ePals: Learning on A Global Community

Not until this mod did I know there is such a useful website which allows students' to learn in a global community. ePals provides a platform for students to learn differences and similarities of areas world wide without boundaries. Besides, students can learn about local and world wide issues of both countries when interacting with each other. I would incorporate ePals in my future classroom as follows:

To begin, I would incorporate Pen Pal Exchange into my classroom. I would invite students to have one to one message with other students from a different cultural background. In this Pen Pal Exchange, I would invite them to have project and share local problems and issues of their own countries. After expressing problems of their own countries and knowing issues of other countries, students should think about possible solutions for those problems for their pen pal. Through this project, students can not only practice their writing skills but improve their critical thinking skills. 

Besides, I believe it is also practical to use ePals when teaching about race issues. For example, after reading articles about America, students can truly get in touch with Americans and discuss about race issues from both American and Taiwanese perspectives. From this project, I believe students can learn differences and similarities between two nations concerning race issues. Also, students can learn those issues not merely from textbooks but from real interactions with those people, which will leave a deep impression. 

To conclude, in this global village, our learning community does not need to be confined to an area. Through using ePals, students can not only improve their writing but learn global issues from different perspectives and, thus, become a global citizen.