eTwinning: a case of ICT-enabled Innovation

for Learning in Europe

Panagiotis Kampylis

Yves Punie

Barbara Brecko

22.01.2013 – Hong Kong

European Commission,

Joint Research Centre,

Institute for Prospective

Technological Studies

What is eTwinning

European Commission-funded initiative

www.etwinning.net

33 countries

1 CSS - 35 NSSs

25 languages

190,000+ registered users

100,000+ schools

26,000+ projects

(~5,000 active)

Scale and geographical coverage

http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/news/press_corner/statistics.cfm

Brief history #1

2005 2008 2014

Launched Jan 2005

Entering Phase 3

(Erasmus for all)

2009 2012

New portal – improved

usability

New motto: The community for schools in Europe

Social Networking approach

2007

In Lifelong Learning

Programme within Comenius

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Policy goals (Barcelona European Council in March 2002): to promote school twinning as an opportunity for all students to learn and practice ICT skills and to promote awareness of the multicultural European model of society.

Brief history #2

Source: Vuorikari, 2010

Cross-border collaboration and networking

•Visualisation techniques •Social Network Analysis (SNA) •Prospective scenario building

• mainly a blended teachers network (online/offline activities) that brings many

existing school collaboration and school outreach projects under the same

umbrella

• part of the EU's Comenius programme which aims (for students and teachers)

to better understand the range of European cultures, languages and values

• key features: Cross-border school projects, formal and informal professional

development, social networking tools

• low bureaucracy, easy to set up a project or participate in PD activities

• free of “user” cost and safe

• (some) recognition (formal and informal)

• evaluation and support mechanisms in place, both at local and European level

• constant development - respond to teachers’ needs (e.g. Groups, workshops)

Key characteristics

Main stakeholders involved and their roles

• European Commission: has initiated and has been funding eTwinning

• European Schoolnet: a network of 33 Ministries of Education in Europe and

beyond, which coordinates at European level eTwinning through the Central

Support Service (CSS)

• National Support Services (NSSs): training and support (face-to-face, by

phone and online) to participating schools, at national or regional level

• Ambassadors: experienced eTwinning practitioners, who share their

experience and knowledge with other teachers who are interested in eTwinning

• eTwinners: teachers of any subject area, headmasters, librarians and other

educational staff (e.g. special need teachers, ICT coordinators...) from the 33

participating countries who freely participate in eTwinning projects and in the

CPD activities organized by the CSS and NSSs

• Students: they are involved in the eTwinning projects that school staff in their

schools design and implement

Learners & learning outcomes targeted

• from pre-school education to upper secondary schools (age 3-19) providing

general, vocational and technical education

• all school staff members (teachers, librarians, head teachers etc.) from schools

in the 33 participating countries

• cross-border projects (between a minimum of two schools from two countries)

• interdisciplinary, project-based learning

• development of transversal soft skills such as collaboration, communication,

problem solving, creativity and cultural awareness (Pedagogical Advisory

Group)

• balance of ICT- and classroom-based activities, fit into the national curricula

• teaching and learning more fun, meaningful, and engaging

Technology used and its role in innovation

• existing and mainstream technologies (e.g. forum,

chat)

• Project work mainly through the password protected

Desktop and TwinSpace

• eTwinning projects can take advantage of other

suitable ICT tools (e.g. for videoconferencing,

blogging etc) which are available outside of the

eTwinning portal (‘invisible’ eTwinning)

• the available technologies (inside and outside

eTwinning portal) are used in diverse settings and in

many different ways

• one of the most important features of eTwinning is

that offers a safe and supportive virtual

environment to the community of schools in Europe

What outcomes eTwinning has achieved • promotes school and teachers collaboration in Europe through the use of ICT

- crossing national barriers

• focuses mainly in four interrelated and interconnected areas: the promotion of

life-long learning, the endorsement of collaboration, the development of

communication skills and the development of intercultural awareness through

the exploitation of ICT

• for teachers: de-privatisation of teaching, sharing ideas and materials,

discussing common interests, running joint projects, professional development

• for students: opportunities to collaborate with peers with different cultural and

linguistic background and develop soft skills (e.g. linguistic and cultural

competences)

• for schools: part of vision and mission (e.g. ICT, internationalisation,

collaboration, project based learning)

• a good means to integrate ICTs in teaching and learning practices

Evaluation mechanisms

• Annual reports from NSSs and CSS

• Monitoring and analysis by EUN (case studies, statistics,

SNA, puplications…)

• The eTwinning Label is granted to projects that are

approved by the NSSs

• The Quality Label is awarded at national level, after

application

• The European Quality Label is awarded at European level

• The European eTwinning Prizes, an annual competition

which began in 2006, are awarded to schools that have run

high quality eTwinning projects.

• Prizes are also awarded at national level but different rules

and procedures are followed by the NSSs

Main barriers reported

• only 3.3% of European teachers (innovators, early adopters) are eTwinners

• difficult to monitor how the “invisible eTwinning” (online/offline) takes place

outside the portal

• technology is still a barrier for many teachers

• project work is often not integrated into curricula

• recognition is not equal in all countries

• mainly not part of initial teachers training (ITT)

• not all teachers find eTwinning suitable for their subjects

• limited involvement of head teachers

• usually absence of school policy and vision

• limited local dissemination (regional representatives)

• project work is usually not part of the assessment

Professional development/training

opportunities Not only a community for schools but also a teachers’

professional development network

Target: School staff

Mechanisms:

European-wide Professional Development Workshops

(by CSS)

European and national conferences: by CSS and NSSs

Online learning events (short intense course on a topic)

Online and f2f workshops (organized by eTwinning

Groups and NSSs)

Peer-to-peer learning (e.g. Projects, Groups, Teachers

Rooms, School Teams) Vuorikari, 2010

Top-down or bottom-up innovation?

• EC: initiative and

funding

• CSS: developing,

monitoring, supporting,

evaluating – European

level

• NSSs: supporting

structures – national

level

• Providing resources,

support and

dissemination to

encourage innovation • Pedagogical/technical

advise to teachers at

local level

• Scale-free (social)

network created by

bottom-up interactions

(online and/or offline)

• Shift of innovation

'ownership' to teachers

• Involvement of

stakeholders (e.g.

parents) at local level

• Providing data &

evidences of bottom-up

innovations (case

studies, good practices)

• Teachers-innovators as

change agents

Reflections

What are the most important impacts #1

• Much more than an online support tool to promote ICT at schools - a

grassroots community for knowledge exchange and a catalyst for change in

many schools

• ICT is a means for promoting pedagogical innovation (project-based

pedagogies, authentic learning, play…) challenging teaching and learning

practices

• Contributes to the fostering of transversal soft skills (e.g. collaboration,

communication) at both teacher and student level

What are the most important impacts #2

•Co-operation among staff creates opportunities for social and emotional

support, exchange of ideas and practical advice.

•Safe and supportive space for experimentation and sharing. It can enhance

professionalism, feelings of self-efficacy and prevent stress and “burnout”

•Formal and informal Professional Development through f2f and/or online

collaboration

- Within the school, e.g. eTwinning School Teams

- Across schools, e.g. projects, networking

- With other stakeholders, e.g. online learning events, national-international

f2f meetings

Key existing factors for sustainability

• European Commission support: “eTwinning is much more than an online

support tool to promote ICT at schools. It has created a grassroots

community and become a catalyst for change in many schools. This is all

thanks to enthusiasm of thousands of teachers and pupils. The Commission

has proposed to expand eTwinning as part of the new 'Erasmus for All'

programme from 2014-2020 to make it a platform for all schools that co-

operate across borders with EU support.” Androulla Vassiliou, European

Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth

(http://ec.europa.eu/education/news/20120401_en.htm)

• Stable funding: The draft budget of Comenius for 2013 foreseen a total of

11,700,00€ for eTwinning (2,300,000 for CSS and 9,400,000 € for the NSSs)

• Growing teachers social network

• Research findings on effectiveness

Scale-up through

•expanding in more countries

(Erasmus for all)

•student-initiated projects

•attempts to become integral part of

national curricula, teachers ITT and

PD (more recognition)

•involving more stakeholders such

as educational authorities, school

advisors, head teachers…

•dissemination at regional

(Ambassadors) & school level

(School Teams)

What are the prospects for its scalability?

3.3%

Based on Rogers, E. (1962) Diffusion of innovations. London: Free Press,

eTwinning reach (2012)*

* # of eTwinners

total # of teachers

Conclusions

eTwinning

•contributes to educational change and diffusion of ICT-enabled innovation

for learning across Europe

•contribute to teachers’ continuous professional development and lifelong

learning

•need a wider take-up in order to have an impact at system level

Mapping eTwinning against the ICT-enabled

innovation mapping framework

References

• Cachia, R., Bacigalupo, M. (2011). Teacher Collaboration Networks in 2025 - What is the role of teacher networks for professional

development in Europe? Notes from the Workshops held on the 6th and 7th June 2011 at the Institute for Prospective Technological

Studies of the European Commission Joint Research Centre. European Commission - Joint Research Center -Institute for Prospective

Technological Studies, EUR 25025 EN. Available at http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=4739

• Durando, M., Blamire, R., Balanskat, A., & Joyce, A. (2007). E-mature schools in Europe. Insight - Knowledge building and exchange

on ICT policy and practice. from European Schoolnet: Available at

http://insight.eun.org/shared/data/pdf/emature_schools_in_europe_final.pdf

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETwinning eTwinning Portat – Publications, http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/discover/publications.htm

• European Commission. (2011). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing "Erasmus for all",

the Union Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport. Brussels: COM(2011) 788 final. Available at

http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all/doc/legal_en.pdf . Available at

http://resources.eun.org/etwinning/80/PUBLICATION_eTwinning_in_the_classroom_EN.pdf See also

http://www.researchprofessional.com/news/article/1273502?i=1273640&__mhid=41429195

• Galvin, C. (2009). eTwinning in the classroom: A showcase of good practice (2008-2009). Brussels: Central Support Service for

eTwinning & European Schoolnet

• Holmes, B., Sime, J. A., (2012). Online Learning Communities for Teachers' Continuous Professional Development: case study of an

eTwinning learning event, proceedings of 8th Networked Learning Conference 2012, Maastricht, ISBN 978-1-86220-283-2. Available at

http://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/abstracts/pdf/holmes.pdf

• Kampylis, P., Bocconi, S., & Punie, Y. (2012). Fostering innovative pedagogical practices through online networks: the case of

eTwinning. Proceedings of the SQM / INSPIRE 2012 Conference, Tampere, Finland, 21-23 August, 2012. Tampere, Finland: School of

Information Sciences of the University of Tampere and the British Computer Society

• Vieluf S., et al. (2012), Teaching Practices and Pedagogical Innovation: Evidence from TALIS, OECD Publishing.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264123540-en

• Vuorikari R., (2012). Studying Informal Technology-mediated Learning Networks: A Case Study on eTwinning Analytics, proceedings

of 8th Networked Learning Conference 2012, Maastricht, ISBN 978-1-86220-283-2. Available at

http://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/abstracts/pdf/vuorikari.pdf

• Vuorikari, R. (2010). Teachers' professional development - An overview of current practice. Brussels: Central Support Service for

eTwinning & European Schoolnet. Available at

http://desktop.etwinning.net/library/desktop/resources/5/55/955/43955/etwinning_report_teachers_professional_development_en.pdf

• Vuorikari et al. (2012). Teachers Networks – today’s and tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities for teaching profession. European

Schoolnet

Thank you for your attention!

P. Kampylis, Y. Punie, B. Brecko

Panagiotis.Kampylis@ec.europa.eu

http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/eLearning.html

http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/SCALECCR.html