Hi all,

I teach near Toronto, On. I used ePals a number of years ago, and loved it. The site is very well organized and maintained. The safety features take out any worries. Once it is set up and you have a match, there isn't much work for the teacher. Parents love it too. My class found it easy to access their accounts (they were gr. 3). We were lucky enough to partner with a class in Australia, I will always remember a child writing to one of mine asking what a 'snow fort' was!! We enjoyed the experience, and also created other internet activities such as looking at the weather network and tracking weather in our area and Australia. We could then have many mathematical/science discussions about temperature etc. Great fun!

Good luck to you all.

Emily

I am just starting my first year with ePals.  Last year, we had a teacher in our building integrate it into her curriculum.  It blossomed to having a whole group of her French ePals actually travel to the United States and visit us!  Was that ever an educational experience for both parties!

I am in my second year of using ePals with my students.  Last year I just used it as a vehicle for students to write penpals.  My 6th and 7th graders were able to communicate and learn about the culture in countries such as Greece, Lithuania, Russia and Israel.  This year, my 5th graders are writing to other students in New York City (we live in a rural part of KS), Lithuania and China.  The other day, a 4th grader asked me if it was true that they would be able to e-mail kids in other countries.  When I said yes, her response was "Cool!".  I have made contact with another class in NY and our students will be collaborating on a novel study through a wiki later this winter. 

I feel that the students benefit greatly from the exposure to other cultures, even within the US and I hope that it allows the students to have an understanding of others.  I believe that I am the only teacher in our school district using ePals, but I am very happy with it.  If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them!

Janine Addis

Kansas

Hello U of R Students

I am a technology teacher for grades 5-8 in Manitoba.  I am currently exploring this ePal mailing system to see if it would be appropriate for school use.  Many parents express concern over the use of internet, so sometimes it is difficult to have student participation.  Hopefully I can learn enough about ePals to help my students be able to correspond with others around the world.  I would like to use this for my Social Studies as well.

jkolesar

Hello everyone!

We are a group of students in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina in Canada. We are studying to be teachers. We are currently working on a project on the use of technology in teaching. The focus of our project is ePals and how it is being utilized in the classroom. We would love to hear from anyone (teachers, students, parents) about the positives or negatives aspects of using ePals. We look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you,
U of R Students