- an online French lesson today
- BLC ePALS Conference Interviews
- Breaking News:Boston Epal Conference2008
- Our China and U.S. Web Conference Today, June 3 & 4, 2008
- * Important Notice! *
- ePALS Student Forum
- Students Have Their Say
- New ePAL Connections....
- Email writing project 2006
- Candace Podcast - Future in Review
* Important Notice! *
Submitted by cpauchnick on Thu, 2008-04-03 06:29.
Public
You do not need to login or have a password to look around and leave messages on this blog. The login and password are only for the administrators who created this blog. This blog is open to the public and we encourage all people to please leave us comments.
Sincerely,
The administrators: Candace Pauchnick & Yaodong Chen
Yes, the students are motivated!
Submitted by cpauchnick on Sat, 2008-11-01 15:41.
Hello Willona,
Thank you for your kind words about our blog page. In answer to your question about my students' enthusiasm when connecting to ePals, yes, I do see them motivated to learn when they connect to ePals. I especially noticed it 2 years ago when I was working on my master's degree. I needed to complete a study on comparing students who had ePals to those who did not have them. The class who did not have the ePals knew students in my other class who did have the ePals so they would talk to them about their ePals. Many of my students, without ePals, were very unhappy with me for not allowing them to have this type of connection. I had to promise them I would give them the opportunity to have ePals when I finished my master degree study. I also noticed that the students who did not have the ePals did the research on China with less enthusiasm than those who were connected to an ePal. Students with ePals also had much more interest in class discussions because they could share items they learned from their letters. My shy students would talk more, too. The lessons were "real to life" and my students could feel more connected to what they were learning. When the earthquake hit in China, last year, my students were genuinely concerned for their ePals. Another bonus is that my students were more motivated to write and they had to write correctly so their ePals could understand what they were saying. Since the Chinese students were learning English it motivated my students to write as perfect English as possible. This was sometimes a challenge since I also have students who are learning English. I have students who are from other countries and have moved San Diego.
All the various projects the ePal program offers gives the opportunity to help teachers, from all over the world, to find areas that meet individual needs. It is truly a fantastic program and I hope all teachers take advantage of this incredible educational tool.
Thanks for writing and I hope this information will be useful to you.
Sincerely,
Candace Pauchnick
Patrick Henry High School
San Diego, CA
» reply
Wonderful inspiration!
Submitted by Nicole Gonzalez (not verified) on Sat, 2008-08-23 10:59.
Candace,
I teach Spanish at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, FL. My school has been very proactive in incorporating technology into the classrooms. I have done a blog project for the past two years but wanted to go beyond those parameters this year. I had envisioned an email exchange between my III and IV Honors students this year that would also include a Skype and videocam component. I am amazed at what you have accomplished with your cooperative project with China!!! It is EXACTLY the sort of thing that I want to do with my students. Do you mind sharing your "topics for discussion" and "parent letter" content? I would love to communicate with you directly about this project as I am not sure how often you monitor the comments on this blog.
Nicole Gonzalez
» reply
Thank you and I'm glad to help!
Submitted by cpauchnick on Tue, 2008-08-26 22:58.
Hello Nicole,
I'm so pleased you enjoyed seeing this blog Yaodong Chen and I have created for our students. It has been a wonderful place for them interact with each other. We have also had a lot of fun using Skype in our video conference. I'm glad you would like to do this, too.
You may use any of the handouts I have posted on this blog. When you click on the titles of the handouts the documents should open for you. If they don't please let me know and I can send them to you as an email attachment.
I check this blog almost everyday, or every other day. At this moment Yaodong Chen and I are not actively connecting our students yet. Both of our school years ended last June and we will begin a new school year soon.
If you have any questions you may email me at pauchnick@epals.com or at my school email address: cpauchnick@sandi.net.
I'm excited you want to involve your students with other students around the globe. It really makes school fun for students.
Sincerely,
Candace
» reply
China visa
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2008-05-27 18:04.
Candice, I found that I have a problem getting into China via my websites. I think they are blocked. Now I am using www.spaces.live.com and can get in. Chee
» reply
Blocked?
Submitted by cpauchnick on Wed, 2008-05-28 15:24.
Hello Chee,
You mentioned your own website wouldn't let you access China. I'm not sure what you mean. Do you have some sort of search program on your website that searches sites about China and it won't let you do that? What type of website do you have? I'm not familiar with spaces.live.com. What type of program or site is this about?
Candace
» reply
Invitation to teachers planet
Submitted by Teachers Planet (not verified) on Mon, 2008-05-05 04:28.
Hi!
I like your blog and would like to invite you, to join http://teachersplanet.ning.com
It is an online community for teachers of all levels and curriculum areas.Your visit to the network will provide an opportunity for you to share your expertise with our teachers.At teachers planet you can start your own groups, start/participate in a discussion/ forum, add videos, music, RSS feeds, start blogs and do many more things.
Thank you for your time and consideration
» reply
Débora carneiro Tura
Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 2008-04-05 16:47.
I'm an English Teacher in Brazil. I would like to met some epals for a Colaborative English Blog Project. I use blogs as a pedagogical tool in my English classe. In the beginning of March 2008, I and my students from Grade 5 started to develop a blog as a collaborative virtual space that allows readers' interaction. We start our journey to the knowledge search. The Computer will help us on it, but, to it happen, we need that others students participate in this project.
You are welcome to our blog: http://aprendendoenglishnainternetcoletivo51.blogspot.com
» reply
Wonderful blog project.
Submitted by cpauchnick on Sun, 2008-04-06 11:37.
Hello Debora,
I just looked at your blog site and you have many wonderful sections. I see you have given us the link for your English project you are having your students involved in. The pictures your students have drawn of things they like are so nice. You and they have put a lot of time into making your blog site interesting. I will share this site with my students in my classes. They are much older than your students but they will enjoy seeing your students' pictures.
Thank you,
Candace Pauchnick
Patrick Henry High School
San Diego, CA U.S.A.
» reply
quick question
Hello Candace Pauchnick & Yaodong Chen -- I am working on a story for my education association's newsletter about using technology to connect classrooms. I have been reading your blogs and I watched your video conference.
I am so impressed with your students and so happy to have found out about this great work in time for my story! I just wanted to ask both of you, what do you think that the impact has been for your students? Have you found that they are more enthusiastic about coming to class and more motivated to to learn because they are connecting with peers in this new way?
thank you!