Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group Newsletter no. 5 - July 2015 | Page 30

Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2015 Newsletter

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The role of eTwinning in Erasmus+ projects
by Marta Pena Garrido
With the appearance of the new Programme
Erasmus+ and the possibilities it provides to
teachers and students of higher education,
vocational education and training, school education
and adult education for mobility or partnerships,
eTwinning has been considered one of the most
important and appreciated tool by the European
Commission to develop the projects under
Erasmus+. They are better considered to get the
grant if eTwinning is included but, do we really
know how eTwinning can improve our projects?
Firstly we should have just a glance at the different
Erasmus+ projects which can be implemented.
Under Key-Action 1 (KA1), Learning Mobility for
Individuals, professionals are encouraged to further
their professional development in another country
in order to improve the quality of teaching and
learning, broadening their knowledge and skills,
which includes learning new languages or gaining
proficiency in areas of IT. These competences often
provide a wider perspective on education, as well as
ensure the exchange of knowledge and best
practices. To achieve these aims, the staff can
participate in structured courses or training abroad;
job-shadowing or observation periods at a school or
other relevant organization abroad; or teaching
assignments at a partner school.
The Key-Action 2 (KA2), Cooperation for Innovation
and the Exchange of Good Practices, supports
projects which develop international Strategic
Partnerships in the fields of education, training and
youth between local and regional authorities,
schools and other organizations that establish
international links and give school issues more
weight in local government, to cooperate on issues
of shared interest with possibilities of teacher, class
and pupil exchanges, in order to introduce
innovative practice into daily activities and build
bridges between the worlds of education and work.
Projects funded under these Key-Actions are likely
to have a positive impact on the persons directly or
indirectly involved in the activities, such as, for
example, the increased competence in foreign
languages, a broader understanding of practices,
policies and systems in education, training or youth
across countries, the enhancement of employability
or better intercultural and European citizenship
awareness.
As mentioned above, it is just a quick look at the
possibilities that Erasmus+ provides, so it is

strongly recommended to check out the official
European website, your National Agency site and
the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for further and
more specific information.
I am currently carrying out a KA1 project in a high
school in Cuenca, a little town in Spain, with some
other teachers. With this project we would like to
improve the methodology we use to teach foreign
languages at school, especially due to the fact that
we are involved in a bilingual programme. This KA1
project offers us the chance to travel abroad to
receive some training in the field of CLIL
methodology and the teaching of English and
French as second languages.
Now, we are ready to know more about the role of
eTwinning in the Erasmus+ projects.
So far, eTwinning has turned to be an extremely
powerful tool to look for partners in order to set an
online association between schools so, the first idea
which comes to our mind to use it in Erasmus+ is
to find other schools to apply for a KA2 project,
sharing our ideas about a possible project and
waiting for someone interested or joining any other
teacher’s plan.
But partnerships are not the only reason to look for
partners; many teachers need a colleague and/or
an organization abroad to develop a job-shadowing
experience to observe and learn from a different
educational system to share resources, ideas and
programmes which could enrich their school life.
And using eTwinning we also can offer our school to
receive a teacher from other countries.

In the process of getting a job-shadowing
experience, eTwinning can also help both,
individuals and institutions, before applying for
funding, discussing and agreeing on the activities to
carry out in order to improve the quality and impact
of the planned projects; during the implementation,

30