Danielle Redding
SLM 521
KeyPals
Ideas for using keypals/epal in the high school health/physical education
classroom:
- Talking to students in other countries
to find out how fitness is viewed, what is done to promote fitness, and the
fitness level of their country (i.e. – does that country
have an obesity problem?).
- Pairing up with a student from a
different area, to talk about their fitness levels and motivate each
other.
- Talk to an expert regarding topics
covered in class (i.e. – physician or scientist/researcher regarding
medical conditions).
- Pair up two schools and have their PE
classes compete (i.e. – all classes in both schools complete physical
fitness testing, compare schools results, and find winner).
- Pair students up with others with
similar interests (i.e. – students can talk about common interests such as
how their teamed played in games or how much they lifted that day).
Recommended sites
for keypals/epals:
- Keypals
(http://www.epals.com/) – This site is an excellent resource for students
and teachers. It features many
topics and ideas for use in the educational system. It was easy to navigate and visually
welcoming.
- Student
Letter Exchange (http://www.pen-pal.com/) – For any student who wishes
they could journey across the world to understand a different culture, this would be the place to start. At this site students 9-18 can register
to meet new people who they can share common interests and explore each
others culture.
- Welcome
to Pitsco’s Ask and Expert! (http://www.askanexpert.com/) – This is a
great site for getting answers to students’ questions. Here students can ask an expert for
advice and knowledge of a wide variety of topics. It was very user friendly and I believe
students would be excited and willing to use the site.