hello page project

I have been very motivated by the potential of the elanguages website and would like to try out this idea for a project. Since I have been using the site, I have become aware that there are a lot of people registered who have no profile. It is a shame when people ask to join your project but their hello page tells you nothing about them. I am a language teacher and also work with a team of practising teachers in Derbyshire who work with schools to support the primary languages initiative. I am encouraging the schools who are interested in using elanguages to use the ‘hello page’ as an opportunity to present their school and really showcase who they are. On my ‘hello page’ I have made some suggestions about involving the children in discussing what they would want to tell the world about their school. As a continuation of this idea and because I am a language teacher my idea is to create simple materials which can be used in language classes around the world and or to translate the text into as many languages as possible. (I would love volunteers from different countries to volunteer to translate the different sections of the website) The suggestions on my hello page are : Where my village/town is in my country Where my country is in the world Pictures of my village/town and the surrounding countryside Pictures of the school Description of the school Labelled plan of the school Our teachers Our names Our favourite subjects The school day in words or pictures Our work – poems, writing, pictures Outings and activities – photos, text A class area to showcase work / activities of each class A whole school celebration area to record highlights of the school year A diary with a memorable school experience for each month A forum – where you can talk to other schools and they can talk to you Sound recordings – favourite songs, I would be interested in people’s comments and suggestions for other things which they might be interested in showcasing. I will put a few project stages in to set the project going but perhaps people could join in the discussion and suggest stages which they would like to include. When you have created something for your ‘hello page’ which you are proud of and would like to share with other schools as a language learning resource, then you would upload it to the relevant section of the project. We would need to think carefully about language use and discuss this with the children, choosing useful vocabulary and perhaps repeating structures.