Eight steps to a successful Telecollaboration

Plan ( 1-4) - Launch (5-6) - Nurture (7-8)

Based on the work of Dr. Judi Harris

1- Choose the curricular goal(s)

Every activity you plan for your students is linked to curricular goals. Telecollaborations are no different in this regard. The simpler ones will focus on a specific area or subject. But they can also easily be cross-curricular, an added bonus. Whatever the subject areas you want to touch, when deciding whether or not to do an Internet project, ask yourself whether

1- this use of Internet will enable your students to do something they couldn't do before
2- this use of Internet will enable them to do something they did before but they will be able to do it better in some way or another.

(Let's be honest ! It may be hard to answer those questions if you've never tried it before. Teachers are often pleasantly surprised to discover that many learning situations arise that they hadn't initially thought of.)

2- Choose a type of activity

Choose your level of entry:
If this is your first attempt at bringing Telecollaboration into your class, aim for creating a short Fast Food type of activity.

If you are aiming for major integration, you are looking towards a Gourmet type project.

Determine what kind of activity best matches your curricular goals. Review the list of activity structures and explore examples. You'll find that there are many different types of activities you can create. Keep in mind that certain types of activities are better suited to certain types of learning objectives: polished writing, gathering and analyzing information, problem solving, etc.

3- Explore examples of other on-line projects

Examples are worth a thousand words and many hours of work. See what other teachers have done. There are many examples available in the QESN Project Centre through its many links to project registries. Or visit Judi Harris' Virtual Architecture: Designs for Telecollaboration and Telepresence

4- Determine the details of your project

Experts agree that a detailed, specifically-stated project description is essential for success.

Plan to involve more than one or two classes. This will not only ensure a greater diversity of content, but also give you a safeguard should some classes drop out.

Plan your project so that it can fit into the larger framework of classroom activities.

5- Invite telecollaborators

Advertise your project using the what you wrote in your  Project Annoucement Organiser as your basic model. If you don't like the "form" format, word it differently, but make sure you include all the pertinent information. If more details are needed, include an offer to send more details to any interested party by private e-mail.

Give yourself enough time to plan you project, post your invitation, and gather collaborators. These things cannot happen overnight and require that you look well ahead so that all will be in place by the time you are ready to tackle the project in class.

Type your invitation in the Connected Classroom's on-line project submission form. It will be sent on the Connect Classes mailing list and added to the Connected Classroom's registry.

There are also other mailing lists and project registries you can use "post your project".  

6- Greet your collaborators and form your telecollaborative group

  As you begin receiving responses from interested teachers,

1. Send each one, as quickly as you can, a welcome message and whatever additional information package your project requires. This is part of your project management and also a way to establish a personal contact with your new found collaborators. It's also a good way to test whether communications are going smoothly and messages arrive and are picked up. 
2. Save all the registration information you received from each teacher in a file or folder.
3. Add their e-mail address to your E-mail's electronic Address Book immediately and create a mailing list that groups all project participants. You'll use it to send general messages to all.
4. If more teachers want to register than you feel you can handle, send each one who won't be able to participate a friendly, polite apology. If you think you'll repeat the project in the future, tell them that you will retain their e-mail address and send them your next project invitation personally.

7. Communicate

Different types of activities will require different types and frequencies of communication. But there is more to it than "task-oriented" communication. The success of a project can also depend on broader communications skills and the feeling of support and inclusiveness that you can generate. And the energy will run both ways so that you too will reap rewards from the contact you nurture.

1. If your project allows for it, plan some kind of opening activity in which classes can present themselves before the project activities proper. You could use a variation of the Welcome Aboard Survey that has been used by many teachers in our network.
2. Include your students in class to class communications. If possible, have a separate e-mail address for your class so your students can take ownership.
3. We also suggest that your have your own personal e-mail address, separate from the general school one, especially if many people are using the school e-mail. Ownership and ease of management are keys to success.

Be generous!

Be willing to share what you know and what you do freely with newcomers who may feel intimidated by the technology and new to e-mail etiquette. By being open and candid about your project-related experiences, or your lack of it, you will also reap rewarding responses, help and support from your fellow participants.

You can also keep communications alive with teachers, by using short private messages such as:

• "Cheerleader messages" which recognise and praise exceptional efforts,
• "Where are you" messages which ask participants whom you have not heard from in a while if they are still participating;
• "Thank you messages" which help encourage participation;
• "Reminder messages" which serve to remind participants of coming deadlines.

Communicate often. Communicate freely. Let your students do their share.

8. Create closure

End your project with a final, tangible product such as a web page or other type of electronic publication, a report, a video, a list of "winners", shared results, content analysis, .... Schedule a closure date and make sure all class contributions are received on time. You may need to nag in a supportive way... if you can imagine supportive nagging!

E-mail graciousness

Just as there are rules to being a gracious hostess when you invite guests to your house, so too are there e-mail graciousness rules when inviting people to participate in a project. The first one is to acknowledge that you received someone's message. If you think your project will draw quite a bit of response, the easiest way to manage your replies is to draft a general purpose "Thank You..." letter that you'll just have to pull out and whiz off.

1. Draft your letter in your favourite word processor and save it. Even though it's "general purpose", write it with one person in mind and make it enthusiastic and welcoming. The content will really depend on the nature of your project and what you need to tell participants upon their first communication with you. It could be...
   • Thanking them for their contribution and telling them what to expect next.
   • Thanking them for registering in your project and adding further information about upcoming activities, deadlines, or more about project content.
2. When you receive a message that warrants this reply, use the "Reply To" button of your e-mail to redirect the message back to it's sender automatically. Then...
   • Open your word processor and bring up your letter.
   • Select (highlight) the entire letter and Copy it (use the Edit/Copy command of your word processor's menu bar)
   • Switch to the e-mail screen and Paste your letter at the top of the reply (use the Edit/Paste command of your E-mail's menu bar).
   • Add a few finishing touches such as a personal greeting at the top and delete large portions of the original e-mail to shorten your reply (the original usually has a series of > signs at the beginning of each line).
   • Send your reply.

If you need detailed instructions about how to toggle between applications see " How to Copy a text from a Word Processor to Paste it into an E-mail message".