Etwinning

Showing your eTwinning Project

Es probable que muchos de vosotros estéis terminando un proyecto eTwinning y quizás no hayáis abordado una fase muy importante como es la de dar a conocer vuestro trabajo y difundir resultados.

Probably many of you are completing eTwinning Projects and perhaps you haven't shown your projects and shared its benefits with others yet.

In this article, we will analyse the distinct ways that it is possible to promote and increase the impact of your eTwinning project.  In order to do this, we will take as our guide and reference a presentation made by Claire Morvan (from the central service in Brussells) and the eTwinning ambassador Daniela Bunea at the last eTwinning conference in Lisbon in 2013. The presentation was called: ‘Making ripples, creating more impact with your eTwinning project.’

Why promote an eTwinning Project?

In general, the development of a good pedagogical project reflects favorably on the centre where it is developed since it has a positive impact on the renewal of methodological practices and the pupils' motivation.

Therefore, to promote a project of these characteristics increases the benefit and the quality of the results and inspires new projects and activities not only in the centre but also in the neighbouring centres.

Have you ever thought that an exchange of innovative educational practices could promote important changes in educational systems at a local level? Or even feed into the creation of new pedagogical models which could help to redesign national educational policy?

Anyway we must go step by step. We will begin by defining four key phases which we offer as a suggestion of a way of dealing with the successful promotion of an eTwinning project:

Planning

This is a reflective phase. In order to reflect on our projects we will look carefully at the four questions:

What do we wish to achieve by the development of our project and who would benefit from the project?

To identify objectives and individuals who could benefit from the project. Here, we include all the educational community at both local and regional levels. As regards objectives, there are objectives which as related to the curriculum and the development of the basic skills, but also, there are objectives related to the personal and professional development of the teachers and pupils who participate in the project. Important objectives include: the ability to work in teams; the improvement of communication skills; increasing self-confidence; critical thinking and the creation of a European feeling of togetherness etc.

What are the most meaningful aspects of our project which we wish to highlight? What results have they obtained?

We are not referring to tangible results related to quality, such as, the creation of a blog, a webpage, posters, an audio book, a video clip, a theatrical production, a multilingual glossary, the production of promotional materials or units etc.  There maybe other remarkable aspects that are worth highlighting too, for example: the participation of other agents in the development of the project (the local police force, the director of the local museum, a crafts worker, the mayor, the pupils' families etc). As the project prospers, the use of an original or innovative methodology within the specific area of interest; or if the project makes good use of a wide range of communication / collaborative tools; or if the project establishes meaningful and lasting links between other schools (exchanges and visits between other centres); the creation of teams and networks of teachers and pupils of mixed nationality etc.

What type of message should be sent to those who could benefit from the project?

For example, we don't use the same language and strategy when we show our project to pupils through a school magazine. It is necessary to adapt the message and develop distinct strategies to inform all the distinct groups that we wish to reach. The selection of digital formats and the design of materials is a very important factor.

What type of abilities and resources do we have available to us in our area?

It is necessary to analyse and take advantage of all the resources and spaces that we have available to us. Resources that will help us to promote our project within the centre and to make efficient use of the knowledge, abilities and resources in our local educational community.

What do we need in order to satisfy our objectives? And who does what?

This section requires planning the division of tasks and the careful consideration of the many different types of tasks that must be carried out.

Visibility

Visibility is about showing our project and having a public presence with a clear and suggestive message. This is often called the creation of an image or identity for the project. If you haven't thought of a logo, perhaps now would be the right time to design a logo that you feel adequately identifies the group and reflects the values of the group. A simple and fresh image accompanies the title of the project and the identity of the contributers. Why not include a group slogan?

In addition, don't forget about your presence in the social networks and in local communication materials and publications. What do you think about having a Twitter with a group identity where you can all communicate, share ideas and communicate with external agents that are important for the successful development of the project?

Here are some proposals that can help to gain ground and effectively show all the benefits of your project: the inclusion of a welcome section in the TwinSpace Blog or a webpage where you introduce yourselves and your project; a monthly news bulletin about the project (for local dsitribution); a section of highlighted videos or comic of the month; interviews with experts or groups who are external to the project; or the creation of a project trailer etc.

Look at an example of this type of promotion using a trailer in an eTwinning Project called, “A Short Latin Movie”.

  Sharing the results

Another excellent option is to directly transmit everything that you have learnt to others. In order to do this, you could contact your advisor at the teachers' centre to inform them about the development of your project with the aim of promoting and increasing participation as a guest speaker on training days and regional meetings. In addition to this, involve the senior management team from your centre in the project so that they become active participants too and communicate the benefits of the project to the educational inspection team. This last step is fundamental if the good educational practices developed are to be identified and transferred to other centres.

We hope that this article has provided you with a clear idea of the value and importance of promoting your eTwinning project.If you have any good ideas relating to the promotion of eTwinning projects you already know that you can get in touch using the project card and your eTwinning desktop. Here at the National Support Service for eTwinning (SNA) we will help to guide you and can offer valuable advice throughout the development of the project.

We have included some useful links to the communication tools on the web 2.0 and our articles web which will help you to promote your project.

The creation of infographics

How to experiment with different web formats and to publish your results

The creation of electronic books

How to integrate distribution diagrams of tasks or explanations of stages (Cacoo)

Creación de mapas mentales

The creation of conceptual maps: online logo maker, logo ease, the free logo makers, flaming text, simwebsol, Cooltext, Logotipogratis.

Fuente de las imágenes: fotocomposiciones del Servicio Nacional de Apoyo eTwinning con imágenes libres de derecho de Freevector.com, Streamline, Freepik.