Bringing the World to the Classroom through Videoconferencing and Project-based Learning

The focus of this paper is a case study of a Texas-based school that implemented global projects to connect their students with many states and countries as a platform for integrating collaboration and communication skills, technology tools, and cultural diversity into an existing curriculum. The school introduced videoconferencing at every grade level K-8 in a school-wide initiative to bring the world to the classroom through the engagement of global learning projects with distant partners. A rubric is presented that provides a framework for improvement of interaction and engagement in videoconferencing experiences to develop best practices. For the purposes of this paper, the value of global projects in K-4 will be discussed.