EPals

Global Connections



For me the Epals Classroom Collaboration feature is most useful in the classroom. Being a Social Studies teacher it is an excellent way for teachers from different countries/states/regions to connect with one another. However, you can use this feature for any subject really as there are nine different projects all with value in multiple subjects. These different projects also give students and teachers the opportunities to collaborate on academic work. It is always helpful to work with other people on subjects and share information. These projects provide the opportunity to do so, with the added bonus of people outside the classroom. Lastly the Epals Classroom Collaboration projects allow for students to upload their work, this is something I have stated multiple times as being a positive activity for students. I feel it allows for more ownership of work and I think that students enjoy know that other people will be viewing their work.

As a Social Studies Teacher I feel that the The Way We Are: An Introduction to ePals would be an excellent resource for me to use in my classroom. I see a great ninth grade Global lesson on religion where I and a classroom from a region in India or the Middle East creating a project on religions. This would be very interesting and usual as it would give the opportunities for students from both classes the chance to explain hopefully a few different types of religions from both classrooms. I understand this would be very difficult and possibly controversial but if done right it could allow for more religious toleration amongst different religions. I see this as highly useful and a wonderful opportunity for students in both classrooms.

EPals Link

Bubblr

As a Social Studies teacher I love Political Cartoons and I know that students love Comics. Bubblr is a great tool for teachers that allows students to create their own. By having students use Bubblr they can search pictures to create either a comic strip or even just some sort of political cartoon. It is very easy to use and it would not be too difficult for students to accomplish. I created a model political cartoon on Andrew Jackson. What I would see my students doing is create some sort of commentary on a historical figure. I did an example of Andrew Jackson, asking how important is he? I also bring up important issues of his Presidency. I would want my students to do the same. Another option is they could find a picture of Native Americans and express their thoughts on Andrew Jackson or American in general.


Link to Andrew Jackson Cartoon

Creative Commons Licensing

In the teaching world sharing is everything. We teachers share lessons, materials, pictures, text and just about everything. As a teacher it is our job to also make sure that we are not stealing something as we have to pay attention and give credit where credit is due. Flickr's creative commons licensing allows you to borrow pictures from others. Attribution allows others to copy, display and perform the your copyrighted work. You must give credit or a person must give you credit if you change the picture. A photo labeled noncommercial means that you can be all of the above but for noncommercial purposes. If a photo is labeled no derivative works then the person sharing the photo must share the copy of the photo as is and not change or alter the shared photo. A share alive label means that you allow others to share and distribute your picture as long as you remain under the same license that is identical to the original.

This photo belongs to Fibonacci Blue

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.