1. ePals SchoolM@ilTMKeeping Children Safe

2. Question: Can a FREE service allow teachers and school administrators to monitor email content, while still giving students an easy, safe, and secure way to communicate with peers worldwide?

3. YES! www.ePals.com

4. ePals Introduction • ePals SchoolMail is a complete, internet-based email solution and collaborative toolset designed for the education environment. • With ePals SchoolMail you will be able to give members of your educational community access to email – and to each other – in a safe, managed way. • ePals SchoolMail offers a multilingual environment for you and your students, making it an ideal tool for communicating in a multi-cultural school community and for learning second languages. • ePals SchoolMail filtering and monitoring system enables you to: • know what your students are communicating about • know what your students are sending and receiving • get students in touch with the information and people that you want them to be in touch with as part of your curriculum

5. Unique Features of SchoolMail • Language Translation: ePals SchoolMail is the first email with built in Language Translation. • Safe and Secure: Options for monitoring student work (SchoolMail was made for school use with qualities that teachers asked for!) • World’s Largest Online Learning Community: Use ePals SchoolMail to communicate with students, parents, peer educators, and members of the global community.

6. Unique Features of SchoolMail: 1. Language Translation

10. Unique Features of SchoolMail: 2. Safe and Secure

11. 2. Safe and Secure Access Levels • Class/Monitor: Students are limited to mailing other students who have the same monitor. • School: Students are limited to mailing students and teachers in the same school. • District: Limits students to mailing students and teachers at schoools created within your system. • ePALS SchoolMail: Limits students to emailing people who are using ePALS SchoolMail in their schools.

12. Level 1: Monitor must approve every message sent and received. Level 2: Monitor receives a copy of every message sent or received, but must approve only those which contain profanity identified by flagged words. Level 3: Monitor will only receive messages that contain profanity, and these messages will require approval before reaching their destination. Level 4: All content filters are off. Monitor only receives copies with attachments if set for this. 2: Safe and Secure Filter Levels

13. Flagging System • Stop sign with exclamation point • Stop sign • OK sign • Checked envelope • Paperclip

14. Homepage Review: ePals SchoolMail

15. Student Monitored Mail Email monitoring lets you: • Safely bring email technology into the classroom. • Preview students’ incoming and outgoing email messages. • Ensure that messages are appropriate to age, setting and context. • Safely integrate student email in appropriate, educational ways.

16. Classroom Email Integration • Authentic assessment • Use vocabulary words within email • Round robin story writing • Share and analyze data • Write an alternative ending to a story • Respond to a daily news headline or topic

17. Complete Access to ePals starts with a PROFILE.

18. Active Participation in the Community Starts with a Classroom Profile • Creating a Classroom Profile is an important first step in active participation of the global community. • Teachers can’t contact other classrooms without having a profile submitted and approved.

19. What is a Classroom Profile?

20. A Successful Profile Includes: • Age-range of class (age in years as well as grade level) • Language(s) the students speak • Location of the classroom 4. Location of desired partner

21. A Successful Profile Includes: • Methods with which you would like to collaborate • Length of desired collaboration • Frequency of desired collaboration • Topic of desired collaboration

22. Sample teacher profile

23. Profile - Your turn • Age-range of class (age in years as well as grade level) • Language(s) the students speak • Location of the classroom • Location of desired partner • Methods with which you would like to collaborate (email, postal mail, blogs, video conferences) • Length of desired collaboration (school year, semester and months your school in session) • Frequency of desired collaboration (weekly, monthly, at holidays) • Topic of desired collaboration (the more specific the better. Global warming is better than science.)

24. Preview Your Profile

25. Student approval page

26. Now What????? Finding a Project

28. ePals Projects for Collaboration

29. Advanced search page

30. Submit your own project!

31. Resources • Website: www.ePals.com • Contact me: Judith Lay jlay@shelbyed.k12.al.us • Copy of today’s PowerPoint presentation: Link will be added at TechFest • SchoolMail instruction manual from ePals: http://www.epals.com/schoolmail/documentation/SM_Teacher_v20.pdf

32. Teacher Forums