Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2012 Newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------the joy of sharing a good joke, or a rant about
something that has been bothering them; there is
nothing that compares to a sympathetic, if virtual,
ear.
Using message boards can be highly beneficial for
teachers and students alike in or outside the
classroom, as well as in projects. Besides the
obvious benefits of joining a group of people who
have the same interests (if you like pink, fluffy
bunnies, just do a Google search and you will most
definitely find a group who loves them just as much
as you do), they also offer immense advantages for
people across the globe, who are suddenly
connected through a common goal: in our case an
eTwinning project. Another advantage of using
Message boards for communicating in eTwinning
projects is the fact that everyone involved,
regardless of their physical whereabouts, can
practically be in the same space, at the same time,
as if actually in the same quarters. And if different
time zones hinder such straightforward
communication, messages can always be responded
to at a later time, without any inconvenience: the
thread will still be an ongoing conversation about a
certain topic. In addition, all the ideas
communicated are stored for practically an
unlimited period of time, meaning that people are
able to contribute to the discussion at their
convenience. This type of advantage that
transcends time and space barriers cannot be
overlooked. Students and teachers alike will
interact, among themselves and with each other,
just like in day-to-day situations. And teachers of
EFL will have the added benefit of communicating in
English.
The purpose of eTwinning projects is to have people
all over the world participate and collaborate in
reaching a common goal: a project. What better
use of message boards than for effective
communication? The TwinSpace offers message
boards for teachers in the Staff Room, and for
students in the Pupils’ Corner. Obviously one can
choose to work on external message boards as well.
A message board represents much more than a
simple site with messages piled upon each other
randomly; it is a much more organized space. It
can be divided into different threads, one for each
topic of discussion, as mentioned previously. You
can have “topped” or “pinned” threads that is, they
are always “stuck” to the front of the page and they
will be the first topics a person will encounter upon
entering the site. Such threads usually deal with
Rules and Regulations and Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ), but they can also be Introduction
threads – in which people post to break the ice and
say a little something about themselves, thus
creating those essential, first bonds with the other
participants. In addition, there are Birthday
Threads, in which people can post their birth date
and host virtual parties: people post their wishes
for the birthday boy/gal, together with pictures,
animations, songs and so on. Such threads can
become quite lively and have been known to even
help barriers in communication. You have the
perfect starter right there, in the form of a relevant
calendar date.
Message boards are perfect for keeping in touch in
the case of eTwinning projects and for offclassroom use. Correctly utilized, they will prove to
be invaluable. In addition to the general topic
threads previously discussed, one may create a
virtually endless number of threads, to suit various
purposes. For example, you can have general
discussions in threads such as the TV Lounge, The
Music Room, The Book Club, etc., or more specific
ones, i.e. Teacher’s Lounge (which will be teacher
access only, for obvious reasons), or threads in
which students may post THEIR ideas, projects,
recommendations, etc. It is highly advantageous for
students and teachers alike. Students communicate
via a well-known and appreciated means – the
Internet – in a secure space – the TwinSpace –, and
teachers can also venture into the 21st century,
making use of new technologies to further their
teaching methods. After all, whether we like it or
not, we are all more or less slaves of the new
technologies, the Internet in particular: always
checking our e-mails or Facebook pages and feeling
slightly unnerved when we cannot. Why not use
them for our projects as well?
Just as a message board is more than a collection
of messages floating together in the murky waters
of the ocean that is the Internet, posters do not just
post randomly whatever crosses their mind. A
moderator is in charge of a board; he/she is the
boss, more simply put. A moderator’s role is to
monitor discussions and make sure the posters do
not offend anyone. Moreover, a moderator will
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