I came across the article E-Palling Around http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23557_1 by Jennifer Demski that discussed how teachers around the world are trying out SchoolMail (an application fromEpals) that allows students all over the world to connect via email. SchoolMail is designed to be used as email for students and follows the acts about children’s privacy and FERPA. The teachers can control the setting and if they want to allow attachments and who the children are emailing.

I think a program like this is awesome to use at all grade levels. Even the kindergarten kids can meet “friends” in other countries. Older students can talk to others about their country’s cultures, world issues, and relevant current events. STudents will benefit from this by being exposed to more cultures, practicing their writing and typing skills and reading skills. I don’t think teachers could go wrong by setting up virtual ePals for their students.

As I was browsing through my classmates’ blogs the other day, I came across a blog post about the amount of rainfall linked as a possible cause of Autism and was very interested in this. I read some more articles about it, and I don’t know if I’m buying it or not.

About the Study:
The research from Cornell University compared the rates rainfall between 1987 and 1999 in Oregon, California and Washington, with rates of autism in children who grew up in that period. The relationship between autism and rainfall rates can be explained by the chemical effects of the rain, the experts speculated.

According to researchers, the rain can affect the chemicals to which children are exposed. Besides, the aging process in enclosed environments can affect children’s development, whether through increased exposure to tv or chemicals from the house, or by lack of vitamin D produced by exposure to sun.

The study was published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27536036/

I also found a video newscast about the article here:
http://www.nypost.com/video/?vxSiteId=0db7b365-a288-4708-857b-8bdb545cbd0f&vxChannel=PostHealthFeed&vxClipId=1198_081106-11547_110608_an_VINOCUR_B1200&vxBitrate=300