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