Online End-of-the-School-Year Activities
As technology advances, assigning online school activities makes more sense, especially with the need to educate students for tomorrow's world. Help your students gain valuable Internet experience at school with an online end-of-the-year school activity or project that teaches them the basics of Web authoring.
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Websites
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Building a website can be a crucial skill for students' future careers. Put students into groups, assign each group a computer and have each group build a website for one of the school's sports teams or clubs. Purchase and circulate basic and intermediate-level HTML books so students can understand this Web language. Give them a checklist of tools that they must incorporate, such as custom HTML or a photo gallery. Alternatively, have groups pick a cause, such as a local charity or a school fundraiser, and create a website to raise awareness and interest. Encourage students to find free tools online for building things like donation forms and shopping carts.
Blogs
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Blogging can inspire your students to reflect on the school year. Have each student create a personal blog about whatever she wishes. Start on the first day of the last month of the school year and tell students they must post at least three times a week. Give students a loose outline of what to post. For example, assign at least 5,000 words over the course of the month or at least 30 pictures. You could also create an end-of-the-year class blog. Tell each student to create a text-and-photo post for the blog that includes thoughts and favorite memories from the school year. Watch the blog grow as the month progresses and encourage students to comment on others' posts.
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Social Networking
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Summer is always better with new friends. Help your class stay in touch throughout school and beyond. Build an "Our Class" Facebook page and have every class member friend it. Set up a Flickr account and have students build an online photo tribute to the school year. Alternatively, help students build new friendships with a school-wide social networking site. Although it may require the assistance of your school's Web programmer, the students can do most of the work. Poll students to learn their favorite activities and music, and then build an online "matchmaking" system that correlates this information to help students find new friends for the summer.
Other Activities
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The Internet is an ideal venue for displaying your students' knowledge to a large audience. Have students join an online article-posting community. Create a large list of possible topics related to the end of the year (such as "Fun summer activities in [your city]") and tell students to choose five from the list on which to write and post an article. If you live in a renowned tourist area, create an account on a travel-adviser site and let your students take turns posting comments and answering questions about traveling to your area. For safety, supervise students if they're chatting with strangers from around the world or posting on a website that is outside the school system.
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References
- Photo Credit Jeffrey Hamilton/Lifesize/Getty Images John Foxx/Stockbyte/Getty Images Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
