December 2003

In our school all the 12 year students have to write a research work and to participate in the school research work conference. When the time came to choose the research work theme, I decided to explore the impact of Internet assisted collaborative projects. The reason was that I had participated in several such projects myself and had got valuable knowledge and useful experience. Besides, I knew that schools in many countries included such projects as the learning circles in their curriculum and it was also obvious for me that their role in the future would considerably increase taking into consideration the processes of globalization and computerization. That’s why I decided to find out more about the value of collaborative Internet assisted projects as an educational method.

The aim of my research work was to find out how Internet collaborative projects effect the study process and what kind of benefits, if any, they give their participants. In my research work I focused on Internet collaborative projects of I*EARN (International Education and Resource Network) and Global Teenager Project (GTP), particularly on the concept of the Learning Circles used in both of them and analysed their role and benefits in education.

The objectives I settled for myself are:
1) getting information about different widely used Internet assisted collaborative projects, their history and implementation;
2) describing the projects in which my school, Kraslava Gymnasium, took part;
3) doing a research in order to compare the learning process and its results in the class that participated in the GT project and in the class that studied using traditional methods;
4) summarizing students` and teachers` answers to find out their attitude towards collaborative projects, particularly GTP, and their opinions about its benefits and effectiveness;
5) making a conclusion about the most important benefits of the project and its impact on the study process.

To achieve my aim and objectives, I used the following methods: searching and studying materials about collaborative projects on the Internet, making a questionnaire and conducting a survey, testing students’ progress in learning English in the project and control classes using the tests elaborated at Oxford University, consultations with the GTP project coordinator and the teachers using the project method in their work.

In the process of my research work I came to the following conclusions:
1) Collaborative Internet assisted projects, GTP in particular, are a really useful, effective method that can be integrated in the learning process. It brings students and teachers valuable benefits and stimulates students` learning.
2) The most valuable among the benefits are:
a) new knowledge and experience obtained while participating in the learning circles;
b) improved ICT skills and wider knowledge of computers and the Internet;
c) improved general language skills, especially reading and writing, and knowledge of the vocabulary of a specific topic;
d) experience and skills in teamwork;
e) getting acquaited with and learning about other world cultures;
f) contacts around the world.
3) Participating in GTP and other projects develops young people`s personality, widens their outlook and makes the school life more interesting.

These conclusions can be proved by the results of the survey and tests which are reflected in numerous diagrammes I made. Analysing responses to the questionnaire, I found out that teachers’ and students’ attitude towards the project they implemented was positive. It`s interesting that after its implementation students` evaluation of the project was much higher than before it, when I asked about their expectations. The survey I conducted in Kraslava Gymnasium and other schools showed that ICT skills are better and progress in English language learning is faster in the class that participated in the project than in the control class. It can be explained by the longer time students spent working on the computers and by the challenging tasks they had to fulfill. As to the English learning, it was stimulated by the necessity to communicate with foreign partners and the intensive reading and writing assignments they had in the course of the project.

Having written my research work, I had to present it at the school reasearch work conference where it was highly evaluated by the jury and was selected for the presentation at the district research work conference in the spring of 2003 and later at the national research work conference at University of Latvia. Doing it, I also mentioned some of such projects` problems the teams faced such as technical breakdowns or an irresponsible partner. But still I am strongly convinced that Global Teenager and other Internet assisted collaborative projects are a valuable and effective educational method which I hope will spread even wider in the nearest future.

For more information on the Global Teenager project, check the GTP-website and the Virtual Campus or contact Ms. Miriam Valstar of IICD.