Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2011 Newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Results of eTwinning Projects
By Cristina Nicolaita
Cristina Nicolaita is a Science and ICT teacher at
Scoala cu clasele I-VIII Gheorghe Magheru in
Caracal, Romania and an active and dedicated
eTwinner.
thing! Collaborative learning works both for children
and teachers. Members collaborate together and
use their talent and experience to contribute to the
success of the team's objectives. They are also
encouraged to offer their skills and knowledge, and
in turn each member is able to contribute to the
group's success.
The most remarkable result of my previous projects
I think was the way children, parents and local
community welcomed the idea of collaborative
eLearning projects. Adults were very proud of their
children‘s involvement in the project, and that
made our children feel more confident and willing to
learn and share their activity with others. Children
worked with a great pleasure during their lessons,
knowing their work will be seen all over Europe.
Developing citizenship and European dimension not
only among students but also among parents and
local community is a great result for an eTwinning
project. I have worked in a rural area for 20 years.
eTwinning projects were seen there as a window to
the world, so I persuaded municipality to bring
Internet connection into the school and they
supported us as much as they could, despite all the
financial problems everybody knows.
The main beneficiaries were the children. Children
have a natural curiosity and a sense of wonder,
treasures easily discovered in an eTwinning project
that tackles their interests. That is wonderful about
eTwinning projects, children (even the ones at risk
of being marginalized) can be integrated in group
work. They can learn from one-another, peer-topeer as we like to call this kind of learning.
I have not thought about long-terms results yet,
they could be something very unpredictable, but in
a good way, of course! "WE NEVER KNOW WHAT
WE'RE GONNA GET!" We are talking of results on
schools, communities, but on individuals as well.
Students and teachers "touched" by eTwinning are
influenced for sure in their future activities by the
experience they got during the projects. May all the
seeds spread, grow and blossom!
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Another benefit of collaborative learning is the
eTwinning projects' effect on teachers, that
should not be forgotten. Sharing new teaching
methods with teachers all over Europe is a great
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