Wednesday 24 October 2007

About eTwinning


What is eTwinning?

eTwinning enables schools in 28 European countries to work together using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). As a school or college (working with pupils and students between the ages of 3 and 20) you can register your details, search for partners and engage in online partnerships through ICT.

The scheme consists of a central Europe-wide portal. This portal enables you to register the details of your school, provides potential eTwinning partners according to various criteria (including country, age range, curriculum areas, etc.), and, in addition, provides a range of collaborative tools for you to work together with your eTwinning partner. The portal is called the Central Support Service, or CSS.

The Central Support Service is backed up by a network of National Support Services, or NSSs. Their job is to promote the eTwinning scheme, provide pedagogical support and help monitor and evaluate projects.

eTwinning is a very flexible scheme. It provides a range of tools through your own private TwinSpace, including a shared calendar, forums, chats and bulletin boards and the ability to upload and share resources, as well as the facility to build your own project web pages. You can use these tools as much or as little as you wish. In fact, you don’t even have to find your partner through eTwinning – if you have an established ICT link with a school in another eligible country, you could register your partnership with eTwinning and receive the eTwinning Label, which recognises your participation in the scheme.

You keep track of your eTwinning project via an online Report Card – a simple way of monitoring your activities. This can also help you promote and disseminate your project to a wider audience.

It’s a great way of raising the profile both of our school and of the valuable international work you are involved in.

eTwinning is not about creating extra work, but providing a framework for exciting curriculum work with partners in another country. There are many benefits to linking up with another school. These can include, for pupils:

Increased motivation, as they have an audience for their work in a school in another country.
Enhanced key skills, including ICT use, communication and foreign language skills.
Greater cultural awareness through direct contact with peers in other countries, Sweden and Spain in this Project.