Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2018 Newsletter------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A strong emphasis was placed on the collaboration aspect. Throughout the project students were asked to give feedback to their partners ' works, so that the cultural and language exchange could really take place.
In order to promote students ' engagement we set up a progress chart with emoticons, where we could keep track of their participation to the different activities. It was quite a simple yet effective way to control how the project was progressing and to motivate the pupils. This was a very useful tip I got from an Italian eTwinning ambassador and it proved to work! Sometimes it is easy to get lost when you have to deal with hundreds of students and different school calendars.
In order to make the project outcomes accessible to the largest audience a series of dissemination activities were done in every country. We published articles on our schools ' websites and teachers ' personal blogs, printed posters and leaflets to distribute at school and for our pupils ' families, gave our students ' certificates of participation and shared the project products online via different social networks.
The project fitted perfectly into their curriculum. The students had the chance to use and expand the grammar and vocabulary studied and to deal with different types of texts, thus developing their listening and writing skills.
Besides, a series of competences were fostered:- social and civic competence: the students have become more aware about their own territory and their partners ' ones and they have known foreign cultures and school systems through the voice and the works of their partners;- digital competence: students have constantly used technology during the project to make research, share documents and thoughts, communicate among them. They have learned to use new applications that they will be able to transfer also in other areas;- sense of entrepreneurship and creativity: the students have engaged creatively in several challenging activities and sometimes they had to overcome some difficulties, as for example, the necessity to collaborate at distance or to use unknown digital application- soft skills: all the activities were designed in order to promote students ' ability to work in group, take decision, communicate effectively and to develop their critical thinking.
The impact of the project on the students has been really positive. They were motivated and engaged and they gave proof of a high level of autonomy in doing their activities. The final feedbacks showed that each student appreciated different aspects of the project. It was extremely interesting to see how even the simplest task such as personal presentations, which is usually perceived as quite boring in textbooks, were stimulating for them because it gave them the chance to read about their peers ' life and interests. The most loved activity was the production of the final virtual tour, even if it was also identified as the most challenging and time-consuming one. I believe the impact of the project was positive also in my school, since some colleagues became interested in eTwinning and asked me some information about how to get involved in a project. As for me, it was the first time I was coordinating such a big project with 5 partners and a lot of activities to plan. It was quite a demanding task but, as usual, also a very rewarding experience both on a personal and on a professional level.
Francesca Falconi is a teacher of English at Liceo T. Mamiani in Pesaro, Italy. She holds a PhD in Intercultural European Studies and has a master degree in Methods and technologies for e-learning. Her interests include the application of ICT in education, innovative teaching methodologies such as PBL, and developing students ' competences through eTwinning projects.
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