (it has a Web Editor included: Free) 
For more information on software, see Good Homepaging Tools 
at http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/ssn/homepage/tools.htm
         
         
Registration Procedure: 
         
      Send an E-mail message to Chantale Simard at 
         simardc@csnormandin.qc.ca
         
               In your message, please include:
      * Your name
      * Your personal E-mail address
      * Your school and school location
      * The E-mail address your class will use to send and 
receive messages
      * Grade Level(s) involved 
         
 Time Line 
         
      Registration: immediately
      Project Starts: October 26, 1998.  But classes can 
join us anytime.
      Project Ends: May 28, 1999.
         
         
Added Comments: 
Two weeks ago I tried making a web page and realized that it 
wasn't as difficult as I first thought. As a result, I decided 
to embark on this venture. I hope that you won't be affraid to 
join because of the fact that have to make web pages. It surely 
doesn't take a computer wizard to be part of such a project.
         
We have already begun working on the making of a Virtual Tour 
in our class. I have a esl.web committee that gets together 
once a week. We have met twice already and we are eager to 
find other classes to  work on this project.
         
Won't you consider joining us.  We will all help each other, 
learning how to make and exchange our Web pages. 
         
Chantale Simard
Polyvalente de Normandin
Normandin, Québec, Canada