Finding Partner Classrooms for

Global Collaboration and Project-

based Learning

Dr. Rita Oates

CUE TIPS session

Real classes to connect to

• Post your classroom profile in social learning network, ePals

• Teachers create own projects or join others

• No charge

• www.epals.com

• 16 million students and teachers in 200 countries and territories

Finding a project to join

• ePals Projects– Way We Are – Climate Change– Water and others

• ePals Forums, such as Book Club– Book talk on a specific book, age group

• Global SchoolNet (California-based)• United Nations' Cyber School Bus • Taking It Global (Canadian)

Using project ideas from others

• Intel– Monster Swap: How can I communicate so others

will understand? Gr. 1-3 students give their imaginations a workout by creating unique monsters. They hone their writing skills by writing descriptions for cyber pals who try to re-create the students’ terrible beasts!

• ReadWriteThink

Posting a profile

• Example from ePals, the world’s largest social learning network

• After you post a profile, ask someone to join you! (Don’t wait to be asked.)

• Look at the “roll” of newest classes

Eliminate language barriers with translation tool!

English version of the Spanish profile

A Successful Profile Includes:

1. Age-range of class (grades are different in other countries)

2. Language(s) the students speak3. Location of the classroom

Three blocks from Pacific Ocean

4. Location of desired partner(s) Southern Hemisphere is starting fall

semester in late March/early April!

5. Number of students

A Successful Profile Includes:

6. Collaboration tools (email, postal mail, blogs, video conferences, chat, etc.)

7. Length of desired collaboration March 25-May 15

7. Frequency of desired collaboration (twice a week, weekly, monthly)

8. Topics of desired collaboration projects Be sure to update this when you have a new

project!

Searching in Project Forums

• Forums– ePals Projects/Teacher or Student– Other projects

• ePals Book Club• IT Administrators• Hardware

Loudoun County Public Schools (VA)

• Students in grade 3 learn about communities.• They contact classrooms from around the world and

exchange information about their communities.  • It is great to see children grasp the idea of "rural,"

"urban," etc. as they communicate with peers from these areas. 

• Teachers culminate their projects with videoconferences. 

• This way students use presentations and Google Earth to showcase their own communities.

• Grade 4 classrooms collaborate across the state of Virginia to meet some specific state standards, using different types of communities (urban, suburban, rural).

San Diego-China exchange

• Candace Pauchnick, language arts teacher at Patrick Henry HS in San Diego, has partnered her students for the past seven years with an ESL classroom in China

• They email, blog, podcast, and also do Skype and videoconferencing between the two schools.

• Hear her: noon-1 p.m. Saturday – Smoketree F Room – See her International HS Literature blog

Students from the Guangxi School, China

Collaborating with Their California ePals………