Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2014 Newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------responsibility, dignity, tolerance, trust, honesty,
social intelligence, personal involvement, team
strength.
Following a national competition our school became
a European school for the second time. 117 schools
across the country took part in the competition, and
the school of Petrosani ranked 20. Competition
involved assessing the quality and consistency of
the school management, reflected in managerial
documents, and the impact the activities of
European projects had on culture.
We received a title of excellence, CRIO WEST 2013,
on our 3 areas of excellence: the area of excellence
“Relevance supply training school”; the area of
excellence “Labor market and community
partnerships”; the area of excellence: Development
and use of resources”.
We are constantly involved in projects and
collaborations with our partners in eTwinning
projects, to be among the top high schools in using
technology, to capture the attention of good
students who want to join us in these projects.
When presenting high schools in the spring, our
school stand was constantly visited by eighth
graders, curious about extracurricular activities
undertaken in previous years. We pride ourselves
on two county average baccalaureate and especially
the fact that we participated in numerous projects
over the last years.
So we are a European School thanks to the
involvement of teachers and students in equal
measure in eTwinning projects too.
The Effective Use of Video-Calling in Schools
by Diana Linford
Introduction
Video-calling is a very powerful tool for the
classroom. It enables pupils to talk with pupils in
other schools – and other countries – easily. Here,
I will try to explore how teachers can use this tool
effectively to promote deep learning for their pupils.
The use of video-calls facilitates direct access
between pupils in different schools – and often in
different countries. This is not learning from books,
or ‘from the internet’. This is powerful, direct peerto-peer ‘Web 2.0’ teaching and learning, guided by
the two (or more) teachers who have set up the
call. As Beetham and Sharpe [1] put it, “if not yet
completely ‘borderless’, the walls of the classroom
are increasingly see-through”.
There are a number of video-calling tools, some of
which are free. Skype is popular and easy to use,
but there are others. Using a video-conferencing
tool such as Adobe Connect or Webex works very
well for multi-partner calls, and it is also possible to
upload PowerPoint presentations to use during the
call. Some of these video-conferencing tools are
available via the eTwinning National Support
Service (NSS) of each country – it is worth checking
with the NSS to see if this is available.
This kind of 'live' interaction also involves the
discussion of 'netiquette' and how to behave online
generally, and particularly during a live video call.
The UK schools inspectorate (2010) noted that, in
schools where provision for e-safety is outstanding,
there is a shared responsibility for e-safety
throughout the school staff, which helps “pupils to
become safe and responsible users of new
technologies” [2].
Language learning
Skype – or another video-calling tool – can be used
very effectively in the language classroom, both at
primary and secondary school level.
In order for the pupils to benefit fully from the
experience, it is important to plan and prepare
before the call. For younger pupils, I recommend a
highly structured approach, such as the following
examples. This ensures that the pupils are familiar
with the vocabulary and activities in advance of the
calls. This will help them to approach the sessions
with confidence and enable them to use the time
effectively to practise their speaking and listening.
Any vocabulary to be used (for example, in a
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