Project Explorer: Go Global

Technology and Social Media allows teachers to expand education beyond the four walls of a classroom.  Tools like Twitter, Facebook, and the Internet all allow teachers to bring the world to their students.  Now you can add Project Explorer to the list of tools teachers have available.

Project Explorer, founded by Jenny Buccos in 2003, has a mission "To bring the world into the classroom with free multimedia content and lesson plans that improve students’ global awareness and cross cultural understanding."  Through a combination of corporate, government, and individual sponsors, Project Explorer is able to provide these outstanding learning resources FREE to teachers all over the globe.

Project Explorer offers teachers lesson plans, videos, and educational blogs that cover all subjects and foster cross cultural understanding.  Students can follow the footsteps of Indiana Jones and fly above the desert in a hot air balloon in Jordan, climb ancient temples and swim with sharks in Belize and Costa Rica, and celebrate Carnival (not the cruise line) on a quick trip to Haiti.

The list of awards Project Explorer has earned is numerous.

• ProjectExplorer.org Founder Jenny M. Buccos named 2012 White House Champion of Change.
• 2011 GOLD Parents’ Choice Award for the highest production standards and universal human values.
• 2011 Non-profit Standard of Excellence Award from the Web Marketing Association.
• ProjectExplorer.org Founder Jenny M. Buccos named 2010 Woman of the Year by She Takes On The World.
• 2010 Winner of Best Use of Educational Video from EduBlogs.
• 2010 National Award for Citizen Diplomacy for ProjectExplorer.org’s Jenny M. Buccos. The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy recognized Buccos for her exemplary work as a citizen diplomat.
• 2010 recipient of the EduNet ChoiceAward (Canada).
• 2009 Top Pick Website by Education Week Magazine for innovative approach to tech in classroom instruction.
• 2009 GOLD Parents’ Choice Award for the highest production standards and universal human values.

And to top off this list of impressive awards, Project Explorer founder Jenny Buccos, like me, was name as an Education Technology 20 to Watch by the National School Board Association. She is one of the few non-profit organizations to receive this prestigious award. As an educator, it was an honor and a privilege to meet Jenny, and I look forward to working with her in the future.

As for Project Explorer, I plan on introducing this series to all 18 of our schools, and can't wait to see where Project Explorer takes us next!