I have been teaching history at Carleton University for the
past twenty years and recently have started using collaborative projects as
a teaching devise for my 4th year and graduate semianrs.  We have undertaken
a number of straight-forward projects directed towards publication and have
succeedes with a book and a number of conference presentations.  With a
colleague I participated in a project to caralogue and digitize a large
collection of material dealing with ecological history pertaining to the oil
industry in parat of Alberta.  

          This coming year I will be involved with a project looking towards
creation of a web-site and possibly a cd-Rom dealing with the history of
coal mining in Nova Scotia, which is the immediate subject of my ongoing
research and will be undertaken with one of my advanced level seminars.  The
project would be undertaken with the cooperation and collaboration of the
National Historic Site Board and a consortium of museums in Nova Scotia
dealing with coal mining.  It is undoubtedly a daunting prospect, but one
that might channel a wide variety of quite disparate resources into some
useful products.  So you can see that the project would cross several of the
themes that you have set for the conference.  
        I would be anxious for the opportunity to compare notes and
experiences with other who have been involved in such endeavours.  Our
university has a broad technological support program for such endeavours and
I will have to be involved with a number of other disciplines as the project
progresses.   I realize that we are at the early stages of the prject and
would have less to offer thans omeone who has been involved in a more
advanced project.  On the other hand it would be useful to have the
experience of others to balance against our own struggle.  


Delphin Muise
Department of History
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ont K1S 5B6