Vol. 4. No. 3 A-2 May 2000
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The U.S.-SiberLink Internet Project

Belinda Braunstein
University of California, Santa Barbara
<bbraunst@serf.xlrn.ucsb.edu>

Christine Meloni
The George Washington University
<meloni@gwu.edu>

Larissa Zolotareva
Yakutsk State University
<larazo@mail.ru>


Abstract

Collaborative Internet projects provide students with opportunities for completing authentic reading and writing tasks, for learning about other cultures, and for developing useful technical skills.

The authors describe the U.S.-SiberLink Project that linked universities in three cities: Santa Barbara, CA, Washington, D.C., and Yakutsk, Siberia. They describe the creation of the project's multimedia website and trace the development of the project throughout the term as students in the three cities discuss topics, find research materials, publish and share writing for peer review, and communicate via e-mail and an electronic bulletin board.

Student and instructor evaluations are presented in this article as are suggestions for instructors interested in designing a similar project.

 

Keywords: Internet, collaborative work, CALL

 

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