The Civil War project: project-based collaborative learning in a virtual space

This project created on-line practicum and mentoring experiences for pre-service teachers and developed the research, information literacy, and writing skills of eighth-grade students studying the American Civil War. The task given to the eighth-grade students was to write a story of historical fiction about the American Civil War from the perspective of someone living during that time period. The system described supported all aspects of the pupils' research, data organization, pre-writing and drafting process. Pre-service teachers could interact with the pupils through an internal email system and by writing comments directly on the various elements of the students' work.