The ePals program is an excellent program to use with middle school children. They love corresponding with peers! Currently, my class and a class in South Adelaide, Australia are exchanging real audio files, short videos, as well as regular e-mail and digital images... A collaborative project with another ePals classroom opens up possibilities for ideas with teachers and students.

In this ever-shrinking global community, it is important that African schools enable their students to interact with the rest of the world. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides the most realistic and cost effective opportunity for African school children to interact with students from all parts of the world. ePals offers some of the most unique and effective tools for African classrooms to make safe and meaningful connections with other classrooms all over the world. The NEPAD Council is proud to have ePals as a partner to allow Kenyan schools to embrace this cultural and 21st century learning opportunity.

Your epal service has enabled my students to experience the wonders of the Internet in a safe environment. We are having so much fun learning about Canada and Finland from our epals and its great to realise all the things that make our community unique. Thanks!

I am so pleased with the ePals we are corresponding with. We are corresponding with classes all over the world! I teach 4th grade and have incorporated language arts, social studies (landforms, regions, continents, and temperatures) into the friendly letters my students are sending to their e-pals. My curriculum has become more stimulating and interesting. My students beg me to grade their friendly letters so they can send them. Thank you for this wonderful service.

ePals has been an incredible process. I really appreciate the fact that you support communication between clases, schools, and countries. Thanks again for being pioneers in the learning process.

I'm very happy because you gave my pupils the possibility to use their English for a Real Purpose. Thanks to you, my pupils are very exited receiving emails from all over the world! Thank you very much!!!!!!

Being a new teacher, I was interested in setting up a real life correspondence system for my students. I am thrilled at the idea of providing them with a meaningful, technologically paced, culturally enriched means to achieve my objective. ePals sounds perfect! Thanks.

Amidst all the traffic on the web you are a gem. I applaud what you are doing to bring together children, technology and international cultures together in such a safe, encouraging and nurturing site.

I'd like to tell you about a wonderful friendship and educational journey that has taken place this year. As a way to fulfill my goal of integrating technology into my curriculum this year, I turned to the ePals website hoping to find an ePAL for our classroom. My contact in Israel has not only become a very valuable educational resource, but the teacher there and her students have become dear, dear friends. Through this website, children around the world are getting to personally know and appreciate other people from around the globe. Differences in faith, culture and traditions are being appreciated, not feared. We believe we are building a future world of peace, one email at a time. Thank you for providing your service and for helping to build a better world for our future.

"...(my student) Lauren was handing in several extra credit assignments relating to the Europe ePals Unit... Her grade quickly went from a low "C" average to an "A-" average."

Mr. Korycinski wrote a case study outlining his classroom's experience with ePals and it's impact on two students in particular.
Read the complete story. (PDF)

Beth Smile, a Kindergarten teacher from Robert Morris School in New Jersey, used ePals^TM to help her students communicate and collaborate with other students around the United States and the world.

"Our class mascot Smiley Bear, Ambassador of Friendship and Kindness, traveled to the 50 United States and around the world...He visited each host classroom for one week. He brought books, souvenirs, information on the United States and he has received the same from his host children..." stated Beth Smile.

Mr. Smiley Bear found a bride during his travels and at the end of May, Beth Smiles' Kindergarten class hosted the wedding. In preparation for the international wedding students learned about wedding customs, songs, dances, costumes, and foods from each participating country. Students' parents provided an international dinner reception in celebration and the mayor officiated.

"This entire program could not have been done without ePals^TM..." Beth Smile says. "Smiley Bear has brought teachers into my life from places that I will probably never see. These teachers have become friends who share their ideas, joys, frustrations, and lives with me. This has been an extraordinary year. This project will continue next year...This project is certainly worth sharing. Thank you ePals^TM for this gift."

I cannot begin to express how much of an impact ePals has had on my son. Not only has he made 12 new friends in Lithuania, but he has also learned how it feels to do something special for others. We email photos, letters, interesting lessons to try, and so much more. We have exchanged care packages full of interesting things from the two countries. By connecting kids to friends in other countries ePals has given my son the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children in foreign land.

The main benefit of using ePals is teaching computer and technology skills to my students. Another benefit is that my students practice their writing and reading skills when they read and respond to an email. My students also enjoy corresponding with kids who live in different cultures. Currently, we are exchanging weather reports with our partner class in Florida so that we can compare Florida and Colorado weather! We have also exchanged ideas about celebrating holidays and classroom traditions and activities.

This is my second year using ePals and working collaboratively with international teachers. Using ePals as a tool of learning is having an incredible influence on my students' impression of the world in which we live. Social Studies is the content focus for integrating ePals, this year. The students are extremely eager to race to the computer lab to engage in what is happening with their "epals"! All I can say is that I have a great appreciation for ePals for allowing educators and students this life long learning experience!

I have been using ePals for nearly three years and my students love it! I try to select international ePals from countries that are studied in 7th grade geography. My students practice word processing skills, writing block style business letters and designing graphics, as they learn that kids around the world are a lot like they are. We "snail mailed" valentines to our ePals and received some wonderful valentines in return from Lithuania, Japan, and Israel. What fun!