eTwinning

1. When eTwinning suddenly
becomes
School Development
By Tine Jespersen,
eTwinning ambassador, Denmark
Teacher at Thyborøn School

3. 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.

4. 1. A very relevant and
important topic
2. Headmaster wanting
school project
3. Documentation
4. Partner meeting

5. 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.
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.

6. 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
-----------------------------------

7. Other things in the project:
 Pen pals
 Exchanges of greetings
 Skype meetings.

8. The Irish
Constitution

9. Children's Rights

10. 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 meetings
Meetings at each school
• Dealing with cultural skills and language skills.
And also teacher and pupils learning together.
Interview made by retired teacher Yaşar
Zırhlıoğlu and our student İsmail Emre
Yıldız.
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?

11. 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.
• Things happening
today
• Conflict in Nothern
Ireland
• 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

12. Peace-work done in class 6 B
http://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.)

13. Facts about the four visiting countries

14. Decorating school for welcome

15. 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/11572377454768368
9737/albums/6076099344856657953?banner=pwa

16. 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/album
s/6076099344856657953/6076104787551054818?banner=pwa&
pid=6076104787551054818&oid=115723774547683689737
Mayor welcomes guests at the City Hall.
Mayor gives speech and presents.

17. Something happens when people meet.

18. 4 Turkish pupils stayed privately with class 6 B and joined school for 3 days

19. 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.”

20. 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.

21. Visit Italy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xos
B5hqeUTw&feature=youtu.be
Visit Denmark
https://plus.google.com/photos/115723
774547683689737/albums/6076099344
856657953?banner=pwa
Visit public twinspace for the project:
http://new-twinspace.
etwinning.net/web/p98515/
welcome