Abstract—The aim of this study is to determine the basic information and communication technology (ICT) skills that may be needed by students studying in the 8 th grade of the primary education in their cooperative project works implemented via the Internet. Within the scope of the study, the curriculum used for European Computer Driving License (ECDL) and the curriculum used in Turkey are also compared in terms of the ability to use ICT, which is aimed to be provided to the students. The research population of the study, during which the pre test – post test control group experimental model was used, consisted of 40 students from three different schools. In the first stage of the study, the skills that might be needed by students for their cooperative project works implemented via the Internet were determined through examination of the completed Comenious, e – twinning and WorldLinks projects. In the second stage of the study, the curriculums of the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MEB) and ECDL were evaluated by seven different teachers in line with these skills. Also in this study the ECDL and MEB curriculums were compared in terms of capability to provide the skills to implement cooperative projects via the Internet. In line with the findings of the study, the skills that might be needed by students to implement cooperative projects via the Internet were outlined, and existence of a significant difference was established in favor of the ECDL curriculum upon comparison of both curriculums in accordance with this outline (U = 50,500; p<0,05). The findings of the study also suggested that the students had considerable deficiencies in implementation of cooperative projects via the Internet without the ICT infrastructure. Keywords—Collaboration Projects, Comenius, Curriculum, ICT. I. INTRODUCTION NLY the students who have been able to use the tools in the information technologies can keep up with the dimension of globalization in the field of education. It is necessary for students to use ICT as a tool both in every field of life and in the teaching-learning process. One of the ways in which students can use ICT as a tool is the involvement in collaboration projects, where they can work on a common subject along with other students under the supervision of educators. The globalizing world today attaches importance on students’ inter-cultural interaction, sharing and collaboration, and projects in this field are supported with a Manuscript received September 15, 2007 Murat Oztok is with the Institute of Education, University of Marmara, Istanbul, Turkey (e-mail: oztokm@yahoo.com). Assistant Professor Nesrin Ozdener is with the Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department, University of Marmara, Istanbul, Turkey (e-mail: nozdener@marmara.edu.tr). variety of programs by many countries and organizations. The Comenius and e-twinning programs implemented in the Europen Union, the WorldLinks program of the World Bank, and UNESCO’s ASPnet program are some examples of these projects. The aim of Comenius, one of such programs carried out in the European Union, is to increase the quality of education at schools, and to improve “information exchange” by strengthening the European identity and inter-cultural dimension of education [1]. In addition to improvements in these fields, collaboration projects also aim to induce positive effects on students’ individual characteristics such as assuming responsibility, learning about different cultures, and having initiative through team works and cooperative works within the scope of project development. However, it is known that, in order for students to be able to participate in such projects, they should not only be able to use the Internet for communication and information exchange, but also have competency in computer skills. While the teachers’ role is to be counselor in collaboration projects, students use ICT to accomplish the required works, such as communicating with each other, sharing information and solving a problem within the aim of the project. According to the results of the studies conducted by Kehm, Kastner, Maiworm, Richter, and Wenzel in 2004 on ICT used in Comenius projects or in products created at the end of the projects, 55% of the projects contained digital photography technologies, 45% Internet technologies, 42% digital videos, 40% CD technologies, 37% printed materials and 21% presentation programs [2]. Whether the students, who are expected to involve in teamwork in common projects and to be in communication with people from different cultures, are competent in terms of the ability to use ICT, as well as the sufficiency of the education provided at schools within this context, is among important problems that need to be studied. In Turkey, the Ministry of National Education declared that computers should be used as a tool both in daily lives and in the learning-teaching process [3], and on grounds that “computer literacy should be gained through experience”. At this point it is important to decide what are the criteria of ICT skills to teach to students. The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), which is a valid certificate program in the EU, may be a reference. ECDL aims to use the same methods and procedures to set the basic ICT standards for end-users that are supported by governments, computer societies and international organizations all around Europe. ECDL may not be the best solution to outline ICT curriculum, but in Information and Communication Technologies in Collaboration Projects via the Internet Murat Öztok, and Nesrin Özdener O International Journal of Human and Social Sciences 2:3 2007 166