Websites for Global Communication

The first site that I checked out was Kidlink, I really think this website woudl be wonderful exposure for students since there are children from all over the world logging on everyday. I could easily have students log on and search the site for another shild that seems to have similar interests and talk to them about a project they did. We could come back together as a class and compare what students from around the world have done with the same topics as they are studying. I'm sure kids in Greece are learning about different plant life than we woudl be here in America.
The other website that I found interesting is Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) Collaboration Center . I went through multiple aspects of this website and it seems very professional and reliable. I could see this site benefitting students and teachers because the projects that are being collaborated on are on a larger scale and involve issues that effect daily life. The success of the CICL is also an important aspect. MAny of the projects that the organization work on collaborate with specific results. One project was based on the traffic congestion in the city of Indianapolis. After one year the project included over 400 students around the country all connected by videoconferencing.

Each of these sites would be a great resource for the classroom not only to show that you can be involved with issues around the globe but that solutions are possible and working together using technology is easier than ever before. These sites are different in the sense that there is more adult involvement associated with CICL than with Kidlink. Kidlink seems to focus more on the interaction and CICL has specific agendas that are the highlight of the site.