- The teacher from the other class may not follow the timeline. We would send a schedule in the beginning that lays out what we were thinking for each month. Every week we would send a reminder email that included upcoming deadlines and the next e-mail's prompt. Keeping the lines of communication open and expectations clear is essential.
- The partner teacher may not send their Flat Stanley’s. We would send a note attached to ours that says to please send their Flat Stanley’s to the school address with a pre-addressed envelope.
- There may be difficulties getting computer lab/laptop cart time. If this is the case, the teacher can write from the students’ perspective in one email, or, the students can write their letters and the teacher can type them up.
- There is a possibility that no other class wants to participate. To avoid this, a search of interested classes will be performed within e-pals about 3 weeks prior to the beginning of the 4 month project to ensure that interested classes are current and available. Then we can check in with the partner to teacher before we start to make sure they still intend to participate and follow the schedule.
- Technical difficulties are common and there may be internet or epals log-in issues since the whole class is using it. To avoid this, a technology teacher should be aware of the project and will be available for troubleshooting while students are writing their messages.
- We might not have enough time to complete the e-mails during the scheduled weeks. To avoid this, we would communicate frequently with the partner class' teacher and adjust the schedule if necessary.
- Skype might not be approved by the school system. If this was the case, we would create a video using iMovie or YouTube and share with the partner school at the culmination of the project.