HOW TO TAKE PART IN MONTAGE

There are three different ways you can take part in Montage project activities:

• Collaborate in an existing Montage project
• Run an existing Montage project with your own partner school(s)
• Design and run your own project

In the first two cases we strongly recommend that you contact the original project designers to discuss your plans. There is an email link for this purpose on each project summary in the Montage database.

The following notes explain how to set up your own project.

Remember, projects should be motivating for teachers and pupils alike. Ask yourself: "Why would anyone want to do this project or join in with it?"

1. Montage projects meet established curriculum goals. They are an integral part of courses rather than optional extras. In this sense, planning a Montage project is much like planning any other unit of study.

• what topic/subject/themes?
• what is the target year group/age range?
• which curriculum objectives?
• what activities will students carry out?
• what resources will be required?
• how long will the project take to complete?
• how will you evaluate the success of the project?

One extra consideration, however, is that your project must be compatible with the requirements of your partner school. If you do not have a partner school already, then you can find one on Global Gateway. It is very important to collaborate with your partner in the planning stage. Also, activities should be as inclusive as possible. Try to build in maximum flexibility, so that schools with limited access to ICT facilities (email, internet etc) can still take part.

2. At least one activity in your project must involve international communication, this must be at the heart of the project.

• what is the purpose of the communication?
• how does it fit in with the rest of the project?
• how does it contribute towards meeting objectives?
• who are you going to communicate with? which school? students of what age?
• how? email? letter? video conference? message boards? forums?
• when? how often?
• which language will students use? how can this be supported?
• who will moderate the content of any communication? how?

Think about issues of internet safety and accessibility. If video conferencing is an essential part of your project then it cannot be run by most schools. It is desirable that projects give opportunities for students to use foreign languages, but take care that this does not become an inflexible demand which some people will not be able to meet.

3. Your project will need an online home, a web site. Consider where this is to be hosted. Projects usually live on the project designer's school web site. Is there an alternative if necessary? Who is going to design your web site? Do you have the skills yourself? Can you enlist the committed support of someone else who has? If this remains a difficulty then contact us montageworld@britishcouncil.org. The web site will also need to be updated as and when students work is available to be uploaded. Who will do this? Bear in mind that other schools around the world might want to run your project and may submit work for inclusion on the web site too. You will have to decide how long you can sustain your commitment to keeping the project web site active. We recommend a maximum of two years. This should allow most schools to fit the project around their other schedules and calendar requirements.

• Your web site should feature:
• full teacher and pupil instructions
• downloads of any resources required for the project
• full curriculum references (specific and detailed UK National Curriculum references, plus more general guidance for teachers from other countries)
• information about how to join in with the project (i.e. project designer's contact details)
• evidence of outcomes /objectives met (could be a gallery of student's work etc)
• a clear statement as to how long you will remain committed to this project and the maintenance and updating of the project web site

Think carefully about your web site's audience. Make sure that all of the above information is easy for teachers and students to find, and that the look and feel of the site is appropriate and motivating. Will your web site make people want to take part in the project? Is the project as presented on the web site as widely accessible globally as possible?

4. When planning has been completed, you will want to run the project. As project designer, you will take on the responsibility for ensuring that your project runs at least once, either by using it in your own lessons or by offering it to colleagues within your school or elsewhere. You will need to post to the project web site, examples of work done as part of the project by your own students and those of your partner school. You may also receive work from other schools who have run the project. Who is going to upload this material into the project web site? Can you do this yourself, or do you need the committed support of colleagues? For how long will this commitment be required?

5. You will also want to carry out an evaluation of the success of your project. It is vital to the development of Montage that we have an overview of how projects are being used in schools and their impact in the classroom.

6. Submit your project for inclusion on the Montage site either before you begin running it or after you have completed it. This will share your work with thousands of schools worldwide and may lead to new links, partnerships, and virtual communities.

We hope that you find these guidance notes helpful. Please contact montageworld@britishcouncil.org if you require further support.