When eTwinning suddenly becomes

School Development

By Tine Jespersen, eTwinning ambassador, Denmark

Teacher at Thyborøn School

My topic:

Suddenly an eTwinning project became School Development for the participating schools.

A Comenius project for 3 – 4 and finally 5 schools

What on earth happened???

I am going to take you through 4 things, which made this project a huge success for my school.

1. A very relevant and important topic

2. Headmaster wanting school project

3. Documentation

4. Partner meeting

Application form- Digital products, involving eTwinning portal and twinspace: Skype meetings, PPP, video,

documents and online magazines

Project periode- Relevant Tasks: Hardworking teachers wanting tasks to succeed and Project leader keeping an

eye on agreed project products and outcomes

- Documentation

- The personal meeting at the visits at schools made the great difference

Some things happened because of the project which were unexpected and made teaching better.

Background: - 250 students aged 6 to 15.

We were asked to be partners in a Comenius project called The Culture of Peace in European Citizenship

- and the headmaster wanted us to join.

The project itself

• Human rights • Children's Convention and Children's Rights • Questionnaire about peace• Thoughts about peace • Interviews with people who were part of last war in each country • National human rights • National stories of peace – our common story of peace.------------------------------------• Curriculum of Peace-----------------------------------

Other things in the project:

Pen pals

Exchanges of greetings

Skype meetings.

The Irish Constitution

Children's Rights

What kind of educational skills did the pupils gain?

• Exploring• Wondering• Seeking knowledge• Telling• Sharing• Understanding• Reflecting• Expressing

Interviewing local citizens (Sources for local history)Pen pals Skype meetingsMeetings at each school

• Dealing with cultural skills and language skills.

And also teacher and pupils learning together.

Interview made by retired teacher YaşarZırhlıoğlu and our student İsmail EmreYıldız.

İsmail Emre Yıldız: How was the life during the war?

Yaşar Zırhlıoğlu: We were in confusing emotions and it was an unknown expectation. The life was full of anxiety of tomorrow for the helpless and hopeless children. War time was full of fear for tomorrow. Dust, smoke, concern and fear, screams in dark and frustrating gunshots full of nightmare. War time was a time of disappearances and to be depressed. The most painful one was encountering these events.

İsmail Emre Yıldız: Were you scared?

• Things happening today

• Conflict in NothernIreland

• Winter war in Finland

• Second Worldwar

Dealing with history cross cultural really make pupils so much aware of own history.http://issuu.com/gyseligt/docs/eb_thybor__n_skole

To give ‘Peace’ meaning we had to deal with war and made questionnaires for local older citizens and invited them into school. An extremely good experience for pupils and older citizens.

Peace-work done in class 6 Bhttp://issuu.com/gyseligt/docs/comeniusquestionare22

An other class did presentations of school, area and country in English – accessible on twinspace

A third class did The European Fundamental Rights http://issuu.com/charlottestromodder/docs/online_magazine_8klasse.docx/0

- and every class at school did Children's Rights

Then every class at school did 4 days of preparing for visit and show to welcome guests winspace.)

Facts about the four visiting countries

Decorating school for welcome

School show

• Song• Children’s Rights song• Cup song• H.C. Andersen fairytales • Acting and black theatre• Presentation of town• National song translated into English

https://plus.google.com/photos/115723774547683689737/albums/6076099344856657953?banner=pwa

Mayor welcomes guests at the City Hall.Mayor gives speech and presents.

Mayor Erik Flyvholm speaking at the City Hall:

“It is great to welcome a school project which both matters and at the same time develops the skills of our pupils according to curriculum: acceptance of differences, communication, curiosity, creativity, collaboration, foreign language, citizenship, history and ICT. These skills are brought to life in this project through authentic communication and hard work.

This authentic communication is extremely important in schools. Schools make friendship and also go for collaborative cross cultural goals.

We want our children to grow up in a peaceful world and we acknowledge the importance of keeping peace by understanding some of the cruelty of war. How vulnerable children and families and countries are at wartime and how painful it is to loose beloved ones and constantly live in fear. We want our children to be aware of essential Human Rights.”

https://plus.google.com/photos/115723774547683689737/albums/6076099344856657953/6076104787551054818?banner=pwa&pid=6076104787551054818&oid=115723774547683689737

Something happens when people meet.

4 Turkish pupils stayed privately with class 6 B and joined school for 3 days

Headmaster Michael Laursen put these words on the schools website after the visit :

”Seldom have I been so happy about - and proud of – being a headmaster. We – and very much the pupils – have been praised by our foreign guests. Behavior, English language, decoration of school, and the fantastic show.”

Conclusion:

• eTwinning and twinspace can be of significant importance for partner seeking and documentation. eTwinning ambassadors are important coaches in planning school projects.

• Headmasters can make things happen for schools on a larger scale

• An united school project can promote great an unexpected learning results - and new ways of learning - for pupils and teachers. Friends and valued partners are found.

• An united school project makes teachers, pupils, parents and community so proud of their school.

Visit Italyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xosB5hqeUTw&feature=youtu.be

Visit Denmarkhttps://plus.google.com/photos/115723774547683689737/albums/6076099344856657953?banner=pwa

Visit public twinspace for the project:http://new-twinspace.etwinning.net/web/p98515/welcome