Get a Head Start on the New School Year

	As this school year is soon coming to a close, it’s not too early to start thinking about an eTwinning project for the autumn. Now is the time to start discussing with your colleagues and students about a new project to start off the new school year.

Whether you have not yet participated in eTwinning or would like to develop something new, a collaborative project is a great way to get students involved in the new school year as well as establishing a good base for future work with partner schools over the course of the year.

While thinking about getting involved in a new eTwinning project, here are some basic steps to help you get started:

Create an idea

Conceptualise a broad idea for a European collaborative project using ICT.  If you need some ideas, the best way to start is by having a look at the Ready-Made Kits. In order to learn about existing projects, we recommend that you browse the projects in the eTwinning Map or take a look at the good practice examples in the Project Gallery.
The details of your project will be developed later with your partner school(s), so be sure to remain general at this stage!

Integrate your idea into the school year

Think about how you would like to incorporate an eTwinning project into your class’s curriculum and your school’s calendar. While you are developing your programme for the new school year, link the idea of your project to activities and subject matter to be covered. This will also allow you to further develop your eTwinning project idea.

Develop your initiative

Come up with a flexible project proposal. Using the Ready-Made Kits as a base reference, make sure that your proposal explains your pedagogical goals, ICT tools and parameters, and the benefits of the European dimension.

Find your twin

Post your proposal on the Partner Finding Forum or search for potential partners through the TwinFinder. This step can be done after the summer break if you don’t manage to do it before. NB: don’t forget to read what other schools have posted for their own partner searches; perhaps your twin is already out there!

Depending on when your school year begins and ends, it is up to you to see how much you can prepare before the summer break. Also, keep in mind that the school year varies from country to country, so be patient in regards to the time between finding a partner, developing together concrete project activities, and launching the project with your students.

For more information on eTwinning, we also encourage you to contact your National Support Service (NSS) directly. In this way, you can establish contact with your country’s representative body as well as learn about other eTwinning initiatives (training sessions, workshops) going on at national level.

• Get ideas for projects from the Ready-Made Kits and Map.
• See good practice examples in the Project Gallery
• Learn more about how you can use all the available tools and develop ideas through Using the TwinSpace
• Contact your NSS to learn about projects in your country.
  

	Web Editor:	Christina Crawley

	Published :	26/05/2006

	Last changed :	24/08/2007

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