Monster+Exchange+Project

    What Is The Monster Exchange? http://www.monsterexchange.org/ 

 Monster Exchange began in 1995 when John Thompson, a dedicated parent of a Brunner Elementary student in New Jersey, joined with Brian Maguire, a former third grade teacher, to create and participate in an educational project for the Kindergarten-8th grade level. Monster Exchange is designed to encourage the development of reading and writing skills while integrating Internet technology into the classroom curriculum. Classrooms from a variety of schools worldwide are paired together; the students in each classroom are split into groups, each of which designs an original picture of a monster. The students must then write a description of the monster. The partnered classes then exchange their descriptions via e-mail and the Internet. These students are then challenged to use reading comprehension skills to read the descriptions and translate them into a monster picture. The true challenge involves creating a redrawn picture as close to the original picture as possible without looking at the original and using only the written description of the monster.

The written descriptions, original monster pictures, and redrawn monster pictures are scanned and uploaded to the Internet using the browser-based Monster Gallery Builder. The Monster Gallery Builder is entirely form-based and does not require the teacher or student to know any HTML code. The Monster Galleries are then published, and feedback is provided via e-mail.