Dejan Kramžar, Osnovna šola Toneta Okrogarja v sodelovanju s CMEPIUS-om
During this creativity lesson we will present an innovative form of interactive distance cooperation of pupils and teachers, enabled by eTwinning, TwinSpace and eTwinning Live, i.e. collaboration in the making of a haiku. Under the mentorship of eTwinning ambassadors and according to the prior developed learning scenarios pupils will hold a lesson for participating teachers on the topic of writing haikus. The delivery of knowledge will not take the classic form, but we will exploit the support of digital technology and revers the roles. The paper has been placed in the relevant section since it focuses on pupils and their role in the planning and co-creation of lessons by using the open eTwinning Platform. The platform represents the largest European community of schools for secure and free connecting of over 384,000 teachers from over 160,000 schools from different European and some non-European countries. The community was joined by over 500 schools and 2000 teachers and preschool teachers from Slovenia for whom the portal primarily represents an authentic learning environment which encourages pupils’ creative and critical approach to learning. The studies have proven that with the help of and through eTwinning the pupils become aware of the applicability of their knowledge, i.e. they understand why they learn and why the acquired knowledge is important for their future. The objectives of the lesson are: to provide a practical demonstration of a different learning approach; activation of participants of the creative workshop to resort to innovative application of digital technology in their day-to-day work; and to include pupils in the planning of the learning process. In the beginning, the eTwinning ambassadors will brief the workshop participants on the special features and advantages of the eTwinning learning environment, while they will also explain how to prepare for the lesson and the role ICT plays in the process. Afterwards, the pupils of Litija Primary School (OŠ Litija) will assume the role of teachers. By using an eTwinning Live videoconferencing connection they will show the workshop participants, at distance, what is a haiku and how to write one. Pupils will submit the instructions for making an interactive haiku and explain its main characteristics. With the aid of digital technology (e.g. Animoto) and eTwinning Live the pupils will also be available to workshop participants for any questions. In eTwinning the HaI(CT)u will get an additional, virtual dimension. In the last part of the workshop the participants will refresh the acquired knowledge with practical exercises, which will be prepared for them by the pupils. The result of successfully completed exercise will be the publication of e-haikus in the online classroom by the participants. The most daring participants will also be able to test their haiku writing skills in English. The didactical value of the presented form of work lies primarily in team and peer learning of pupils, as well as their active participation in the preparation of the lesson with the support of ICT, in a reversed role. The eTwinning platform and an authentic e-learning environment motivate and encourage the self-initiative of workshop participants in the field of distance project collaboration. The created materials and resources will be available to all participants of the creative workshop for later use and modification.
