ePals to Host Globally-Connected Classroom Conference
in July 2008

Attendees to Learn How to Help Students Improve 21st Century Skills
through Collaborative Learning and Online Communication Tools

Herndon, Va. (May 19, 2008) – Empowering educators to utilize Web 2.0 technology throughout instruction, such as emailing and blogging tools, ePals will host a pre-conference session at Alan November’s annual conference, “Building Learning Communities” (BLC) 2008.

Hosted by Tim DiScipio, co-founder of ePals, the ePals Globally-Connected Classroom Conference will be held on July 15, 2008, in Boston, Mass. Leading ePals teachers and instructional technology directors will join DiScipio to demonstrate innovative classroom applications of ePals’ protected emailing, blogging and literacy tools. Presentations will address language learning, cross-cultural pen pal programs, district-wide implementation, posting podcasts on blogs, and learning how blogging can connect families with teachers to help support the learning process outside of the classroom. The program features:

Tim DiScipio, who will share the company’s vision for global collaboration and information about recent partnerships with National Geographic, the PC Classmate powered by Intel, and the XO from One Laptop Per Child.
Dr. Kari Stubbs will present “ePals 101: Where and How to Start Using Global Collaborative Tools in Project-based Learning.” Dr. Stubbs led the EETT initiative in Kansas before joining ePals as Director of Professional Development.
Dr. Rita Oates, VP of Education Markets for ePals, will speak about accomplishing the new NETS Standards for Students using ePals’ tools and activities. Formerly, Dr. Oates was in charge of educational technology for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Dr. Laurie Henry from the University of Kentucky will discuss literacy issues in the online world.
Dr. Shelia Gersh from the City Colleges of New York will share her ePals-based project as an example of a successful 21st century online educational experience.
Carol Bar, an educator at Blue Valley High School in Kansas, will discuss how she uses blogging to help her students in language acquisition.
Candace Pauchnick, a high school teacher in San Diego, Calif., will share her experience of a multimedia exchange with a Chinese classroom, using email, blogs, and videoconferencing.
Adina Popa, a technology resource teacher in Sterling, Va., will present her personal recruiting tactics to get your entire school involved with ePals.

In addition, several district technology directors will share best practices in implementation and usage in their districts for safe and protected student email and blogs. Classroom teachers also will discuss their experiences for instructional success in the online community, using safe and secure, online tools.

Educators, instructional technology directors and chief instructional officers interested in collaborative technology tools are recommended to attend this conference, where they will learn the fundamentals of setting up free accounts, how to start projects and how these programs can impact learning in the classroom.

In addition, educators and other industry experts wishing to present their best practices and implementation tips regarding social networking and Web 2.0 tools should send their success stories to conference@corp.epals.com.

More Information

The ePals Globally Connected Classroom Conference will be held from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on July 15, 2008, and will cost $135 for those who register by June 16. After this date, registration is $225. To register for the ePals pre-conference session and for more information on Building Learning Communities 2008, visit www.epals.com/conference.

The Building Learning Communities Conference will take place July 14-18, 2008, at the Boston Newton Marriott in Boston, Mass. Attendees will have the opportunity to build global and personal connections with some of the most creative and innovative educators in the field and will return home with more creative and demanding assignments for their students and a larger network of colleagues. BLC has created a buzz that has extended around the world. At the 2007 conference, delegates attended from the United States, Japan, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, El Salvador, Guatemala, Morocco, Kenya, Israel, Canada, Denmark, Australia, and New Zealand.

For more information on ePals and company services, please visit www.epalscorp.com.

About ePals

Founded in 1996 and merged with In2Books in 2006, ePals offers K-12 students and educators around the world a safe environment for building and exchanging knowledge based on protected connectivity tools, evidence-based curricula and authentic, collaborative learning experiences. The ePals Global Learning Community™ (www.ePals.com) is the largest online community of K-12 learners, enabling more than 325,000 educators and 126,000 classrooms across 200 countries and territories to safely connect, exchange ideas, and work together. The company’s mission is to support lifelong learning through collaborative experiences that empower and inspire.

Contacts

ePals, Inc.
Rebecca Kilduff
703-885-3400
rkilduff at corp.epals dot com
www.epalscorp.com

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Sandy Fash
608-839-9800
sandy at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com