Think.com

Launched in 1999 as part of Oracle's Education Initiatives programme, Think.com is an online educational environment from Oracle designed for primary (ages 7 to 12) and secondary (ages 13 to 16) school students and teachers. It aims to allow students to publish websites, interact with peers, ask questions, and make friends around the world. Teachers can use the website to develop collaborative activities and promote cross-cultural learning.
Communication Strategies
Think.com is an online community for learning. According to the project website, by providing a wider yet protected audience, Think.com "turns students into multimedia authors for a global community and allows peers to think and learn together. " Only students and teachers from member schools can enter a password-protected learning community.
The project has four key components:
- Websites - Members have their own personal webspace within a protected online community, where they can exchange e-mail, create webpages, upload images, and host host collaborative learning activities with other members. The website creation tools aim to make it simple to publish content and forums, allowing users to engage in thoughtful discussions on one another's sites. Teachers are able to use Admin Tools to quickly review new postings and 'flag' any inappropriate content, removing it from view and alerting the student's school.
- Email facilities - are also offered to facilitate communication and make it easy for teachers to send assignments home and interact with parents, and for students to turn in their homework. Schools choose whether to provide email for students and, if so, whether students can exchange messages with people outside of Think.com.
- 'People' - is the portal to visiting and reading one another's websites. Students and teachers interact by leaving 'sticky' notes, sending emails, and participating in published forums - debates, votes, message boards, and ask me's. The forums allow students to be the experts, answering questions and leading online discussions.
- Groups - shared websites allow student communication and collaboration. Teachers can create 'Assigned' or 'Open' group spaces where students can co-author web pages using the same tools available on their personal websites.
Interested school can apply to join Think.com via and online application form.
Development Issues
Technology, Education
Sources
Bytes for All listserv, August 27 2005.
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