Email Tools & Technology-Rich Learning

How can email be used in the classroom?

What programs and tools are available for children?

How can email projects be coordinated?

boy with butterfly Whether sending messages, photographs, videos, or other files, email is a great communication tool. It allows students and teachers to reach out of their school or library and connect with others around the world.

Email projects have been part of classrooms for more than a decade. One of the most popular projects involves tracking the migration of wildlife including the Monarch butterflies.

Go to Journey North to learn about global studies of wildlife migration. Explore the website and notice how email is used to communicate ideas and project results.

Check the highlights from the 2003 project. Watch a video clip introduction to the Journey North project. You'll need the Window's Media Player to view the video.

Hardware and Software

Epals
http://epals.com
Offers free, monitored email. Includes translations to seven different languages. Also contains discussion boards.

Gaggle
http://gaggle.net
Offers free and subscription, filtered email.

Technology Integration

Joining a project is a great way to get started using email with your students.

Read sample epals correspondence to get a feel for the types of email communications students might write.

Email Project Ideas

Teaching with epals
http://www.epals.com/teaching/
Explores projects and approaches to doing emal projects with kids. Go to the epals documentation for additional ideas.

Email Projects

Epals
http://www.epals.com/projects/
Projects for ages 6-11, 12-14, and 15 and up.

Intercultural Email Clasroom Connections
http://www.iecc.org/
Connects classrooms with other cultures.

Go to Ask-An-Expert from Teacher Tap. It has lots of ideas for communicating with experts through email.