Annual eTwinning Conference 2009 Report

Report by Michelle Cauchi

Last year I decided to participate in an eTwinning project with a school from Poland. This turned to be a successful partnership which is presently still ongoing. This conference gave me the opportunity to exhibit all the work done through this collaboration.

This year eTwinning Conference focused on Innovation and Creativity and it took place in Prague, Czech Republic between the 13th and 15th February 2009. There were over 400 participants coming from different countries that included teachers, national support services and other important educators. There were also important guest speakers namely Jan Figel (the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth) and also Dr Edward De Bono expert in lateral thinking.

During this conference each country had the opportunity to exhibit their eTwinning work in different stalls in the main hall. Each stall was decorated with flags, country information, typical food and eTwinning tokens. There was time allotted to go round the stalls, take photos and communicate with the participants. This also gave us an opportunity to start projects with other eTwinners.

In this conference a lot of important points were raised such as the importance of ICT through the curriculum, especially when doing projects. It was also highlighted how eTwinning changed learning towards being more creative and innovative.

A memorable moment of the conference was during the award ceremony. Prizes were given to the best eTwinning projects through 2007-2008. Malta was one of the finalists represented by Ms. Miriam Schembri (Kindergarten Assistant) with the project, ‘One, Two Buckle my shoe’.

Different workshops on various topics were organised. The sessions were:

• How to use eTwinning tools in a pedagogic way
• Models for school collaboration, Creativity and Innovation
• eSafety and eTwinning 
• eTwinning in practice

 Worksop Session 1: Creativity and Innovation

This workshop focused on creativity and innovation through imagination. We started the session by listening to some relaxing music. We had to close our eyes and let our imagination flowing. On the wall around us there were large pieces of paper were we wrote what we imagined and how we felt during this exercise. We were free to write or draw whatever came to mind. Some participants thought of stress free moments, some thought of calm sea others drew trees or dolphins.

After this activity our speaker told us to get into groups and to write words associated with creativity. Our group wrote various responses such as brain storming, imagination, fantasy, inspiration, challenge, etc. Then each group was given different terms, ours was skiing. We had to think of related words keeping in mind creativity. Our responses included fear, accident, balance, mind obstacles, etc. Our ideas were linked to the idea of creativity. These were challenge, no fear and balance. A spokesperson of each group presented outcomes of this session. This workshop gave us the opportunity to be imaginative and to share our ideas related to creativity and innovation.

Workshop Session 2: eSafety & eTwinning

In this workshop a lot of points were raised related to safety while using the net. One of the major problems that were brought up during the discussion was cyber-bullying. (I never imagined that there was such a big problem going on internet.) With the help of this session I found out how the European Commission is dealing with this situation. We also talked about copyright and the usage of our students’ photos online. These points raised awareness about the importance of asking for parental permission to use their children’s photos on websites.

I have learnt how eSafety plays a major role while using internet especially for us as eTwinners. As educators we must be aware on the safety precautions that we must take before publishing our work on the internet. During this workshop I learnt that eSafety was not my only concern but also of other educators coming from different countries. I really found this session useful because I learnt a lot from others’ experiences.

 Workshop Session 3: Using eTwinning tools in a pedagogic way

I found this workshop really interesting since it focused on various ICT tools that one can use in conjunction with eTwinning projects. First of all there was an introduction to the new eTwinning portal where our speaker explained how we can use our Twin blog. Subsequently our discussion moved on to the different tools that we use through our projects. We were divided in small groups to discuss the tools that we use and for what purpose we use them. In our group we had the opportunity to discuss with other teachers coming from different countries such as Estonia and Germany.

We discussed about the programmes we frequently used such as pod cast, pbwiki, blogs, audacity, photo story, slide share, skype. emails, etc. After group work our speaker gave us the opportunity to share our outcomes with the others. Other workshop members mentioned different ICT tools such as flash meeting. I found this part really interesting because I learnt from other eTwinners about various programmes that I can use in my projects. After this discussion our speaker gave us a thorough description on how we can use pod cast and other ICT tools to enhance our project quality.

In the end I felt that this conference was a unique experience that enhanced my profession especially in my work as an eTwinner. I would like to thank all those who have given me this wonderful opportunity.

Michelle Cauchi
Primary Teacher
St. Clare College
Gzira Primary School