ONLINE ASSIGNMENT

Online Assignment...

      

 

   Submitted by,

                                                           Shabana Nazar

                                                             Mathematics

                                               SNTC

                                            Nedunganda

TOPIC : “ e Twinning”

eTwinning is a free online community for schools in Europe which allows you to find partners and collaborate on projects within a secure network and platform. It offers a platform for staff working in a school in one of the European countries involved to communicate, collaborate, develop projects, share and in short, feel and be part of the most exciting learning community in Europe. The eTwinning action promotes school collaboration in Europe through the use of ICT by providing support, tools and services for schools.

The eTwinning portal is the main meeting point and workspace for the action. The portal provides online tools for teachers to find partners, set up projects, share ideas, exchange best practice and start working together, immediately using various customized tools available on the eTwinning platform. It aims to encourage European schools to collaborate using ICT by providing the necessary infrastructure.  Therefore, teacher registered in the eTwinning action are enabled to form partnerships and develop collaborative, pedagogical school projects in any subject area with the sole requirements to employ ICT to develop their project and collaborate with teachers from other European countries. The primary workspace for the eTwinning action is the eTwinning portal and it is available in 25 languages.

Teachers registered in the eTwinning action, also called eTwinners, find each other, communicate, share resources and collaborate through the eTwinning platform. This growing and active community enforced the change in the motto of eTwinning from “school partnerships in Europe” to “The community for schools in Europe”.

The main concept behind eTwinning is that schools are paired with another school elsewhere in the Europe and they collaboratively develop a project, also known as eTwinning project. The two schools then communicate using the internet by e-mail or video conferencing to collaborate, share and learn from each other. eTwinning encourages and develops ICT skills as the main activities inherently use IT. eTwinning projects last for any length of time ranging from only a week, to months, up to creating permanent relationship between schools.

Mathematics in eTwinning…                        

                      eTwinning project gave students opportunity to see mathematical aspect of everyday situations and share their knowledge with peers from another country. Students embraced mathematical language in English, French and Croatian during work on different tasks in this project. Tasks in project follow pedagogical way from easier to more complex regarding mathematical complexity and usage of appropriate computer programs. All tasks were open-ended and suitable for discussion. Students worked on tasks in computer lab, mathematical classroom, outside and at home. Students solved tasks making drawings, description, ideas, photos and collaboratively working on blogs and documents in TwinSpace. Student use TwinSpace tools for communication and share their findings and discuss through video conferences. Alongside with the primary mathematical goals we can realize internet safety aims, as TwinSpace gave excellent opportunity to communicate and collaborate in safe online environment and to teach the students how to use the internet in a safe, responsible and effective manner.

Role of Teacher…

Due to the specific features of maths projects and to the “arid” nature of the subject, students should have an incentive aspect, that can be achieved  through the types of activities that are planned, the degree of collaboration and the tools that are used. Mathematics can thus become a “vehicle” for learning about the partners and for the mutual understanding of our cultural environment.

As opposite to the common perception of maths as being an abstract, mechanic, repetitive and boring subject, by means of creative and imaginative projects, it can become interesting, helpful, surprising, flexible, intriguing and fun. Students can become aware of mathematics role in our physical and cultural environment as well as in our cultural heritage.

ETwinning can help teachers to significantly enhance the students’ motivation due to its features: it empowers collaborative and peer-to-peer learning, as well as learning communities, benefits the students’ different skills by a multiple intelligence approach and promotes a natural use of ICT.

The teachers’ role is not the same for the entire duration of the project. Once the main preconditions are entailed (a good plan, based on clear aims and targeted competencies, as well as on common syllabus content, and a safe and efficient environment provided by the eTwinning tools), the focus is on the participating students. From this moment on, the teachers’ task is mainly to facilitate and stimulate the students’ involvement, while encouraging their independence and their responsibility for their own learning process.

Students will be the main progress source of the project, because they are going to be achieving the transformation of effort into learning. New skills, experiences and knowledge will be developed as a result of their involvement throughout the project, starting from its earliest stages. Furthermore, it is important that this involvement continues even after the project is concluded.

 Reference…            *   www.teachmeetinternational.org

*   http:/blog.eun.org/etwinning/

*   www.google.co.in

*   www.slideshare.net/etwinning