Visibility of eTwinning Projects Groups July 2019 Newsletter Newsletter 9 | Page 6

Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2019 Newsletter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On the second day of the meeting there were the best practice sessions, in which some projects were presented – all with the European eTwinning Quality label. The intervening professors were Carlos Pessoa, Alexandra Francisco and Rubina Silva. The meeting ended with the focus on the recognition of schools and teachers who were awarded the "European Quality Label 2018-2019". This intends to distinguish and make known the work of the teachers involved in the eTwinning educational program and the effort to promote the internationalization of their education in educational centres. Flexibilizing your curriculum with eTwinning – What is eTwinning? The eTwinning Programme is an initiative of the European Commission which was established in 2005 as a key part of the eLearning programme. In 2014, it was integrated into the Erasmus+ program, the European Union programme on education, training, Youth and Sport and thus gained a more prominent role in becoming the online reference platform for Key-Action 2 (cooperation for innovation and exchange of good practice). Starting 2019, eTwinning has acquired even more relevance, as shown in the criteria for assessing candidates for Key Action 2. Since its inception in 2005, eTwinning has become the largest European community of teachers and schools. The goal of eTwinning is to promote and facilitate contact, exchange of ideas and collaborative work between teachers and students from participating countries through ICT. In addition to offering interaction and training opportunities, teachers and students, usually from at least two schools in different European countries, can develop collaborative projects through the Internet, on any theme agreed upon by the founders. eTwinning is intended for all levels of education before the university. All areas, disciplines and professional groups, from pre-school education to basic and secondary teachings, take place in eTwinning, as well as those in the area of special education. The working languages are those that the partners want to use. 44 is the number of countries covered by eTwinning: Albania, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom. Best practices in eTwinning Work through eTwinning projects is increasingly being consolidated as a widespread resource for all teachers, from preschool education, to basic and secondary teachings, as well as to special education and vocational training that Grows every year with the creation of collaborative projects that reinforce the European dimension and cooperation between the educational centres of Europe. The incorporation of the eTwinning tool on the day to day of the class brings countless benefits to teachers and students of vocational training in interaction with other centers and training stages. Some of the advantages offered by eTwinning in vocational training are:  share working methodologies with other teachers;  introducing ICT as a living practice classroom;  motivate students to work with other colleagues in a European project;  build a support tool in an Erasmus+ project  find trusted partners to initiate a strategic project/partnership, plan and support during their development, as well as disclosure upon completion. There are many eTwinning projects that have become examples of good practice. These successful projects, which include the participation of vocational training groups in collaboration with other European centres of different levels of education, can serve as an inspiration to future stakeholders and include work issues such as health, First Aid, beauty and personal image, emotions, food habits, sports, technology, environment, careers, cultural heritage, justice, diversity, social, economic and environmental impact of industrial activity or human rights. These projects almost always result in collaborative and highly creative end products, such as games, books and digital magazines, blogs, video clips or questionnaires. These are based on collaboration and develop innovative methodologies such as gamification. In project planning, eTwinning has facilitated the interaction, communication or organisation of mobility among partners. The platform and tools offered, as well as other external ones that can be integrated into the virtual collaboration space, have 6