I came across a website, known as ePals, that focuses on the use of technological resources with the intention of the collaboration of classrooms around the world. The site featured projects such as: "Class in Canada Seeks Russian-Speaking Students for Culture and Language Exchange Project", which was described with the objective of establishing a connection with students from Russia with students from Canada through e-mail and Skype. The intention was to educate the English-speaking students on what Russian terms were commonly used among the Russian students in their age range. Another project featured was titled as: "Class in Illinois, USA Seeks Skype Partners in Quebec, Canada", which was described with the objective of discussion via Skype the cultural differences between that of Quebec, Canada and Illinois, USA. In addition, the site also included many features,, including:
Finding a Classroom: It offers a match for teachers to collaborate on a project that would meet the interests of both classrooms.
Teaching Resources: Offers instructions for teachers to include the use of ePals in their classrooms, as well as a listing of resources, with subcategories including subjects, age range, topics and types of resources.
Learning Resources: Includes resources, games, discussions and activities for students to use in the classrooms. This is feature I would definitely utilize from this website, especially the subcategory "Global Citizens". The page features articles that discuss the varying independence day celebrations from different countries. I found this to be very interesting, especially that this website's use of global education coincides with the ideas presented by Ethan Zuckerman in his TEDtalk video "How to listen to global voices". I viewed the video prior to viewing the site's features so it was interesting that the site itself answers some of the questions posed by Zuckerman in the video.
The website features many resources that I will be sure to utilize in the future and definitely explore. This is a site that emphasizes global collaboration, which, as Zuckerman pointed out in his lecture, is a factor that must be taken into more serious consideration in the world, and its classrooms.
Have a good night everyone!
Interesting that you saw the video first. Perhaps I can suggest that to students in the future.
ReplyDeleteIf you search the ePals Global Community for partners who are in South Korea now, you will see a lot of ESL teachers there are using ePals, starting with grade 1. Many of them are native English speakers.
ReplyDelete