epals created 5-10-10 revised 6/7/2010 1 office of information, technology and accountability

ePals

Created 5-10-10 Revised 6/7/2010 1

Office of Information, Technology and Accountability

Important Note With all the Web 2.0 tools, if a teacher decides

to use utilize these tools with their students, they should maintain and monitor all the information exchanges, including but not limited to emails, forums, and discussion boards .

There is no one else that will maintain the information for you. So if you decide to use ePals, know that you have to edit, preview and send all emails for your class. Students should not receive emails without the email first going to the teacher for review.



Office of Information, Technology and Accountability3

Created 5-10-10 Revised 6/7/2010

While Waiting (Do Now)

Log on to Internet explorer Access http://www.epals.com/ Click : Join Now and use the teacher

registration section


Created 4-26-10 Revised 6-7-10

Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship Student Learning and Academic Performance

1. Digital Access: full electronic participation in society2. Digital Literacy: the process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology3. Digital Communication: electronic exchange of information

School Environment and Student Behavior

4. Digital Security & Safety: electronic precautions to guarantee safety/physical well-being in a digital technology world5. Digital Etiquette: electronic standards of conduct or procedure6. Digital Rights and Responsibilities: those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world

Student Life Outside the School Environment

7. Digital Commerce: electronic buying and selling of goods8. Digital Health and Wellness: physical and psychological well-being9. Digital Law: rights and restrictions


Created 4-26-10 Revised 6-7-10

Digital Citizenship Links

www.digitalcitizenship.net www.digitalcitizenshiped.com/Curriculum.a

spx www.netsmartz.org http://cybersmart.org/ www.bpscybersafety.org/index.html www.staysafeonline.info/



Standards Addressed

Standard 3. Demonstrate the ability to use technology for research, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation.



Introduction to ePals

By the end of this session you will know and be able to: Create an ePal accountSet up a profileSearch for classrooms projects



You will demonstrate this by ~

Logging into ePals and creating an account

Setting up your profile



Getting started

Go to http://ePals.com and sign up for an account.

If you are a teacher use your SPS email account and an email will be forwarded to you.

Next steps

•Check your email for a message from ePals and then click on the link

•It will take you to this page and you are ready to fill in the information provided and you are ready to begin



How to create an account?



Continue to create an account



After your account has been developed



Profile Once you read and accept

ePals terms and conditions, you will be directed to create your profile.

A profile is needed to have full access to the ePals site.

Please note that students cannot create profiles, only teachers, parents and other adult learners are permitted to do so.



Sample profile

Copied from http://ePals.com



Searching for a classroom

Keyword Search by common terms, such as book club or Spanish language

Project match Search for another classroom interested in the same ePals Project



New profiles for the day Search all profiles approved that day

Advanced search Search according to parameters you set





Map search Search based on geographic location

ePals Wanted, Teacher Talk Answer or Post on Forums for Partners




Ongoing Projects, Teacher Talk Answer or Post on Forum



School Email

SchoolMail provides multilingual email solutions to classes, schools, families and districts worldwide. With this easy-to-use product, educators can create protected, customized, collaborative environments.



Email continued…

You and your students will use ePals SchoolMail to interact with ePals all over the world. You can use ePals SchoolMail as you would any other email system. Again, depending on how you joined ePals, you may not have access to all of the features listed below.



ePals SchoolMail, you will find the following features:

Monitored Email Instant Language

Translation Virus Checking Anti-Spam Filters Spell-Checker File Sharing & Storage Manuals & Tutorials



Let’s visit a project

http://www.epals.com/projects/info.aspx?DivID=NaturalDisasters_overview



Link to downloadable PDF filled with information for you to understand ePals further…

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



Another important reminder…

Once you are finished your project with the class remove all access for students. Go to page 106 of the manual for help.



Your Turn



Start exploring ePals. Visit these pages:

Projects for Classroom Collaboration Each project is designed to be used as is or customized to your classroom's needs. Project topics are of global interest including Global Warming and Water.

Global Forums Talk about the issues that are relevant to you. Discuss potential projects, learn how to use technology, or find other ePals.

Take our ePals Tour Learn more about ePals. Download guides for SchoolMail or SchoolBlog. Watch a video testimonial of how teachers are using ePals.

Set up classroom account Set up profile information

Search for a classroom to interact with or search for a project

If desired set a email account for your class

Your Turn…part 2



Checklist

I was able to set up a account I was able to verify my account through an

email set by ePals.(check your Barracuda account if you did not

receive one)

I completed my profile. I was able to search for projects and/or

classrooms.



Resources

ISTE Publications, Digital Citizenship in Schools by Mike Ribble and Gerald Bailey, copyright 2007, ISBN No: 978-1-56484-232-9.



epals created 5-10-10 revised 6/7/2010 1 office of information, technology and accountability

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