eTwinning portal tools
External tools

eTwinning portal tools

Desktop

The Desktop is the school’s private area on the portal. From here, you can look for partners and communicate with them in a safe virtual environment.

Through the internal messaging system, you can send messages to other teachers and school staff involved in eTwinning. Messages can only be sent to the e-mail addresses of registered users.

The chat is open only to registered eTwinning users. There are two types: The public chat rooms that are available to all registered users, and the private chat rooms that you can book for specific talks with a potential partner.

More on the Desktop. (pdf)

TwinSpace

The TwinSpace is a collaborative workspace developed specifically for eTwinning activities. All schools registered in eTwinning have a private workspace on the web which can be used to collaborate with partners. The TwinSpace is available from the personal desktop.

The TwinSpace is a forum where files, documents and links can be shared between partners. It has an internal messaging system and chat room where teachers and students communicate in a closed network. It is browser-based and works with all operating systems.

A lot of precautions have been taken to make sure that the TwinSpace is a safe virtual environment. Schools can communicate and work together on this platform without interference from the outside.

More information

See published TwinSpaces

External tools

FlashMeeting

FlashMeeting is a simple one click webcam video conferencing tool which allows you to experience live audio and video broadcasting on your PC. It is an excellent way to start to experiment with video conferencing as a communication tool. It is very easy to use and all you need is a webcam with microphone, a connection to the Internet (broadband is best) and Macromedia Flash 7 or greater installed on your computer.

This webcam conferencing tool is suitable for adult or pupil live meetings, one to one, small group and multi location video conferences. It also allows users to text chat, share URLs and record the video conference.  The meeting can be projected onto a whiteboard via a data projector for viewing by a larger audience which can be very useful for sharing the conference with a whole class or teaching group. Users have to be authorised prior to being allowed to book a FlashMeeting session in order to ensure that the video conference takes place in a safe and secure internet environment.

If you have a registered eTwinning partnership and want to take part in a pilot trial of this tool with our project partners, please contact thomas.maier@eun.org

For a demo click on http://flashmeeting.e2bn.net  and follow the demo tab.

Skype

Skype is a tool that you can use to call other people on their computer or phone, both mobiles and ordinary fixed line phones. It is free to use Skype to communicate via computers, whereas communicating with phones costs money. You can also do instant messaging, transfer files, or have conference calls.

To use Skype, you must download software and have a headset, speakers or an USB phone. The information is encrypted before sent over the Internet, and automatically decrypted when received. Skype works with MacIntosh, Windows and Linux.

More information

MSN Messenger

MSN Messenger is a tool for chats, and for audio and video conferences. Emoticons and pictures can be added to the chat.

The Messenger also allows you to share photos, files and backgrounds. If you want to search for something on the Internet, you can use MSN Messenger to carry out shared searches. MSN Messenger works with MacIntosh and Windows.

More information