Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group Newsletter 2017 No. 7 | Page 96

Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2017 Newsletter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ demonstrates an increased interest of the students in this topic. The Slovak team has applied to the Competition for the best eTwinning team in Slovakia and our project has won 2nd place. Cristina Gila is a History and Civics teacher at the Constantin Bratescu National Pedagogic College in Constanta, Romania. Her interests include projects about history, human rights, European Union, Holocaust, European culture and art, creative writing. She has received European Quality Labels for her eTwinning projects and one project was shortlisted for the European Prize in 2014. She also coordinated one Leonardo da Vinci project. She has been an eTwinning ambassador since 2013. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ eTwinning projects: Connecting classrooms - Fostering creativity by Sophia Kouzouli Abstract This paper focusses on the work of three eTwinning projects carried out by the author and her students at the 1 st Primary School of Pyrgos in collaboration with colleagues and students from other European countries. It explores how the collaborative development of these projects connects classrooms and promotes creativity, identifying specific characteristics of the project that provide insight into the invaluable transformative dynamic of eTwinning projects. Introduction Creativity, according to Sir Ken Robinson (2011), is a dynamic process that often involves making new connections, crossing disciplines, and using metaphors and analogies. Developing and carrying out collaborative projects, consequently, being a challenging creative activity which builds innovative community-school partnerships, is undoubtedly of great significance as it can inspire pupils, promote innovation and originality, and offer authenticity. The present paper investigates the significance of specific collaborative practices which set students up for powerful, successful and unforgettable learning experiences. In particular, the paper discusses the eTwinning project “Forest Friends”, https://twinspace.etwinning.net/35133, which was carried out by the 2 nd graders of the 1 st Primary School of Pyrgos in collaboration with the 4 th graders of Istituto Comprensivo di Ghilarza in Sardenia, Italy, “Vitamin M(agic)”, https://twinspace.etwinning.net/25904, carried out by the 4 th graders in collaboration with Portuguese, Turkish, Romanian, French, Lithuanian and Icelandic students and “Story Feast”, https://twinspace.etwinning.net/25390, carried out by the 5 th graders in collaboration with the students of a Czech and a Polish school. Aims  Connecting classrooms  Fostering creativity  Specific goals  Development of students’ writing and speaking skills.  Practice of understanding and producing speaking and writing.  Development of students’ cognitive and social skills.  Use of acquired knowledge from other school subjects. 96