Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group Newsletter no. 5 - July 2015 | Page 75
Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2015 Newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------eTwinning at school for the construction of
European citizenship
by Brigida Clemente
Abstract
The collaboration between English language
specialist Brigida Clemente (an English teacher who
has a B2 level of English) and Cristina
Garruto, 4th grade Elementary School Teacher ("De Amicis-Altamura" school of Foggia) has been
the collaboration that, behind the involvement of
students and their families, has started the
eTwinning project entitled "Comparison of fairy
tales", aimed at encouraging the learning of the
English language, the use of ICT and the
intercultural dialogue. Through this experience the
students have learned to work together, on the
eTwinning portal, with their classmates and with
pupils from other countries. In this project the
partner schools have worked together to transform
a “typical tale of their country” in a presentation,
created with software applications such as
PowerPoint (with the designs of the students,
photos, and their personal narratives and
descriptions), with specific tools and online videos
on YouTube. To make this experience even more
concrete in the school, pupils have achieved the
objects related to history, they have organized a
show on the project at the end of the year, and
invited their families. The schools are preparing for
an exchange of hospitality among students.
Introduction
The realization of an eTwinning project by the
specialist teacher of English Brigida Clemente,
Ambassador eTwinning for the Puglia region, made
it possible to start a process of change,
"internationalization computerized", with the aim of
opening the school to the community dimension
education and to promote transnational cooperation
with other schools in Europe through the use of
ICT, in order to help create and strengthen a
shared sense of European citizenship. Participation
in the project has, in fact, offered to teachers and
students involved the opportunity to work together
with colleagues and peers from schools in other
European countries participating in the project on a
topic of common interest, through a European
platform for communities practices of teachers.
The work was carried out through a
twinning, as part of a platform,
called eTwinning precisely, where it
is possible for teachers and students
know each other, communicate and
collaborate in a secure, simple and
fast in order to learn mode and
innovative and quality teaching that
"exploit" new technologies and
digital content.
It is a form of innovation in
education and organizational:
European initiative created to
integrate information and
communication technologies in
education systems and training and
educating the understanding,
enjoyment and production of media
tools, through e-twinning of
European primary and secondary
schools. Introduced in 2004 as an
action of the eLearning program, it
is since 2007 part of the Lifelong
Learning Programme 2007-2013
(Decision of the European
Parliament and Council no.
1720/2006 / EC), today Europe
2020 Strategy.
Working with schools in different
countries, provided an opportunity
to both pupils and teachers is to, on
the one hand, to deepen and
improve their knowledge of the
subject on which is based the
project by comparing and sharing,
for a another, to increase its ability
to work in groups, planning and
undertaking collaborative activities,
to use information and
communications technology, to
educate the conscious use and
proper tool of communication,
improve the ability to communicate
in other languages increasing their
motivation.
The teachers have implemented, by
integrating an eTwinning project in
teaching, these methodological
principles, called by the National
Guidelines for the Curriculum,
learning through new technologies.
Making this complex web of
elements - Design, Technology,
Documentation - fully exploiting the
potential of teaching experience of
working with a European has
allowed to obtain the quality of an
eTwinning project that, in fact, was
worthy of several awards, national
and Europe:
Label for the recognition of the
quality of European projects in the
Italian school, national competition
"Europe is changing the school"
2013 edition, Ministry of Education
75