Global Cooperation in the Classroom

For the past few days I have been exploring various sites dedicated to global cooperation between students in the classroom. These websites link students and teachers from around the world, allowing them to communicate and work together on classroom projects over the internet. Two such sites which I would like to compare are ePals and iEARN.

According to the website, ePals is a "global community of collaborative learners, teachers, and academic experts in 200 countries and territories." The features of this global cooperation tool include e-mail service for students and teachers (SchoolMail), ePals SchoolBlog, a Classroom Match service where teachers can search for classrooms around the world to collaborate with, and an Instant Translation tool, which allows students to communicate with other students from different language backgrounds. Besides the e-mail and blog features on the ePals site, there are many classroom projects to choose from. Some current projects include The U.S. Presidential Election, Global Warming, Maps, and something called "The Way We Are," which is a culture-based project. ePals is intended for use by students from primary school to secondary school.

One benefit of ePals is that it is free, unlike some other global cooperation sites. And, as safety is always a concern for teachers and parents when dealing with children and the internet, ePals is serious about safety. According to the site, ePals is "managed by teachers and administrators. All interactions are policy managed by school districts and teachers, including emails, blogs, and forums, and can be monitored and filtered according to any standard. And ePals blocks SPAM, pornography, and curse words."

iEARN, or International Education and Resource Network, is another site dedicated to global cooperation among teachers and students in the classroom. According to the iEARN website, it is the "world's largest non-profit global network that enables teachers and youth to use the internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world." iEARN is intended for use by students of basically all ages, or as they put it, from first grade to senior high school. Some features of iEARN include over 150 online projects and an online discussion forum. Teachers can also submit new projects if they like, though it is recommended that they first try an already existing project. Some examples of current projects include one on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and a Christmas/Holiday Card Exchange.

While there are some neat features of iEARN, such as interesting sounding projects, like the one on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, there didn't seem to be as many features as ePals has, like e-mail and blogging. And while ePals is free, I could not locate the cost to join iEARN. Though they are a non-profit organization, I did not see the word "free" anywhere on the site. I looked at the site's FAQ section and saw a question about how much it costs to join, but their answer was that it varies by country. So I clicked on the Join iEARN link to see what it would cost to join here in the U.S., but it still did not show an amount. In order to find out, you first have to register and put in all of your personal information, which I did not want to do. Another problem I had with the iEARN site was in finding projects. While they claim to have over 150, as they may, I could only locate 4. I clicked on the link for Projects, but only 4 showed up. Perhaps only registered users are able to view all of the available projects. I also didn't see any note about safety on the site, while ePals puts a safety note right on their Overview page.

Based on my research on these two global cooperation sites, I can see myself utilizing ePals in my ESL classroom. I think the SchoolMail and SchoolBlog features would be useful for my English language learners in practicing reading and writing. And doing so with students from around the world would also teach them cultural awareness. I would also be interested in connecting with classrooms from the different countries where my students are from. One ePals project I would be interested in completing would be the one called "The Way We Are." This is a description of the project, according to the ePals site: "What makes me who I am? In this project, students will engage in a collaborative learning experience. Through email exchanges, students learn about the daily lives, cultures, climates and geography of children who live in other regions of the world."

I think global cooperation is a great tool for teachers and students, and I would bet on seeing more and more global cooperation projects implemented in classrooms around the world in the near future...Can't wait to try it!