The possibilities and uses for keypals depend upon the creativity and the flexibility of collaborating teachers. There is a wealth of human resources at your fingertips in the form of collaborating classrooms here and abroad. Amanda and Rinku, from Strathmore Elementary. They have had experience with both penpals and keypals, and they all agree that keypals are far better than traditional penpals. Some have written to penpals in previous years, and they can feel the difference the Internet makes.
Speed is essential to the success of their correspondence.
In addition, flexibility and planning are important. One aspect of this planning is timing. As experienced teachers and students can attest, it's easiest to find keypals at the beginning of the school year, or at the start of the quarter. The trick is to find out if your school begins at the same time that schools elsewhere start. For interstate or Canada-US exchanges, this is not usually a problem.