ePaLs in the classroom!

When you first log onto the ePaLs site, there is so much to read and look at. It can be a bit overwhelming, however if you take the time to read each section you discover how wonderful this site is! One of the first things that caught my eye was the section which stated: "Choose a project. Find a Classroom. Collaborate! You can choose one of the many topics which offers student objectives, essential questions, activities, project elements, standards and other helpful information. To the right of that is a section where you can type in a topic, country, and age range to be provided with classrooms that fit your criteria. For example I searched Australia, the topic was writing, and the age was 13-14 years old. I quickly found a link to a teacher's English class that is seeking a class to share the experience of writing short stories with international feel. It gave me the schools location which was Queensland, Australia, the number of students (21-25) the language (English), and the age range (14-15). I couldn't believe how easy it was to find a classroom that suited my needs. From there you can go on and contact the teacher and begin collaborating! I think that this would be excellent to use in my classroom, especially with writing. Students need to share their work and they need to have an audience. It not only makes the unit more authentic, it gives what they are doing a purpose. Someone is relying on their work which motivates them to do their best. I personally never had the experience to communicate with students from other countries while I was a student, which makes me want to use this in my classroom all the more. I don't want my students to miss out on an opportunity to connect with the world outside the school walls. I know that students would think it was great and they would see it as a valuable learning experience. This is also a great way for students to learn and understand different cultures. This site makes it so easy for students to connect with students in different countries. It would be a shame not to fully take advantage of this ability in the classroom. There is also a space for teachers to collaborate with other teachers and learn new tips and ideas. ePaLs offers a great learning experience for not only the students, but the teacher as well!