Deputy Head, St Luke's School

I am the Deputy Head of a large secondary Special School in Hertfordhire and a fervent advocate of the benefits of ICT in helping teachers teach and pupils learn. The opportunities that European Links offer pupils in term of real-life learning through ICT are amazing. My School has been involved in a number of successful European and International Projects and were awarded the eTwinning Quality Mark as well as being runners up in the Annual eTwinning Awards.

Specialist areas:

I coordinate and support the use of the flashmeeting video conferencing tool for eTwinning school partnerships.

Local Authority Area: Hertfordshire

Why would you recommend registering with eTwinning?

eTwinning has enabled all pupils and teachers to participate in an international project. The eTwinning network is easy to access, enabling partnerships to be formed and innovative projects to be developed. For teachers, it is a low-cost professional development opportunity, which reaps personal and pupil benefits.

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

We have been able to use a range of ICT to develop exciting projects within the context of our curriculum. Pupils and teachers have motivated to be creative and become more global in their thinking. I have been delighted to receive 2 UK eTwinning Awards and European eTwinning Quality Awards for projects, ‘The Red Balloon’ and ‘Erik The Viking’. Each project has been relatively simple in concept but high in value of process and outcome.

Specialist areas:

PowerPoint; PhotoStory; Skype; Use of the eTwinning website; The International School Award;  Linking eTwinning to School Leadership and Management – SIDP, SEF, OFSTED, Community Cohesion

Local Authority Area: Norfolk