eTwinning UK

National Storytelling Week

This week is national story telling weeek, run by The Society for Storytelling.

Storytelling is at the root of every art form: we think in story form, make sense of our world in narrative – from something we’ve seen, through last night’s television, to what family and folk stories we remember and retell. 

Performance storytelling can be a powerful experience, both entertaining and moving. Story is also the traditional medium of communication from generation to generation, a tool for education and therapy.

National Storytelling Week was conceived in the year 2000 to increase public awareness of the art, practice and value of oral storytelling. It is held during the first week of February every year.

www.sfs.org.uk/nsw

RSPB: Big (and little) schools' birdwatch

 

It's the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 10th Big Schools' Birdwatch birthday.

This free, fun and simple activity only takes an hour to complete, is rich in curriculum links, and is open to all UK schools and youth groups (brownies, scouts etc). It's a great way to get to know more about the wildlife visiting your school grounds, or a local park.

Activities run runs between 24 January–4 February 2011.

Not sure how to take part in? Just follow the step-by-step guide:

www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch/

Holocaust Memorial Day : Sites, Info and Resources

 
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day – 27 January

Each year the world marks Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) on 27 January. HMD has been held in the UK since 2001 and the United Nations declared this an International event in November 2005. 27 January was chosen as the date for HMD because it was on this date in 1945 that the largest Nazi killing camp Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. Why not go directly to the Holocaust Memorial Day trust educational website to access a variety of resources and lesson plans to stimulate debate and raise awareness in your school: 

http://education.hmd.org.uk/

The Holocaust Educational Trust was established in 1988 in the UK.

Their aim is to educate young people from every background about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. The Trust works in schools, universities and in the community to raise awareness and understanding of the Holocaust, providing teacher training, an outreach programme for schools, teaching aids and resource material. One of our earliest achievements was ensuring that the Holocaust formed part of the National Curriculum for History. They continue to play a leading role in training teachers on how best to teach the Holocaust.

www.het.org.uk

The Holocaust Education Development Programme

The Holocaust Education Development Programme (HEDP) is part of the Institute of Education, University of London. The programme’s overarching aim is to transform teaching and learning about the Holocaust. The IOE's programme is leading world-class research on Holocaust education and delivering free professional development across England.

www.hedp.org.uk

eTwinning Learning Labs 2011

 

Want to get involved with Europe-wide online learning events?

eTwinning Learning Labs allows you to do just that. You'll need to be a full eTwinning member. Watch for the link to apply on your Desktop.  This will appear 1 week before the course is due to begin. You will be asked to fill out an application form.

Places are allocated on a country quota basis. If you are accepted you will receive your special login and password to the Learning Lab Area a few days before the course is due to begin. 

 

3 – 18 February

Internet Safety & You presented by Karl Hopwood  

Language English

 

Applications open: 29 January

This Learning Event is aimed at exploring the issues of teaching young people to be safe when using the internet, as well as exploring some of the issues around the use of images, music, and resources while remaining compliant with copyright demands etc. Useful for all teachers who use the internet in their work. The number of participants is limited to 120 

 

7 – 20 February

Assessing individual differences through eTwinning presented by Nuria de Salvador

Language Spanish

 

Application opens:  2 February

One of the biggest classroom challenges a teacher faces is the fact that all the pupils in a class have different leaning needs and what is the best way to approach curricular topics bearing this in mind. This learning event addresses the issue by examining how eTwinning may be used to design classroom and homework tasks that meet flexible objectives and address the needs of  the individual learner. The number of participants is limited to 100

 

21 February – 7 March  

eTwinning & Nanoyou Lab 1 presented by  the Naoyou expert team

Language English

 

Application opens: 9 November

Nanoscience is the study of phenomena and manipulation of materials at the nanoscale, where properties differ significantly from those at a larger scale. The Learning Event introduces you to nanoscience, and online teaching and learning tools and materials resulting from the Nanoyou project. Through Nanoyou and eTwinning, you can help your students become nano-researchers doing their own experiments online and in school labs, and debate the ethics and impacts on society of nanotechnologies. The number of participants is limited to 150 .  More information on Nanoyou website

 

14 - 30 March Building a successful project presented by Cees Brederveld 

Language: French

 

Application opens: 7 March

This event is suitable for teachers who wish to explore a step-by-step approach to building a successful eTwinning project. Following the KISS principle you will be guided through the essential points for successful project work. Suitable for post primary teachers of all disciplines. The number of participants is limited to 120.

 

2 – 22 April – Web Based Video – Educational Use within eTwinning presented by Daniela Arghir

Language English

 

Applications open : 25 March

This event will explore the world of Web based video as  an educational resource and base for eTwinning collaborative work. It will examine the  features and benefits of video sharing, potential challenges and barriers, how to overcome them, selecting clips and lesson planning..

2 – 13 May - Creative writing  & Mindmapping presented by Pierre Auboiron -

Language English

Application opens: 25 April

 

How does a teacher foster creativity? This is always a difficult task particularly in second level schools where curricula are more proscriptive. During this event, participants will explore how to foster the creativity of their pupils through collaborative writing and the use of Mind Maps. It will be specifically linked to the Project Kit Creative Mind-Mapping stories The number of participants is limited to 100

 

9 -  20 May  

Children’s Rights  - Thoughts for teachers presented by Miriam Schembri

 

Language English

Application opens: 2 May

What precisely are Children’s rights, are they enshrined in law, what does it mean in a teaching and learning context. This learning event will explore the  topic of Children’s rights and how they effect classroom practice and approaches to teaching and project work within eTwinning.

http://learninglab.etwinning.net

 

Council of Europe Professional Development Workshop

 

From 28 February - 4 March 2011, British Council London will host the 2011 UK Workshop.

The Council of Europe in-service training programme enables teachers, headteachers, teacher trainers, school inspectors and other educational staff from the 49 member states of the Council for Cultural Cooperation (part of the Council of Europe) to take part in in-service training workshops

The workshops take place over three to five days and bring together teachers from across Europe, including countries in the former Soviet Union which are not eligible for EU programmes. They cover a wide variety of themes from Human Rights in Belgium to Drama and Civic Education in Bulgaria.

For more information on how to get involved:

www.britishcouncil.org/learning-council-of-europe

Win £1200 for your school with make IT happy

 

Make IT Happy 2011 is the 5th annual UK-wide technology challenge for Primary schools.

Organised by the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee (PITCOM), in partnership with e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology. The theme for this year's competition is Pass IT On.

Schools are challenged to show how they have used technology to connect schoolchildren with others in their community - whether that is down the corridor, around the town, across the UK or halfway around the world.

Twelve winning schools from across the UK will be awarded £1,200 each, and from these entries 3 overall winners will be chosen to receive additional cash prizes.

http://makeithappy.cc4g.net/

See how Erasmus and Comenius can be your passport to success!

Intersted in how EU Life Long Learning Programmes such as Erasmus and Comenius can benefit you?

Watch the new video to find out more...

www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus

www.britishcouncil.org/comenius

 

eTwinning school makes the Guardian Classroom Innovation Awards Shortlist

 

More than 1,700 Guardian readers have voted to help pick six shortlisted videos that will have the chance to win the Classroom Innovation Award – and £7,500 worth of Asus ICT equipment for their school.

Year 5 Pupils at St Mary's Catholic school in Loughborough scripted, directed, filmed and partly post-produced a short film as part of their eTwinning project with a school in Germany. The children used a range of technologies to create materials illustrating what life was like in their school. These included video interviews with staff and pupils, PowerPoint presentations and posters containing photographs of the school.

Read all about it here:

www.guardian.co.uk/classroom-innovation/classroom-innovation-awards-shortlist-announced

And The eTwinning Xmas Prize Draw Winners Are...

 
The eTwinning team would like to thank everyone who entered our recommend a friend Xmas Prize Draw before 31 December 2010. We are pleased to announce that the follow people will be receiving a Flip Camera in the very shortly:

Graham Doney
Angle VC School, Pembrokeshire

Stacey Reynolds
Kelvin Grove Primary & Nursery School, Sydenham

Martin Cluderay
Startforth Morritt Memorial C of E Primary, Barnard Castle

Gail Lawther
Jordanstown Schools, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland

Congratulations

2011: European Year of Volunteering

 
The European Year of Volunteering is both a celebration and a challenge...

It is a celebration of the commitment of millions of people in Europe who work in their communities during their free time without being paid – for example in schools, hospitals, and sports clubs, protecting the environment, providing social services and helping people in other countries.

Their efforts and those of the many thousands of volunteering organisations make a huge difference to our lives in countless ways. The world would be much worse off without volunteers! The EYV is also a challenge to the three-quarters of the European population who do not do any volunteering.

http://europa.eu/volunteering/