1. TALK ABOUT PRIMARY LANGUAGES
&
EPALS GLOBAL COMMUNITY
By: Germayne Yanez
EDLD 5362
Informational Systems Management

2. TALK ABOUT PRIMARY LANGUAGES WEBSITE
A place to share worries, successes and
resources with supportive colleagues, for
anyone teaching languages in a primary
school.

3. ADVANTAGES FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMATION ON
USAGE OF PRIMARY LANGUAGES NETWORK:
 Provides a blog where teachers can share ideas, information and prior
lessons that have had a positive impact on limited English learners.
 A forum for discussions.
 Photos, flashcards, and printable clipart is available.
 Downloadable resources: lessons, games and videos which can be
found in their wiki-spaces, or search bar.
 There are several complete schemes of work shared on this website, in
addition to various overviews.
 The group tab provides information for beginning teachers, student
teachers, primary language teachers, German teachers, etc.
 The members page gives you a list of all the members with their profile
information and what they have recently posted that might be helpful to
you.

4. MY USE OF TALK ABOUT PRIMARY LANGUAGES
WEBSITE
Being a bilingual teacher in an elementary campus, it is always very
beneficial to have as many resources as possible for English Language
Learners.
I find this network to be very user friendly with many promising
lessons, ideas, discussions and feedback.
Using the downloadable resources, games and videos gives me the
opportunity to teach by using visual tools as well as using the internet to
improve the learning of all 21st century learners.

5. “It is a valuable forum for professional development and for
generating resources for the use of web 2.0 technologies in
the classroom. It is a good example of how social networking
services can be used by educators to develop an online
community of practice.” Ebahtic (2007)

6. EPALS-GLOBAL COMMUNITY
This is a place to connect and collaborate
with teachers from all around the globe.
Students also having the opportunity to
connect with other learners around the world
with online projects, activities and
discussions.

7. ADVANTAGES FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMATION ON
USAGE OF PRIMARY LANGUAGES NETWORK:
 A free network - helps learners connect to other learners around the
world.
 Find a classroom match - Any successful collaboration starts with finding
the right partner. Use the powerful search tools on the left to find
potential classroom matches or use the email tool to invite other
classrooms to join a project of your creation.
 Join a project - Looking for a project you can join? Use the powerful
search tools on the left to find other ePals classrooms seeking project
partners, then submit a join request.
 Start a project - Ready to lead a project of your own? Select one of our
project templates or create your own project from scratch. Just follow the
simple directions, they guide you through the process.
 Explore the learning centers - Join students around the world to try out
these fun activities, discussions and games, brought to you by
ePals, Smithsonian Institution, and other great educational groups.

8. ADVANTAGES FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMATION ON
USAGE OF PRIMARY LANGUAGES NETWORK:
In the Learning Center:
 Writing Center-writing activities to spark the imagination.
 ePals Center-celebrate culture. Share the best of your country; discover
the best of the world.
 In2books clubhouse-publish reviews, explore genres, and discover new
favorites.
 The Game room-play strategic games with kids around the world.
 Global citizens-team up to make a positive impact in communities
worldwide.
 Smithonians on ePals-visit the world’s largest museums without leaving
your classrooms.

9. MY USE OF EPALS GLOBAL COMMUNITY
WEBSITE
As an elementary teacher, I am always trying to find ways to integrate
technology into my student’s everyday curriculum. I found that ePals
Global community would be a very beneficial tool to help my bilingual
students collaborate with other students around the world.
Teaching in a low-socioeconomic community, I have found that my
students have never been to places outside of our city, which is really
very sad. After discovering ePals, I will be able to bring other parts of
the world right into the classroom, with a click of a mouse. My students
will be able to work collaboratively with other children from other parts of
the world and learn about their geography and their cultures.

10. “ePals provides an online classroom-matching and
collaboration service, where students in different
schools, states, or countries can work together on projects in
private, customizable group workspaces.” Meyer (2012)

11. In today’s world, educational networks are very important to states and
educational leaders. With our students being so technologically
savvy, we as educators must continue to grow and implement as much
technology in our student’s everyday curriculum. “The continued
advancement of the Internet and the revolution in telecommunications
technology and services have increased the potential for new and
improved educational services” Mathews (2004).
If we as educators do not integrate technology and give our students the
opportunity to use digital tools in the classroom, we are the ones to
blame for them not succeeding in our 21st century digital world. Douglas
Rushkoff (1999), in Playing the Future, agrees: “Our children…are the
latest model of human being. Looking at the world of children is not
looking backward
at our own past—it’s looking ahead. They are our evolutionary future” (p.
4).

12. References:
Ebathic (2007) Retrieved on October 21, 2012, from:
http://web20erc.eu/node/119
Mathews, J.B. (2004, April). Why statewide educational networks are important
to state and educational leaders. Southern Regional Educational Board.
Retrieved on November 17, 2009, from
http://www.sreb.org/programs/EdTech/pubs/PDF/04T02-
Statewide_Ed_Tech_Net_Important.pdf
Meyer, Leila (2012). Retrieved on October 20, 2012, from:
http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/06/27/epals-enhances-global-learning-
network.aspx
Rushkoff, D. (1999). Playing the future: What we can learn from digital kids
aka children of chaos. New York: Riverhead Books.