In the article "I Learned That There's a State Called Victoria and He Has Six Blue-Tongued Lizards!" there is a great way to use technology in the classroom that could definitely enhance writing skills. The article talks about Internet Pen Pals! What a FUN idea! I wish someone would have thought about this when I was in school. We had pen pals, but we had to write them actual letters and mail them when I was in the fifth grade. Internet Pen Pals is a great way to not only understand how to compose a letter, but also how to use technology to do it. The article give some websites for a teacher to get on and find another classroom from around the world. Imagine what our children could learn from another child across the globe.
Each child could set up a free email account and a classroom blog could be set up as well. The blog could be used by both the students and the teachers of the two classrooms for so many things...interesting facts about your country, teaching ideas, websites to share, students "sharings," etc. The students and teachers can see all comments and add their own comments others' thoughts. It's a nice way to keep in touch without sending out a lengthy email. Parents could also get on the blog and see what's going on in the classroom. Most parents are interested in knowing what's happening and a blog could be an easy way for them to stay connected and even make a comment or two. Many classroom teachers already have blogs set up for their classrooms for parents to see and keep in touch. Not sure what a blog even is? Check out this short article for a great overview of blogs. 7 Things You Should Know About Blogs
To extent the writing portion of the pen pal activities, the students could also learn how to do research on the internet about the area their pen pal is from. I think students would love doing this. They could compose a report on their findings and publish them on the blog for their pen pals to see. I would definitely do my homework on publishing on the internet, however. Some parents might not like the idea of having their child's work on for the world to see. Parental permission is a must. I plan on trying it out next school year it at all possible.
Having pen pals from another part of the world would be a fascinating and engaging activity for students! Not only would it appeal to our students but it would motivate them to write (and read) as well. As you mentioned in your post, they could learn so much about another part of the world this way.
ReplyDeleteHave you checked into the security aspect of students having an email account. My principal was a little hesitant to let students on an email that I set up and had access to. You may need to heck with him.
ReplyDeleteAnother colleague of ours used Epals to do internet pen pals. I am very interested into looking into this, too! Not sure if you would need email accounts in order to use this site.
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