Classrooms Without Borders: Using Internet Projects to Teach Communication and Collaboration Book Review

If you're looking for a book that will give you many ideas for "Internet Projects to Teach Communication and Collaboration" this is NOT the book for you. If you're looking for a book that will convince you that such projects are a good idea, this may be the book for you.

The book has a few chapters at the beginning about various web 2.0 tools that you can use in the classroom, but little depth about projects using such tools. Much of the book focuses on meta-cognition, thinking skills, and how collaborative projects are an effective way to teach kids. The last few chapters lay out 2 projects that involve collaborative work and the Internet, but the projects are extremely involved and would not be helpful to the teacher who is just getting started with such teaching strategies.

There were several times that I felt the book went off on an agenda or tangent; particularly the page and a half about child/youth violence. It was related to a project the authors were describing but went too far in my mind. I do not disagree with their point of view, but it just seemed odd in such a book. The organization (or lack thereof) of the book seemed disjointed at times.

I'd love to see the authors reduce the fluff/filler (tangents and agendas) and present 15-20 really good projects that use the Internet to teach communication and collaboration. Ideally these projects would cover the K-12 range and vary in the depth/involvement the project requires so that teachers of all comfort levels would find a project they could use/adapt.