Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2017 Newsletter------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
� Sensitization on language diversity. � Students’ group work.
Methodology In the classroom, offering learners a wealth of experiences is a stepping stone to learning( Kolb, 1984). The fundamental aim of these experiences, as stated by Piaget( 1978), is to promote creativity, critical thinking, and innovation, building on prior knowledge( Vygotski, 1978). Pupils through the activities they do at school need to connect to acquired knowledge and the world to fit new experiences into current cognitive schemata. Collaborative learning( Gerlach, 1984) is an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of students working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product. It challenges learners both emotionally and socially to listen to various perspectives, think and reflect, articulate and defend their opinions. Thus, it provides the pupils the opportunity to interact with their peers and be actively engaged. applications to facilitate their interaction and ensure that all partner schools are productive.
� Communicating The project journal on the twinspace was used for the exchange of ideas and opinions. Students were also active members of their twinspace. They chatted with each other on twinspace and exchanged messages. Major social networks, such as Facebook and twitter, were also employed to strengthen contact and communication and help our projects grow online. Communication throughout the project proved to be both very important and inspiring and contributed to creating a solid bond among all the participants. Video conference was another inspiring way that expanded their classrooms and made them feel happy and part of a broader community.
Robinson( 2015) advocates that the school culture needs to adopt an interdisciplinary methodology and a more holistic approach that nurtures the diverse talents of our children and provides students with the personalized, compassionate and community oriented education they need. Teachers, taking into account the multiple talents of their students, have to create the conditions under which they will begin to flourish.
The effective integration of ICT encourages learners to work collaboratively and fosters interaction( Wetzel & Brophy, 2014). The learning process is facilitated by computer applications and online tools and the development of metacognitive skills is strengthened( Davies & Florian, 2004).
Taking into consideration the above mentioned learning theories, certain activities designed for the eTwinning projects carried out in the school year 2016-2017 aimed at connecting classrooms and fostering creativity.
Connecting Classrooms
� Collaborating Students in all three projects discussed in the present paper collaborated in designing and developing them. They suggested the thematic units they would explore, they voted for deciding on specific issues, assumed shared responsibility on carrying out the project and contributed to all products. The cooperative structure of the activities together with their artistic nature resulted in making the participants feel successful and happy with their work. They used a variety of digital
Fostering creativity
� Drawing a collaborative logo Students who participated in“ Forest Friends” used Web Whiteboard, a touch-friendly online whiteboard application at https:// awwapp. com / and made a collaborative logo.
The logo was started by B2-Greece, was continued by the Italian team and finished by B1-Greece. They were all so happy when they saw their drawing!
Logo creation, B2-Greece:
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