Old Clee School

My school is currently twinning with two schools in France; one in Nice and one in Le Val St Pere. The first is a project called fairy tales and legends in Europe, which we hoping to make a Comenius project, and the other is called sharing Europe. We are also currently aiming to twin with a school in Egypt too.

The projects are all multi-media and the children are all extremely excited about making contact with other children around the world and practising their IT and language skills in real situations. What could be greater than that?

Senior EMAS Consultant

Why would you recommend registering with eTwinning?

To find European school partners for collaboration and for them to find you and as a way in to international work and projects- ‘international dimension bite sized!

What benefits has running an international link through ICT brought to your school?

• Enthusiastic motivated students
• Brought the wider world into the class and provided an opportunity for students to use their own languages
• A stepping stone to longer term projects
• The opportunity for CPD and friendship across countries and Europe
• Contributes to whole schools initiatives and statutory requirements such as community cohesion and the ISA award

Specialist areas:

Curriculum planning with a Global Dimension; Achievement of pupils with English as an additional Language (EAL) and bilingual pupils; Sharing experiences of ISA accreditation; Community Cohesion

St Mary and St Paul's C of E School

Why would you recommend registering with eTwinning?

We made contact with a school in Holland through eTwinning. It is a really fast and reliable service. When you receive an e-mail you get an alert on your normal everyday e-mail service.

What benefits has running an international link through ICT brought to your school?

I attended a Conference in Bonn which was absolutely fantastic. It was a real eye opener as to how eTwinning has involved so many countries and schools. Through Global Gateway we also have a partner school in South Africa. Last year our school won the Full International School Award.

Lecturer in Primary Education (Technologies-ICT)

Why would you recommend registering with eTwinning?

The eTwinning portal provides a secure central point to communicate, collaborate and share during the process of a European partnership. The portal is not just for established partnerships, it is also a way to locate and connect with European partners.

What benefits has running an international link through ICT brought to your school?

The main benefits of linking children with their international peers outweigh the non-connected classroom.  An authentic audience, an understanding and appreciation of other cultures, learning from one another, breaking the barriers down of the classroom walls and preparing our children for their globalised futures.

Specialist areas:

My specialist area is ICT in education through a vast array of social media tools to engage and connect children.  One of my main focuses is using tools that enable children to create, collaborate and connect through the use of the voice.  Other tools are ones that enable true collaborations where everyone is involved in the learning process.  Finally, handheld learning through the use of iPhones, iTouches, iPads and response systems are at the heart of my pedagogy. I also engage with the pedagogy behind collaborative practice, motivation for learning, 21st century learning and pupil engagement.

ICT Advisory Teacher

Why would you recommend registering with eTwinning?

eTwinning gives schools a fantastic, real-life reason for using all those exciting multimedia tools that used to seem so daunting! Video, animations, sound recordings, simple emails, collaborative Web 2.0 applications...they all come to life as part of an etwinning project, where children and teachers have a genuine audience, and get responses and feedback too.

What benefits has running an international link through ICT brought to your school?

My first eTwinning project ,supporting one of our local schools and a school in Spain, won the 2008 European prize for etwinnning for their age group! The project also won an award from the UK government (MadeITHappen competition). The project was subsequently highlighted by OFSTED in the school’s inspection. The school continues to develop etwinning partnerships which contribute towards an International Schools Award.

Specialist areas:

I have supported schools using ICT across the curriculum for many years. I use a wide variety of ICT tools. I have a particular interests in creativity, art and also esafety. (I am a leader for esafety in education in North Tyneside, a CEOP esafety ambassador and a member of the CEOP Education Advisory Board).

Deputy Director, Stockton City Learning Centre

Why would you recommend registering with eTwinning?

eTwinning is one of the easiest way to begin international partnerships and it can pave the way to developing Comenius links and other funded partnerships. This is also a great way for schools starting out on participating in the International Schools award.

What benefits has running an international link through ICT brought to your school?

Although I  support schools rather than work in a school, I have seen many partnerships develop. I have seen students involved in partnership projects much more interested and engaged knowing that they are linking with real people from a different country. I also see the increased motivation from teachers, particularly when they learn new ICT tools and realise how they can be used to enrich their projects.

Specialist areas:

As part of the eTwinning teacher team, I can give support on all aspects of using the etwinning portal. I also have a great deal of experience in using webconferencing (Elluminate) for live collaborative working. I can also help with the use of many Web2 tools such as googledocs, vokis, slideshare, wikispaces and blogs.