Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2011 Newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------project? How not to fall behind everyone‘s
expectations? How to entice other colleagues into
it?
It was not until I took some weeks of reflection and
pondering upon the pros and cons this initiative
would entail for all the people involved, and some
chat with colleagues and pupils at my school, that
all the group and myself were prepared to make it
happen. If someone were asking for a reason, in a
nutshell, I would say that it was a mixture of
curiosity, challenge and love for learning.
When I first started searching for a partner school,
I did not know how hard it could be to find the right
one. I know, you will say that there are hundreds of
schools on the eTwinning platform with running
projects, and many others looking for new partners,
and this is all true. Nevertheless, this process
turned out be a sort of blind date for us.
Now, I can say I am very lucky with my
collaborators from my current partner schools. We
have learnt a lot from each other; we have worked
with each other efficiently and we have shown
mutual commitment.
project activities which have made everything
extremely worthwhile.
Pupils have found it most challenging to investigate,
discover and share things about particular items
through ICT and English.
Pupils have put into practice different combinations
of intelligences and learning styles which have
widened the appeal of classroom work.
Working on the project has reinforced learning and
conceptual development in other areas of the
curriculum.
It has provided an approach to learning which takes
account of pupils‘ whole development in a
harmoniously integrated way.
Additional benefits both for individuals and groups
alike also include increased confidence, higher
levels of concentration and more positive attitudes
towards learning and working together with other
classmates and partners in a collaborative way.
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In my view, the brightest project you can have
might prove to be short lived and eventually spoiled
unless you can find the right people to carry it out
with successfully. There are so many details to be
discussed; so many deadlines to be met; so many
emails to be exchanged… that it goes without
saying that it is an advantage that the teachers at
helm (founders and project administrators) should
be on the same waveband in terms of
responsibility, attitude and compromise.
In this respect, it does not matter which country
your partners are from, or how different cultural
environments they live in, and even how deep
inside us they are prejudiced against. The bottom
line here is helping people grow as individuals and
as a group by making new bonds, crossing new
bridges and breaking down barriers.
Not surprisingly, the schools which we are
collaborating with at the moment have certainly got
little in common. Different teaching approaches and
methodology, course levels taught, ICT resources,
pupils‘ background, staff members and so on.
Incidentally, I would like to write down a few lines
about the benefits of taking part in eTwinning
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