This document discusses setting up virtual pen pals and other online collaborative opportunities for students. It provides several links to websites where students can find pen pals and set up blogs or wikis to communicate with other classes. Suggestions are made for curriculum ideas that involve sharing cultural information, images, music, stories and other media between students in different locations through online collaboration.

1. Virtual Pen Pals
Mt. Vernon
ITSCO
rachel@itsco.org

2. Pen Pals
 Why pen pals?
 Remember this?
 Why virtual?

3. Virtual Pen Pal Links
 http://www.zen.org/~brendan/kids-pen.html
 http://www.epals.com/
 http://www.teach-nology.com/forum/showthread.

4. Wikis for Collaboration
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
 Flat Classroom Project
http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/
 Other Examples
http://wiki.woodward.edu/hannalee/doku.php?id=hannalee%

5. More Wiki Resources
 http://educators.pbwiki.com/PBwiki-educator-vid
 http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-

6. Classroom Blog
 Create a blog used by your class to communicate to
other classes and schools across the town, state,
country or world.
 http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=36
 www.blogger.com/
Ex. http://mrcsclassblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.alyssa1123.blogspot.com/

7. Using Other Groups’ Blogs
Search Blogs and Advertise Blogs
http://technorati.com/

8. Interactive Video Conferencing
 View opportunities for networking
 Sign up for AT&T Knowledge Explorer
listserv
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/vidconf/

9. Google Earth
 Find a geographical landmark, country, or
border of interest

10. Geo Caching
 http://www.geocaching.com/

11. Building a Curriculum
 Decide on a location
 Find five websites that feature the location you
chose-Focus on the following
 Architecture
 Music
 Food
 Family and traditions
 Geographical features and climate
 Lifestyle and customs
 Find 5 images from your location

12. Sharing
 Decide on five images you will share from
your school and that you would like the far
site school to share with your class.

13. Other Ideas
 Record music from your school’s music
program
 Share students’ stories from creative
writing. Have students write about their
lives or what they think their life might be
like if they lived in the pen pals home place.
 Share a copy of the student newspaper.

14.  Have students write reviews of plays,
sporting events, or other school activities.
 Students can experiment with blogging.

15. Share photos of
Mascot
 Students
 Cafeteria-lunch
 Library
 Flag/Flag pole
 Classroom
 Classroom Pets
 Textbooks
 playground

16. Safety

17. Questions?