TALK ABOUT PRIMARY LANGUAGES

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EPALS GLOBAL COMMUNITY

By: Germayne YanezEDLD 5362

Informational Systems Management

TALK ABOUT PRIMARY LANGUAGES WEBSITE

A place to share worries, successes and resources with supportive colleagues, for anyone teaching languages in a primary school.

ADVANTAGES FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMATION ON USAGE OF PRIMARY LANGUAGES NETWORK:

Provides a blog where teachers can share ideas, information and prior lessons that have had a positive impact on limited English learners.

A forum for discussions. Photos, flashcards, and printable clipart is available. Downloadable resources: lessons, games and videos which can

be found in their wiki-spaces, or search bar. There are several complete schemes of work shared on this

website, in addition to various overviews. The group tab provides information for beginning teachers,

student teachers, primary language teachers, German teachers, etc.

The members page gives you a list of all the members with their profile information and what they have recently posted that might be helpful to you.

MY USE OF TALK ABOUT PRIMARY LANGUAGES WEBSITE

Being a bilingual teacher in an elementary campus, it is always very beneficial to have as many resources as possible for English Language Learners. I find this network to be very user friendly with many promising lessons, ideas, discussions and feedback.Using the downloadable resources, games and videos gives me the opportunity to teach by using visual tools as well as using the internet to improve the learning of all 21st century learners.

“It is a valuable forum for professional development and for generating resources for the use of web 2.0 technologies in the classroom. It is a good example of how social networking services can be used by educators to develop an online community of practice.” Ebahtic (2007)

EPALS-GLOBAL COMMUNITY

This is a place to connect and collaborate with teachers from all around the globe. Students also having the opportunity to connect with other learners around the world with online projects, activities and discussions.

ADVANTAGES FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMATION ON USAGE OF PRIMARY LANGUAGES NETWORK:

A free network - helps learners connect to other learners around the world.

Find a classroom match - Any successful collaboration starts with finding the right partner. Use the powerful search tools on the left to find potential classroom matches or use the email tool to invite other classrooms to join a project of your creation.

Join a project - Looking for a project you can join? Use the powerful search tools on the left to find other ePals classrooms seeking project partners, then submit a join request.

Start a project - Ready to lead a project of your own? Select one of our project templates or create your own project from scratch. Just follow the simple directions, they guide you through the process.

Explore the learning centers - Join students around the world to try out these fun activities, discussions and games, brought to you by ePals, Smithsonian Institution, and other great educational groups.

ADVANTAGES FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMATION ON USAGE OF PRIMARY LANGUAGES NETWORK:

In the Learning Center: Writing Center-writing activities to spark the imagination. ePals Center-celebrate culture. Share the best of your country;

discover the best of the world. In2books clubhouse-publish reviews, explore genres, and

discover new favorites. The Game room-play strategic games with kids around the

world. Global citizens-team up to make a positive impact in

communities worldwide. Smithonians on ePals-visit the world’s largest museums without

leaving your classrooms.

MY USE OF EPALS GLOBAL COMMUNITY WEBSITE

As an elementary teacher, I am always trying to find ways to integrate technology into my student’s everyday curriculum. I found that ePals Global community would be a very beneficial tool to help my bilingual students collaborate with other students around the world. Teaching in a low-socioeconomic community, I have found that my students have never been to places outside of our city, which is really very sad. After discovering ePals, I will be able to bring other parts of the world right into the classroom, with a click of a mouse. My students will be able to work collaboratively with other children from other parts of the world and learn about their geography and their cultures.

“ePals provides an online classroom-matching and collaboration service, where students in different schools, states, or countries can work together on projects in private, customizable group workspaces.” Meyer (2012)

In today’s world, educational networks are very important to states and educational leaders. With our students being so technologically savvy, we as educators must continue to grow and implement as much technology in our student’s everyday curriculum. “The continued advancement of the Internet and the revolution in telecommunications technology and services have increased the potential for new and improved educational services” Mathews (2004).

If we as educators do not integrate technology and give our students the opportunity to use digital tools in the classroom, we are the ones to blame for them not succeeding in our 21st century digital world. Douglas Rushkoff (1999), in Playing the Future, agrees: “Our children…are the latest model of human being. Looking at the world of children is not looking backwardat our own past—it’s looking ahead. They are our evolutionary future” (p. 4).

References:

Ebathic (2007) Retrieved on October 21, 2012, from: http://web20erc.eu/node/119

Mathews, J.B. (2004, April). Why statewide educational networks are important to state and educational leaders. Southern Regional Educational Board. Retrieved on November 17, 2009, from http://www.sreb.org/programs/EdTech/pubs/PDF/04T02-Statewide_Ed_Tech_Net_Important.pdf

Meyer, Leila (2012). Retrieved on October 20, 2012, from: http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/06/27/epals-enhances-global-learning-network.aspx

Rushkoff, D. (1999). Playing the future: What we can learn from digital kids aka children of chaos. New York: Riverhead Books.