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Digital Pen Pals
by: yu174243
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Word Count: 273
Many people never forget writing pen pal letters when they were young. Some people even become life-long friends with pen pals they first wrote to in elementary school.
Today, as communicating with people on the other side of the world is as simple as a click of a mouse, the art of writing pen pal letters should not become a lost teaching tool. On the contrary, today's technology can only enhance and improve the pen pal experience for your students.
Here are some tips to help you give your students an enriched pen pal experience:
1) Alternate between handwritten letters and emails.
2) Allow students to communicate with pen pals via instant messaging.
3) Have student create audio and/or video clips for their pen pals.
4) Have video conferences with your pen pal class.
5) Create projects that students and their pen pals can work on together via the internet.
6) Encourage your students to continue to write to their pen pals over the summer and in future years even when the leave your class.
Using technology to write pen pals in the 21st century will help teach our students how to better work within the global community around them. My class has been writing letters, emailing, and talking to many different classes from around the world. They are fascinated with the similarities and difference between them and their pen pals on the other side of the world.
To get started visit People to People international at http://www.ptpi.org and get matched up with another class from almost anywhere in the world.
About the Author
Mr. L. Kent is an experienced educator and the lead consultant of http://MrKent.Net - Education Technology Made Simple. Feel free to visit the site and/or subscribe to our fantastic monthly newsletter at http://mrkent.net/php/?p=subscribe Luke Kent provides assistance to other educators by offering his interesting seminar, Teaching with Technology: A Fun Workshop for Technology Challenged Teachers. To book a seminar or a consultation visit http://MrKent.Net
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