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eTwinning: transforming teaching and learning
I think that if everyone in the world did eTwinning
then there wouldn't be so much moaning about going to school.
The world would definitely be a happier place
if everyone did eTwinning because it's all about connection,
all about networking, all about meeting people and
with the the key underlying objective of being understanding
and the best way to understand people,
to understand who they are and
what they have to say is through language and
how we share our language and communication with each other
and that is the exact primary focus of using eTwinning.
When I found out I was going to work with foreign schools
I thought it was extremely exciting.
The whole idea of just being so openly exposed
to a completely different culture,
very similar to that of travelling abroad.
It's really interesting to see other people
who are in the same age group as myself and
are in the same situation studying perhaps similar things
and in a similar situation to myself.
The fact it's so international makes it a really diverse experience.
The project is expanding: England, Scotland, Italy, and Spain
so to bring people together and share so much with each other is incredible.
This year, we've done an eTwinning project on superheroes.
We wanted to encourage reading and writing in our project and
getting the children to use the computers
to communicate with their European partners.
They've collaboratively worked on their stories
so we've planned different superheroes and then shared them
and then each time we've done different bits of work
and the children have worked on a different superhero.
It allows other students to increase their confidence in speaking
either Spanish, French or German.
It also allows students to become more interactive with other students
not just from England, but Scotland, Italy and
and other countries also involved in the eTwinning project.
The children benefit so much from learning that
there is a wider world beyond their own little world
especially when they're 3 or 4 years old,
they don't even know where they live themselves,
but then they realize that
there are other countries, other languages, other cultures.
I think it's fascinating.
The children have learned a lot about the countries involved in our project.
They love facts like Greece have got a completely different alphabet to us.
They've also loved looking at the different towns,
looking at the different styles of houses.
They've really picked upon perhaps the house is being white in Greece and Spain
to reflect the sunlight because it's so hot over there.
They've really enjoyed when we found out that
the Greek classroom was completely different to ours
changing the classroom round and sitting in ranks of 2
which I found awful because we tend to work in groups.
They've really enjoyed being immersed in all of the different cultures
and they've really enjoyed and become passionate
about their culture, their Welsh heritage, and sharing it with other people.
Little children are fascinated by what other people are doing
so the fact that they could look at pictures of children and see:
oh, they have same welly boots as me, or they've got a coat like mine,
they can climb up a tree and I can climb up a tree,
that really caught their imagination.
I think especially at 3 and 4, you can be quite isolated
and thinking you're the only people that live here
so having that opportunity to move on, to learn about other people
is a very valuable learning experience.
We've shared what our classrooms and towns are like,
we've shared what hobbies we like, and sharing information like this
has really helped the children to understand
what it's like to live in a different country.
This project in particular was very visual.
It was all about photographs and
exchanging photographs, pictures and drawings
so even those children in my class who don't speak English
who couldn't talk to me about their experiences of Flat Ted
went to their house, they were able to take pictures and bring them back in.
I thought it was amazing actually.
The experience of having a penpal
with a student who is from a different country and
also helping them learn English and them
helping me learn Spanish was just the best experience ever.
The eTwinning website is fantastic.
It's very inclusive so already as soon as you log on,
you can see all of your fellow students alongside, your teachers and
it's a space where everyone can get really stuck in to the project and
it gives you the opportunity to share videos with each other,
not just simple links you can put boxes to share videos, you can put comments.
It's really open to everybody.
Anything you share, you share with everybody and
anything that someone else shares, you're part of it as well
so you're always included and
you always have the opportunity to have your say and to get involved.
You can see a lot of enthusiasm on the site when people write their comments
and people uploading presentations and videos that they've worked really ***.
The TwinSpace is the most valuable bit of kit we've got for eTwinning
because a lot of the time websites in schools can be blocked
so things like blogger, we have terrible trouble gain access to
but the TwinSpace is there for us to use all the time.
The children can access it home as well
which means they can look at all the things their friends have added and
things they've added themselves, anytime they want to.
TwinSpace helped us because it puts all of our information there.
We also had a social media site on Facebook: "Flat Teds Travels".
With the children here, we have a Facebook page for this class
so their parents could go in and look at the Flat Teds Travels as well.
Our teachers are big part of it as well.
We can share things with our teachers and our teachers share things with us and
everyone is part of this combined community that is created in our group by eTwinning.
As a result of my eTwinning experience, I think I have changed my level of confidence,
talking and getting to know other people outside of my school
as well as changed my ability to learn in different ways
instead of always going to my teachers or the internet
jump on eTwinning and ask people about things I never knew before.
Since starting the eTwinning project
there is a difference in people's perspectives of nursery.
The eTwinning project is possible at 3 or 4, and also 5.
The value that's placed on promoting eTwinning there is much bigger
but also the way that I see the nursery and
the way nursery children are perceived throughout the school is different.
It's improved, it's valued.
The school as a whole has been very supportive.
We have got a lot of people involved in many aspects
from the head teacher hosting all the activities
to the media team helping us to get the videos together.
We also had teachers.
For example the biology teacher explaining about Alzheimer's and
how it affects the elders.
Many departments have been involved in our project.
Describing eTwinning in 3 words, it would have to be:
social, media and learning.
Fun, enjoyable and interesting.
Communication, sharing and enjoyment.
Fun, exciting and interesting.
Fun, encouraging... exciting.
Fun, fab, learn a lot.
Online collaboration.
That could be hyphens, that's only two...
but there's no hyphen in my online.
The thing I love about eTwinning is connecting
with other teachers who are enthusiastic.
I was at something recently, and someone said:
oh, it's nice to be in a room full of teachers and they're not complaining
and we all laughed, but it's true because generally teachers do complain.
We complain about working hours, about how stressed we are and
some also complain about the children.
Generally eTwinning partners are really enthusiastic
especially teachers in other countries
that haven't had connections,
collaborative work with other countries for so many years.
They are so enthusiastic and so willing to throw themselves into projects
that you can only grow as a person yourself working with this sort of teachers.
I'd highly recommend doing an eTwinning project.
I've gotten lots out of it in terms of how my classroom runs,
sharing good practice, sharing culture, my children love it.
They love finding out about children all over Europe,
how they learn, and what their towns and villages are like as well.
I look forward to my eTwinning work because it's fun.
I enjoyed the project because we get to use our imagination.
An eTwinning project is different because it's online, mostly it's virtual.
You very rarely actually meet the people involved.
It's also collaborative and it does depend on teamwork.
All the staff in the project are highly committed
in providing broadening experiences for all the children.
I've just really enjoyed being part of a group that's bigger than the school.
We went in to a project 5 years ago and
the initial remit was to look at playground games
but what I could not get over was at the end of that project
which ran for 2 years, was my whole outdoor-play approach had changed.
If I look back to where I was 5 years ago and where I am now
I wouldn't be where I am without eTwinning and the British Council.
The whole experience enriches you and it gives you ideas for future experiences.
There is no limitation on the size,
no limitation on the nature of these projects.
They can adapt and evolve in so many different ways,
across so many different peoples, and perhaps even continents...
so to be part of that, such a huge timeline and
to have such an active involvement and contribution with that is amazing.