ePALS Classroom
Exchange, an international network of grade school classrooms,
announced this week that it has register more than 10,000 online classrooms
into its network.
The site now connects more than 850,000 students in more than 90 countries
around the world. It is designed to introduce students to a variety of
different cultures. The site was launched in 1996 and co-founder John
Irving said its growth is due to word of mouth exposure.
“ePALS has grown into a very loyal online community pf progressive and
influential Internet-savvy classrooms,” he said. “By corresponding and
sharing their interests with teachers and students in other countries,
users gain positive experiences and become repeat site users.”
Each teacher submits a profile of his or her classroom to ePALS’ database,
which can be accessed by other member classrooms. The site’s database can
be searched by geography, age, grade level, language, study projects and
other interests.
“I used ePALS to find a first grade in California that we corresponded with
the entire year,” said Bunnie Brewer, a teacher in North Carolina. “This
learning experience would not have been possible without the site. It is a
wonderful resource.”