COLLABORATION:
A key component of making an project come alive and become a part of the research community is collaboration. The following are ways for students collaborate.1. Collaboration within the classroom: Find two or three other students who share the same interest with you and work with them.
Example: You find that two of your classmates had parents who graduated from Schlagle and you decide to do oral history reports on them to discover what it was like to go to Schlagle during the time period they went there.
2. Collaboration across classes: There is a good chance another group will be working on a similar project. Share ideas and documents with them. Establish links between your internet web site and theirs.
Example: You are working on a history of the Class of 1941 and collaborate with other groups in other classes working on World War II era classes.
3. Collaboration across the curriculum: You may soon find that you need to move into another curriculum area to do your project.
Example: A group working on a mural depicting life in Bethel, Kansas in 1930 would need to work with the art department.
4. Collaboration among other schools: As you begin your work, you may find that you have material that would be of interest to other schools within the community or you need material from these schools. Establish communication with them and see if students there can collaborate with you or start their own projects that will complement yours.
Example: Your group is doing oral histories of Wyandotte graduates, and you decide to collaborate with students at Wyandotte to start an archive there.
5. Collaboration within the community: You may want to contact others in the community who work with community history. Besides the library, and the Wyandotte County Historical Society, there are also mentors available from Kancrn who can help you display your data in a variety of formats, or lead you into related areas that will complement your project.
Example: You need to find more information on protests in Kansas City, Kansas during the 1960's and you contact the Wyandotte County Museum for assistance.
6. Collaboration nationwide: Usually the thread that you explore locally runs through other communities as well. A good spin off from your local research would be to see if other schools in cities that you think would have commonalties with this community would share or engage in this project.
Example: You are studying the immigration data for African Americans in Wyandotte County, and you contact officials at Nicodemus, Kansas to see if there is a need for such a study on the establishment of that all black community.