Resource Centre

Social Studies Online

English Online has information about projects and project registries.

Adventure Online
For year 1 to year 13
Learners travel with global expeditions to investigate the far regions of the world. Live expeditions and on-line experts deliver real-time interaction to classrooms.
Project Dates: Ongoing

The Big Wide World Webquest
For year 1 to year 4
This webquest has primary students work in teams to study the globe, plants, animals, people. culture, language and rules for how each subject works. Their findings are plotted on to a relationship wheel and students are challenged to develop one grand theory of how the world works.
Project Dates: Ongoing

The Brink Expedition
The Brink Expedition is a 50,000 kilometre journey over 1000 days, using human power and the natural elements. Ben and Kendon Glass will cycle, sail and trek their way through South America, Europe, Asia and back to Australia to highlight social and environmental issues. Their interactive website contains journals, factfiles, photos, penpals and curriculum modules that cover each of the Brink Hotspots of social and environmental concern.

Celebrations and Commemorations
For year 2 to year 7
The aim of this project is to develop students' understanding of their own cultural identity through the study of national celebrations and commemorations.
Project Dates: Ongoing

The College Herald
This website that showcases the best written work, photographs and cartoons of New Zealand school students in the North Island. Visit the site for student and teacher information and look at the calendar of weekly themes.
Levels 1 to 8

Continental Quest
For year 1 to year 3
Email contact with schools from the 7 continents. Classes exchange information about continents, people, climate and animals, and a Web page is developed for each continent, providing information and worldwide links for students around the world.
Project Dates: Ongoing

The Day I Was Born
For year 1 to year 13
Online Project where students are guided to a variety of links to find out what was happening in the world on the day they were born--news, literature, music, television, etc.
Project Dates: Ongoing

Explorer project
These expeditions are all based in Antarctica and follow the footsteps of famous explorers of old in the region. They feature online information, diary entries, maps, weather information and historical details. The expedition for 2003 is Spirit of Shakleton.
Levels 3 to 8

Global Schoolhouse
The Global SchoolsNet Foundation site contains directories of collaborative Internet-based projects; examples of kids making a difference (social action in action!); online expeditions; a homework centre. And a helpful page for teachers to get you started.

Global school house online expeditions
This site is a portal site for many expeditions that are occuring worldwide. It includes links to expeditions of the National Geographic and Discovery.com. Updated regularly, students can follow the progress of these expeditions throughout their entirety.
Levels 3 to 8

Global Youth Forum
For year 1 to year 13
A Global Youth Forum is discussion or debate on a particular topic conducted via e mail. Individuals or groups of students can share their ideas and opinions on a range of topics of interest or importance to them. The topics are chosen to allow integration of the forum activities into everyday learning activities.
Project Dates: Ongoing

The I*EARN International First Peoples' project
For year 1 to year 13
This project allows indigenous students from around the world to work together on collaborative projects. It also allows non-indigenous students to interact with indigenous students in discussions, writing, and art.
Project Dates: Ongoing

Living Heritage Tikanga Tuku Iho
For year 1 to year 13
A project that aims to encourage young people to investigate their heritage and record it as an online resource. An excellent companion project to Our Place: To Matou Wahi.
Project Dates: Ongoing

My Hero
For year 1 to year 13
The goal at My Hero is to discover real-life heroes from around the world using the World Wide Web. This is an ongoing project where students around the world submit their heroes from such diverse fields as the arts and entertainment, sports and science, lifesavers and peacemakers, actors and business leaders.
Project Dates: Ongoing

Poetry Post - A Universal Expedition
For year 1 to year 13
Students will "meet" global classmates and "travel" the world by creating and sharing poems which describe where they live, their culture, traditions, celebrations, climate, natural resources, flora, fauna, recreational activities, tourist attractions, etc. Students will be encouraged to share their creative thinking through a variety of poetry forms.
Project Dates: Ongoing

SitesALIVE!
SitesALIVE! is an interactive multi-disciplinary educational Web site which connects families at home and students in classrooms to adventures, expeditions and events around the world, as they are unfolding. Current projects are Oceans Live!, Rainforest Live!, Class Afloat Live!, and Wetlands Live!. Access to these projects requires a fee for registration.

Tombstone Project
For year 4 to year 13
An interesting project that seamlessly integrates IT into Social Studies as students investigate the Talking Stones in local cemeteries.
Project Dates: Ongoing

Travel Buddies
For year 2 to year 10
Travel buddies are soft toys or puppets that travel the world as representatives of your class. They may go on a cultural exchange with a single school or travel widely on a path chosen by those who forward them to friends and relatives in other places. Teachers use travel buddies in different ways. Online mentors are available to answer direct questions. You can also mail your questions to the email list so other teachers can comment as well. Project Dates: Ongoing

The world is our classroom
'The World is our Classroom' is an online global Project for 2003, involving classrooms from all around the world. It's aims are three-fold: Communication - Open up communication with a culture and people different to ourselves. Collaboration - Work as a Team to share and compare information. Computer skills development - Plan and develop a Website to showcase learning. The virtual classroom will then form online to produce a website about an issue or topic decided by the classrooms.
Levels 6 to 8

World Vision Frontline Connection Programme
The 40 Hour Famine theme for March 2004. It is geared specifically to the Social Studies Curriculum Levels 2-6. It deals with the issue of conflict - where, why and what if. Registration and participation are free and students will be able to access an online game, read about the stories of 20 children from conflict situations round the world and participate in educational opportunities.