ePals



ePals is basically an online site whose goal is to connect teachers and students via the internet. The website offers classrooms a way to communicate and collaborate with others across the globe. Much like a classifieds section of the newspaper, teachers may post the size and age of their classroom and who they are looking to collaborate with and how. Those interested may contact that individual and begin collaborating. For those who may communicate in a different language the website offers the dubious ‘Google Translator’ in order to try and bridge the communication gap. While this is not a perfect solution, it does allow for those who may have little to no knowledge regarding their contact’s language to communicate in a small way. These contacts can be used to create project, form pen pals, and form collaborative learning groups.
 * Overview **

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 * Some Thoughts**
 * basically like pen pals
 * work collaboratively with other schools around the world
 * can focus on communication or a specific project
 * somewhat like classified ads, teachers can post what they are looking for and you can contact them
 * Students can explore different topics/units prepared
 * Families can work with their children to convey cultural aspects of their lives to others
 * There are objectives that are provided for student’s comprehension
 * Forums are available for support from others
 * 24-48 hour pending profile
 * students could practice writing another language (foreign language teachers)
 * collaborate your curriculum across the state with other teachers
 * share ideas about assessment
 * centralizes your blog and wiki for your classroom
 * you can post that you want to have collaboration on a certain topic and another teacher can join in to collaborate with you
 * Appearance
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">small font
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">very cluttered
 * [|Instructional Video]

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**Step by Step (how to sign up)**

 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On the home page, click “join now” on the right.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Choose whether you want a “Kid” or “Adult” account.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Enter your email and wait for the confirmation.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After confirmation, complete profile information.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Explore different options under the Projects, Collaborate, and Teachers Tabs.

**Various ways to use it in the classroom**

 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Discussing different cultures from around the world will help students grasp the elements of culture better
 * [|Examples]
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students are able to explore different topics that are provided by netgeo and other websites
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Language teachers could create contacts with those of the spoken language and help students learn the language by creating pen-pals.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Language teachers could create contacts with those of the spoken language and help students learn the language by creating pen-pals.

**Artifact**

The following is an example of a collaborative project.


 * Created by: Chris Franklin, Hunter Siler, Jess Stockton**

Official URL: []

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