1. Lesson 6: Collaborative Projects
Goals of lesson: This lesson offers a couple of projects for users to practice using many
of the skills they have learned thus far.
• Create a research project
• Create a photo essay

2. A. Research Project
1. Introduction
This assignment will require you to develop a short research report. You will pick a
topic, use the internet to find information on this subject, and summarize what you have
learned in a report about one page long. This report will then be posted, along with two
pictures relating to your research, on the BOSCO Wikispace.
The research project will give you a chance to demonstrate and practice several
different computer skills at once. Instructions will be provided below, broken into
sections, but there will only be loose suggestions. You may find this frustrating but the
goal here is to have you create a unique report. If you are ever confused you can use the
previous lessons to guide you.
2. Choosing a Topic
The topic of your project should be anything that interests you. Simply choose
something you want to learn more about. No suggestions are provided to force you to
think creatively and make your own decision. If you are having trouble thinking of a
topic try thinking of a question you want answered. Also remember, you can always go
back and change your subject if you find there is not enough or too much information.
Write down your topic at the start of a new word document. If you do not already have a
directory of your own create one and save it there.
Task: Choose a topic for your research project. Write your topic at the top of a new
word document on the computer. Make sure to save this document where you
will find it later with a name you can remember!
3. Doing Research
This is the most important part of the project. You must use what you know about using
the Internet to collect information about your topic. You may use Google (Lesson 2) or
another search engine to aid in your research. The easiest way to begin is by searching
for a key phrase that relates to your subject. One great resource is Wikipedia (Lesson 4)
but make sure you also use other sources, including newspapers.
Whenever you find a fact that may be important record it in your word document. Make
sure you also include the URL (Lesson 2) for the web page where you found the
information, the title of the article it was contained in, and the author of the article if the
name is given.
Task: Research your topic. Save all information in the previous word document
underneath the topic. Make sure to record the information for every source
used and remember to save your work. There must be more than three
different sources, and at least two of these must NOT be from Wikipedia.

3.
4. Writing the Report
Use the same word document that was used to save your research to write your report.
The report should be about one full page long. If you have a lot to share and want to
write more you are welcome to do so. Do not worry if it is a little less than a full page.
First you must choose a title for your project which relates to your topic. This should be
put before you write your article. Also include here the date. The report should start by
saying what your topic is and why you chose it. After this it should describe what you
learned about your topic. It should not just be a list of facts but should read smoothly
like a professional article. Do not copy directly from your sources. This is called
plagiarism and is illegal around the world. Instead, make sure to put all information you
find in your own words.
If you have written about everything you have learned and you think your report is too
short you have two options. First you can go back and do more research. Second, if you
cannot find more information, you can change your topic slightly to allow you to do
more research.
Task: Write your report in the same word document that you used to take notes. It
should be one page long, but may be longer.
5. Finding Pictures
You must find at least two pictures that relate to your subject. You can find these on the
websites you used for research or you can perform a Google image search (Lesson 2) for
your topic. To save a picture you must use the mouse to right click on the image then
select “save image as” or a similarly titled file. Save all pictures to the same directory as
your research document.
Task: Find at least two pictures of your subject and save them to your personal
directory. Make sure you save them with file names you will remember.
6. Posting to the Wikispace
Once your report has been written you must post it to the BOSCO Uganda Wikispace. If
you do not remember how to do this, Lesson 5 contains instructions on how. From the
main Research Projects page create a link to a new page with the same title as your
report. In this new page write the title of your report, your name, and the date you
wrote it. Below this copy in the text of your report from the word document you already
created. Finally, upload and insert the images you saved earlier and create captions for
them.
Also include at the bottom a list of all of the sources used for research, which you should
have saved from before. Make sure to include the title and author of all articles. Make
the titles into external links connecting to the URLs you recorded earlier. This will allow
anyone to click on the title of the article and see proof that your research is correct.

4. Task: Post your research report to the Wikispace. Feel proud at having completed
the project.
B. Photo Journal Project
This assignment is a creative project. You must take the digital camera and capture a series of
photographs that tell a story. As with the research project, the first step is to choose a topic.
You can take photos of whatever you want in order to tell some story that means something to
you. Once again, no examples are given so as to protect the uniqueness of your project.
Once you think you know what kind of story you want to tell go out and take some pictures.
These can be taken wherever you want and of whatever you want so long as they all have some
sort of common theme. Plan ahead when using the camera so you capture the right things for
your journal. You will need at least six pictures for your photo journal but it is a good idea to
take more so that you still have enough if you decide not to use some.
Once the pictures are taken you should load them into your personal directory. It may be a
good idea to make a directory within it just for your photo journal pictures. You may also
rename them so it is easier to remember what pictures are what when you upload them to the
Wikispace.
Now go to the project site and create a blank link with your name and a title for your photo
journal which should somehow relate to your theme. At the top of the new page put the title,
your name, and the date. Upload and insert at least six of your pictures, though you may
include more if you would like. Resize and rearrange the pictures until you like how it looks
and they are all in the correct order. Provide an appropriate caption for each picture.
Remember, the pictures and their captions should form some a story or reflect a common
theme when read through.