EPals

ePals is working on a penpal activity for XO classes.

Overview

ePals is a pen pal and project activity for OLPC that can be used on the XO by children and teachers, providing access to a global classroom community of learners.

What is ePals?

ePals offers K-12 students and teachers around the world a safe environment for building and exchanging knowledge through collaborative learning experiences. Reaching more than 11 million students and teachers, the ePals Global Learning Community™ (www.ePals.com) is the largest online community of K-12 learners, enabling educators and students in more than 129,000 classrooms across 200 countries and territories to safely connect, exchange ideas, and work together. The company's mission is to support lifelong learning through collaborative experiences that empower and inspire.

How do I use ePals on my XO?

ePals is an activity for the XO laptop that allows users after an initial registration visit to seamlessly interact with the Global Learning Community with one click for either online or offline use. Optimization for the XO is still being tested. Please send us your feedback.

What can I do with ePals?

ePals offers several areas and features to connect with educators and learners worldwide. Note that some of the features described below may not be available through the ePals Activity, however ePals plans to add more features and services to its Activity in subsequent releases.

Online Pen Pal Exchanges

Find and connect with students and classrooms around the world for cultural exchanges and 21st Century skill building through online pen pal dialogue. Featured Exchange: 2nd-8th graders in Chile are pen paling with U.S. students in this exchange. http://www.epals.com/tools/forum/forum.e?bo=67&at=vm&id=08927&res=3&ofs=75

Project Sharing

Introduce technology and the Internet into classroom activities while encouraging cross-cultural collaboration with educational projects designed to help you meet curriculum needs in innovative ways. Featured Project: See how students in Israel, Russa, Peru, India, and other countries are collaborating with online newspaper article writing. http://www.epals.com/tools/forum/forum.e?bo=67&at=vm&id=08927&res=3&ofs=75

Ask ePals

Ask ePals is a service that brings together educators and experts from around the world and connects them with people looking for answers to questions that are specific to education. With this widget, you can ask and answer education-related questions from the ePals community. Visit Ask ePals here: http://www.epals.com/askepals/

Join the Conversation

An interactive way for educators to share how they are using ePals, Join the Conversation covers many informative topics, including:

• Getting Started: Finding, Choosing and Collaborating via ePals
• ePals as a Language and Cultural Learning Tool
• Award Winners Around the World
• ePals Teacher, Parent and Student Showcase

Visit Join the Conversation here: http://spark.epals.com/

Forums for Teachers, Students, and Parents

ePals forums are where community members discuss issues that are important to them. All forums are monitored for safety and age-appropriate content.

• Teacher Talk: Join teachers to discuss technology in the classroom from webcams to scanners and from iMovies to research. Tell us your tips for classroom management, project ideas, the joys and frustrations of teaching and more. http://www.epals.com/tools/forum/forum.e?bo=67&at=db
• Student Talk: This is the place for students to talk about subjects of interest. School stuff, home stuff or any other stuff -- Student Talk is all about what matters to students. http://www.epals.com/tools/forum/forum.e?bo=69&at=db
• Parent Talk: Exchange views on issues such as Internet safety, home-schooling and more... with parents. http://www.epals.com/tools/forum/forum.e?bo=47&at=db

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