Amazing eTwinning eTwinning Seminar in Hamburg | Page 3

I am an eTwinner. I have been one since 2011. I heard for it from a friend of a friend and
was just a visitor at that time. Now I am one of 310,377 teachers doing 41,143 projects,
working in 140,286 schools from 35 countries taking part in eTwinning! I am both a
founder of two projects and a partner in many.
eTwinning is all about connecting and communicating. It is a means of sharing
good practices. It is good for the teachers because of professional development and good for
the students as it supports language learning and developing media literacy by using ICT in
education thus increasing motivation. eTwinning is also about teaching, experimenting
with new methods of teaching, new technologies and new ways of performing traditional
tasks. It is training on the web and in real life all over Europe.
eTwinning is now a major force in European education because it is easy. The
process is simple: you sign up for involvement on the European Portal at
www.etwinning.net. There you find a partner, develop a project idea or use a ready-made
project kit and start working immediately. From there, you can then use the collaborative
platform offered for free by the Portal (the TwinSpace) to conduct your work. You may also
get the opportunity to attend the annual eTwinning Conference or a Professional
Development Workshop with other European teachers. You can enter your project for the
annual eTwinning Prize and also enter your work for consideration for a Quality Label,
which recognises that your work is of the highest professional level.
In any case, it all starts with you. First, you have to recognise the opportunities and
benefits that are possible in this approach to working. Sometimes you will find them
yourself by reflecting on the way you teach, on the didactical tools you use and how you
would like to improve both. Other times, you recognise possibilities by listening to a
presentation at a conference or workshop you have attended. As soon as you have
recognised the benefits, you can then start to look for possibilities to include this kind of
approach into your own teaching. What could be easier?