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Questions and Answers

1. What is the goal of this workshop?
2. How will this goal be achieved?
3. What is the timeline?
4. What kind of cooperative projects are desired?
5. What kind of guidance and assistance will be provided?
6. Why should I invest my time in this effort?
7. How can I get started?
8. How can I get help raising funds for future activities?
9. Where will the Workshop take place?

1. What is the goal of this workshop?

The goal of this workshop is to bring together educators from both the developing and developed countries for the purpose of generating cooperative computer-based learning projects between them.

2. How will this goal be achieved?

The workshop is based on a 3-phase process:

Phase 1:
Pre-Conference "Virtual" Planning of Joint Projects.
Candidates from developing and developed countries will be invited to propose specific project needs and ideas. These candidates will present themselves and their ideas at this website, which has been created to foster on-line project planning. The organizing comittee will match a team from a developing country, who presented a subject they are interested in researching with their students, with a team from a developed country. The paired teams will work together, helped when neccessary by an expert from the scientific committee. The 6-8 most promising collaborative projects will be chosen. Criteria for choosing a paired team is the degree of joint work and the quality of research already achieved. Members of those teams will be invited to participate in the workshop.

Phase 2:
Workshop.
An intensive 3 1/2 day workshop will provide project teams from developing and developed countries to meet together and further advance their projects. Experts will be available for guidance, supervision, and help if desired. The schedule will include only several plenary lecture-discussions. Most of the time will be devoted to small group discussions, site visits to existing projects in Israel, and the development of cooperative projects.

Phase 3:
Workshop Follow-Up.
After the workshop, each team will be given assistance to further develop and implement their cooperative projects, through the web-site as well as by other means, including possible visits to participating countries. At the same time, examples of successful projects as well as the "lessons learned" will be documented and made available on this website.

3. What is the timeline?

Time	Title	Detail
June - September, 1997	Pre-Conference Planning	Using this website and email, candidates will be invited to join in this phase. In early September, the chosen candidates will be invited to participate in the 3 1/2 day intensive workshop.
November 16-20, 1997	Workshop	The workshop will take place at Migal (home of the Association for the Advancement of Science Education in Galilee) and at the Kibbutz Kfar Giladi Hotel, near Kiryat Shmona, Israel.
November 1997 until conclusion	Follow-up	From November on, the planning and implementation work will take place on a project-by-project basis. Updates on these projects, summaries from the conference, "lessons learned," etc. will be posted on this web site.

4. What kind of cooperative projects are desired?

For the purposes of this workshop, cooperative projects should meet several criteria. Each project should fulfill four requirements. It should:

a) be based on a clear and significant need or rationale.
b) have specific learning goals, at least some of which should relate to science & technology.
c) have an authentic element of cooperation and collaboration between dedicated educators from both developing and developed countries.
d) present a reasonable plan to translate the goals into reality.

In addition, it is recommended that a cooperative project be innovative, i.e., it advances our understanding of how educational technologies can facilitate meaningful and effective learning in a broad range of settings.

5. What kind of guidance and assistance will be provided?

During the "virtual planning" phase, invited candidates will constitute an online planning group, which will have a series of moderated discussions. These candidates will hold online discussions of the goals, issues, opportunities for cooperation and collaboration, and implementation plans for their perspective projects, with the aim to develop common areas of interest and leverage between like-minded participants from different countries.

During the "workshop" phase, internationally-recognized experts will be invited to help mentor and guide each respective project.

The guidance provided in the "workshop follow-up" phase will include two "communities of learners": educators who participated in the workshop itself as well as educators who continue to participate in this website.

6. Why should I invest my time in this effort?

The process described above gives you the opportunity to do something that may have great educational and personal significance! Widespread access to computers, Internet appliances and networked multimedia are becoming the foundation of a global Web-based infrastructure and knowledge economy for the 21st Century.

Global communications, the rapid growth and constant changes in knowledge, and new kinds of information products, research, services, and distributed collaboration will be at the heart of lifelong learning and "knowledge work" in the 21st Century.

Whether or not you are chosen for participation in the November workshop, participating as a candidate in the "virtual" planning phase will give you many opportunities to learn a great deal and make a significant contribution, not only where you live, but elsewhere in the world as well!

7. How can I get started?

There are several things you can do:

1. First, fill out the Questionnaire Form and send it to: questionnaire@teleproj.com
   
2. Visit other web sites featuring cooperative projects from around the world; this may give you further ideas and inspiration.
   
3. By all means, ask questions! Send them to us:
   

8. How can I get help raising funds for future activities?

During the preliminary discussions with the international agencies about the Workshop, it was clear that in order to implement the projects that have been developed, additional funding will be necessary. We will give, during and after the workshop, some guidelines whom to contact and how, as well as help in preparing your proposals. We have already approached an international agency regarding the needs of your projects, and received a positive reply that they will be willing to consider proposals for funding these projects.

9. Where will the Workshop take place?

The workshop will take place at Migal (home of the Association for the Advancement of Science Education in Galilee) and at the Kibbutz Kfar Giladi Hotel, near Kiryat Shmona, Israel.