Throughout America today, public schools are struggling with issues surrounding standards and educational relevance and effectiveness.  At the same time, a technological and social evolution is taking place outside of the school building.  Students are developing new methods of inquiry and information gathering.  If the educational system is to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving global society, it must begin to utilize the tools of communication and collaboration that are becoming commonplace in society.  The ability to make use of this new technology is often hampered by security software found on virtually all school computer systems.  This article will examine the effectiveness of collaborative and project-based teaching and provide suggestions as to how to address the restrictions by suggesting innovative solutions without jeopardizing school security. Suggestions will be provided as how to establish a learning community that will include students, teachers and parents in a dynamic new system of collaboration.  There will also be an exploration of the new open source software such as blogs, wiki’s and social media tools in regards to their application to classroom learning.