Boston--Morocco--India Collaboration

Collaboration Details by Boston--Morocco--India Collaboration on NotaCollaboration DetailsWorld Leadership School Global PartnershipsNishad Das-Jon Choate-Paul SeckerIndia-US-Morocco Project Outline Objectives:- enhance the teaching of Geometry in all participating classrooms- engage students in collaborative math activities that encourage cooperation between students in each class and between each participating classroom- utilize the local environment, including cultural aspects, as a context for collaboration- leverage available technology tools to facilitate collaboration Summary:The project will center around Math in Art and Architecture from each culture. We will begin by examining tessellations and geometric patterns in art and architecture in our own local environments. Prominent architectural buildings like Groton's Gothic chapel, India's Taj Mahal and prominent Mosques in Marrakesh will be studied, as well as Early American Quilt Designs, Hindu Divali patterns and Moorish artwork. Presentations on our findings will be posted to a group wiki and videoconferencing will be used to share information. From there, we will use tools like Google Sketchup to examine similarities and differences between the shapes and patterns evident in all 3 participating countries. Presentations on findings will also be shared via wiki and videoconference. Finally, we will graduate to an examination of our classrooms in each country, culminating in a redesign of an ideal global classroom. Scope12 students from Groton12 students from Welhan Boys and Girls, Dehradun India (Is this right, Nishad?)12 students from Marrakesh (Paul, please add some detail here) Tools:We are examining the possible use of Adobe Connect as a collaboration platform, as well as alternatives for asynchronous communication tools like www.doodle.com and www.twiddla.com. We will create a common wiki to both share and publicize our project. Time Frames:Curriculum Design: SeptemberTimeline/Scheduling: OctoberExperimentation with Technology Tools: October, November and DecemberProject Start: January 2010 (these dates can be changes to fit everyone's schedules) Collaboration Times: We have discovered an intersection in times on THURSDAYS between Nishad Das (8:00pm in India), Paul Secker (3:30 pm in Marrakesh) and John Choate (11:00am). We also anticipate asynchronous communication.Introductory Activities: Students will be divided in to 6 groups of 2 and then formed larger subgroups of 6, with 2 coming from each school. By the time we start we would have 6 groups of 6. Activities with the technology tools (with out some of the more technical stuff we will need to do the geometry) will be arranged. Participants will then have a chance to know each other before we introduce the geometry. Home Page Participating Schools Activity Directions Dos and Don'ts How Tos and Tutorials(Enable JavaScript in your browser, please.)