As a major action within the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, eTwinning offers schools in Europe a means to communicate, share ideas and run online collaborative projects. Through an online platform which makes use of web 2.0 tools to facilitate communication, eTwinning has become a truly collaboration-based community where teachers demonstrate creative ways to strengthen their work in the classroom. Since the scheme was launched in January 2005, teachers from 48,286 schools have registered in eTwinning, and have carried out 11,994 projects involving at least two schools from two different countries.

This year's annual conference is being held in Prague from 13-15 February 2009. The event is hosting over 400 participants, comprising teachers from across Europe, representatives from eTwinning's central and national support services, and other important stakeholders in school education. The conference will focus on 'Creativity and eTwinning' and speakers include Ján Figel', the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth; as well as Dr. Edward de Bono, an expert in lateral thinking, and an Ambassador for the European Year for Creativity and Innovation 2009.

On the eve of the conference, Commissioner Figel' explained the significance of eTwinning in 2009: "2009 is the Year of Innovation and Creativity, so it is especially fitting that we celebrate the ever-growing success of the eTwinning scheme as an example of creativity in education. We need to encourage innovative approaches in education to improve the quality and effectiveness of Europe's school systems and help equip young Europeans for the society and economy of the future.'

The highlight of the conference will be the award ceremony, at which prizes will be handed out to ten of the best eTwinning projects from the 2007-2008 school year. There are five categories, three by age (4-11, 12-15, 16-19), one by subject area (maths and science), and a special one that is sponsored by the French Presidency, on the use of the French language.

Over 500 project entries were assessed, based on their innovative nature, integration in the curriculum, collaboration, creative use of ICT and transferability. The top ten finalists are from 40 schools from 21 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom).

The first four category winners will receive a trip to the eTwinning Camp in Greece in April while the French category winners will receive a French-study grant in France this summer.

More information:

The eTwinning Portal: www.etwinning.net

ANNEX

Age Category 4-11

WINNER

Make a film and share IT with friends 2.0!

Fredrik Olsson, Vindängen, Sweden

Tom Roche, Knockaclarig National School, Ireland

URL: http://blog.eun.org/film2/

Project description:

The basis for the project is the production, sharing and giving feedback on media material. The pupils from the two schools collaborate to produce films, which are used as a teaching tool when working with themes chosen from the syllabus. The media material is published and discussed by the pupils on the project blog.

The jury said:

Various ICT tools were included in the project in a purposeful way. The project fits in an international curriculum and could work as a model for various themes as well as for different school levels. The model of question- and comment-based project development as a basis for progressive inquiry showed the real pedagogical value of the project.

RUNNER-UP

μια σταγόνα ταξιδεύει / A traveling raindrop

Χρυσανθέα Παπακωνσταντίνου, Α' Δημοτικό Λατσιών, Cyprus

Zafiris Zaproudis, Δημοτικό Σχολείο Δημητριτσίου, Greece

URL:
http://www.schools.ac.cy/latsia-a-dim/etwinning

http://primaryschdimitritsi.wordpress.com

Project description:

For this project, the children of both schools collaborated in writing and performing a puppet show about the travels of a raindrop, using their imagination, their knowledge of computers and environmental issues related to water, e.g., water use and river/marine pollution.

The jury said:

The panel thought that the basis of the project, an international theme, i.e, water, incorporated with an intercultural theme, i.e., fairytales, was innovative and appropriate. The partner choice is particularly appropriate since both partners can approach the subject with similar questions. At the same time, the project serves as good model for various other European countries.

Age Category 12-15

WINNER

No frontiers!

IES Las Aguas (Spain) (Mª del Pilar Flores Fernández)

Collège Martin Luther King (France) (RUHLMANN Anne)

URL:
http://matoumatheux.ac-rennes.fr/divers/twinning4/accueil.htm

http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/profile.cfm?pid=2556&fuseaction=app.project (TwinSpace)

Project description:

Using both mathematics and cultural elements of their own country (e.g., monuments, famous places, etc.), the pupils created mathematical puzzles and challenges for their partners using tools such as Google maps. Their idea was to challenge the creativity of the pupils in designing the puzzles while at the same time nurturing their mathematical skills.

The jury said:

The project demonstrated a very creative an innovative approach to implementing its objectives. The pupils showed real imagination in their challenges, such as running an online Gymkhana.

RUNNER-UP

MIND THE GAP

ES MENENDEZ Y PELAYO (Spain) (Giselle Dubois)

Publiczne Gimnazjum nr 7 im. Mikołaja Kopernika w Łodzi (Poland) (Magdalena Pakulska)

URL:
http://barcelona_lodz.webs.com

http://barcelonalodz.blogspot.com

Project description:

This project focuses on the differences and similarities between the pupils and their parents when they were teenagers. The pupils interviewed their parents about their lives and experiences of when they were young covering subjects such as friendships, relationships with their own parents, music, film and the future.

The jury said:

A very well designed project that really managed to cross the generation gap!

Age Category 16-19

WINNER

The Pizza Business Across Europe

Madalena Relvão, Escola secundária de D. Duarte, Portugal

Livia Margittay, Barna Sipkay Secondary School of Commerce, Catering and Tourism, Hungary

Alexandrina Liscan, Colegiul Tehnic Raluca Ripan, Romania

Teresa Costanza, IPSIA Trebisacce ("E. Aletti"), Italy

Rudolfs Zemesarajs, Rīgas Uzņēmējdarbības koledža / Riga Business College, Latvia

Andrzej Pogorzelski, Zespół Szkół Agroprzedsiębiorczości im. M. Rataja w Mieczysławowie, Poland

Diliana Tzvetkova, Vocational school for trade and catering, Bulgaria

Paula Antunes, Agrupamento de Escolas de S. Bernardo, Portugal

URL:
www.pizzabusiness.altervista.org
www.pizzacrosseuropetorneo.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpy8YfgqYT4 (Pizza tournament)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyXtcHTKIsk (interview with a pizzeria owner)

Project description:

With this project the schools set out to investigate the pizza business across Europe. The work consisted of two parts: in the first part, they outlined the changing of people's food habits and tastes for the last fifty years; in the second part, they developed their own pizzeria business plans in order to develop their business know-how.

The jury said:

This project obviously made a significant impact on the participants and the entire community. The pupils were involved in practical work and discussing the real implementation of a novel idea. It's a fresh approach that works well with this rather difficult age group.

RUNNER-UP

Between the lines

Helen Karavanidou, 1 geniko lykeio elefsinas, Greece

Carmen Radulescu, Colegiul Economic "Ion Ghica" Targoviste, Romania

URL: http://draculabetweenthelines.blogspot.com/

Project description:

The aim of the project was to put together students from two different countries and two different cultures. Starting from the well-known novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker, the students practiced their English through online conversations. They also used debate to establish a line between reality and fiction, related to Stoker's characters.

The final outcome is a blog containing all the work done by the members of the book club.

The jury said:

This project demonstrated outstanding pupil collaboration and interaction, creative use of ICT tools while incorporating a full-scale study of the topic

Maths & Science Category

WINNER

"Vesmír v škole, škola vo vesmíre"
Ivana Šoltésová, ZŠ Štefana Šmálika, Tvrdošín, Slovakia

Jiří Sumbal, ZS Koprivnice, Alsova, Czech Republic

URL: http://vesmir-etwinning.blogspot.com

Project description:

The pupils in both classes used ICT to exchange knowledge about the universe, the solar system, planets, space bodies and interesting phenomena of outer space and the cosmos. They created stories about a cosmonaut and learned more about the unknown secrets of space and each other.

The jury said:

We could feel the excitement about being overnight at school and talking to your partner doing the same, using video conferencing. This was a really creative and truly collaborative project.

RUNNER-UP

1, 2 Buckle my Shoe

Dorothy Ostacchini, Bowhouse Primary School, UK

George Glass, Cauldeen primary school, UK

Tricia Pitcher, Cliff Lane Primary School, UK

Marianne Schembri, Dun Guzepp Zerafa, Fgura Primary A school, Malta

Maria Piedad Avello, Escuela Infantil Gloria Fuertes, Spain

Anna Maria Campo, I Circolo Didattico "Leonardo da Vinci", Italy

Jūratė Stakeliūnienė, Kauno lopÅ¡elis-darželis ,,Giliukas", Lithuania

Mihaela Nita, Kindergarten 43, Sibiu, Romania

Fjola Thorvaldsdottir, Leikskolinn Furugrund, Iceland

Ewa Kurzak, Przedszkole PubL. Nr 5, Glogow, Poland

Patrizia Cau, Scuola dell'infanzia ex I.P.P.A.I., Italy

Fidelma Carroll, St Catherine's NS, Ireland

URL:

http://twinmath.wikispaces.com/

http://moodlepp5.webhost.pl/moodle/index.php?lang=en_utf8

Project description:

In this activity-oriented project, children were encouraged to explore and discover fascinating mathematical concepts in an exciting and interesting way. They performed a series of hands-on mathematical activities, which they shared between participants. Children invented and played games whilst learning to follow rules. Maths became a seamless part of the children's play.

The jury said:

We can see a lot of activities with a great variety, not only by the teachers but also by the young pupils.

Special Prize: French Category

WINNER

Mythes, légendes et contes de fées – moyens d'enrichir le langage des jeunes et la connaissance de l'autre

Carmen Lozonschi, Grupul Scolar "Vasile Sav", Romania

Dagmar Prášilová, Gymnázium Lovosice, Czech Republic

Tomasz Perzyna, Niepubliczne Gimnazjum nr 9 im.Roberta Schumana, Poland

URL: http://www.vasilesav-comenius.ro/

Project description:

In this project we aimed to stimulate the pupils' interest in learning one of the official European languages by working together on fairytales, legends, myths and the cultural history of their partners.

The jury said:

We very much liked this project because it was an interesting way to learn French as a foreign language for all involved partners. This eTwinning project was the follow-up of a successful Comenius project. The project was well integrated in the curriculum for French as a foreign language.

RUNNER-UP

Je joue, tu joues, nous jouons

Caroline Sarfati, Ecole Plan d'Ariou, France

Claire McCannah Balsall Common Primary School, UK

Giancola Pino, Ecole communale d'Arquennes, Belgium

Michelle Hermann, Ecole primaire Eich-Muehlenbach, Luxembourg

Debbie Rooms, GBS De Zeppelin, Belgium)

URL:

http://www.ac-nice.fr/iennice3/plandariou/EUROPE

http://my.twinspace.etwinning.net/jejoue_tujoues_nousjouons?l=en

Project description:

This project started from the basis of a comparison of the games children play in the school playground, during their breaks. From this starting point the children learn about each other's history and culture, while at the same time getting to know each other and practicing their language skills.

The jury said:
We liked the project website which contains a lot of games (videos as well as descriptions) collected by the partner countries. Partners communicated via email (all collected in the TwinSpace), video conferencing and tried and evaluated each other's games. This eTwinning project has served as a basis for a Comenius partnership project for some of the partners.

Related links to this article:
European Commission