A participant of numerous international conferences for ambassadors
An eTwinning ambassador
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I am also one of those “eTwinning-addicted”, who has found meaning in the programme and an enriching element for my profession as a teacher. As an ambassador I have been involved in eTwinning for 8 years and my love for the programme has not grown old. What is more, I must admit that it has become a part of me and my driving force, which makes me move on and explore new horizons. Through eTwinning my teaching practice has been enriched by a number of new teachers and a range of beautiful ideas, which I have included in several projects of mine. I have a colourful palette of international partners, diversity of which can be from a big part attributed to my participation in international eTwinning conferences all across Europe. However, according to a saying “What is home, counts”, the top event for me is a training course, which took place in May 2013 in Bratislava. Do you want to know why? Well, it was the first meeting with my German partner, Birgit DRUBE-BLOCK. I worked with Birgit on an eTwinning project entitled “Colourful Horizons”. It was one of those projects, with which the pupils fell in love immediately and we felt great watching them develop mutual friendships. Birgit is an accomplished teacher with many years of experience and as is typical of Germans, she is a perfectionist when it comes to achieving goals. I did not even notice how I got stirred by her enthusiasm. Everything I had done before according to my best knowledge and diligence I moved up a notch when working on our project and I learned and picked up a lot from her. She would always come up with an interesting and timeless solution and gradually this working relationship grew into friendship. What more can one wish for in a project, but good relationships, enthusiasm and a sense of fellowship?
This is the reason why I enjoyed the training in Bratislava. Our debates on further direction of the project and our effort to turn it into a Comenius partnership brought its fruit. Currently we are working on a project “Peaceful Horizons”, which together involves 10 different countries. Since I am the coordinator of the whole project and it is my responsibility to coordinate the work of all partners, I am extremely glad that Birgit is also involved.
Gabriela Krížovská, Primary and Nursery School
Poprad
At our first partner meeting in Sweden it was interesting to watch colleagues who have not had a previous experience with eTwinning work. Step by step we initiated them in the realm of the programme platform and through our project we became united in eTwinning. Within a year’s time their skills improved a lot and now the project is in a full swing. The meeting in Bratislava helped me move forward and my meetings with great teachers keep me advancing. Every conference is beneficial in terms of exchange of experience and ideas. “You cannot swim in this river alone.”
I think that eTwinning seminars are a rich well of contacts and ideas. I always welcome an opportunity to attend one at home or abroad. Last but not least it is always very pleasant to meet new people and share observations and ideas.
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