Head of Modern Foreign Languages/ ICT coordinator (classroom)

Why would you recommend registering with eTwinning?

To motivate teachers to add an international dimensions to the curriculum and schemes of work. The eTwinning website is easy to use for beginners and resources available on there are great for motivation and inspiration.

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

It motivates students, gives them a real incentive to improve their writing, or speaking. They see languages in a real context. It incites them to look into foreign cultures and break clichés. Could be a good incentive for KS4 recruitment and to get support from SLT and Head Teacher.

Specialist areas:

Use of ICT in the classroom, blogging, Video and Audio use in the classroom, video conferencing, online publishing (Issuu), ISA application, Cross-curriculum projects, Connecting classrooms projects.

Local Authority Area: Medway

Headteacher and National Leader for Education

Why would you recommend registering with eTwinning?

I would say that eTwinning brings Europe to your door and opens a new world of opportunity for collaboration in Learning. It has excited the curriculum for all our children and our staff and has been hugely supportive in bonding together our very diverse community as when collaboration also reflects the nature of your community it enhances respect for the individual and their background and encourages parents to participate in their children’s learning.

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

It has encouraged all to see ICT as a tool for learning throughout the curriculum. It has helped to embed the use of ICT throughout the school and it has helped to forge stronger, faster reacting links with those we partner with. ICT has also allowed us to “see” for ourselves the partner nations environment and setting much more clearly as digital imagery, video footage, camera shots and musical recordings all help to bring each country to life for our students. This has also helped us to ensure that we need very little change when the New Primary Curriculum is introduced.

Specialist areas:

Email, Video, Audio, Animation, Web & Video Conferencing. We hold the International Schools Award and do a lot of work across the UK on International Collaboration and Wider Community Cohesion.

Local Authority Area: Buckinghamshire

I work at a primary pupil referral unit, with a maximum of 6 pupils on any one day. At first we felt a bit dubious that we could sustain a link with a partner school, but we managed so well last year that we are doing another project with the same school this year, and linking with two more partners on the same project, one of whom I found during my visit to the Estonia PDW. Also, out of that workshop came another link with an Estonian teacher, and we are going to work on a separate project with the youngest children

Local Authority Area: Buckinghamshire

Education Consultant

I am passionate about integrating ICT practically and effectively into language lessons.I speak at various national conferences such as The Language Show, BETT and ALL’s Language World. I write a blog for The Times Educational Supplement and author the ICT update section of the Languages-ICT website created by BECTA, CILT and ALL.

To find out more about what I do and my current projects visit my blog.

Sackville School

My background is Science/Chemistry but my present educational focus is ICT and e-learning. Engaging with eTwinning has provided a vehicle for exploring the use of these pedagogical approaches in improving learning for students in an international context. A multimedia science project with an Italian school and a podcasting project with schools in Reunion Island, Italy and Spain have been recognised as as successful examples of eTwinning

Local Authority Area: West Sussex