Visibility of eTwinning Projects Groups July 2019 Newsletter Newsletter 9 | Page 44

Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2019 Newsletter
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I had a '' wide tour" in my international friends in
order to find my ''dream partner'' who, once again,
should accept my suggested project. You cannot
imagine how fast an aspiration can turn into a
burden. I was worried knocking every possible
contact haunted by the deadline, finding a suitable
project which must confirm to the eTwinning terms
of originality, modernity, and added-significance, or
lose the privilege of becoming an eTwinning school.
I contacted teachers in the field in Jordan since it
has joined eTwinning two years ago. I was ''lucky''
to find a teacher who kindly accepted to partner
with my school in this eTwinning journey which
began to seem gruelling even at its very
beginnings. The issue of finding a partner was
solved, but still I have to come up with an accepted
project. If I didn't have the extra ''inch''
determination inside, I would have quit. I sent my
project to the Jordanian partner who showed great
interest in the topic of the project. I have sent it to
the committee to be checked, reviewed and
hopefully accepted.
However, will be countless obstacles and hardships
if one doesn’t understand and define what success
means to him or her. This part is so dear to me. It
wraps up what I have learned so far as a Lebanese
eTwinner. You might be expecting to hear more
criticism or whining, but this time, your expectation
won't be met. This journey has had a series of
teachable moments. First, I have learned what
resilience really means, and that there will always
be a glimpse of light at the end of the darkest
tunnels. Next, I have built a strong cohort of work,
support, and harmony. This solid and
complementary partnership is getting stronger
every day through sharing experiences, planning
projects together, evaluating the work done,
revising and editing it, and all in very high spirits.
Among all my partner and I learned from each
other, enriched our minds, and experienced the
true value of collegial work. In addition, self
learning is one of the gains I have earned in this
experience. I learned to depend on myself and push
myself further and learn more and more by always
referring to the very source of things in every
desired work. After all, this is what builds and
shapes a genuine project coordinator.
Last but not least, I believe my article is of great
significance for a number of reasons. Firstly, it
constitutes a first in Lebanon since no teacher has
tackled the issue of eTwinning through a reflective
narrative journey. It captures a real-life experience
of a teacher who persevered in pursuing her goal of
completing the project and achieving the quality
award despite of all the issues faced on the way
and felt the urge of sharing my eTwinning journey
as a motivation for any of my colleagues who ever
thought of withdrawing. Secondly, it can inform
other abroad teachers on the nature of the
challenges I have faced and provide them with
lessons learned that I have followed to navigate
and overcome these challenges. Thirdly, it explores
the nature of the challenges from the perspective of
an eTwinning teacher who was awarded the quality
label. Therefore, it serves as a feedback for my
school stakeholder and offers them
recommendations for improvement that are
grounded in the real life experiences.
Samar Al-Kassar was born in Beirut, Lebanon. She got her
BA in English Language and Literature from Beirut Arab
University. She graduated from the Lebanese University
with a Master's in Educational Leadership and
Management. She is currently pursuing her PhD in the
Lebanese University Doctoral School. She has been an
English teacher since 2000.
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