ePals Global Collaboration

ePals is a collaborative global community and learning network. It is a protected, project-based learning network that connects with classrooms in over 200 countries and territories. "ePals makes it easy o connect learners locally, nationally or internationally." There are four major features that ePals offers: ePals Learning Space, ePals Global Community, ePals School Mail, and In2Books. 1) ePals Learning Space: A safe virtual workspace for K-12 communication, collaboration and learning, and to store school work and documents online. There is an educator workspace that includes web 2.0 tools like: blogs, wikis, forums, digital lockers and much more! 2) ePals Global Community: This is the world's largest network of K-12 classrooms from over 200 countries and territories. Its free access to collaborative projects, join discussions in community forums and to search thousands of classroom profiles to engage with others in authentic exchanges. 3) ePals School Mail: An e-mail community designed with SchoolSafe technology and that is embedded student learning support. A cloud-based solution so districts will save a substantial amount of resources annually. 4) In2Books: An e-mentoring program for students that matches students with adult pen-pals, who read the same books. It is a place that is teacher-monitored, for students to exchange e-mails with their pen-pals and ask questions that will help further develop their understanding and opinions about a text they are reading in or out of the classroom. ePals has a lot of valuable resources which are a safe and effective ways teachers can teach their students valuable educational lessons as well as appropriate social media skills. I would have my students use their Spanish to communicate with classrooms from the Hispanic-Speaking world. They will be able to develop valuable cultural knowledge. They could ask foreigners various questions to reinforce their knowledge of topics we discuss in class: daily routines, traveling, lifestyle, sports and wellness, shopping, etc. Then my students could share the results from their research and collaborative communication with their peers and community.

Ideas for a place for Twitter in a Modern Classroom

Ideas for a place for Twitter in a Modern Classroom

I recently joined twitter and i'm excited about incorporting it into my classroom!

Here are a few of the articles and websites I checked out for suggestions on how teachers can incorporate Twitter into their classrooms.

Integrating ICT into the MFL Classroom

Langwitches Blog: The Magic of Learning

The Ultimate Twitter Guidebook for Teachers

21C Tools "Twitter"

Learn It In 5 - How-to videos for the Technology Classroom: "Twitter"


Ideas for using Twitter in a classroom:

1) A devise for communicating with students or parents
2) A tool to search for content & organize and filter the information
3) A way to search for current and recent events or news
4) A way for students to engage in conversation
5) Daily lesson summaries
6) Collaborative planning (Teachers - students and students - students)
7) Teacher collaboartion (lesson plans, teaching techniques & tips, etc.)
8) Practice learning a Foreign Language by using "twitterlearn" or just practicing conversation skills with other Twitterers around the world
9) Connect with other classrooms around the world (modern-day pen pal)
10) Use as a poll (student opinions or getting feedback)

Srta. Musso's Diigo account

I've posted a link to my Diigo account which has a lot of really good websites and resources about incorporating technology into the classroom. Ideas like:
1) Templates for student projects
2) A N.Y. Times article about Hacking
3) "The Whole Child Blog" about incorporating blogs into the Elementary grades
4) Technology Tips with Elementary students
5) Using an iPad in a classroom
6) Prezi
7) 10 Ways for teachers and students to build websites
8) Wvoices - a really cool world voices resource that incorporates a kind of voice thread into teaching culture and other topics in a foreign language classroom.
9) Everloop and i-Safe launched a school-safe social networking site for students to use in school
10) Student Blogging directions and ideas for the first classroom introduction to blogging

I hope they help!