Aimee Chanhatasilpa
SLM 521 Sp 05
Elective 5 - KeyPals
Five Instructional Uses for E-Mail in the Classroom:
- To communicate with students after school hours and on weekends.
- To connect students with keypals in sister schools or sister cities for friendships and class projects.
- To encourage students to seek out primary sources for research by contacting groups or experts for information.
- Put students in touch with mentors or tutors via e-mail.
- Create an school club discussion board of students for online activities like student-appropriate gaming or other non-internet activities.
Two Recommended E-Mail
/ KeyPals sites:
- Ask an Expert – This terrific site encourages students to contact it’s kid-friendly experts via e-mail. The experts have already agreed to answer student e-mailed questions. A huge variety of sub-topics exists within most of the broader topics listed, though the sub-topics for some areas are limited. Very clear step-by-step directions are included as well as a “how to ask” button to help users get started. www.askanexpert.com Date last visited: 3/12/05
- School World – This excellent site has a number of creative and meaningful keypals projects for students. Some involve solving a research question together, working via e-mail, others offered student shared experiences by exchanging a toy pet or object then relaying it’s experiences through the pal’s daily life, creating puzzles for other keypals to solve and many more. In several cases a coordinator’s e-mail address is included to get started. http://www.schoolworld.asn.au/projects.html Date last visited: 3/12/05