Two classrooms (initially) in different parts of the world will be linked via an audio/video internet connection, so that each group will be able to see and hear and interact with the other group.

These classrooms (groups) will be "twinned" in a similar manor that cities and villages around the world are twinned. That is a "relationship" between the two classrooms, more precisely, the students and teachers (and parents and guests?) in those classrooms, will be established and maintained (nurtured, exploited, managed).

Cooperative projects between the two classrooms can be initiated. These projects can be anything that the educators think may be appropriate (all ages, all subjects).
These classroom projects may (or may not) incorporate the technology of the collaborative web site.

Connecting children in a Muslim classroom with children in a Christian classroom,
Connecting children in an Alaskan (Aleut) classroom with children in an Argentinean classroom
Connecting children in the Bronx who may never have seen a cow or sheep, with children in Scotland who may never have seen a building taller than 4 stories (a silo perhaps).
This list, of course can go on and on. The problem that this project addresses is the ignorance and insensitivity much of the human race has for others' religions, nationalities, political beliefs, social beliefs, customs, etc.

The implementation plan identifies these target milestones: 

By October 1, 2004   Fashion Portal Collaboration formed at CWP and Half Hollow Hills;  a  short-term (1-year) project plan is developed with collaborators.  (Long term project development continues under discussion.)
By November 1, 2004  HHH Fashion Portal partner identified (curriculum conferences begun between teachers on both ends of the portal)
Prior to November 1, CWP graduate students will be developing a model for the communications link between the two countries - using webcams, Windows XP, Yahoo/MSN/AOL Messaging. (The application is not chosen yet.)
Weekly curriculum development conferences (internet audio hopefully, telephone if necessary, internet video eventually) between the educators will occur while the audio/video conferencing facility is still being developed (perfected).  These conference attendees are the fashion project developers (teachers) on both sides of the portal - US (Pat) and Romania (Pat's counterpart) and other stake holders.* The educators will "meet" however often they feel is necessary. 
Before Winter break (mid December, 2004), an audio-video connection should be established between HHH and the Romanian target facility.
By March 1 , 2005  An interactive collaborative project between Half Hollow Hills students and Romanian high school students should be underway.  (The gap between Dec, 2004 when hardware connections are first established, and March 1, which is when the classroom (subject related) projects will have started, is a realistic recognition of the technical challenges I expect when it is time to actually connect both sides of the Fashion Portal and iron out the kinks. Assistance from CLG in the form of networking expertise is always welcomed.

* CWP graduate students should participate and contribute to this Curriculum Collaboration.  While they may not be fashion experts (one is actually), the CWP Team students are all progressive educators and all technically proficient to one degree or another. They will use collaborative techniques to create collaboration facilities for students from different countries to collaborate on fashion-related projects. (There's a whole lot of collaboration going on;  that's the point.)   It is hoped that the CWP graduate students will contribute to defining additional curriculum modules, in all subjects for all grades that exploit the classroom-to-classroom portal model. Furthermore, as expressed in the Classroom-to-Classroom Portal (CtCP) project description, one of the three principles of all CtCP projects, is that they should be a vehicle for (incorporate a message of) peace.  For this reason, a representative from the United Nations or a "friend of the United Nations" is welcome to participate in the curriculum collaboration conferences and contribute project ideas in keeping with the CtCP mission.

The intended use of the grant money is to enable collaboration members to develop the Fashion Portal project using the very same technology, for development purposes, that is being built into the Fashion Portal project for learning purposes.
The money will be used initially for 19 Logitech (face-tracking) webcams ($129 before discount and negotiations) for each of the Fashion Portal project collaboration members and adjunct advisors.  This is to enable the developers of the classroom-to-classroom portal project to use collaboration tools amongst themselves, i.e. interactive audio/video conferencing, application sharing, white board collaboration, etc.
These are the same technologies that will be incorporated in the Fashion Portal project.  That is, the high school students will use interactive audio/video conferencing, application sharing, white board collaboration, etc. for their (fashion related) collaborative projects. Additional funds, should they become available would purchase webcams for additional curriculum development collaborators.  The concept, as expressed earlier is to use the same technology for development purposes that is being built into the project for learning purposes (audio/video collaborative project development).
The webcams, that are purchased for this audio/video collaborative development project, will be the property of the Long Island University CWP Graduate School of Educational Technology. It is hoped that they will be used again for another audio/video collaborative development project by TEAM students.   Perhaps someday, all TEAM students will own a portable webcam to enable A/V conferencing from almost anywhere at almost any time.  Remote learning will then become ubiquitous.

Assessment will be measured against both the ISTE standards and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) guidelines for technology.
Project leaders - teachers - will assess the use of collaborative cross-cultural projects to meet curriculum requirements on both sides of the portal.
An "enjoyment" level  assessment will be made.
An assessment of possible affects on other aspects of students' lives (both academic and non-academic). This will need further development with school counselors.
Cross-cultural sensitivity will be measured.  How well the students know each others' culture (American, Romanian).  I would like to measure more  than the historical cognitive understanding of each other's culture;  I want to assess how well the high school students understand each others' personal lives (habits, priorities, pastimes, dress, feelings, problems, the list can go on forever).
Students will be asked to evaluate the program from their personal point of view.