The Jump into ePals Project will be going on hiatus from May 2013 until August 2013. We will continue to accept Join Requests, but will hold them until we start new Jump into ePals projects again in August. If you put in a Join Request now, we will contact you in August regarding your group and your start date. We look forward to sharing the project experience with you and showing you around ePals. See you in a few months!

As a member of ePals, you are now part of a truly global education network. This 4-week Jump Into ePals project is designed to welcome you and your students to the ePals Global Community and introduce you to project work and the activities and communication tools available here at ePals. Interested classrooms (or families) will be placed in small groups, and will be coached through a site tour, forum discussion work, media gallery uploading, a short wiki activity, a short blogging activity, and an email exchange with other group members. Following this month long project, we anticipate that you will be familiar with much of what ePals has to offer andwill  have made classroom contacts that you can carry into future project work.

Requirements to Participate:

* Only teachers or parents may request to join the project.

* Teacher and parents must have approved profiles.

* All participants (teachers and student; parents and children) must be available for 4 continuous weeks. (about 1-2 hours per week)

* All students should have their own ePals accounts.

1. Students will compose a series of well-written emails to their ePals.
2. Students will be able to concretely describe specific details of their lives and ask thoughtful questions about their ePals' lives.
3. Students will be able to give specific examples of what it means to live in a different geographic region.
4. Students will be able to identify similarities and differences between themselves and their ePals.
5. Students will master ePals Global Community email.
6. Students will become comfortable using tools such as wiki, blogs and media galleries.
7. Students will build a relationship with other students in another part of the world using 21st century tools.
8. Students will practice the important 21st century skills of collaboration, communication and critical thinking.
   

The purpose of the project is to introduce teachers and students alike to the content and community of the ePals Global Community.  By the end of this project, students and teachers will know how to navigate the ePals site, will know how to add to content to a wiki, comment on other users' projects, and how to communicate via ePals Schoolsafe email.  In addition, students will have exchanged three emails with ePals and posted final reflections to the forums describing their project experience.

This project will be hosted by an ePals Moderator.  You will be participating as a member of this project group.  This project includes a series of steps designed to give teachers and students alike familiarity with ePals tools, content areas, and collaborative opportunities.  Weekly assignments will be posted on a Project Blog.  More detailed Instructions can be downloaded through the Resources tab of your project workspace once the project begins but below is an outline of the key elements of the project.

Assignment 1: Jump into Introductions

Teachers

1. Personalize your ePals home.
2. Complete your  ePals organizational roster.
3. Add class photo to project media gallery.
4. Introduce yourself on teacher forums.

Students:

1. Go on teacher-guided tour of ePals site.
2. Introduce yourself on student forums.

Assignment 2: Jump into Communication

Teachers

1. Review monitored mail instructions.
2. Set up email schedule with ePals teachers.
3. Review email topics and discuss with students.

Students:

1. Send practice emails within your own class.
2. Begin sending emails to your ePals.

Assignment 3: Jump into a Learning Center

Teachers

1. Explore Smithsonian on ePals Learning Center.
2. Note anything that you want to point out to students.
3. Be prepared to show how the area is laid out--Articles, Activities, Online Field Trips, Videos, Forums and Media Galleries.
4. Find one or two activities that you would like students to try.

Students:

1. Explore the Smithsonian on ePals Learning Center
2. Complete the activities that your teacher has asked you to try
3. Read about this month’s Smithsonian Featured Classroom on the Article’s page and leave a comment OR
4. Make a post in the Smithsonian Chat Student Forum OR
5. Browse through the student work that has been uploaded to the Smithsonian Student Work Media Gallery. Rate it and comment on it.
6. Coninue sending emails to your ePals.

Assignment 4: Jump into Collaboration

Teachers

1. Review the World Holidays and Festivals Wiki pages and wiki guidelines.
2. Visit the World Holidays and Festivals area and review some of the materials there.

Students:.

1. Visit the World Holidays and Festivals area and review some of the materials on different holidays.
2. Review the World Holidays and Festivals Wiki main page.
3. Add a post to the wiki about holiday traditions in your country.
4. Send final emails to ePals.

ePals Organizational Roster

Instructions for Moderating Email

ePals Forums Guidelines

ePals Publication Policies

Sample Project Calendar