IP/09/262
Brüssel, 13. Februar 2009Schulen in Europa:
eTwinning-Online-Projekte fördern Kreativität und
InnovationDie Aktion eTwinning wurde auf Initiative der EU
ins Leben gerufen und soll Schulen dabei helfen, über das Internet
Beziehungen aufzubauen und zu pflegen. An der Zahl von fast 50.000 registrierten
Nutzern in Europa zeigt sich, dass immer mehr Lehrer für eine Entwicklung
und innovative Gestaltung von Unterricht und Bildung neue Wege gehen. Auf der
jährlichen eTwinning-Konferenz, die dieses Jahr vom 13. bis zum
15. Februar in Prag stattfindet, wird die Europäische Kommission zehn
herausragende eTwinning-Schulprojekte mit einem Preis auszeichnen. 
Im Rahmen des Programms für lebenslanges Lernen der Europäischen
Kommission nimmt die Aktion eTwinning eine zentrale Stellung ein. Sie bietet
Schulen in Europa die Möglichkeit, miteinander zu kommunizieren, Ideen
auszutauschen und gemeinsam Online-Projekte durchzuführen. Die
Online-Plattform nutzt die Möglichkeiten des Web 2.0 für eine bessere
Kommunikation und förderte damit die Entstehung einer echten, auf
Zusammenarbeit beruhenden Gemeinschaft, über die Lehrkräfte kreative
Wege für einen besseren Unterricht aufzeigen können. Seit dem Start
des Projekts im Januar 2005 haben sich Lehrer von 48 286 Schulen bei
eTwinning registriert und 11 994 Projekte mit mindestens zwei Schulen aus
zwei verschiedenen Ländern durchgeführt.
Die diesjährige Konferenz findet vom 13. bis 15. zum Februar in
Prag statt. Bei dieser Veranstaltung werden über 400 Teilnehmer
zusammenkommen, darunter Lehrkräfte aus ganz Europa, Vertreter der
zentralen und nationalen eTwinning-Koordinierungsstellen und andere wichtige
Akteure des Schulwesens. Schwerpunktthema der Konferenz wird
„Kreativität und eTwinning“ sein. Zu den Rednern gehören
der für allgemeine und berufliche Bildung, Kultur und Jugend
zuständige EU-Kommissar Ján Figel' und Dr. Edward de Bono, Experte
für laterales Denken und Botschafter des Europäischen Jahrs für
Kreativität und Innovation 2009.
Kurz vor der Konferenz erklärte Kommissar Figel' die Bedeutung von
eTwinning für dieses Jahr: „2009 ist das Jahr der Innovation und
Kreativität. In diesem Sinne ist es besonders angemessen, dass wir den
stetig wachsenden Erfolg des eTwinning-Projekts als Beispiel für
Kreativität in der Bildung feiern. Wir müssen innovative Ansätze
im Bildungssystem fördern, um die Qualität und die Effizienz der
europäischen Schulsysteme zu verbessern und die jungen Europäer auf
die Gesellschaft und Wirtschaft der Zukunft vorzubereiten.“
Höhepunkt der
Konferenz wird die Preisverleihung sein, bei der die zehn besten
eTwinning-Projekte des Schuljahres 2007-2008 ausgezeichnet werden. Es gibt
fünf Kategorien: drei nach Altersgruppen (4-10, 11-14 und
15-19 Jahre), eine thematische Kategorie (Mathematik und Naturwissenschaft)
und eine Sonderkategorie für die französische Sprache, die von der
französischen Ratspräsidentschaft gesponsert wird.
Über 500 Projekte wurden hinsichtlich ihres innovativen Charakters,
der Integration in den Lehrplan, der Zusammenarbeit, des kreativen Einsatzes von
Informatik- und Kommunikationstechnologien sowie der Übertragbarkeit
bewertet. Die zehn Finalisten kommen von 40 Schulen aus
21 Ländern (Belgien, Bulgarien, Frankreich, Griechenland, Irland,
Island, Italien, Lettland, Litauen, Luxemburg, Malta, Polen, Portugal,
Rumänien, Schweden, Slowakei, Spanien, Tschechische Republik, Ungarn,
Vereinigtes Königreich und Zypern). 
Die Sieger der ersten vier Kategorien gewinnen eine Reise zum eTwinning-Camp
im April in Griechenland. Die Gewinner in der Kategorie „Französische
Sprache“ erhalten ein Sprachstipendium für einen Frankreichaufenthalt
diesen Sommer. 
Weitere Informationen: 
eTwinning-Portal: www.etwinning.netANNEX
Age Category 4-11
WINNER
Make a film and share IT with friends 2.0! 
Fredrik Olsson, Vindängen, Sweden
Tom Roche, Knockaclarig National School, Ireland
URL: http://blog.eun.org/film2/ 
Project description:
The basis for the project is the production, sharing and giving feedback on
media material. The pupils from the two schools collaborate to produce films,
which are used as a teaching tool when working with themes chosen from the
syllabus. The media material is published and discussed by the pupils on the
project blog.
The jury said:
Various ICT tools were included in the project in a purposeful way. The
project fits in an international curriculum and could work as a model for
various themes as well as for different school levels. The model of question-
and comment-based project development as a basis for progressive inquiry showed
the real pedagogical value of the project.
RUNNER-UP
μια σταγόνα
ταξιδεύει / A traveling
raindrop
Χρυσανθέα
Παπακωνσταντίνου,
Α' Δημοτικό
Λατσιών, Cyprus
Zafiris Zaproudis, Δημοτικό
Σχολείο
Δημητριτσίου,
Greece
URL:  
http://www.schools.ac.cy/latsia-a-dim/etwinning
http://primaryschdimitritsi.wordpress.comProject description:
For this project, the children of both schools collaborated in writing and
performing a puppet show about the travels of a raindrop, using their
imagination, their knowledge of computers and environmental issues related to
water, e.g., water use and river/marine pollution.
The jury said:
The panel thought that the basis of the project, an international theme, i.e,
water, incorporated with an intercultural theme, i.e., fairytales, was
innovative and appropriate. The partner choice is particularly appropriate since
both partners can approach the subject with similar questions. At the same time,
the project serves as good model for various other European countries. 
Age Category 12-15
WINNER 
No frontiers!
IES Las Aguas  (Spain) (Mª del Pilar Flores Fernández) 
Collège Martin Luther King (France)  (RUHLMANN Anne) 
URL:
http://matoumatheux.ac-rennes.fr/divers/twinning4/accueil.htmhttp://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/profile.cfm?pid=2556&fuseaction=app.project
(TwinSpace)
Project description:
Using both mathematics and cultural elements of their own country (e.g.,
monuments, famous places, etc.), the pupils created mathematical puzzles and
challenges for their partners using tools such as Google maps.  Their idea was
to challenge the creativity of the pupils in designing the puzzles while at the
same time nurturing their mathematical skills. 
The jury said:
The project demonstrated a very creative an innovative approach to
implementing its objectives. The pupils showed real imagination in their
challenges, such as running an online Gymkhana.
RUNNER-UP 
MIND THE GAP
ES MENENDEZ Y PELAYO  (Spain) (Giselle Dubois) 
Publiczne Gimnazjum nr 7 im. Mikołaja Kopernika w Łodzi  (Poland)
(Magdalena Pakulska)  
URL:
http://barcelona_lodz.webs.comhttp://barcelonalodz.blogspot.comProject description:
This project focuses on the differences and similarities between the pupils
and their parents when they were teenagers. The pupils interviewed their parents
about their lives and experiences of when they were young covering subjects such
as friendships, relationships with their own parents, music, film and the
future.
The jury said:
A very well designed project that really managed to cross the generation
gap!
Age Category 16-19
WINNER 
The Pizza Business Across Europe
Madalena Relvão, Escola secundária de D. Duarte, Portugal
Livia Margittay, Barna Sipkay Secondary School of Commerce, Catering and
Tourism, Hungary
Alexandrina Liscan, Colegiul Tehnic Raluca Ripan, Romania
Teresa Costanza, IPSIA Trebisacce ("E. Aletti"), Italy
Rudolfs Zemesarajs, Rīgas Uzņēmējdarbības
koledža / Riga Business College, Latvia
Andrzej Pogorzelski, Zespół Szkół
Agroprzedsiębiorczości im. M. Rataja w Mieczysławowie, Poland
Diliana Tzvetkova, Vocational school for trade and catering, Bulgaria
Paula Antunes, Agrupamento de Escolas de S. Bernardo, Portugal
URL: 
www.pizzabusiness.altervista.orgwww.pizzacrosseuropetorneo.blogspot.comhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpy8YfgqYT4
(Pizza tournament) 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyXtcHTKIsk
(interview with a pizzeria owner)
Project description:
With this project the schools set out to investigate the pizza business
across Europe. The work consisted of two parts: in the first part, they outlined
the changing of people’s food habits and tastes for the last fifty years;
in the second part, they developed their own pizzeria business plans in order to
develop their business know-how. 
The jury said:
This project obviously made a significant impact on the participants and the
entire community. The pupils were involved in practical work and discussing the
real implementation of a novel idea. It's a fresh approach that works well with
this rather difficult age group.
RUNNER-UP 
Between the lines
Helen Karavanidou, 1 geniko lykeio elefsinas, Greece
Carmen Radulescu, Colegiul Economic "Ion Ghica" Targoviste, Romania
URL: http://draculabetweenthelines.blogspot.com/Project description:
The aim of the project was to put together students from two different
countries and two different cultures. Starting from the well-known novel,
Dracula by Bram Stoker, the students practiced their English through
online conversations. They also used debate to establish a line between reality
and fiction, related to Stoker’s characters.
The final outcome is a blog containing all the work done by the members of
the book club.
 The jury said:
This project demonstrated outstanding pupil collaboration and interaction,
creative use of ICT tools while incorporating a full-scale study of the
topic
Maths & Science Category
WINNER 
"Vesmír v škole, škola vo vesmíre"Ivana
Šoltésová, ZŠ Štefana Šmálika,
Tvrdošín, Slovakia
Jiří Sumbal, ZS Koprivnice, Alsova, Czech Republic
URL:  http://vesmir-etwinning.blogspot.comProject description:
The pupils in both classes used ICT to exchange knowledge about the universe,
the solar system, planets, space bodies and interesting phenomena of outer space
and the cosmos. They created stories about a cosmonaut and learned more about
the unknown secrets of space and each other.
The jury said:
We could feel the excitement about being overnight at school and talking to
your partner doing the same, using video conferencing. This was a really
creative and truly collaborative project.
RUNNER-UP 
1, 2 Buckle my Shoe
Dorothy Ostacchini, Bowhouse Primary School, UK
George Glass, Cauldeen primary school, UK
Tricia Pitcher, Cliff Lane Primary School, UK
Marianne Schembri, Dun Guzepp Zerafa, Fgura Primary A school, Malta
Maria Piedad Avello, Escuela Infantil Gloria Fuertes, Spain
Anna Maria Campo, I Circolo Didattico "Leonardo da Vinci", Italy
Jūratė Stakeliūnienė, Kauno lopšelis-darželis
,,Giliukas", Lithuania
Mihaela Nita, Kindergarten 43, Sibiu, Romania
Fjola Thorvaldsdottir, Leikskolinn Furugrund, Iceland
Ewa Kurzak, Przedszkole PubL. Nr 5, Glogow, Poland
Patrizia Cau, Scuola dell'infanzia ex I.P.P.A.I., Italy
Fidelma Carroll, St Catherine's NS, Ireland
URL: 
http://twinmath.wikispaces.com/
http://moodlepp5.webhost.pl/moodle/index.php?lang=en_utf8
Project description:
In this activity-oriented project, children were encouraged to explore and
discover fascinating mathematical concepts in an exciting and interesting way.
They performed a series of hands-on mathematical activities, which they shared
between participants. Children invented and played games whilst learning to
follow rules. Maths became a seamless part of the children's play.
The jury said:
We can see a lot of activities with a great variety, not only by the teachers
but also by the young pupils.
Special Prize: French Category
WINNER
Mythes, légendes et contes de fées – moyens d’enrichir
le langage des jeunes et la connaissance de l’autre
Carmen Lozonschi, Grupul Scolar "Vasile Sav", Romania
Dagmar Prášilová, Gymnázium Lovosice, Czech Republic
Tomasz Perzyna, Niepubliczne Gimnazjum nr 9 im.Roberta Schumana, Poland
URL: http://www.vasilesav-comenius.ro/Project description:
In this project we aimed to stimulate the pupils’ interest in learning
one of the official European languages by working together on fairytales,
legends, myths and the cultural history of their partners.
The jury said:
We very much liked this project because it was an interesting way to learn
French as a foreign language for all involved partners. This eTwinning project
was the follow-up of a successful Comenius project. The project was well
integrated in the curriculum for French as a foreign language.
RUNNER-UP 
Je joue, tu joues, nous jouons
Caroline Sarfati, Ecole Plan d'Ariou, France
Claire McCannah  Balsall Common Primary School, UK
Giancola Pino, Ecole communale d'Arquennes, Belgium
Michelle Hermann, Ecole primaire Eich-Muehlenbach, Luxembourg
Debbie Rooms, GBS De Zeppelin, Belgium)
URL: 
http://www.ac-nice.fr/iennice3/plandariou/EUROPEhttp://my.twinspace.etwinning.net/jejoue_tujoues_nousjouons?l=enProject description:
This project started from the basis of a comparison of the games children
play in the school playground, during their breaks. From this starting point the
children learn about each other’s history and culture, while at the same
time getting to know each other and practicing their language skills.
The jury said:
We liked the project website which contains a lot of games (videos as well as
descriptions) collected by the partner countries. Partners communicated via
email (all collected in the TwinSpace), video conferencing and tried and
evaluated each other’s games. This eTwinning project has served as a basis
for a Comenius partnership project for some of the partners.