Sample Projects: The BrainBusters' English project Stage 1: Choosing a project Stage 2: Organizing the environment Stage 3: Scheduling Stage 4: Conducting meetings Stage 5: Brainstorming Stage 6: Managing tasks Stage 7: Collecting information Stage 8: Compiling the project Stage 9: Presenting and showcasing Stage 10: Grading Stage 1: Choosing a project A team of four got together and decided to call themselves the "BrainBusters". Their teacher provided a signup sheet in the form of a document in the main Projects conference. The document outlines the team and the project name.  Stage 2: Organizing the environment The BrainBusters met to decide how to structure their project conference. Their teacher gave them the following guidelines: Based on the requirements, this is the project conference they created. They have created a conference structure that allows them to: •       brainstorm using a conference they call Ideas •       gather information within a conference called Library •       store deliverables in a conference called Completed Works •       schedule meetings and manage tasks in a calendar •       hold meetings through instant messaging (BB Chat) •       showcase the final product in a conference called Gallery. More information: Adding backgrounds to window panes Stage 3: Scheduling The BrainBusters have scheduled their meetings and milestones in their group calendar. Stage 4: Conducting meetings The BrainBusters hold their meetings in person and online. Here is an online meeting they held recently. They used the Setup tab to have a transcript emailed to them directly.  Stage 5: Brainstorming The BrainBusters use their Ideas conference to communicate with each other when they are in different locations. If somebody has an idea, they post it there and others can comment on it and build on it.  Stage 6: Managing tasks The BrainBusters use their calendar to manage each task. They track the details of each task, and it is always available for everyone to see.  Stage 7: Collecting information The BrainBusters collect the majority of their information from the Internet and books. As they collect it, they enter their notes into FirstClass documents and store them in the Library conference. Stage 8: Compiling the project The teacher gave the students a lot of freedom over their projects, so the BrainBusters used FirstClass documents to display their projects. They added backgrounds and graphics too. Here is a look at their compiled project. More information: Embedding pictures Stage 9: Presenting and showcasing Each team has to present their project to the class. The BrainBusters use a FirstClass presentation. Here are a couple of slides from their presentation. Stage 10: Grading After the teacher graded the projects, he handed back a grading sheet to each person. Here is a sample sheet he handed back.