Description

This Sister-class Project is an online collaborative learning project between two groups of Grade 7 ESL students from Toronto and Hong Kong. The students from two distant schools were motivated to work in groups to explore relevant information through the Internet, the global learning network, and other computer media for an academic project. In order to enhance intercultural exchange and knowledge generation among distant learners, the student participants were encouraged to use their linguistic and cultural knowledge as valuable learning resources to co-author a cultural newsletter with their group partners through a website (http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/research/multiliteracies). The project website enables the students to share and upload information, provide feedback, and discuss academic issues. It also helps the teachers facilitate the students? online discussions, observe their learning progress, and evaluate their works. The major goals of the this study are to demonstrate how ESL students learn L2 literacy effectively through computer-mediated tools, and how new technologies may provide innovative instructional options for literacy education rather than imposing threats on it.