To create an account, you simply click the “Join” button, and enter your name, birthday, desired password, and country location. Epals then sends an email to you to verify your email account. Click the link in the email, and go to the “connect with other ePals” option.

Figure 1. 

You then must create a profile for your class by filling in few details to ensure that your class is legitimate.

Figure 2. 

Once you have submitted your profile, you will receive a message saying that it will take 24 to 48 hours for your profile to be approved. If there are any problems with your profile, you will receive a message in your account telling you where the problems are. Once your profile is approved, you can freely explore ePals and begin to connect with other classrooms.

As mentioned earlier, there are two ways to find a class to connect with. To connect the first way, teachers can search by topics of interest, by looking at all classrooms using ePals on a world map, or by merely scrolling through classrooms that have recently joined ePals. To begin this process, teachers just click on the purple “Connect” tab at the top of the page and choose the method they would like to use to search.

Figure 3. 

To look at all classrooms and classrooms that have recently joined ePals, teachers can use a typical search tool to find ePals by entering key words that match up with their interests. For example, I put in the word “geography” in the search tool and received over 4,000 matches.

Figure 4. 

If teachers know exactly what country they want to work with, they can use the world map search function. You simply click on the region of the world that you are interested in, choose a specific country, and then select the class you would like to partner with. For example, if I wanted to work with Turkey, I would select the Middle East on the map, and then click on Turkey.

Figure 5. 

Then, a list of all of the available classrooms in Turkey would come up, like this:

Figure 6. 

The other way to connect with ePals is through a specific project. For example, if I know that I want to team up with another class to do the The Way We Are ePals project, I would click on the purple “Projects” button next to the connect button, select “The Way We Are” in the dropdown menu to go to the project’s homepage.

Figure 7. 

Teachers then can click on the “Connect with Classrooms” tab above the photo to go to the projects “Teacher Forum” and see a list of all of the classes involved in the project. Teachers can either make their own post to help them find a class, or they can search through the list to see if there is a class that might fit their needs.

Figure 8. 

Once teachers find a class, through either way of matching, they merely contact the class through replying to another teacher’s post. All interaction then takes place over ePals’ email system. It is very straightforward and basic. For tips on how to best set up a project, click here.

Figure 9. 

The most in-depth example of how ePals can be used in the classroom comes from a teacher in Florida working with a seventh grade social studies class. The teacher, James, wanted to teach a unit on Europe focusing on cultural, historical, geographic, and economic differences and similarities, and he wanted it to be based on real life connections. James teaches six classes of varying achievement levels, with a total of 152 students. He decided to set each class up with a partnering European class and teamed up with teachers in Germany, Austria, Sweden, and France. As his students exchanged structured, curriculum-based emails with their ePals, he saw students and social studies come to life in ways he had never imagined. This is an excellent example of the successes and challenges of working with ePals. It is a must read for all interested teachers.

http://images.epals.com/downloads/esm_case_study.pdf

It is important to remember that not all uses of ePals require year-long commitment and hours of planning. EPals can be used even for just one assignment. Through exploring teacher forums, I discovered that a number of primary school teachers use ePals for holiday card exchanges. This is a way to teach young children about another country and give them a creative way to describe their culture during the holiday season. Here is an example of what a teacher might post:

Figure 10. 

This is the most creative way that I have seen ePals used. This was actually done in a Kindergarten class, but I can envision a similar version being effective for secondary education as well.

Beth Smile, a Kindergarten teacher from Robert Morris School in New Jersey, used ePals to help her students communicate and collaborate with other students around the United States and the world.

“Our class mascot Smiley Bear, Ambassador of Friendship and Kindness, traveled to the 50 United States and around the world...He visited each host classroom for one week. He brought books, souvenirs, information on the United States and he has received the same from his host children..." stated Beth Smile.

Mr. Smiley Bear found a bride during his travels and at the end of May, Beth Smiles' Kindergarten class hosted the wedding. In preparation for the international wedding students learned about wedding customs, songs, dances, costumes, and foods from each participating country. Students' parents provided an international dinner reception in celebration and the mayor officiated.

http://www.epals.com/groups/about/pages/testimonials.aspx

Here is an example of basic ePal classroom match. This teacher in China is looking to email once a week to exchange information about culture. He offers to help improve Chinese language skills as well. This is a perfect example of a non-project based partnership that is not an enormous time or curriculum commitment yet still offers ample room for cultural discovery and communication and writing skill development.

Figure 11. 

EPals can truly bring the geography classroom to life by allowing students to learn about other countries and cultures from direct interaction with people around the world. In terms of creativity, with 200 countries and territories to choose from, the world is the limit. Teachers can use ePals for one day or for multiple years, as seen in the examples above. The pre-planned projects cut down on planning time and provide excellent resources for both students and teachers. The safe learning environment and self-contained email system make it an easy and worry-free way for teachers to incorporate technology into the classroom. Besides the obvious geography education benefits, it is a wonderful way for students to learn a variety of communication and technology skills from word processing to letter writing to image sharing. EPals promotes Higher Order Thinking, and it has been shown to stimulate student learning and interest in a variety of ways (see European ePals example). It allows students to form their own connections and to work directly with the technology. EPals has received multiple awards for excellence as well. It also has detailed “How To” page for first time users to help clear up any confusion or questions. Almost every question a teacher could come up with is already answered in this section. Overall, ePals has the ability to promote cultural and geographic understanding and awareness in a way that traditional geography curriculum cannot. It can give students the opportunity to make life-long connection while improving critical skills and meeting national standards.

On the other hand, ePals can seem overwhelming and time consuming due to the variety of options available. It does require major organization on the part the teacher in terms of planning correspondence or projects, finding a cooperating classroom, and communicating with the cooperating teacher. As seen in the European ePals PDF, certain school systems might oppose the use of ePals’ email or require parental or county approval. Access to technology is a must for the classroom, especially if each student is to have his or her own ePal. Absenteeism is also a problem if students do not have access to the internet at home. A student in the participating school could be left without a letter or activity if students are absent.