Postcrossing in the Classroom
Contributed by:
Mark
Age Range: 5 to 11
Mark
Age Range: 5 to 11
Postcrossing is a really simple way to exchange postcards with people around the world. The process is simple...
- After registering, you choose to 'Send a Postcard'.
- The site then gives you the name, address and profile information of a person to send a postcard to.
- When that person registers the card as being received, your details will be given to someone else, who will then send you a card.
- So, for every card you send, you should receive one in return.
The site is incredibly easy to use and has some clever tools to keep track of the cards that you have sent / received. You are also able to scan your cards and show them to others on your own 'Postcard Wall'.
Postcrossing could definitely be useful in the classroom:
- A school / class account could be registered and used to allow children to send postcards (under adult supervision) with people around the world.
- As postcards are sent or received, their destination / location of origin could be identified in atlases / Google Maps / Google Earth. It might also be a good opportunity to find out more about that place, and the history / culture of the people living there.
- Some wonderful classroom displays could be created, using the postcards and information about the places they are from. There are some examples at the Classroom Displays blog.
- Linda Hartley has carried out a project using postcards, with a useful video to show her experiences here.
- Children could also make their own postcards. This might also be an opportunity to use ICT (e.g. 2Publish+). Having said this, some of the Postcrossing members use the site to collect postcards and they occasionally state that they would rather not receive homemade cards.
The choice of postcard recipients is also completely random, so it's not possible for schools to ensure that they are sending to other schools.
There are some more ideas for using postcards here.
Have you tried Postcrossing? Are you using it in the classroom?
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