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e-Buddies for Special Education Teachers
Butler student Brooklyn Roger and Noble of Indiana participant Mike VanLieu practice their computer skills together. "I would definitely recommend e-Buddies to anyone! Our students enjoy it so much and it has been a big help to them. They have increased their skills on the computer, sentence structure, punctuation, thinking ability. It is often hard for our students to find things to talk about with each other. This gives them a common bond."
- Pam Roberts, Special Education teacher in Virginia
e-Buddies is an e-mail friendship program that matches students with an intellectual disability with a peer who does not have an intellectual disability. Since 1999, we have been helping individuals with intellectual disabilities develop reading, writing, computer, and social skills by making technology fun!
The more excluded students with disabilities are from technology education, the more isolated they will be in society. Individuals with computer and Internet skills are at an advantage in life, as the technology-literate person is more prepared to compete for higher-level employment, better able to communicate using a variety of sources, and more in control of their future. |
In one fun activity, e-Buddies can help incorporate the following skillsets into your lesson plans:
- Reading skills
- Writing skills
- Computer skills
- Social skills
| Your students will each be matched with an e-Buddy who is around their age, shares similar interests, and lives in another part of the country. e-Buddies agree to e-mail each other at least once a week (although many of our participants write much more often than that!). We screen all of our participants, and all participants must communicate through our e-mail system. This allows us to filter out inappropriate contect and retain copies of all e-mails exchanged. For more about our safety policies, please click here. |
"I've never seen my class so excited! At first, I thought that we would check our e-mail once a week. Now, we check it every day. e-Buddies is more fun and functional."
- Jeanne Sabol, Special Education Teacher in Ohio
We have developed a number of tools to make it easy for you to sign your special education students up for e-Buddies. Our group application allows you to create a profile for your class on the e-Buddies website, after which you can add your students as they are ready to participate.
Once you've created a profile, you can use our Group Admin Tool to manage your class. Through this tool you can see at a glance how many e-mails each student has exchanged, and view the messages that your students have sent and received. You can also add new students, place matches on hold for holiday or summer vacations, and update your contact information.
The e-Buddies staff is always available to answer your questions. We can be reached at eBuddiesComments@bestbuddies.org, or by calling (202) 554-4801.
Thanks again for your interest in e-Buddies! |
"e-Buddies has opened up a whole new world to our participants who cannot communicate verbally. With time, help, and encouragement, they are learning a new way to have a relationship. Everyone is really excited. They ask if they've gotten e-mail all of the time."
- Kim Lowman, Special Education Teacher in Massachusetts
More Resources for Teachers
FAQ for Special Education Teachers
e-Buddies Guide to Internet Literacy
e-Buddies Informational Fliers
Parent / Legal Guardian Consent Form
What happens after signing up for e-Buddies?
How to Check E-mail
e-Buddies Computer Toolkit
Intellitools Keyboard Overlays
Adjusting your Junk E-mail Settings
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