World Languages Next Gen Standards – Connections, Comparisons, Communities

Tuesday April 9th, 2012Michelle Olah

7. Connections: The student will be able to acquire, reinforce, and further his/her knowledge of other disciplines through the target language.

8. Comparisons: The student will be able to develop insight into the nature of the target language and culture by comparing his/her own language(s) and cultures to others.

9. Communities: The student will be able to use the target language both within and beyond the school setting to investigate and improve his/her world beyond his/her immediate surroundings for personal growth and enrichment.

Introduction to the ePals Global Community

Learning Objective: To know what ePals Global Community can do for your classroom.

What is the ePals Global Community?

The ePals Global Community is:• The world's largest network

of K-12 classrooms• Committed to core concept

of creating Global Citizens, Digital Citizens

• Safe and protected environment

• Free to classrooms worldwide

Global Citizens, Digital CitizensAuthentic LearningGlobal AwarenessDigital LiteracyCollaboration

Students in Kenya write to their ePals in Connecticut, USA

Who is the ePals Global Community?

Who belongs to the ePals Global Community?• More than half a million

educators• Millions of students who speak

136 different languages• Parents and home school families• In 200 countries and territories

Why use ePals?

• Students live in a world increasingly digital and global

• Students VERY likely to email, chat, video conference, etc. with someone who speaks another language.

• Meets Communication AND Intercultural Standards!

ePals Helps Build Global, Digital Citizens

•ePals allows students to:• Use 21st century communication skills• See authentic material from teens like themselves• Participate in a global community• Compare languages with another English language

learner • Broaden their understanding of other disciplines

based on data collected from students in another country.

What You Can Do with ePals?

• School-safe email, SchoolMail® with teacher monitoring• Classroom Match, a tool to find collaborative partners • Email-based collaborative projects • Member-created projects – easy to replicate• Forums for students, teachers and families• Media galleries for uploading, sharing and viewing student

work• Students Speak contests and more!

ePals’ Mission: Support Learning through Collaborative Experiences

On ePals, discover:

How to Navigate the ePals Site

.

Let’s tour the ePals website and see the various activities in which you and your students can participate.

The ePals Homepage

The purple navigation bar, always available, maps the ePals website:

• Projects• Collaborate• Teachers• Students• Families• About ePals

Sign In, Help and Join Now are above bar, on upper right

Sign in | Help | Join Now

The ePals Homepage

Sign In: If you already belong to ePals, log in here.

New to ePals? Join ePals! here

Sign in | Help | Join Now

Projects Tab

ePals projects offer various standards-based collaborative projects ready to use in your classroom

• Choose a Project ePals/National Geographic Projects Teacher-Created Projects

• Talk About It Find a partner and discuss in Project

Forums• Share Your Work

Upload the project you created to share with other teachers

Participate through Projects

Collaborate Tab: Find a PartnerePals enables powerful learning experiences, helping you find a collaborative partner teacher

• Search Classroom Profiles• Search by Geography• Search by Project• Search Teacher Forums

ePals Wanted Ongoing Projects Literature in Classroom Teacher Spotlight

Search by Country

Teachers TabTeachers tab has ePals activities for educators

• Choose a Project• Talk About It (Forums)

• Administrators/IT Coordinators

• ePals Teacher Spotlight• ePals Wanted• Global Issues/Current

Events• Literature in the Classroom• Mentoring

• Share Your Work • Resources

• Ongoing Projects• Other• Research• Special Education• Teacher Resources• Technology

Please note: you must be logged into ePals before uploading any work.

Students TabStudents tab has ePals activities for students

Learn About It • Student Explorations• eFilms

Talk About It • ePals Book Club• Student ForumsShare Your

Work • ePals Video Vault

Please note: you must be logged into ePals before uploading any work.

Family Tab

Families Tab has ePals activities for families• Projects

• Digital Storytelling• The Way We Are

• Talk About It• Family Forum• Homeschool Forum

• Share Your Work

Please note: You must be logged into ePals before uploading any work.

Help Link Gives Online Support

• FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions• The Administrator's Guide to ePals SchoolMail• ePals Parental Permission Forms• Tips on Building Great Classroom Match• What can a Teacher Do with ePals?• ePals Skillbuilder Library

• Using email in literacy activities• Internet etiquette• Best practices for student email

• ePals SchoolMail Guide• Internet Safety Tips (in English and Spanish)

Still have questions? Email us at support@epals.com

Español Link for Spanish

Task: Join ePals Global Community

1.Go to www.epals.com2.Click “Join Now” and fill out information3. Create your classroom profile (see

Example)

Please write a brief profile description including any information that you think might help potential ePals partners find your profile.

Describe the types of correspondence and collaboration you are seeking, including the age, language and location of the ideal partner. Include any relevant keywords that someone might use in a search.

BREAK

What is ePals SchoolMail?

ePals SchoolMail is an email system was designed for K12 use with safety features beyond mass market email systems.

A webmail communication tool built specifically for the K-12 education market

Offers opportunity to email with peers in 200 countries, part of the ePals Global Community

Safe and secure student communication tool

Has TRUSTe certification of student privacy

What is ePals SchoolMail?

Like regular email with the addition of “policy management” and monitoring

Teachers can monitor mail written by their students, a feature not available in general market email systems

Features different types of accounts, with different roles and abilities for each

What is ePals SchoolMail?

Share Your Email Exchange Digitally

Showcase your students’ email collaborative exchange in a digital format.

Digital Presentation of Exchanges

Exchanges Can be Captured Digitally into a Variety of Products and Formats

• PowerPoint Presentation• Video• Glog (digital poster)• Blog or Wiki• Website• Wordle (word frequency count)• Prezi

Task:

1.Go to “Teachers” tab2.Choose “Skill Builders”3. Review Email Safety and Etiquette4. Think about what information you need

to teach your students BEFORE starting your collaborations

The French / American Alliance

Sarah Lacomb, New York, USA

Create a PowerPoint

From Kari

To: Viez M

Correction of your reply:

Hey,

In my last holiday (in February), I went skiing

in the South of France. It was funny. Have

you been skiing?

The rest is correct.

I am very happy that you had a great holiday.

My last holiday was over winter break, it was

very fun. I hung out with my friends and

played a lot of softball. My next holiday is

spring break in April and I am going to North

Carolina which is actually in the south of the

United States. I am hoping to bring a friend

with me when I go and cannot wait to see the

beach. In reply to your question, no I do not

do much skiing, but I do go snowboarding.

But we will not be doing much in the snow

soon because all of the snow is melting. Also

softball is starting soon and that is e

xciting. I

play on the school team. We are pretty good

and last year we were D-west champions. Well

I have to go, we are watching the movie Joan

of Arc in French class.

Goodbye,

Kari

From: TheoTo: SarahHi Sarah,I’m sorry to have not answered you earlier, but we had big

tests for a week and I had to work hard. Last week, we

received your parcel: thank you for Oreo, I like that, I

discovered this when I was in USA. And we ate the popcorn

yesterday while watching a good movie with 3 mates. I don’t

know if our Christmas late package arrived.

To answer your question, I’m crazy about pasta, I could eat

everyday but my favorite French dish is roast chicken with

sautéed potatoes and French beans. And I often go to

restaurants and to discover new kinds of foods.

I am eager to be in NYC with my friends and you, it will be

great.Bye-bye,Theo.

Create a PowerPoint

French-American Alliance Email Exchange

http://www.epals.com/media/p/234516.aspx

Video of Students Sending Items to Their ePals

Create a Video

Students in one class created a video saying hello, as they prepared to mail a package to their ePals’ classroom.

http://www.epals.com/media/p/237096.aspx

Belarus Students Create Video for ePals in USA

Create a Video

http://www.epals.com/media/p/237099.aspx

At the end of the email exchange, the Belarus students sent a video showing a typical school day. They all spoke in English.

ePals from USA and Poland Exchange Glogs

Create a Glog – Online Poster

The 8th Grade students are ePals with students from Poland. Since October 2009, the students have been exchanging information describing themselves, their families, and a day in their lives. Information was exchanged through email. A Glog is an online poster with creative effects. - Dawn Krueger, Wisconsin USA

http://www.epals.com/blogs/teacherspotlight/archive/2010/05/28/the-way-we-are-glogs-online-posters.aspx

Students from USA and Lebanon Share Letters in a Blog

Create a Blog or Wiki

Young students from Beirut, Lebanon, exchange book marks, letters and cultural information with students from Colorado, USA in this blog.

This project was a winner in the Microsoft Innovative Educator Forum contest, announced in July 2010.

http://www.epals.com/media/p/234620.aspx

Create a Website

Bill Reilly, Bethlehem Central Middle School, NY, USA has used this website to collect the exchanges in his ePals global projects since 2000.

http://bcsd.k12.ny.us/middle/Global/global.htm

Create a Wordle

Use www.wordle.net to give a visual representation of each student’s email exchange

This is made from text from one letter in a US-French student exchange

Which words did students use most often?

Create a Prezi

Prezi.com offers nonlinear presentations. Viewers can zoom in and out of a visual map that includes word, links, videos, or images.

http://prezi.com/jgochpsfg9ns/epals-workshop/

Create nonlinear presentations with Prezi.com

Prezi created about an ePals collaboration between English Language Learners in Paris, France, and students in Massachusetts, USA. Students in both classes were ages 11-14.

TASK:Teacher Resources and

Exploration Time

Go to Teacher Tab and review Teacher Guide/Student Guide and best practices resources

AND/ORGo to “collaboration” and start finding possible

collaborators and/or projects