Global Collaboration

The newest wave of educational services includes connecting with people on a global basis. The site ePals offers a safe, school friendly method of collaboration. "ePals Clubhouse is a safe place for kids to connect with one another; share and read their favorite books; write and publish their own stories; play fun and educative games; and create their own art...School administrators can rest easy knowing that ePals SchoolMail365™ is a safe and protected space for student interactions. Educators can manage and monitor what students see, whom they communicate with and how they interact." It has tools that a teacher could bring into their classroom, enriching the learning experience for the students. "Teachers use the free ePals Global Classroom to create real world, culturally- enriching learning experiences for their students." Their tools can be used to enhance the curriculum. There are a few key tools that caught my eye when looking through the site:


-Cricket /Cobblestone - Both of these publishers are an online book, eBook, toy, and magazine ordering tool. They have theme packs for varying ages and grades that teachers can use. If the school or an individual has wishes to go digital, there are "interactive games, music, and more" that can be used with such a subscription.


-in2books- "In2Books brings the Common Core Standards to life with a safe motivating online curriculum that matches students with adult eMentors. Students get authentic experience purposefully reading books with eMentors and sharing ideas about important issues via online letters." This program is only available in the States currently. It is a nice enhancement to the lessons occurring in the classroom.


-Junior Folklorist Challenge- This is a project/competition that aligns with the Common Core and allows for creativity. Students will need to research, document, interpret, and present information about the folklore that they have identified within their community.

This website seems to be a valuable resource to reinforce and/or enhance lessons for students. I could see myself using the ePals clubhouse and the SchoolMail365. Working with middle-schoolers, not a lot of them have emails outside of school. This would be a safe alternative to a generic email address. I would use it to communicate updates, reminders, etc. outside of school time. As far as the ePals clubhouse, it's an area for students to have fun with. Without some fun, lessons become boring and repetitive. If the school district was willing to pay for a subscription, Cricket and Cobblestone could be extremely useful at multiple levels.