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My name is Filomena Bianco. I teach English in a Lower Secondary School, G.B. BASILE, in Giugliano, a town near Naples, south of Italy. I have been a teacher for 18 years. I love my job!
I joined eTwinning in 2015 and since then I've taken part into different projects, I have attended webinars, learning events and on-site seminars. eTwinning has helped me to widen my horizons, from a human and professional point of view.

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·         Understand the basic principles of project-based learning

·         Start their Personal Learning Environment (PLE)

·         First draft and then progress in the creation of a quality collaborative project, integrating the contents of the course

·         Reflect on their teaching practice to detect strengths and weaknesses

·         Find cases of good practice that can be an example and inspiration for them

·         Learn the basics of eTwinning

·         Get to know the eTwinning quality criteria for planning a project

·         Get to know tools and applications which enable online collaborative work

·         Integrate resources in the design of a collaborative activity

·         Get to know eTwinning Live and its possibilities as a community and professional development platform for teachers

·         Learn about the TwinSpace and the tools it offers for the development and publication of collaboration projects

·         Share and collaborate through digital technologies, using them creatively, and identifying possible uses in their professional life

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This video explains what PBL is very easily!

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Five core elements of successful PBL learning

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Five core elements of successful PBL learning

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Establishing Real-World Connections in Projects

Building Rigorous Projects That Are Core to Learning

Structuring Collaboration for Student Success

Facilitating Learning in a Student-Driven Environment

Embedding Assessment Throughout the Project

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Five Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning

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What is your experience with PBL? Why would you like to implement it in your classroom? Have you faced any difficulties in its implementation? If so, which of the 5 core elements were the most difficult to adapt?

I think PBL is a great approach to teaching because students become the real protagonists of the learning process. So far, I've tried to use a PBL approach in the eTwinning projects. The most difficult core element for me was the assessment.

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is the biggest online teachers' community for collaborative projects among European schools.

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In eTwinning, teachers organise and run on-site and online activities with their students along with colleagues from countries participating in the Erasmus+ programme. They engage in collaborative projects with the support of the TwinSpace environment. National Support Organisations are responsible…

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To detect strengths and weaknesses in your teaching practice.

To find cases of good practice that can be an example and inspiration for you.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0QqSD9cPsg#action=share
A very interesting video by Ignacio Casado  who speaks about what to do BEFORE- DURING- AFTER a project. I have found a lot of interesting tips for my next eTwinning project.

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Considerations for implementing innovation projects in the classroom.

Strategies to make our teaching more efficient.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSt4m4ltV-w#action=share

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1. Analyse your teaching practice and share your conclusions. Answer these questions:
a) What can I improve?
b) What would I like to try?
c) What am I not happy with?
d) Is there anything which is not working?
2. Look for cases of good practice with varied methodologies (PBL, ICT, Flipped classroom, etc.).
3. Relate these cases with your own necessities and goals as a teacher in  a portfolio

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What needs or areas of improvement and learning have I detected in my teaching?

What projects have I found that might help me?

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Mena Bianco

Nuovo membro · 5 min

After analysing my teaching practice, I think I need to improve the use of ICT and new tools. So far, in my teaching practice and eTwinning projects I have used Padlet, Coggle and Google Form. I'd like to learn more about Youpublisher to make e-books and the videomaker Biteable.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyQ94ZlKtq8#action=share
Objectives for Module 3:

To get to know the eTwinning quality criteria.

To draft a collaborative project.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtboIo8pzrs#action=share

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What is quality in eTwinning?

Quality criteria as a guideline for planning efficient projects.

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https://www.slideshare.net/SNA_etwinning/etwinning-national-quality-label

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1.  1. eTwinning National Quality Label: Evaluation Rubric C R I T E R I A See article on quality criteria in the Spanish NSS web site: 1. Innovation and Creativity (article) 2. Curricular Integration (article) 3. Communication and Interaction among the Partner Schools (article) 4. Collaboration among Partner Schools (article) 5. Use of Technology (article) 6. Results, Impact and Documentation (article)

2.  2. 1.Pedagogical Innovation The teachers in the project have tried out a variety of pedagogical methods with their pupils during the project such as; posing leading questions for the pupils to research and analysis, organising collaborative team work, allowing the pupils to choose the ways to find and display information etc. Depending on the context and age of pupils etc. the situation should be such that the pupils are encouraged to become the main force in the project, creative, responsible, autonomous and not merely be in the position of carry out the ideas of the teacher. Grading 0 There is no attempt to involve others either pupils or teachers (rare to find this) 1 The project is limited to exercises devised by the teachers carried out by the pupils in all (or almost all) the activities. Not much opportunity for pupil involvement 2 At least some of the activities are designed to use classroom methods other than information delivery bu the teacher. The methods used encourage pupils and their partners to interact (for example: comparing information ... working together to achieve one or more product or outcome 3 The project is designed and implemented for pupils to: - Interact with their partners - Have a variety of working arrangements (individual, sub-groups, in mixed teams ...) 4 The project involves an interactive and collaborative active pedagogy: Learning methods implemented are clearly identifiable (information gathering, comparative work, problem solving, collaborative creation-literary, artistic, technical, scientific, journalistic…) 5 All of 4 plus the following. There is a very strong association between academic rigor and creativity in the development and management of the project by partner teachers, originality in theme of work chosen.

3.  3. 2. Curricular integration in one or many subjects The project work is based on the school curriculum and syllabi. The main part of the project work done by pupils is done during school time, the project is not based just on work done by the pupils at home The project has clear strategic efforts to try to develop pupil competences as required in the various subjects The project work is an integral part of the school work in some subject/s; the teacher is clearly delivering the curriculum through this eTwinning project work. Grading 0 No attempt is made to link work to any aspect of the curriculum. 1 Some attempts are made, but they are incomplete or failed. 2 Occasionally for projects that are run as part of an extracurricular club or workshop, with volunteer pupils. In these cases, curricular integration may not be a priority. Their goals may be more educative and less pedagogical. But since these projects are very often excellent, creative, original and the pupils are very involved, they receive high marks in other areas. 3 Curricular integration is obvious, but not very explicit in the teacher’s application and project description, and not very clear in the pupils’ activities. 4 Curricular integration is very clear: the project is obviously a project-based pedagogy whose goal is to allow pupils to effectively develop skills and acquire knowledge as laid out in the curriculum of the different subject areas involved in the project. 5 Same as 4, but in addition, the teacher has explained the project-based pedagogical framework, for example, by describing the objectives of the activities the teachers propose to their pupils.

4.  4. 3. Communication and Interaction among the Partner Schools Most eTwinning projects develop exchange some processes for the communication and sharing of information among teachers and pupils. This criterion assesses the quality of communication activities that teachers have designed for or with their pupils for sharing the work of each class on the themes of the project. This communication can be either individually or in small groups and may include voting, quizzes etc., which are designed to encourage pupils to read, listen and view the work of their partners. Grading 0 Very little evidence of any communication either between teachers or pupils. For example no pupils in TwinSpace or similar communication areas, teacher work only, no positive impact on pupils 1 The pupils are asked to communicate in a very limited way, such as a basic email exchange based on a model (closer to practice exercises than in project tasks). Basic pen-pal/ « getting to know you » project, but no/few pupils using the TwinSpace or other communication tools; teachers upload pupils’ work, no final product. 2 Partner pupils create a variety of productions and share them on the TwinSpace or other communication tools such as external blogs. However, the teachers have offered little or no activities that ensure that the pupils have actually engaged in real sharing. Partner classes do mostly separate work, little coordination on topics between partner teachers, no final outcome planned, some pupils in the TwinSpace or other communication tools 3 Pupils have really shared their productions and have been enriched by the exchanges, because the teachers developed specific activities to ensure interaction with the partner pupils and their work. The work done by both partner classes was done on the same theme with the same or similar instructions, so that the pupils would be curious to see what their partners created and would want to react. Shared themes (decided by teacher), no shared final product, intermediary pupils work uploaded in TwinSpace or other communication tool 4 The information sharing has clearly identified goals: comparison, developing knowledge, widening the students’ horizons. These goals are reached particularly through the pedagogical processes developed by the teachers and implemented by the pupils. The communication between pupils was a clear goal for the teachers (excellent use of Pupils’ corner and Forums in TwinSpace or other tools such as Videoconference / …) ". Shared work, same theme, discussion between pupils on themes; organised material but no shared final product, pupils final work uploaded in a well-organized TwinSpace, or other communication area even if there’s no cooperative final product. 5 Same as 4, and more: the teachers developed the exchanges and information sharing as the first step towards collaborative work between pupils. Shared work, same theme, discussion between pupils on themes, final outcome.

5.  5. 4. Collaboration between partner schools Collaborative activities go beyond communication: the partners are not just recipients of information; they are team-members, co-authors and co-creators. Collaboration means that both classes need the contribution of their partner class to complete the activity. Some examples of collaborative final products are: a newspaper, a report, a collaborative summary of all the subjects worked on during the project, a collection of letters written on a given theme, a cookbook, a collection of poems, a fictional work (mystery novel, fairy tale, cartoon, movie…), etc. This list is not exhaustive as there can be many more examples Mixed-nationality teams are a very effective best practice for collaborative work. (small group from one class + small group from another class = mixed-nationality team) Grading 0 No collaboration of any sort 1 No real collaborative activities or productions, but signs of an attempt (even failed) to implement collaboration. Teacher needs encouragement and suggestions! 2 Same as 1 but the attempt at collaboration didn’t completely fail and the teacher may do a better job in her/his next project. 3 Clear signs of cooperative activities: a very well organized TwinSpace or similar communication tool, that displays pupil work (by theme, for example). Another example would be a well-organized blog used to publish all the work done by pupils and that gives a good idea of the sharing and cooperation between pupils. 4 Both types of activities are at work in this project. The collaborative activities have resulted in a shared piece of work or product that was made using tools particularly suited to collaboration (wiki, for ex.) and that is finalized in the form of a tangible outcome such as a video, eBook etc. 5 Same as 4, but especially well done: very original productions, very rigorous work done by the mixed-nationality teams, etc.

6.  6. 5. Use of Technology How well is the technology used by the teachers and pupils in discussing activities and sharing information between pupils? How has technology been used to further the work of the project, creating final products etc. This criteria focuses on assessing the good adaptation of tools both the TwinSpace and all other tools used by the teachers and pupils to conduct collaborative activities and sharing information so that real communication and interactions take place between them. The tools are used in such way that they ensure the success of the pedagogical objectives of the project. Grading 0 No activity or sharing. No use of the TwinSpace or any other tools. 1 Very little use of communication tools such as the TwinSpace or similar tools - All pupils are not included in the TwinSpace or other tools - Documents intended for pupils and teachers stored in the wrong areas - . Work is not evenly distributed; one teacher seem to do all the blog posts for example. When information is displayed there is little regard for eSafety issues such as not publically posting pupils photos, listing their names , picture or music copyright issues etc. 2 Only some pupils enrolled in the TwinSpace or other tools Some use made of communication tools or the TwinSpace - basic tools used to exchange information (texts, photos and possibly video slideshows ) Not all inputs are authentically produced by pupils; e.g. documents consist of Internet Information copied and pasted Some awareness of eSafety issues insofar pupils are not identifiable, but copyright issues on images, music etc. are not observed. 3 Using some of the communication tools TwinSpace (Blog, corner of students, etc.). Maybe using free commercial blogs but no thought given to the advertising elements. Using creative tools for exchange between pupils such as Voki, etc. Creation of documents with software slideshow, video, etc. Awareness of eSafety issues insofar pupils are not identifiable, copyright issues on images, music etc. are observed in some but not all cases. 4 Using communication tools TwinSpace or external communication tools (blog, ....) Use of commercial blogs without advertising with full participation of ALL pupils involved in the project - Use creative tools to exchange information - Production of multimedia documents with appropriate software, video production editing, ... - Using Wiki ... Full awareness of eSafety issues insofar pupils are not identifiable, copyright issues on images, music etc. are observed 5 Same as 4 but with particular clever and creative use by the pupils

7.  7. 6. Results, impact and documentation Visible - project results and/or how they are presented online - activity/involvement of pupils (in TwinSpace) - project documentation (planning, evaluation & reflection, feedback possibilities etc.) Invisible: impact of the project - on teachers' skills - on pupils' skills and knowledge - social, personal (teachers and pupils) - on wider community - The invisible part can only be evaluated indirectly by reading the project documentation and comparing it to the visible part Grading 0 No visible project results, no pupil activity to be seen, no project documentation. 1 Very few project results (intermediate or final) presented or project results clearly not created by pupils (but by teachers). No or little pupil involvement in activities documented. No or fragmentary documentation of project. 2 Some project results (intermediate or final) presented, sporadic pupil involvement. Project documentation incomplete or not consistent with the material presented. 3 Many project results (intermediate or final) presented, created by pupils, mostly with suitable, basic tools. Project documentation contains evaluation evidence (at least feedback possibility for pupils) and some reflection on objectives achieved. Material mostly consistent with documentation, some notes on impact (pupils, teachers, wider community). 4 A variety of project results presented, created by pupils with suitable tools, some of them of outstanding quality. Project documentation is complete and contains evidence of evaluation (skills of and impact on pupils, reflections by teachers) and shows that set objectives have been achieved as well as impact on wider community. Material presented is consistent with the documentation 5 A variety of project results presented, most of them of outstanding quality. Exhaustive project documentation with information on evaluation (of most or all parts of the project), on impact on pupils and their skills/knowledge, on impact on teachers' skills and impact on wider community. Set objectives have clearly been achieved and this is thoroughly documented. The material presented is consistent with the documentation.

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Open eTwinning - Evaluation CriteriaThere are 6 evaluation criteria when creating an eTwinning project: 1) Innovation and Creativity; 2) Curricular integration; 3) Communication and Interaction among partner schools; 4) Collaboration among partner schools; 5) Use of technology; 6) Results, impact and documentation. Identify one of the criteria on the Padlet and explain what things you would put in place as part of a project to ensure a high score in that criterium.

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Open eTwinning - Evaluation CriteriaThere are 6 evaluation criteria when creating an eTwinning project: 1) Innovation and Creativity; 2) Curricular integration; 3) Communication and Interaction among partner schools; 4) Collaboration among partner schools; 5) Use of technology; 6) Results, impact and documentation. Identify one of the criteria on the Padlet and explain what things you would put in place as part of a project to ensure a high score in that criterium.

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I think the most important criterium for a successful eTwinning project is 3. Communication and Interaction among the Partner Schools. It often happens that teachers and students just work separetely and share their products in the Twinspace. Commun ication and Interaction don't happen by chance, but need to be planned and organized properly. First, partner teachers should plan regular communication among them, using the Teacher Bulletin, chat, email and forums on the Twinspace. Second, students should communicate and interact, not only using chat, forums, emails, videoconference an other tools, but also working together to achieve a common aim and realize only one shared final outcome (not separate ones). A good idea is to arrange mixed teams or subgroups, involving them in discussing, voting so that the project is really collaborative.

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Share your project idea and let it be evaluated and commented by your peers

Use the feedback that you receive and the drafts you have analysed to modify and improve your own idea

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The link to Popplet

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Popplet is the best app for sharing visual ideas.

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To get to know tools and applications which enables online collaborative work.

To integrate these resources in the design of a collaborative activity.

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https://youtu.be/0HkQVDwiSrw

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Collaboration as the main axis in an eTwinning project

What is collaboration? How can it be implemented in eTwinning?

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A very interesting and useful video on collavborative work

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A very interesting and useful video on collavborative work

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ_xEy4ZxIE#action=share

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Useful links to design e-collaborative activities

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Useful links to design e-collaborative activities

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Our list of resources continues to grow. For this week's challenge, you will find links tagged with "tools" to be especially useful.

Don’t forget to follow the list and provide other resources you know about. When contributing, remember to tag them properly, so when including a tool, tag it with “tools” (in plural). This will facilitate the search of resources. See in List.ly here.

You may also find interesting the webmix made by the Spanish ambassadors on Symbaloo, with plenty of useful tools.

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<iframe src="https://www.symbaloo.com/embed/cajadeherramientas35?desktopId=1000004005164753" name="_symFrame" width="920px" height="870px" frameborder="0" noresize="noresize" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>

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Golden rules for successful eTwinning collaboration

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Golden rules for successful eTwinning collaboration

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In any good task or project, there must be rules to follow and fulfill to guarantee its success. Next, we list nine golden rules that will ensure the success of your eTwinning collaborative project.

1. Get to know your partners: share with your partners all the necessary information, such as the number of students participating in the project, your students’ age and interests, your students’ level in foreign languages and their ICT skills.

2. Create a detailed time schedule: set the starting dates for each task, mark the dates when one of the partner schools is on holidays, share it with your students, set deadlines and respect them.

3. Preparatory planning leads to a successful eTwinning project: plan a meeting, introduce the project to the children and inform the parents, the colleagues and the headteacher about the specific project; add more teachers from your school to the project and form school teams; announce the beginning of the project on the school website; create Twinspace accounts for all the participants, and invite students to the Twinspace; organise mini-courses for your students on ICT tools to be used, and on how to use the Twinspace; create Twinspace tutorials for students or partners who are beginners in eTwinning (if necessary).

4. Design your Twinspace carefully: create activity pages for each one of the planned tasks, add a short description for each one of the activities planned at the top of each activity page, agree with your partners about the most suitable tools for each one of the activities, and add them to your activity pages.

5. Break the ice and get to know each other: have students interact as much as possible, ask them to update their Twinspace profiles by adding a short description of themselves, and a representative avatar. Ask them to leave comments on their partners’ walls, and to vote for the best Twinspace profiles. Plan chat sessions and skype meetings regularly. Find creative ways to have your students introduce themselves and their school or country.

6. Team your students up in Transnational Groups: team students up in transnational groups, create a table with the newly formed transnational groups and add it to the Twinspace. Ask your students to work together and write a short description of their group members. Ask your students to also agree upon a name for their group and draw together a symbol or an emblem for each group.

7. Plan as many collaborative activities as possible: try to plan activities that need your partners’ contribution to be completed. Use as many collaborative tools as possible (Google suite, DrawitLive, Glogster, etc.). Try to avoid creating folders for each country in Twinspace (successful collaborative activities are the ones in which you cannot tell which of the partners did what!).

8. Assign responsibilities to your students: discover your students’ talents and skills and give them responsibilities. Team the students up in groups, according to their talents (the painting group, the photography group, the ICT group, etc.), and assign to some students the role of "student administrator" in Twinspace.

9. Set Evaluation Criteria: try to evaluate the quality of your project along with your partners. Recognize Key Strengths, and identify areas that need improvement. Plan ongoing evaluation activities (share opinions, make proposals, comment on each other’s work).

These golden rules will make an eTwinning project a successful experience, since they promote collaboration between partners, PBL methodology and the change of role of the teacher and students. Remember that it is important to clearly indicate to the students what they have to do, how they must do it and when they have to do it, designing the phases of the activity very clearly. This will facilitate their autonomy and the development of skills. In these new processes, we must emphasize the fact that we have to facilitate and provide opportunities for the students to work as a team, both among them, in the classroom, and with their distant partners.

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- To get to know eTwinning Live and its possibilities as a community and professional development platform for teachers
- To get to know the Twinspace and the tools it offers for the development and publication of collaboration projects
- To integrate the contents of the course in a quality collaborative eTwinning project

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaZG2auNJ-M#action=share

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtboIo8pzrs#action=share

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHQCEdn-cCM#action=share

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https://stm.etwinning.net/en/pub/collaboration_in_etwinning_/management_of_twinspace.htm

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https://stm.etwinning.net/en/pub/getting_ready_to_become_an_act/materials.htm

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My final project: EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS TRADITION

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My final project: EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS TRADITION

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https://padlet.com/biancohealy/c9ymqhlxcies