December 2010

Get ready for the holiday break! Thanks to all eTwinners who submitted entries to the 2010 European-wide eTwinning Prizes competition. Over 300 projects are currently being evaluated. Finalists and winners will be notified and the results published on the eTwinning Portal at the end of January. Now that schools are closing for a few weeks, take some time to think how to best continue promoting eTwinning both on and offline. If you would like to further promote eTwinning in your community, have a look at the eTwinning Portal to find helpful resources produced by the eTwinning team as well as eTwinners. Best wishes to everyone for a happy holiday break and see you in 2011!

What’s going on in schools?

Project of the month

Learn more about projects

What relationships mean in our lives In this eTwinning project, pupils develop their personalities by researching, reflecting, discussing, and presenting the role of relationships in their lives and their ethical importance. Quality Label of the Month What is the Quality Label? My nature school In this project, teachers and pupils across Europe work together to learn about and protect nature. Pupils share pictures, videos, and slides of natural formations in their neighbourhoods and learn about differences between their respective environments.

From the eTwinning Portal Building on the eTwinning Weeks While this October’s autumn campaign may be over, eTwinners are encouraged to continue promoting eTwinning both on and offline. eTwinning Newsletter now online! The eTwinning Newseletter will be published online in all available languages. Don’t miss the chance to read it also on www.eTwinning.net.

What’s going on across Europe?

Austria: Fit for Europe - bringing new technologies to the classroom

From 3-6 November an eTwinning professional development workshop in combination with a Comenius contact seminar took place in Vienna. The theme of the seminar was “Fit for Europe. Bringing new technologies to the classroom” and more than 100 teachers from 23 countries were eager to start Comenius/eTwinning projects and to improve their ICT skills.

Belgium (Dutch-speaking community): eLearning Awards 2010

Lieven Van Parys, teacher at the Free Primary School of Meulebeke in Belgium (Flanders), was runner up in the category Collaborative Learning at the eLearning Awards 2010 with his eTwinning project “Make a Wiz“. Congratulations, Lieven!

Germany: eTwinning advent calendar with attractive prizes

Christmas is coming and before you go on your well-deserved vacation eTwinning wants to sweeten your waiting time with an Advent calendar. Until Christmas Eve you can solve puzzles and win prizes for your eTwinning activities.

France: Humanities contact seminar

From 17-19 November, a seminar for teachers of humanities from France, Poland and the Czech Republic took place in Paris. Teachers from these three countries had the opportunity to find partners and design their eTwinning projects, while being trained in learner-centred, distant project pedagogy.

Finland: National eTwinning prizes awarded

Sari Auramo in Ohkolan koulu was awarded the first Finnish eTwinning prize with the project “Getting Closer“. A shared second place went to Tiina Torvinen in Jokelan koulu with her first eTwinning project “Kids in Amazing Boxes” and to Pasi Siltakorpi in Pääskytien koulu with “Kites for Kids”. Congratulations to all!

Greece: Fifth national awards ceremony

On 17 December, the fifth national awards ceremony took place at the Greek Ministry of Education. Teachers were awarded prizes from five categories: three categories (5-12, 12-15 and 15-18), eTwinning environmental education and Comenius-eTwinning.

Hungary: Newcomers are welcome to the annual eTwinning conference in Budapest

Until 31 December 2010, Hungarian teachers can register on the eTwinning Portal and have the chance to take part in a lottery. The winner will attend the annual eTwinning conference in Budapest fro 31 March – 2 April 2011.

Hungary: Vote for your partners!

Hungarian teachers can vote for their future project partners. Based on the results of the online vote the Hungarian NSS will invite some countries for a partner-finding seminar to Hungary next year.

Latvia: New Latvian eTwinning website launched!

At the end of November, the Latvian NSS launched their new website. Not only does it now feature a new design, but it also introduces new possibilities for interaction among NSS and Latvian eTwinners.

Malta: eTwinning contact seminar for Mediterranean countries

From 19-21 November, the Maltese NSS organised a contact seminar for teachers of Mediterranean countries in Floriana, Malta.

Malta: winners of eTwinning Back to School campaign

The Maltese NSS are pleased to announce the winners of the Back to School Campaing 2010. This year we had 72 elgible projects who participated in the draw: 47 in the Primary and 25 in the Secondary schools.

Poland: Festive e-Thursday workshop in Warsaw

On 17 December, a Festive e-Thursday workshop was organised in Warsaw. It was a good opportunity for over fifty teachers to register to eTwinning, learn about eTwinning tools and look for partner schools.

Poland: Regional eTwinning workshops all over Poland

Many regional eTwinning workshops were organised all over Poland by eTwinning representatives in schools, teacher training centres and regional school inspectorates.

Romania: National competition for an eTwinning song

An eTwinning song competition has been organised in Romania. Teachers and pupils created and performed eTwinning songs which can now be accessed on the competition webpage.

Slovenia: eTwinning workshop in Dolenjske Toplice

On 8 December 2010, an eTwinning workshop for beginners took place in a primary school in Dolenjske Toplice.

Slovenia: eTwinning video contest

Join the Slovenian video contest and promote eTwinning!

Slovenia: eTwinning workshop in Trbovlje

On 11 January 2011, an eTwinning workshop for beginners will take place in a primary school in Trboylje.

Spain: eTwinning training course

From 10-19 January 2011,the pre-registration period for the new edition of the online training course “eTwinning 2.0” will be open. Be sure to fill out the online registration form!

Spain: “Back to School” contest

Juan F. Peñas Viso with the activity “Comicnication” is the winner of the “Back to School” Contest awarding the best Collaborative Activity within an eTwinning project.

The UK: 2010 – European Year of combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

On the occasion of the 2010 European Year of combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, educators and young people throughout Europe, involved in Comenius and eTwinning, have been raising awareness and addressing these issues. Read about the great work at Velindre Community School, in Port Talbot (UK) where pupils with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties, have been re-engaging with their education and making friends across Europe at the same time!