Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group Newsletter 8 Visibility of eTwinning Projects Newsletter 8 | Page 5

Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2018 Newsletter
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eTwinning helps students and teachers grow
by Irene Pateraki
There are different effective learning techniques to
improve students’ learning. Ask any teacher about
what they think the best teaching methods and
strategies are, and you will get different answers.
The increasing variety and accessibility of
technology has expanded the toolbox, the resources
and the opportunities teachers have to enrich
students’ learning.
Project-Based Learning: The creative
pedagogy of eTwinning projects
by Sophia Kouzouli
The creative nature and inspiring characteristics of
Project-Based Learning, a pedagogical approach
used in eTwinning projects, were explored for the
needs of the online program,
https://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/support/etlive/p
articipants-wanted-for-free-o.htm, "Transatlantic
Educators Dialogue, 2018”.
eTwinning projects and the pedagogy behind them
are one of the best examples, as they offer both to
students and teachers the opportunity to develop
their digital, collaborative and pedagogical
competences in the most creative way and feel part
of a community of schools around Europe and
beyond.
eTwinning encourages independent thinking,
creative problem-solving skills and an
interdisciplinary approach. Read about all these,
and more, in the articles selected to be part of this
yearly newsletter, brought together by the
Romanian eTwinning ambassador Daniela Bunea.
Irene Pateraki is the eTwinning Pedagogical and
Monitoring Manager. She worked for the Greek
National Support Service for 7 years (2010-2016).
She has run several Learning Events and online
courses, and she is the enthusiastic administrator of
one of the featured groups: Creative Classroom.
During the school year 2017-2018, an inspirational
educational programme, the Transatlantic
Educator’s Dialogue (TED) offered a unique
opportunity to educators in Europe and in the USA
to collaborate and exchange ideas and practices.
Participants from 22 European countries and 17 US
States/territories came together online for shared
exploration of various educational topics, such as
immigration, education, equality, active teaching
methods and issues related to identity and
difference. The project, which was coordinated by
Jeremie Smith/the European Union Center at
the University of Illinois, began on February 11,
2018 and concluded on May 6, 2018. Once a week,
every Sunday, we took part in online sessions to
explore a variety of educational topics. The focus of
Group2: Session 4, in which I participated, was
“Creative Pedagogies and Instructional Practices”
and my contribution focused on Project Based
learning, the creative pedagogy of eTwinning
projects.
Lin (2011) argues that creative pedagogy describes
practices that enhance creative development
through three interrelated elements-creative
teaching, teaching for creativity, and creative
learning. When people say they are not creative,
they probably haven’t learned yet what creativity
involves. Creativity, according to Sir Ken Robinson
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