One of our fourth grade teachers was fortunate enough to travel to Japan this summer.  Influenced by the trip, and wanting to share the experience with her students, Mrs. Urquidi set up a partnership with a teacher in Japan.  Students will engage in a pen-pal experience this year, but with a STEM twist!  To introduce the project, Mrs. Urquidi set up a Blendspace (a digital bulletin board platform).  The students took their turn creating their own Blendspace to introduce a partner to their “buddy” in Japan.  Students in Japan will learn about their pen-pal through videos, images, text, and a self-portrait created with Sketchpad.  Throughout the year, fourth graders will use Blendspace as a way to communicate a final product or document their learning along the way.