September 2011

Get a good start in the school year with eTwinning! Welcome back, eTwinners! We hope that you all enjoyed your summer break and are ready, as eTwinning is, to kick off the school year with new energy and inspiration! Check your eTwinning Desktop and the Portal because many initiatives are about to kick off: The eTwinning Weeks 2011 campaign will take place in October, so get prepared for an entire month of exchange and sharing. Activities are for everyone; newcomers and experienced eTwinners alike. Also, the next annual round of European Quality Labels winners will be announced at the beginning of October! National Support Services (NSS) have been evaluating submissions for the National Quality Label and if at least two members of the same project receive this national award, these individuals will also receive the European award. Finally, a new set of Learning Events is ready for this autumn. A variety of new events, ranging from how to improve language communication with other eTwinners to how to use tools and media in your eTwinning work, will take place. Check them out and register through the Desktop!

What’s going on in schools?

Project of the month

Learn more about projects

Photography - my hobby Do you like taking photographs? It’s a good way to save the dearest of memories of important moments in life. Pupils in this project share their experience of taking photos while learning more about photography. For the pupils, taking photos is an art: a photo makes you smile, cry and feel all sorts of emotions. Quality Label of the Month What is the Quality Label? BIANCO ROSSO E VERDE - people making a nation The project deals with people creating a nation: pupils investigate the lives, ideals and deeds of historical people who have strengthened or created the national identity of a country. The core of the project is the belief that, despite the differences in countries and cultures, a nation is born out of ideas, not violence or war.

From the eTwinning Portal Welcome back to school, eTwinners! New faces, new projects, new opportunities. How are you going to get involved in eTwinning in the new school year? Friends of eTwinning eTwinning works in close collaboration with a number of international organizations and initiatives - known as “eTwinning Friends” – to provide eTwinning schools with a rich array of resources and support in their collaborative activities.

What’s going on across Europe?

Austria: Europe in the classroom

In June, the Austrian National Agency of Lifelong Learning invited all Austrian pupils to the event “Europe in the Classroom” at Museumsquartier in Vienna. About 1000 teachers and pupils had the possibility to learn more about European project work and to participate in activities about art, Europe, languages and Web 2.0.

Belgium: Annual prize ceremony in Brussels

On 5 October, eTwinning Belgium invites teachers and principals to celebrate eTwinning during the annual prize ceremony in Brussels at “Mini-Europe”. The nominated projects will be presented by teachers and pupils.

Bulgaria: two events took place in Sozopol

In July 2011, two events took place in Sozopol. The first was a workshop focused on project work using award-winning examples, while the second was a summer academy in conjunction with the Bulgarian National Agency.

Czech Republic: Summer camp for teachers

From 16-19 August, the traditional eTwinning summer camp for teachers took place in Trutnov, Czech Republic. The aim of the camp was to practice project work from the first start to finish. 48 participants practiced using the eTwinning Desktop, TwinSpace and other interesting ICT tools.)

Denmark: Training for teacher training staff

The Danish NSS, together with regional resource centres (CFU), has developed eTwinning course modules for teacher trainers. Among best practice examples are full school training approaches in the Region of Southern Denmark. The aim is to enhance trainers’ abilities to introduce student teachers to eTwinning.

France: National competition

The annual competition for the best eTwinning projects is still open and French teachers can submit their work until 12 September.

Germany: eTwinning for COMENIUS school partnerships

COMENIUS school partnerships can benefit from eTwinning as useful instrument for their joint project work. The German NSS together with the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst (PAD) offers training events on the eTwinning portal and Desktop as well as practical training on eTwinning tools.

Germany: European conference for school leaders

From November 10-12 the European conference for school leaders on “Leading 21st-Century Schools” will be organised in Berlin, Germany. About 200 European school leaders are expected and the central focus of the workshops will be on school development and innovative use of digital media. Best practice examples will demonstrate the possibilities eTwinning provides for schools, in order to raise their profile and take advantage of a European school network.

Latvia: Apply for the eTwinning National awards

Schools that have successfully completed a project during this year are warmly welcome to apply for the eTwinning National awards. Winners will be awarded in October during the annual I-technology exposition of schools in Latvia (LatSTE).

Latvia: How would you illustrate eTwinning?

Teachers in Latvia are welcome to encourage their pupils to illustrate their interpretation of eTwinning or their eTwinning projects in the contest “eTwinning illustration 2011”. The authors of the best illustrations will have their drawings turned into puzzles. All drawings will be on exhibition at the EU House in Riga in September and October.

Latvia: Awards for the most supporting municipalities in eTwinning

On 17 August, during the meeting of regional education boards representatives, the Latvian NSS awarded the most supportive municipalities and cities participating in eTwinning. The NSS team is thankful to the cities of Valmiera and Liepāja and the municipality of Preiļi for their work and contribution to promote the eTwinning action.

Latvia: eTwinning ambassadors discuss the development of eTwinning in Latvia

On 18 August, eTwinning ambassadors in Latvia gathered to discuss the future development of eTwinning and the training needs of teachers for the upcoming academic year.

Lithuania: Open pupils’ artwork exhibition

On 3 August, the artwork exhibition of the contests “Yellow-Blue” and “My eTwinning sticker” was opened in the Centre of Information Technologies in Education, in Vilnius. During the exhibition, visitors can admire the artwork of the winners already published in the eTwinning book 2010 and other handouts.

Lithuania: Visit the new eTwinning website of Lithuania

Browse and enjoy the new Lithuanian eTwinning website! Based on the feedback of visitors and aiming to make it more attractive and easier to use, the website has now a new design, RSS subscription, a new research engine, and new sections including a video archive, a photo gallery and calendar.

Poland: eTwinning promotional campaign

In September, three regional conferences organised by the Polish NSS will take place in Podlasie, Warmia-Mazury and Mazowsze. The conferences and workshops aim at promoting eTwinning at regional and local level and are addressed to teachers, headteachers and representatives of local authorities.

Romania: eTwinning Embassy

In the light of the EU Year for Volunteering, the Romanian NSS is inviting schools to promote eTwinning through specific dissemination activities and to share their expertise. The most active schools that run relevant activities will receive a certificate proving that they acted as “eTwinning Embassy”.

Slovakia: International contact seminar in Bratislava

From 29 September -1 October, an international contact seminar will take place in Bratislava with participants from Norway, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Students from teacher training institutions will also be involved.

Slovakia: Photo gallery from national awards ceremony

Have a look at some amazing pictures from the national awards ceremony that took place on 29 June in Žilina, Slovakia.

Slovakia: School projects and international partnership online

On 12 September, a certificated course for teachers will take place in Žilina, Slovakia. It will focus on school projects and international partnership using the Internet, with a combined e-learning and face-to-face approach.

Spain: eTwinning 2.0 training course

From 5-12 September, the pre-registration period for the first edition of the online training course “eTwinning 2.0” will be open. Be sure to fill out the online registration form!

Switzerland: eTwinning at the 2011 Swiss Exchange Congress

From 17-18 November, the Swiss Exchange Congress is taking place at the Museum of Transport in Lucerne. Swiss teachers at all levels and from all language regions will meet to discuss the topics of exchange and mobility. Among the many interesting events and presentations, a workshop on eTwinning will be held by the Swiss NSS – the first one ever in Switzerland!

United Kingdom: Online training success in the UK

The UK eTwinning NSS held its first ever training webinar on 14 June 2011. The theme was "A General Introduction to eTwinning" and 21 UK teachers took part. Webinars are a convenient way for teachers to access eTwinning training from home or school. Due to this success, we look forward to offering a series of themed training webinars to UK teachers during this year’s eTwinning Weeks.