ePals - Collaborating Together

Students will:

• Be able to connect with a student from another town, state or country.
• Be able to work collaboratively on a project with another student. 
• Be able to practice language skills if applicable. 
• Be able to practice writing skills. 

Vocabulary Words:

1. ePal: An ePal is an electronic pen pal. 

To prepare for this lesson:

• Decide on a collaborative project that your students will work on with a classroom in another town, state, or country.
   
• Check out the official ePal Global Community site.
   
• Register and create an account. All of the communication will take place through the site so it is a safe exchange between classrooms. For information on how to use the Global Community, use this handy FAQ. There is information on how to search for an exchange, how to add students, how to moderate the class exchange, etc, 
   
• Do a search to see if anyone is working on a similar project. If there are, connect with them and see if it is a fit. 
  • You can do a cultural, language or subject-based exchanges, 
• If no one is doing the project you want your students to work on, you can create a pen pal exchange or experience yourself. 
  • Pen Pal Exchange - This is an opportunity for students to communicate privately with students in one or more other classrooms.

    Teacher moderation ensures a safe exchange. 

  • Experience - These are online project spaces, where students and teachers in one or more classrooms can collaborate on projects using Discussion Boards and other messaging tools. It is optional for teachers to moderate all messages among students.

• Some of the experiences are: creating biomimicry robots, fighting poverty and developing a plan to help those in need, exchanging favorite recipes, solving real-world problems and creating games to play with each other. 
   
• Once you have decided on the project, your students will need to know how to interact with the other group.
  • Have your students create an introductory video or text introducing themselves and your school. 
  • Explain to your students about writing style and what is appropriate to share with other students. Even though the site is safe itself and can be moderated, students should still be taught what is appropriate to share with others. Personal information should be limited to what is going on in the classroom and the project the students are working on. 
  • View the video on Email Etiquette For Elementary Students. 

See the Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students website in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

1. The teacher will decide on the focus of the project. For example, do you just want your students to practice their writing skills and have an ePal to correspond with? Do you have a project that your students can work collaboratively on with students globally?

2. The teacher will create an account with the ePals Global Community and connect with another classroom. 

3. The teacher will add students to the exchange. 

4. The teacher will have the students create an introductory video or text to share with the other classroom. It should be a short one-three-minute video introducing the class, the area the students live in, things that are popular in the area, etc. 

5. The teacher will talk about online and writing etiquette with the students. 

6. The teacher will share the video Email Etiquette For Elementary Students with the students. 

7. The classrooms will begin working together on the project, 

Different options for assessing the students:

• Observations
• Check for understanding
• The teacher can create a rubric for the project that covers things like:
  • Writing skills (correct spelling and grammar)
  • Collaboration 
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Project steps
  • Project completion