eTwinning Visibility Newsletter no. 4 eTwinning Visibility Newsletter no. 4 | Page 58

Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2014 Newsletter -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------and wish to learn and create beautiful things are simply contagious! For the Moldovan teachers, as eTwinning Plus members, the access to these events is not simple and direct, but it is possible! I am simply in love with the 10-day courses organized on eTwinning! You have to dedicate enough time to submit all the necessary tasks, but the effort is worth it. You need a lifetime to try everything you study during a single course! anymore. The classroom has no walls – it is the globalization of learning through teachers, students, technology and… eTwinning! Secondly, the Moldovan Partner Support Agency organizes short schools (usually on vacation) for the Moldovan eTwinners, to teach them useful things for working in eTwinning projects, such as online tools for creating, collaborating, presentation, etc. At the end, teachers get certificates. Thirdly, there are international seminars organized by eTwinning from time to time. Some of the most active Moldovan eTwinners may get invitations to take part in these events. The contact seminars give teachers the possibilities to interact and get to know eTwinners from other countries, establish professional partnerships in projects, and, why not, long-lasting friendships. In the digital era, it would be a pity to limit the possibilities of teachers and students to learn from peers around the world! Why use social media just for entertainment, when there is enough place to use them in the classroom? Why limit communication to the walls of a classroom, when there are so many possibilities to get online with a teacher and students in another country, drinking tea together and discussing the weather or any other topic, relevant to the curriculum needs? Why should we be limited and separated, when there is eTwinning to help us learn and make headway? For the Moldovan students, eTwinning is a whole new world to be explored. As non-EU citizens, our students are so eager to know foreign students, to see how they live and learn, to make friendships. An eTwinning project implies collaboration with the project partners, and our students have to interact. They learn many interesting things and like to learn from their partners. As they have to create final products using online tools, they learn how to make use of them from their teachers, and vice-versa. Teachers and students learn from each other and together they create amazing things. I can definitely say that at the end of the school year what my students remember from my English classes is the participation in projects, the experience gained in the process and loads of memories in photos, videos, etc. The students do not feel estranged from other European students 58