ePals

The idea of project-based learning is extremely useful in today´s educational world and what better way than to incorporate it with students from around the world? ePal is the world´s largest K-12 social learning website that provides safe and collaborative technology for schools around the world to connect and learn in a project-based learning network. There are plenty of useful features in this program but a few that stood out to me the most were eFilms on ePals for students, the ability to upload and share projects as a teacher and the family forum. This program incorporates students locally and globally, families, teachers and others who want to get involved. I would like to use this program for a number of reasons but one specific way I´d like to incorporate ePal

into my own ESL classroom in the future would be for my students to be able to connect with students from other countries and work on a project that pertains to a topic that currently effects our planet, like global warming. It is important for students to be able to work with partners of diverse backgrounds(and also a New York State standard) and I think it´s a perfect way for them to be able to exchange ideas and opinions on how global warming effects them on an individual level but at the same time be able to see how global warming also effects us at an international level. They´ll be able to experience it for themselves in doing this collaborative project, without having to listen to their teachers lecture about it!