E-Penpal-Portfolio Project To the students of Saint Odilo: Have you ever had a penpal? Have you wondered what it's like to be a college student? Are you interested in experimenting with writing--all kinds of writing (stories, letters, journals, advertisements, poems, arguments, etc.)? Would you like to get some informed advice on how your writing might improve its effectiveness? Would you like to publish your writing to real audiences--other kids your age, their families, teachers, and interested adults?   If any of these questions intrigues you, even a little bit, you may find yourself enjoying and appreciating your next school project--the E-Penpal Project with Saint Xavier University education students. For the next several weeks each of you will be paired up with a Saint Xavier University education student who wishes, some day, to be a teacher. The task of the SXU student will be to help you develop as a writer--to offer advice, provide encouragement, make a few assignments--in general to act as a coach or mentor, but in the friendly spirit of a "penpal." Project Essentials Who is involved? Saint Odilo Seventh and Eighth Grade Students will produce essays, stories, and other written "artifacts" to be put together into a portfolio. Saint Xavier University Education Students will provide advice, feedback, and guidance to St. Odilo writers as they build their portfolios. Prairie Junior High Students will collaborate with Saint Odilo students to build a Web site showcasing "Time Capsule" type "artifacts." Dr. Angelo Bonadonna will coordinate the project, compose daily announcements, teach a few classes, provide technical assistance, and generally cheer you kids on, as you produce your best work. Ms. Myers and Ms. Girard will be your Saint Odilo teachers who will teach writing and computer lessons, and grade you on this major English project this quarter. What work will you do? You will be expected to conduct weekly writing in two modes: 1. drafts of essays/artifacts for the project, and 2. messages to your penpal. When will you work? There will be a mixture of school work and homework required for this project. For the school work portion you will work in the computer lab each Monday and Tuesday of the next several weeks (about ten weeks in all). Where will you work? You will work in the computer lab on Mondays (during English class) and on Tuesdays (during Computer class). Since the student portfolios (i.e., the online bulletin boards) will be on the Web, you will be able to access your work and add to it from home and/or any location that has access to the Web. How will you work? Once in the lab, you will log into your class site which you can access from the course list at http://www.saintodilo.org/wcb. Once at the site you will click on the Announcements button to receive an update of the day's assignment. Then you will click on the "Writing Portfolio" link and post your draft or penpal response. Please note that you will communicate with your penpal in two ways: 1. by posting responses at your portfolio bulletin board and 2. by sending your penpal email. Why will you work? You will participate in this project to improve your writing, to learn about yourself and others as writers, to learn about schooling at other levels and schools, to complete your required work for English, to have fun, and to learn lots of other unplanned, unexpected things. Whom do you contact if you have questions? For questions about your assignments: Ms. Myers at myers@saintodilo.org For questions about the computer lab: Ms. Girard at girard@saintodilo.org For any questions in general about the project, or for technical diifficulties: Dr. Bonadonna at bonadonna@saintodilo.org For questions about the Web site project with Prairie Jr. High: Ms. Medrano at cambodia98@yahoo.com For questions to your entire class: eighth@saintodilo.org (eighth grade listserv) or seventh@saintodilo.org (seventh grade listserv) Good luck on this project! Sincerely, Dr. Bonadonna