tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90163873905459789692024-03-19T04:23:50.660-07:00The Next Generation of LifelongLearningTeachersLaura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.comBlogger166125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-14765406555531072372015-10-11T03:18:00.001-07:002015-10-11T16:08:18.402-07:00What have I been doing?Well, I must say I'm eventually back.<br />
<br />
<b>What have I been donig? Having a kid :-)</b><br />
<br />
<b>I have been teaching and thinking and experimenting a lot as well, but I had definitely less time for writing!</b><br />
<br />
<b>Still, I spoke a lot these last couple of weeks</b>. I kissed the Blarney Stone a bunch of years ago: did I get the Gift of the Gab after all?<br />
...well, I'd have to say I've always been a good chatter! <br />
<br />
So welcome back to me :-)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qSpstp5ChYo" width="560"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RoulxK_eyxE" width="560"></iframe>
Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-88255429061593299102014-03-13T03:14:00.000-07:002014-03-13T03:14:00.127-07:00eTwinning: the educational fandom?A couple of weeks ago<strong> I had the happiest reunion ever with friends from the US</strong>. <br />
We sat in a bright spot of Piazza del Campo, had tea and cakes at a lovely Café, and basically kept chatting all together all the time. <br />
<br />
There was a lot to catch up with - say, the last five years of our offline lives.
We happen to be teachers, all of us. So after a quick overview on husbands/kids&pets, the conversation immediately turned to ‘The Topic’: school. We had a good time laughing at the tricks of our students (or admiring them), comparing our school lives – not so different after all, and trying to conjure up projects and ideas to work together despite the distance.
<br />
Yes, definetely having a good time. <br />
That is, until Tina asked me<strong> "So, what’s this eTwinning you’ve fallen head over heels for?"</strong>
<br />
<em>Pang of disillusion</em> - I could remember talking about this before hundreds of times. But obviously being not that convincing. However. Enthusiastic and proud, as a good Ambassador is supposed to be, <strong>I proceeded to describe eTwinning, its opportunities, its world, its projects, its potential</strong>. I paid attention not to be boring, so I tried to sum it up in less than 15 minutes. And put all of my energies smiles and jokes in it, as usual.
<br />
When I got to the end there was a pause.The girls looked at each other, then Tina said <strong>“I see. Sort of an educational fandom.”</strong>
<br />
<br />
Had we been in an online conversation, I would have probably taken it as an offence – or at least a verrrry negative remark. But we were sitting face to face, drinking tea and laughing and eating ricciarelli… and it was clearly impossible something less than nice was meant. [<em>Note for Italian readers: I know, ricciarelli don’t go with tea and don’t go with this time of the year. Still, foreigners love them all year round, and I do as well</em>.]
<br />
<br />
<strong>So, while hordes of Little Monsters, Directioners and Selenators came to my mind, I kept my cool and smiled the subject away</strong>, taking a mental note of googling “fandom” as soon as I got home.
<br />
The day turned out to be one of those you want to keep among your best memories. One of those you keep referring to in emails, in your facebook status, in your tweets, for years – that is to say, till the next face to face reunion.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYaWhV51sAgH3OH4moFr5Sozv-40p_YR5SdyCIbsC38dzvZN8_H_CipVZvZsgC6_JnD2H6DbMvbNqDiQLCbnAqLZleL1Zsdp_j45nFSD1r_m0jCl5yb5C8qLXve9WIr2ZKyonjRj5M0eE/s1600/fandom.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYaWhV51sAgH3OH4moFr5Sozv-40p_YR5SdyCIbsC38dzvZN8_H_CipVZvZsgC6_JnD2H6DbMvbNqDiQLCbnAqLZleL1Zsdp_j45nFSD1r_m0jCl5yb5C8qLXve9WIr2ZKyonjRj5M0eE/s1600/fandom.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
But I couldn’t forget the fandom thing… <br />
<strong>That same night I sat in front of my pc reading about</strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandom" target="_blank"><strong> fandoms in Wikipedia</strong></a><strong>. </strong>And here it is (I quote the beginning of the article, but if you’ve got time, read it to the end, some aspects are truly interesting in an educational perspective):<br />
<br />
<em>Fandom (consisting of fan [fanatic] plus the suffix -dom, as in kingdom, freedom, etc.) is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the object(s) of their fandom and <strong>spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices</strong> (a fandom); this is what differentiates "fannish" (fandom-affiliated) fans from those with only a casual interest.
A fandom can grow up centered around any area of human interest or activity. The subject of fan interest can be narrowly defined, focused on something like an individual celebrity, or more widely defined, encompassing entire hobbies, genres or fashions.</em> <br />
<br />
Ok. Less intimidating than I thought. And now I know I’m in a lot of fandoms myself, even if I seldom used this word before. I’m actually a pretty active Whovian and Ringer, a Trekkie and even if I am maybe too old to be one, I think I could make a decent Potterhead. <br />
<br />
<strong>But what has this to do with school? and with eTwinning in particular?</strong>
<br />
<br />
Well, to be honest I must say I saw the connection almost immediately<br />
. <br />
However, I quickly moved to the next step. That same night<strong> I launched an online survey involving most of the ex-students I have among my fb contacts</strong> (I don’t want any current students among them, but that’s only my personal policy, plus my students are 11-14, so formally too young for fb). I told them I was working on a research and <strong>asked them to name their fandoms</strong>: no explanation given, no other info.<br />
I expected few replies and lots of “dunno”. But that was not what I got.
<br />
<strong>Out of around 120 students, an average 80% answered, and all of them could name at least a couple of fandoms they are involved with, mainly dealing with sci-fi or fantasy sagas (i.e. reading !!!!), tv series, and bands or singers</strong>.<br />
Not too difficult to see the <strong>educational potential of these fan worlds</strong>. It looks like<strong> our students spend a lot of time reading, watching, writing about (even dressing up as) characters and stories they feel they can relate to</strong>. They discuss the story, they imagine alternative endings, they interact and learn from each other, no teacher involved.<br />
I am sure we, as teachers, could and should work with all of this potential. Which doesn’t mean entering their worlds, but we make the effort to get to know them at least, and try to take advantage of this huge self practice and this huge involvement.<br />
<br />
<strong>And as for eTwinning? is it an educational fandom, after all?
I suppose the answer is yes, it is.</strong>
<br />
<br />
It’s a part of our professional life, true, and we enter it as professionals. But how and why do we go on? <strong>Why are we still eTwinners after five, six years or more? Why are we still part of this world?</strong><br />
<strong>I used to say: because it works</strong>. Projects work with students: they learn. Which is great. But it’s not all here. After years, we apparently don’t get bored of the same tool. So why are we still in eTwinning? <strong>isn’t it because of the people as well? isn’t it because of the social network? because of the conferences, seminars, events that allow us to meet each other?</strong> (could we call them fandom conventions?) isn’t it because of the games we make up, the groups we created on other socials, the “educational family” we’ve been building together?
<br />
Just like our students, <strong>we work for free, out of passion and curiousity</strong>: they read their stories, they write their essays on, say, Katniss Everdeen, <strong>without any assignments</strong>, we read and write our eTwinning articles on thenewTwinSpace/ thebugsofthenewTwinSpace/ theTeachersRoomspotential/ theeTwinningAwards and we post in TRs, blogs and forums <strong>without being paid for and without being forced to do so</strong>. Because we like it.<br />
Both categories – the students and the teachers – act as learners in this process. <strong>We learn by discussing something we like with someone we like. That’s all.</strong>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoEnrI38CaiN57Lx4dciK-uusMowuhia0olfk4nnA1xO3S9D6TQ4WYcBC2wyp9JVg2pvKeAQr7Mjk-w_-2q9apwmp2rTI4mDUQt5a-XMKTbQ85z3qZFSqR17mMxc9UJbJemSByGl-zOQ/s1600/monika+e+laura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoEnrI38CaiN57Lx4dciK-uusMowuhia0olfk4nnA1xO3S9D6TQ4WYcBC2wyp9JVg2pvKeAQr7Mjk-w_-2q9apwmp2rTI4mDUQt5a-XMKTbQ85z3qZFSqR17mMxc9UJbJemSByGl-zOQ/s1600/monika+e+laura.jpg" height="286" width="320" /></a>And while we are not exactly fangirling or shipping eTwinning couples, it’s true that eTwinners also have their own slang. Plus,<strong> I must admit I share with Monika Kiss some nice memories of eTwinning cosplay and even some fan fiction writing</strong>...<br />
<br />
So, thank you Tina and girls. After much thinking about it, I like this idea of the educational fandom, with its pros and cons of course. I’ll be thinking about it some more. And I’ll be working on this, for sure.
<strong>Definitely, there’s a lot more to come, lots of worlds to explore. Friends and colleagues of the eTwinning fandom, keep on board</strong>.<br />
<br />
[and yes... it's actually bigger on the inside :)]
Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-79708666753715860962013-04-29T06:28:00.003-07:002013-04-29T06:31:11.609-07:00Partners across Europe: emagazine n.6 "eTwinning e la realtà"<em>I built myself a house of glass:</em><br />
<em>It took my years to make it:</em><br />
<em>And I was proud. But now, alas!</em><br />
<em>Would God someone would break it.</em><br />
<em>...</em><br />
<em>Edward Thomas</em><br />
<br />
Sometimes I wonder <strong>how many teachers, especially at secondary level, still live in their personal “house of glass”</strong>, still feeling proud of it.<br />
<br />
Maybe in the past you could call them “good teachers”: after all, they do care about their students, they spend much of their out-of-school time to prepare tests, correct them, make up new exercises, they make polite conversation with their colleagues and… <strong>they are desperately isolated</strong>.<br />
<br />
But in a time of global crisis, with more and more unemployed families, with growing social tensions all around Europe, with schools lacking money for ICT equipment/ substitute teachers/ books/ paper / younameit, with misinformation often running through the web, at easy reach of our students… isolated teachers cannot be “good” enough anymore. They have to <strong>collaborate and share</strong>. They have to <strong>teach themselves how to become good partners</strong>.<br />
<br />
I think eTwinning is the ideal starting point for this. Projects, Teachers’ Rooms, Learning Events, Workshops and seminars are the European meeting point for individuals who are willing to share in their profession and in their life, and become members of a community. <br />
<br />
<strong>I thank all of those teachers who lured me in eTwinning - and in Europe - and let me try to be a good partner for them as they were for me. I’m proud of giving up my house for a condo!</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>I thank all of the eTwinners who contributed to this ebook</strong>, thus giving evidence of what being “partners across Europe” really means. <br />
<br />
<strong>And I thank Mrs Fiora Imberciadori, who was the first to make me understand - and care about - what being an European citizen and teacher could mean to me</strong>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="margin: 8px 0px 4px;">
<a href="http://www.calameo.com/books/0012527443d513317d09f" target="_blank">eTwinning e la realtà n.6</a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="" frameborder="0" height="388" scrolling="no" src="//v.calameo.com/?bkcode=0012527443d513317d09f" style="margin: 0px auto;" width="600"></iframe><br />
<div style="margin: 4px 0px 8px;">
<a href="http://www.calameo.com/">Publish at Calameo</a> or <a href="http://www.calameo.com/browse">read more publications</a>.</div>
</div>
Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-90042523563390071102013-02-10T05:33:00.001-08:002013-02-10T05:37:08.745-08:00Zen and the Art of Teachers' Rooms Manteinance Hi everybody, I'm sharing this time a great resource we created together during the <strong>eTwinning Learning Event "eTwinners go social: creating and managing a successful Teachers' Room"</strong>.<br />
<br />
I ran the Learning Event in <strong>December 2012</strong>, together with a <strong>great team</strong> of co-managers: Antonella Ciriello, Elena Pezzi, Maria Rosaria Fasanelli, PAola Arduini and Monika Kiss.<br />
<br />
It was a wonderful thrilling experience, not only for what we taught and learned concerning Teachers' Rooms and our place in the eTwinning geography, but also because, <strong>once more, we experienced the power of teams</strong>.<br />
And then, it was a special experience <strong>because of the people we had the opportunity to meet</strong>.<br />
<br />
Believe me, whatever you are doing, if you do it together it will come out a lot better - often in an unespected direction.<br />
<br />
This time, together with the participants, <strong>we decided to share our reflections and opinions with a wider public of eTwinners - and not only</strong>. We believed our ideas, tips and suggestions should go further than the closed space of the Learning Lab.<br />
<br />
That's why, at the end of our journey, we created this <strong>Teachers' Rooms Handbook</strong>.<br />
<br />
Have fun everybody, keep on travelling the eTwinning world, keep on sharing, meeting, imagining, chatting, teaching and learning...<br />
<br />
A big THANK YOU to all of the contributors, enjoy your handbook<br />
<br />
Laura<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="margin: 8px 0px 4px;">
<a href="http://www.calameo.com/books/001252744e610decfa618" target="_blank">Zen and the Art of Teachers' Rooms Manteinance</a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="" frameborder="0" height="388" src="http://v.calameo.com/?bkcode=001252744e610decfa618" style="margin: 0px auto;" width="600"></iframe><br />
<div style="margin: 4px 0px 8px;">
<a href="http://www.calameo.com/">Publish at Calameo</a> or <a href="http://www.calameo.com/browse">read more publications</a>.</div>
</div>
Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-21535533438576483312012-11-26T14:09:00.002-08:002012-11-26T14:12:35.080-08:00Lesson plan - Copyrights: whose rights?I'm sharing here a <strong>lesson-plan on copyrights I've created with friend & eTwinner Paola Arduini</strong> during the eTwinning Ambassador course 2012. <br />
Since at school I'm at the moment addressing this kind of topics, and in the web-age we're all involved in sharing vs protecting ownership, I think it can be useful to others as well.<br />
<u>Title of the lesson:</u> <strong>Copyrights: whose rights?</strong><br />
<br />
<u>Age range of pupils targeted by this lesson plan:</u> <strong>students 10-12 years old (last year of Primary School, first year of Secondary School)</strong><br />
<br />
<u>Description:</u><strong>- First steps in the world of Copyrights.</strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifm3A9JfWq0-nCW_v1HVpZCKrzYe-oy4QzBx9s468E7UNxESfinRlPJfSPZBDbBIsF8i7HHJgia1luK97ucgJFQaC4HijgNDIMZXadXF6oTGWQznPHBkFbsrGQWxvm7kyicbNEGdMK7aw/s1600/draw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifm3A9JfWq0-nCW_v1HVpZCKrzYe-oy4QzBx9s468E7UNxESfinRlPJfSPZBDbBIsF8i7HHJgia1luK97ucgJFQaC4HijgNDIMZXadXF6oTGWQznPHBkFbsrGQWxvm7kyicbNEGdMK7aw/s320/draw.jpg" tea="true" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The students at this age are usually already familiar with the web. They can work on their own assignments/homework, both alone or in a team, using ICT tools. Anyway, they don’t know anything about copyrights: for them, what’s online has no owner. When they need an image, or music piece, or video, they just google it, copy and paste. And then forget it. At the same time younger students may not know how to find images, music and videos and just copy what their older friends do. </div>
This lesson, that can also suit the beginning of any eTwinning or international project (the “introductions” part) can trigger a discussion and reflection on the use of web materials and the importance of copyrights.<br />
<br />
<u>Activities:</u><br />
At the beginning of any international project, <strong>the partners usually introduce themselves</strong>. That’s when we ask our students to create a video, or a ppt, about our school and area, in order to share it on the TwinSpace.<br />
<br />
We can start from here, following these steps:<br />
<br />
<strong>1. divide the class into four groups</strong> (approximately, 6 students each)<br />
<br />
<strong>2. the first three groups are asked to prepare a presentation</strong>, in video or ppt, respectively of their country, town, and school<br />
<br />
<strong>3. the fourth group will be the judges: they will evaluate their classmates’ work</strong>; for this reason, they are asked to <strong>agree on a set of parameters in order to assess their classmates</strong> (they will probably agree on: text, visuals, music, presentation… or sth of this kind)<br />
<br />
<strong>4. the groups work on their assignments</strong> (at school or at home, it depends on how much time you want to devote to this part)<br />
<br />
<strong>5. the presentations are showed and the judges give a mark from 0 to 5</strong> in all of the chosen parameters to the presentations<br />
<br />
<strong>6. the best presentation is proclaimed</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>7. the teacher gives to the first three teams a paper to fill in</strong>, asking the groups<br />
- where did you find the images?<br />
- did you take the pictures yourself?<br />
- if not, do you know who did?<br />
- how did you choose the music?<br />
- who is the artist?<br />
- etc.<br />
<br />
<strong>8. the answers are read and a debate on copyrights, guided by the teacher, follows</strong>. Is the best presentation as good in respecting copyrights? What about the others? (most likely, they won’t as well).<br />
<br />
<strong>9. At the end of the debate, the teacher asks the students “now, do you think we can publish those presentations online (in the public TwinSpace/blog, etc)?</strong> What can we change?”<br />
<br />
<strong>10. Let the students make the changes</strong> – hopefully, they’ll think about choosing materials more carefully next time<br />
<br />
<strong>11. After the changes the members of the jury vote the presentations again: are the updated presentations guilty or innocent of stealing copyrights?</strong> :)<br />
<br />
<u>Materials needed:</u><br />
Computer lab, electronic board of projector, a reliable internet connection<br />
<br />
<u>Verification:</u><br />
You can check if the students have understood by looking at the changes they make to their presentations. Also consider the jury’s vote: by the end of the lesson, they should be able to double-check their classmates’ work.<br />
<br />
<u>Time allocation:</u><br />
You’ll need about 4 lessons, 1 hour each.<br />
<br />
<u>Results:</u><br />
Students won’t forget for sure (unless they choose to forget, which may happen). Next time you give them any ICT-related homework, they’ll probably choose to produce their own materials (paintings, drawings, pics etc) instead of just downloading them.<br />
<br />
<u>Final notes:</u><br />
It can be interesting to compare different behaviour in primary and in secondary school: mainly children at primary level like to draw and use their own drawings. A follow up can be organized with older pupils who help younger ones in editing their original material (drawings, photos, music played by themselves) and creating a folder where useful material can be shared and used.<br />
<br />
<br />
...now, just try it and let us know, there's aways room for improvement!Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-16505417970057286502012-11-24T01:00:00.000-08:002012-11-24T01:19:15.805-08:00Teaching Teams: the safe net<br />
As many of you may know, <strong>I'm one of those teachers who are actually happy to be one</strong>, despite the crisis, all of the red tape, the stressful routine, the neverending meetings, you name it. Now, I think that's because I've found in my career a safe net that provides me from falling at times, and that keeps me motivated and supported at all times: that's <strong>teaching teams</strong>.<br />
<br />
I’ve been teaching for 15 years now, first in private schools in Italy and abroad, teaching Italian as a foreign language, then in the Italian public schools, as a secondary teacher of Literature, History and Geography.<br />
And all the way, <strong>I’ve been fond of team working (both among teachers and students), of international cooperation, and of edu-tech</strong>.<br />
<br />
<strong>Every single year of my career has been marked by a different kind of collaboration with my colleagues, my pupils, and my international partners</strong>. And <strong>year after year, the net – the virtual dimension of “being together” – has gained a central role in my teaching</strong>. That is to say, I’m more and more involved into teaching and learning together with people (teachers, students, experts) that are actually not in my classroom.<br />
<br />
But let’s see the steps of my team-building process in the public school:<br />
<br />
<strong>1. First - edUtopia</strong>: at the beginning of my career in the public school, teaching in a Lower Secondary school, back in 2000, I taught in a course with extended time. This means the students had 36 hours/week: 5 in the morning (mon-sat) + 6 in the afternoon (two afternoons of 3 hours each). It was a paradise, as <strong>teamworking was officially recognized</strong>: in fact, in the afternoons there were hours of teamteaching – Mother Tongue + Foreign Languages and Mother Tongue + Maths/Science. Our Ministry of Education understood how important it is for teachers to work together in order to have the pupils learn (understanding the connections between different subjects) and, but I’m not sure the Ministry was actually aware of this, <strong>the teachers actually learnt a lot from each other by being together in the same class</strong>. Teaching Teams were <strong>a great professional development tool at zero cost</strong> (think in terms of teaching styles, assessment, etc.). <strong>We made our first steps in the world of European projects together. We worked with our first partners and started sharing online</strong>. Do I need to say that our best projects were born here? out of collaboration among colleagues off- and on line?<br />
<br />
<strong>2. Next – why paying two for one?</strong> The edUtopia period lasted some five/six years, enough for me to learn a lot and to miss them badly now. Then of course, as everywhere in the world for what I know, governments decided to cut on “unessential expenses” – read: education and services. Paying for two teachers at the same time was considered to be crazy, so if we wanted to go on in our collaboration, we had to do this in our spare time. Or we could do it – we were lucky at the beginning – with the <strong>support of Local Authorities that paid for extra hours of co-teaching</strong>. <strong>It was no more official</strong>, still we had some hours to actually share in the classroom. <strong>By now, we had partners throughout Europe and having them with us, during our lesson, quickly became something normal</strong>. So, <strong>in order to learn from other professionals, we could not only turn to each other, but also to our net-colleagues</strong>. We run lots of successful projects (and as you know, by “successful” I mean those projects where students learn & enjoy, not only those actually awarded) and we learnt a lot ourselves.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJiFChs06jUBYTneLF2Cjg-nmv6ncPtQoUym66UpcKSO6Yg06WgqTiunQ9D3DN4iwlwhiNPLud3qo9Rl8yP0Ot-NO5boLjElVQ10Ps4YhUOfu669YfyV4yMswW5q5h-kcyBg4aI4PdNk/s1600/net.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJiFChs06jUBYTneLF2Cjg-nmv6ncPtQoUym66UpcKSO6Yg06WgqTiunQ9D3DN4iwlwhiNPLud3qo9Rl8yP0Ot-NO5boLjElVQ10Ps4YhUOfu669YfyV4yMswW5q5h-kcyBg4aI4PdNk/s320/net.jpg" width="320" /></a><strong>3. Today – praise the “safe net”</strong>. In a time of crisis, and of spending review, do you think there’s any room for two (or more) teachers being together in the same classroom? Do you think we can invest on education? So, just forget teaching teams, unless you want to do everything in your free time (which we often do, because we care!). But here’s the good news: <strong>after years of sowing, we can now harvest. </strong>And our crops are our partners, a net of colleagues scattered here and there in the world, who share, and discuss, and learn, and teach with us, every day, through the web. <strong>This net of teachers, met through eTwinning, Comenius and other international projects, is today our safe net</strong>. I think it is correct to say that <strong>LLP is today for any European teachers the best provider of professional development opportunities: formal ones – Comenius in-service training, eTwinning PDWs and LEs … - and informal ones, mainly through eTwinning</strong>. And then, there’s the web, and <strong>fellow teachers and edubloggers all around the world</strong>. So, <strong>teaching teams are today wider and wider nets, that can turn into safe nets at times</strong>. </div>
At least, that’s what happens to me every day. In this blog first of all, and then in eTwinning (in Groups, in the "eTwinning e la realtà" teachers' room, etc.).<br />
<br />
So I thank my colleagues, those I meet every day in my school, I thank my colleagues and partners troughout Europe, I thank my friends blogger, met online, here and there, in the strangest ways, and I thank all of the students I’ve met in my life. I thank you for what I keep learning (and teaching) every day with your help.<br />
Luckily, we are each other's best resource in a time of crisis.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Learning is a social process, and I’m happy to “go social” with you.</strong></div>
Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-47139464484979548242012-10-18T09:46:00.003-07:002012-10-18T09:47:53.287-07:00Global Junior Challenge 2012 - Projects to share the futureThe <a href="http://www.gjc.it/2012/en" target="_blank">Global Junior Challenge</a> is the<strong> international competition</strong> that rewards the innovative use of technology for the education of 21st century and the social inclusion. <br />
Promoted by the Municipality of Rome, the GJC is hosted every two years by the <a href="http://www.mondodigitale.org/" target="_blank">Fondazione Mondo Digitale</a> under the High Patronage of the Italian Presidency and the sponsorship of the Italian Foreign Affairs Minister.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQD4Hc47-dytqnEWc5PmiKWS4nGxmPvQtZMGX_UIJS21Fi7L8PBW1V4x9TKhLj6rFTjVuM0Ugnqy1435AsjaIDIjypJq7zBZofStI3Rzq_7sX7eaROZf0lTDDBZ4djhOSfCTwuLqsw8E/s1600/Roma2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQD4Hc47-dytqnEWc5PmiKWS4nGxmPvQtZMGX_UIJS21Fi7L8PBW1V4x9TKhLj6rFTjVuM0Ugnqy1435AsjaIDIjypJq7zBZofStI3Rzq_7sX7eaROZf0lTDDBZ4djhOSfCTwuLqsw8E/s320/Roma2.JPG" width="240" /></a>The 2012 GJC encouraged the reflection on educational technology and its impact on social equity. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Among the challenges of the 21st century education there's in fact the <strong>link between educational and social innovation</strong>. Can ICT help us building a better future for us and our students? That's the main question.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I had the opportunity to take part in the competition both as a member of the <a href="http://www.gjc.it/2012/en/jury-members" target="_blank">jury</a> in the "up to 10" category and as a contestant with my classes in "up to 15".</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
It was interesting for me to see the projects from within. I think I learned a lot about Primary School - not only in Italy, but in the whole world - by examining the projects I had to evaluate. There was much to learn for me, and I felt it was a privilege to explore and understand so many different pathways.</div>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
And it was a pleasure and a pride for me to be <strong>among the finalists with my students, with three projects</strong> - <a href="http://new-twinspace.etwinning.net/web/p42084" target="_blank">Comenius-eTwinning "Bridges of Water"</a>, eTwinning <a href="http://new-twinspace.etwinning.net/web/p26459" target="_blank">"BE TWIN - twinning up the everyday lesson"</a> and <a href="http://new-twinspace.etwinning.net/web/p44039" target="_blank">"BIANCO ROSSO E VERDE"</a>.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1u99oFCkFzohOqfJIKToaJbQKA239mueeK05ICm5aQp9ZEODxu_DbsoY0chHmUEvVN1nVsS6dJAMsrkV-0wtJfLwDWnSrc97PQXohvcnMpcZwE8G4GTbQu9x6bi9Z-AI0_ChfgL0Vq4/s1600/Roma.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1u99oFCkFzohOqfJIKToaJbQKA239mueeK05ICm5aQp9ZEODxu_DbsoY0chHmUEvVN1nVsS6dJAMsrkV-0wtJfLwDWnSrc97PQXohvcnMpcZwE8G4GTbQu9x6bi9Z-AI0_ChfgL0Vq4/s320/Roma.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We could travel to Rome and meet other schools, students, teachers and experts from all around the world. And coming from Casole d'Elsa - 4000 inhabitants - even just walking through the capital was an adventure for my pupils. Our journey in the underground was a sort of "Indiana Jones" mission, with much laughing, ooohing and ... trembling! But the whole experience was great, from our arrival during the plenary session, to the preparation of our area, to the "social integration" workshop for the pupils (great animator of the workshop, the pupils loved her!), to the interviews with TV and the photoshots. We felt like movie stars!</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
And the day went on with a walk through Rome, and a very special stop at the <a href="http://www.risorgimento.it/home_museo_ita.asp" target="_blank">"Museo del Risorgimento"</a>, just to remember where we come from, and why we are here today.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
In short, a fantastic experience, always with our Twins in mind: Hungary, Turkey, Slovakia, Spain... you were there in our thoughts!</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXtLKemQ6XYFoLNjpk08nK7zk9ZaCkfiLSQBV3JclnDyYNZzjW3peoHymnpevFidhHKxlRN1kkpTdf27szDza34rW_HedSgAswVga_An_bTrLrfA3mt2UBa99W-K5dnccu81ZLZ-Eano/s1600/Roma3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXtLKemQ6XYFoLNjpk08nK7zk9ZaCkfiLSQBV3JclnDyYNZzjW3peoHymnpevFidhHKxlRN1kkpTdf27szDza34rW_HedSgAswVga_An_bTrLrfA3mt2UBa99W-K5dnccu81ZLZ-Eano/s320/Roma3.JPG" width="320" /></a>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Just a final personal note: <strong>in such a difficult period, with this huge crisis and more and more families facing unemployment, can new technologies really be considered a tool for social equity and integration? or are we going to see the rise of a new clique, that of the <em>I-can-spend-on-ICT</em>, versus a majority of <em>ICT beggars</em>?</strong></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-79297533463100226402012-09-19T23:23:00.002-07:002012-09-19T23:23:36.512-07:00Dissemination, Maths and Science... and lots of languages!Here's the latest issue of the "eTwinning e la realtà" emagazine.<br />
<br />
Once again, it's a multilingual emagazine: this time in <strong>English, French, Italian, German and Hungarian</strong>.<br />
<br />
We decided to keep the multilingual structure, instead of sticking to the traditional "English only" feature, to underline the European dimension of our team, and our work. <strong>We didn't want to lose the feeling of our different identities and different competences</strong>.<br />
<br />
Our differences are what makes our team so special, and so useful. To me, it has been sometimes a safe net in case of need.<br />
<br />
So thank you everybody, thank you eTwinning, thank you enthusiastic European teachers.<br />
Enjoy our emagazine!<br />
<br />
<!-- Copy paste this HTML code in your webpage //--><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="500" id="calameo-viewer-001252744de401102de1f-1348122166" width="100%">
<param name="movie" value="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=001252744de401102de1f&langid=it" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="opaque" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" />
<!--[if !IE]>-->
<object id="calameo-viewer-inner-001252744de401102de1f-1348122166" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=001252744de401102de1f&langid=it" width="100%" height="500">
<!--<![endif]-->
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="opaque" />
<param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://s1.calameoassets.com/calameo-v4/widgets/loader/cloader.js"></script>
<!--[if !IE]>-->
</object>
<!--<![endif]-->
</object>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-80316333713412027042012-09-01T04:11:00.002-07:002012-09-01T04:14:03.791-07:00LOVE TEACHING… AND LET THEM LOVE LEARNING <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:HyphenationZone>21</w:HyphenationZone>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>HU</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false"
QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Normál táblázat";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:IT;
mso-fareast-language:IT;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I always wanted to be a teacher. When I was a little girl, I used to
“play school” with my dolls, and after... here’s my first memory as a
„teacher”: I visited my grandmother, and I asked her to let me meet the other
children in the street where she lived. I am not sure if after the experience
all those children were as enthusiastic as me, because about half an hour
later, they found themselves sitting down around me, their new tiny teacher.
What a summer holiday they had with me! </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lz3PVqcocnKreSNgTTgFN5bKxT0ySzSgnAmwZ3ct5cCOydUbf_C2BYFMtdzOhZp_UDdXOiWs5Ng_UiM-dUgSuWsidA8C-8_feyq-5W1bfJcCRC0x9OPoLvF8rsTooom6b67g3CbTnycK/s1600/we+are+happy!!).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lz3PVqcocnKreSNgTTgFN5bKxT0ySzSgnAmwZ3ct5cCOydUbf_C2BYFMtdzOhZp_UDdXOiWs5Ng_UiM-dUgSuWsidA8C-8_feyq-5W1bfJcCRC0x9OPoLvF8rsTooom6b67g3CbTnycK/s200/we+are+happy!!).jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And now I believe, as a primary school teacher, that <b>the first
experience of school is really important for children</b>. It could depend on
that, if our pupils come to school happily or not. <b>As a primary school
teacher, you can have your pupils love or hate school for life</b>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Luckily, my first teacher was a special one. The first day at school, I
was nervously standing in front of the building, then somebody read my name,
and I went to meet my future teacher. I remember her reassuring smile, and I
remember I liked her from that first moment. We were her first class, she was
enthusiastic. We learned, played, and when we were too tired (just imagine,
since there were too many children at school, every second week we had our
lessons in the afternoon, and we finished very late..) she read fairy tales for
us. I liked school, and I wanted to be a teacher because of her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After this first experience, I met a lot of other teachers. And now
sometimes in the classroom, when I tell something to my pupils, I remember and
just realize: it’s the same sentence I heard from one of my own teachers one
day... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Do you have this experience? In those moments I realize how important it
is what we tell our students... probably at the moment they are just words, but
<b>children won’t forget, they memorize our smiles, our great and not so great
moments in the classroom, and the feeling we have together at school</b>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This new school year is a special one for me. This is the fourth and
last school year together with my first class. I remember how excited I was
when I met them for the first time. I had doubts and questions in my mind: <b>Will
I be able to help them in their learning?</b> Will they learn to count and
read? And... will they like school? Or hate it, because of me?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No matter how experienced you are, you’ll always ask
yourself these questions with a new class.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> They may seem silly questions, at least some of
them... but you can’t help it: and after all, they show that you care.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Through the years, I’ve developed some simple rules that can help you
grow in your students from the very first moment the love and pleasure of
learning (and some no-nos as well!):</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 84.15pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 84.15pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -48.75pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">be
yourself </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">- in the long
run, <b>you can’t act a role every single day</b> at school. So, don’t try to
be the “model teacher” you have in your mind, but just be the teacher who you
are</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 84.15pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 84.15pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -48.75pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">be
consistent</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> - <b>the worst
teacher is the unpredictable teacher</b>. Say what you mean and mean what you
say. Respect deadlines if you want your students to respect them. Pay attention
to them if you want them to pay attention to you</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 84.15pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 84.15pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -48.75pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">don’t
be bossy</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> - that’s how it
goes: <b>you’re bossy – they are scared of you – they hate you – they hate
school</b> (and will, forever, unless another teacher manages to change
things!). Bossy teachers are a shame for school and for themselves. <b>Who can
really believe we can teach through fear?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 84.15pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 84.15pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -48.75pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">reassure
& reward your pupils</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
– tell them they will improve when they fail, and tell them how good they are
when they succeed. Be proud of their little successes and they will be proud of
themselves</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 84.15pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 84.15pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -48.75pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">love
the subjects you teach, and love teaching </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">– in time, they’ll hopefully grow to love learning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">At the end of this post I would like to share with you one of my first
memories with my class. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We were at the beginning of the school year, and our first eTwinning
project.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Our task
was to prepare a poster about peace. I asked my colleague to draw a big dove to
represent our team (I am not good at drawing, and probably my dove could be
similar to Nessie </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">). After, I planned to go on creating a mosaic with
children. My colleague helped me. She arrived with a very big dove.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But the dove wasn’t too convincing I guess, since as soon as she left,
my pupils started asking: what is this?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMJ3qL2QvMnEAy4ANXJWHYBfodWnFZ-KqrVDm8GIp2SLmGrhy1bG-RP8Jbj92LngBHzaHa8NYOgAl3aUoNwUKTgzuEPMg9ofjVfekjw0n5_8mbH8cfvuL90TuOdELKXzdw5igNMoERdLO/s1600/Peace+(poster).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMJ3qL2QvMnEAy4ANXJWHYBfodWnFZ-KqrVDm8GIp2SLmGrhy1bG-RP8Jbj92LngBHzaHa8NYOgAl3aUoNwUKTgzuEPMg9ofjVfekjw0n5_8mbH8cfvuL90TuOdELKXzdw5igNMoERdLO/s200/Peace+(poster).jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">„It’s a dove” I answered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">„Well, it could be an eagle” one kid said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">„Yes, maybe it’s a bit big, you are right, but it’s a dove.” I said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">„Or it could be a big duck.” Another kid replied.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">They all went on guessing, when a little boy looked at the drawing,
pointed to me and told the others:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 35.4pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">„If
she says it’s a dove, then it <i>is</i> a dove!”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No more
questions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I laughed a
lot, but I was so happy, because I felt they trusted me. <b>My pupils’
confidence is a treasure for me</b>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And who
knows? Maybe some of them dream to be a teacher…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I wish you
all a great school year, great moments together with your pupils (and with us!) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mónika<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
Mónikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03295218644569269619noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-92229129216550746062012-08-27T14:05:00.000-07:002012-08-27T14:05:24.734-07:00eTwinning e la realtà - Europe Calling<em><strong>Summer</strong></em> - as we said in <a href="http://lifelonglearningteachers.blogspot.it/2012/07/tech-adventurous-teachers-on-holiday.html" target="_blank">another post</a>, for a teacher it's time for friends, relax, holidays, and edu tech !<br />
<br />
True, we couldn't stop exploring the web & meeting online, and given more time, <strong>lots of us eTwinners spent the hot afternoons trying out new tools, planning future projects and devising new ways to spread our ideas and experiences throughout Europe</strong>. <br />
<br />
And, as for us...<br />
<br />
The '<strong>eTwinning e la realtà</strong>'<strong> teachers' room</strong> went on being our meeting point, and that's where Antonella first got the crazy idea of a <strong>multilingual issue of our e-magazine</strong>. <em>"We can translate our articles... we can ask our partners for help... we will help each other... <strong>we will make it</strong>!"</em><br />
We were a bit anxious at first, but she was right - we could definitely rely on the eTwinners' skills in collaboration.<br />
<br />
So, a group of enthusiastic/crazy teachers spent some of their summer <strong>translating</strong> the articles, laughing when they got mixed up or when they needed some funny <span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_8am5ph="117" id="result_box" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_8am5ph="206" pc="null">periphrasis because "I can't find the word", asking each other for help, and chatting a lot. We were thrilled: we could get in contact with teachers from different countries, going beyond the national dimension.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_8am5ph="117" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_8am5ph="206" pc="null">Here's the outcome of our summer collaboration: <strong>a special multilingual issue of the "eTwinning e la realtà" emagazine</strong>, with articles in <strong>English, Hungarian, French & Italian</strong>.</span></span><br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_8am5ph="117" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_8am5ph="206" pc="null">That's our eTwinning gift to celebrate the new school year.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_8am5ph="117" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_8am5ph="206" pc="null">We hope other eTwinners, throughout Europe, will read our stories and find them useful and inspiring.</span></span><br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_8am5ph="117" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_8am5ph="206" pc="null">And we hope we'll go on collaborating, and widening our circle.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_8am5ph="117" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_8am5ph="206" pc="null">I thank all of the teachers who created the ebook.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_8am5ph="117" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_8am5ph="206" pc="null">Welcome back to school everybody... enjoy our new emagazine!</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<!-- Copy paste this HTML code in your webpage //--><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="500" id="calameo-viewer-0012527448d9396ca44c8-1346101489" width="100%">
<param name="movie" value="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=0012527448d9396ca44c8&langid=it" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="opaque" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" />
<!--[if !IE]>-->
<object id="calameo-viewer-inner-0012527448d9396ca44c8-1346101489" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=0012527448d9396ca44c8&langid=it" width="100%" height="500">
<!--<![endif]-->
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="opaque" />
<param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://s1.calameoassets.com/calameo-v4/widgets/loader/cloader.js"></script>
<!--[if !IE]>-->
</object>
<!--<![endif]-->
</object>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-64962280040480063242012-08-26T02:18:00.000-07:002012-08-26T02:18:59.870-07:00EU citizens - Your rights, your future: consultation on the 2013 EU Citizenship Report<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglypZ3O5hU1CV3W3rvJENooJQ6QdqIt_mGRp1PuIfvL0hw1XCzJSrTcHQduIpHxG22Cv8ddz8FnWYH2IXGiQNDT-1P25OvEsHQoQFWM6CRPah659RlkjvYLoKxeTlS9tdJosLX_Xd4EGg/s1600/Bandiera_europea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglypZ3O5hU1CV3W3rvJENooJQ6QdqIt_mGRp1PuIfvL0hw1XCzJSrTcHQduIpHxG22Cv8ddz8FnWYH2IXGiQNDT-1P25OvEsHQoQFWM6CRPah659RlkjvYLoKxeTlS9tdJosLX_Xd4EGg/s200/Bandiera_europea.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a>It is difficult to talk about the EU today without feeling sad, or at least concerned. To be honest, <strong>the EU we live in today is quite different from the one we dreamt of 20 years ago</strong>. I remember the excitement and the hopes after the <strong>Maastricht Treaty</strong>. Now, I know many EU citizens will say the Treaty (which led to the introduction of the Euro) was the beginning of the end.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
It looks like we've lots of things to discuss, and much less to celebrate in the EU nowadays, but <strong>in 2013 we'll celebrate the 20th birtday of the EU as we know it today</strong> (- entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty - November 1993). And despite the problems, the crisis, the inequalities, I think we <em>should</em> celebrate: being together is to me a step forward in the growth of Europe. I still hope we'll manage to overcome these issues and develop a <strong>sense of belonging</strong>, not only to our countries, but to Europe as a whole. A sense of belonging that will guarantee peace, freedom, a shared attitude towards ethical issues (a widely recognized set of laws!) and why not, economical growth.<br />
<br />
That's why I believe it's our duty, as European citizens, to take part in the public consultations promoted by the EU: when our opinion is asked, we have to answer. We have to give our opinion, which is <strong>our little contribution to the building of the EU we dream of</strong>. Because we still dream of a better Europe, don't we?<br />
<br />
<strong>The European Commission launched in May 2012 the</strong> <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=EUCitizenship3&lang=en" target="_blank"><strong>Consultation on the 2013 EU Citizenship Report "EU citizens - Your rights, your future"</strong></a>. The <strong>deadline is 9 september 2012</strong>, so you must hurry up !!! :)<br />
<br />
In their words <em>"<strong>We want to know about any obstacles you might be facing in your daily life as a European Citizen</strong> living, studying, working, shopping or simply travelling within the EU. We would also like to <strong>hear your ideas about how to remove these obstacles and further develop EU citizenship.</strong>"</em><br />
<br />
I'm sorry this consultation was not as widely known as it could have: unfortunately, many of the European Commission initiatives are publicized only on official or specific websites. That's why we should regularly visit the official website of the European Union <a href="http://europa.eu/"><strong>http://europa.eu/</strong></a><strong> </strong>.<br />
And by the way, <strong>if you have a blog, or take part in forums, socials etc., please let the others know about the consultation</strong>: the more the citizens who give their opinion, the closer to our dreams the new EU will be.<br />
<br />
We can change things. We still can have a better EU, not only for our students, but for ourselves as well. <strong>Let's try, together.</strong>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-78561525997154005132012-08-23T08:14:00.002-07:002012-08-23T08:15:23.569-07:00New projects: work in progress<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_opc2gcqBNCytoTWNHFdAjybEcF4uY0WkN5aDmlYW8W4di3uAQVLCzhoOBhZlkr-ubTe11Je5zxO2-CRNI4_zyJaaa-lGAjrCLuOK3KSJE3wKDliMzsXwBr0f0nvWfZYsfJMPZy1Aw8/s1600/monika+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_opc2gcqBNCytoTWNHFdAjybEcF4uY0WkN5aDmlYW8W4di3uAQVLCzhoOBhZlkr-ubTe11Je5zxO2-CRNI4_zyJaaa-lGAjrCLuOK3KSJE3wKDliMzsXwBr0f0nvWfZYsfJMPZy1Aw8/s320/monika+001.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a>Good Twins try to meet not only online, but also off line! That's why we decided to forget skype and the eTwinning chat for a while, and meet face to face in front of a nice traditional Italian meal (if you're interested: lasagne, carbonara & pici: look for them in your dictionary!).</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Here are some pics of the happy Twins! </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<em>Note: it looks like we're just having fun, but in fact <strong>we're creating new amazing fantastic projects</strong>. Wait and see...</em></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<em>Laura</em></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsEy4dx_4rxhMojPh3hiRwkd52_uYY82PGtDTTleJqEQH84HHlW67BcZdL2sOPPlcHPx6BcyCwsmW7voXaSJiZa1zGfhLl7vk8Gk8mbawF28FjY2aPIEOPWI6A6IC0FqAuGUtsRu2LJU/s1600/P1090152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsEy4dx_4rxhMojPh3hiRwkd52_uYY82PGtDTTleJqEQH84HHlW67BcZdL2sOPPlcHPx6BcyCwsmW7voXaSJiZa1zGfhLl7vk8Gk8mbawF28FjY2aPIEOPWI6A6IC0FqAuGUtsRu2LJU/s320/P1090152.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a>Mint Igazi Ikrek, nemcsak online, hanem off line is! Ezèrt kis idore megfeledkeztunk a skype ès az eTwinning chat hasznàlatàròl, inkàbb a szemèlyes talàlkozòt vàlasztottuk, ès mellè egy finom, hagyomànyos olasz ètelsort: lasagne, carbonara & pici: a szòtàrban megtalàljàtok mindkettot, ha szeretnètek! ).</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
és jojjon nèhàny fotò a boldog Ikrekrol!</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong>Figyelem: ugy tunhet, mi csak szòrakozunk, de valòjàban èppen csodàlatos, fantasztikus jovobeli projekteken dolgozunk</strong>.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Vàrjatok, ès meglàtjàtok...</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
Mònika :)<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngJw5i039Hu6jvJ8WiK7kskCKCvnGJCmhAhY3N8q8wiWxq2gjqtPTyCrqecVj7IUZLihzkJh-B9WdwZu3GxJvPKJI7tj9pXoWPPtF99HTrsJxvzEBRSMkPyXRq5mQR4RkhPx73tZ1Aoo/s1600/P1090156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngJw5i039Hu6jvJ8WiK7kskCKCvnGJCmhAhY3N8q8wiWxq2gjqtPTyCrqecVj7IUZLihzkJh-B9WdwZu3GxJvPKJI7tj9pXoWPPtF99HTrsJxvzEBRSMkPyXRq5mQR4RkhPx73tZ1Aoo/s320/P1090156.JPG" width="244" yda="true" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Una bellissima giornata da ricordare, un piacevole momento per rievocare progetti degli anni passati e<strong> per programmarne di nuovi</strong> ! Il tutto nella splendida cornice di Siena, in compagnia di due colleghe straordinarie. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Quale migliore incentivo per cominciare bene l'anno scolastico?</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
Fabio Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-60226345406251092242012-08-20T01:45:00.002-07:002012-08-20T23:06:34.726-07:00I like it social<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I often say I'm a very social person. Which means I truly <strong>enjoy the company of other people</strong> - and I'm not thinking of such a rare thing as friendship now - I just like talking, listening, having fun, laughing together. <strong>You don't need to be friends to have a good and fruitful time with someone</strong>. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJV2r69EinRx_-DokbY-IPTetwn856HvajnEAtzrN-RTqcjGmu53UyzYK7e79UaUuk8VzKZbUJkgyph4rMr-F1wNjKcmLESugi2bM2wT9M7SCxP_hi7MPl9P1R-yTy2Lvf2spIEDRdwmQ/s1600/ant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJV2r69EinRx_-DokbY-IPTetwn856HvajnEAtzrN-RTqcjGmu53UyzYK7e79UaUuk8VzKZbUJkgyph4rMr-F1wNjKcmLESugi2bM2wT9M7SCxP_hi7MPl9P1R-yTy2Lvf2spIEDRdwmQ/s320/ant.jpg" width="320" /></a>My mother says she can remember me as a child chatting up people from my pushchair. And no surprise, I grew up as a friendly extrovert, always looking for like-minded people (and also for opposites - after all they're supposed to attract each other, aren't they?).</div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
But <strong>as for technology, that's another story</strong>. As a young girl, <strong>I found it "unpoetic" and just kept away</strong>. At university I wrote my dissertation with a pc, but only because I had to. I was trapped in something between a posh pose and a religion: ice-cold technology didn't look artistic enough for a student of literature and poetry, and what's more, all of the teachers made sure to tell us technology would be the end of human creativity.</div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
But I was curious, and once out of school & University (i.e., thinking with my own head only) I cautiously began my make-friend-process with the web. Eventually,<strong> I couldn't resist the social aspect of Web 2.0.</strong></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I started by chance, with the easyest place to exchange ideas: a <strong>forum</strong>. One day I googled the name of my favourite singer and there it was, a fantastic fan-forum with plenty of info, pics, lyrics, people and discussions. I was vowed and joined in. I quickly learned about <em>profile pic, nickname, avatar, customize your page</em> and stuff like that. I liked it. I liked reading and posting. Unfortunately, I also quickly learned that <strong>lots of people = frequent flames</strong>. Now, <strong>there's enough of squabbles we can't avoid in everyday life, but we surely can avoid those online</strong>. So when the place got too noisy for me, I did what I would in any noisy room: I left.</div>
Anyway, that was a great start. I made true friends there (those who go from online to offline!), had a very good time, and learned a lot about interacting online. I was then - and still am - convinced <strong>there's no need of any special "netiquette": common sense and good manners are enough.</strong> You're dealing with real people, despite their nicknames and funny avatars, so just act as you would in real life. I know, it's not that simple. <strong>Some people are addicted to the "no name / no face" status, and they feel free to do their worst.</strong> Still, I wonder how it's possible to fight when talking of a common passion.<br />
<br />
Since then, I've been here and there in different forums about my different passions. I definitely think a forum is the perfect place to exchange ideas. I like it better than the chat - too fast and too <span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_ssd1m="124" id="result_box" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_ssd1m="218" pc="null">ephemeral for me :)</span></span><br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_ssd1m="124" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_ssd1m="218" pc="null"><strong>What I like in forums is that they are like rooms with a door constantly open - which means that you can come and go as you like, that you'll hopefully find "old friends" and also new faces (= new ideas), that you'll be free to leave for good if you feel so </strong>(but please, do it without drama!).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_ssd1m="124" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_ssd1m="218" pc="null">Now, <strong>can you see what a great resource a forum can be in education?</strong></span></span><br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_ssd1m="124" lang="en" pc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_ssd1m="218" pc="null">It took a while for me to realize it, but once I did, I got involved in all kind of communities about school / education / edu tech / professional development... you name it. Most educational websites provide a forum for professionals of the sector, and it can be very useful when you're dealing with specific needs.</span></span><br />
Of course, if you're planning to create your own forum, <strong>there are lots of free forum hosts that can be useful</strong>. Just google it, and you'll find plenty. Anyway, remember it can be hard work, both for the setting up and the moderating. What's more, lots of free forum hosts keep your data from you, so if you grow and want to move, you'll have to start anew.<br />
So, for working with students, I suggest either creating a simple blog (<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/home" target="_blank">blogger</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://wordpress.org/" target="_blank">wordpress</a></strong> are excellent) or exploiting the <strong><a href="http://www.etwinning.net/" target="_blank">eTwinning</a></strong> platform, setting a project and using the pupils' corner (nice forum & chat tools there).<br />
True, blog and forum are two completely different philosophies: but you'll have to try for yourself and find out!<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Going on with my story, from the forum experience I quickly went on to <strong><a href="http://www.myspace.com/" target="_blank">myspace</a></strong> and then to <strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank">Facebook</a></strong> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Twitter</strong></a>. <strong>I found Twitter to be a great tool to keep you up to date about the subjects you're interested in (</strong>just be careful with whom you're following!), so I keep it for professional use only.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
As for Facebook, I know it can be controversial, but I like it a lot. I'm struggling to keep it for friends only (I've been living and studing here and there in Europe a lot, and fb is a great place to keep in contact with distant friends) but of course it's difficult. What are you supposed to do with your colleagues asking you for friendship in fb? say "no thanks"? So it's a mix of the two, personal and professional. And it works.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Note: <strong>for students, I follow my personal rule "no fb friendship while you're in one of my classes"</strong>. It saves me lots of trouble. <strong>Anyway, I know of colleagues who created a specific fb profile as a teacher, set fb pages for their classes and find them quite motivating for students. I would still prefer dedicated spaces, safe for children as well (i.e., eTwinning again!) but it's up to you</strong>.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Don't underestimate the power of Facebook as a professional development space, though: some of the specific pages can be very interesting.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Anyway, when particularly dealing with my profession, I use <strong><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></strong> and I find it the perfect place to look for and exchange information. <strong>If you've never tried the LinkedIn groups, I think you should</strong>: lots of committed people, lots of ideas, lots of opportunities in the fields you like.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I'm at the moment exploring <a href="http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/?hl=it" target="_blank"><strong>Google+</strong></a><strong> </strong>(I love Google!) but that's work in progress for me!</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
And if you're really brave (or a bit crazy, just like me), you may want to have a look at the new growing socials, like <strong><a href="http://www.letslunch.com/" target="_blank">LetsLunch</a>,</strong> the <em>social</em> <em>dining</em>, where you set up a profile explaining what you do, what fields and people you're interested in and when you are free to get together... and you eventually arrange a meal I suppose! Or you can try <strong><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></strong> , a virtual pinboard where you can organize and share images, videos and other web materials, or travel with <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.org/" target="_blank"><strong>CouchSurfing</strong></a> or... well, you should just explore the web on your own, you'll have much fun. What's for sure, is that lots of websites are widening today their "social" aspect. Getting together online is something we appearently like a lot.<br />
<br />
Bottom line: believe it or not, I still have time for going out with friends & family and enjoying quality face2face time with those I love !!!Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-50172939898038160232012-07-31T01:55:00.001-07:002012-07-31T02:03:52.353-07:00Tech adventurous teachers on holiday<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJumvGeMXJHsjLsa7OWo9xlwkTZUIGc9ihIRfchpVmLwsIjI3yZQAdsY6orCHg2nKXH8GivLotvHLMfHezpgJeJoBo4Ew9zG9bwTuDDBJoEGz3teooyUk6ZEnTOmfNDZu08h-ijUOrcE0/s1600/mare+087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJumvGeMXJHsjLsa7OWo9xlwkTZUIGc9ihIRfchpVmLwsIjI3yZQAdsY6orCHg2nKXH8GivLotvHLMfHezpgJeJoBo4Ew9zG9bwTuDDBJoEGz3teooyUk6ZEnTOmfNDZu08h-ijUOrcE0/s320/mare+087.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Summer is here, and most people dream of escaping the hot cities, taking a trip far from their everyday routine, or just lying on the beach, having a swim and getting a proper tan. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
But you know, teachers are not "most people". Especially the ICT-addict teachers. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong>So, what do teachers on holiday do?</strong> <br />
<br />
Well, some things are quite common, but you could be surprised by some of teachers-on-holiday's favourite pastimes...</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong>1) They (try to) spend quality time with their family/friends/pets and loved ones</strong>. It may sound obvious, but it isn't: don't forget 99% of teachers, especially those with kids, feel constantly guilty for neglecting their family and social life. We've just gone through nine months of 'friendly' remarks like "you know, you seem to be spending far more time taking care of someone else's children than yours" or "are you <em>really</em> going to spend the whole Sunday glued to that pc? <em>again</em>?" (that's for eTwinners) or "I'm sure there should be something better to do than correcting essays at 10 pm" or again "how could you spend the whole afternoon at that teachers' meeting? I always wonder at how much teachers love chatting..." (if you're a teacher, you know what I'm talking about). Well, that can be pretty damaging for your self esteem as a mother/father/husband/wife/best friend/partner etc. So we try to make up now.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong>2) They sleep! (but dream of school) </strong>Of course: we've to make up with all of the sleepless nights correcting essays, chatting online with project partners in different countries, obsessing about one of our students' behaviour or results, or what a colleague told us/told the others about us, etc. Strange as it may seem, we all know how easy it is to lose a night's sleep on what can seem to the others a quite silly issue. The fact is, we've to do with <em>real </em>young people, their minds and their feelings, and that's a responsibility that can definitely keep you wide awake at night.</div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong>3) They hang out with fellow teachers and make up new projects.</strong> Believe me, we're more creative in summer time. And you feel there's nothing you can't do when you're sitting in the open air with a colleague who's also a friend, speaking your mind and devising challenging projects for your classes. <em>Hint: add some chocolate to the process and you'll improve it dramatically.</em> Planning over a chocolate icecream will add a special touch to your creativity.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong>4) They read all of the books they bought/borrowed but couldn't read during the school year </strong>(lack of time of course). Plus, <strong>they clean their bookcase, their school bag, their pc desktop, their room and their whole house</strong>. A new start requires order and space (obviously, we never throw anything away, as even the silliest document could be useful sooner or later, so we just change the papers/books/files position. Which means we will never ever find them again). </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGBRnp5M6Q8Qif6Swhb-A6Sc3LE65CJhgtpKaoMwILvQ0xc0XKdMN2PbGNQy0mTo-0VxcPZ62X5EinXeauHLQBiE7K2C019Q-70kJ9ewaOcCDmBkZ1IL0_KJ-4XvfJAOyjpkEfYKwt-g/s1600/DSC_3268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGBRnp5M6Q8Qif6Swhb-A6Sc3LE65CJhgtpKaoMwILvQ0xc0XKdMN2PbGNQy0mTo-0VxcPZ62X5EinXeauHLQBiE7K2C019Q-70kJ9ewaOcCDmBkZ1IL0_KJ-4XvfJAOyjpkEfYKwt-g/s320/DSC_3268.JPG" width="320" /></a><strong>5) They try out all of the ICT tools they couldn't try during the school year</strong>. Which takes them back to the "glued at that pc again" remark. But who cares. It's fun. <em>And you can't even imagine how much this tool I've just found will improve my everyday lesson... and what I could do with my students... if only I could convince my Headmistress to buy another pc... or I should ask the families... and...</em> well, you know, sweet dreams for the coming year.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong>6) They have fun!</strong> on- and off-line.</div>
<br />
So, let us relax and have fun. <br />
<br />
<strong>And if you're looking for inspiration, here are my tips:</strong><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
- for our <strong>Team Teaching</strong> reflection, I suggest you have a look at this brilliant article <a href="http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/06/25/25-ways-teachers-can-connect-more-with-their-colleagues/" target="_blank">“<b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1343722312781534">25 Ways Teachers Can Connect More With Their Colleagues</b>” </a> (thank you Tim!) <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
- and by the way, at <a href="http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/">http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/</a> you'll find lots of tips and hints for the ICT curious teacher. I loved the <a href="http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/07/22/top-100-tools-for-the-twittering-teacher-updated-for-2012/" target="_blank"><strong>Top 100 </strong><strong>Tools for the Twittering Teacher</strong></a> but believe me, this blog can be a real gold mine for your afternoons, when it's too hot to go out (just add airconditioning, a cup of coffee and a tech adventurous teacher!)</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
- summer time is the best moment to explore and enjoy the world of <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Edutopia</strong></a>. In the years, I developed a passion for this website! You can get lost among articles, free downloads, guides, videos... but it's like getting lost in Wonderland! For now, have a look at the <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-assessment-parents-survey-anne-obrien" target="_blank">latest blog post on assessment </a>, it definitely makes you think...</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
- if you've not done it already, what about joining in <a href="http://www.classroom20.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Classroom 2.0</strong></a><strong> </strong>and <strong><a href="http://teacher20.com/" target="_blank">Teacher 2.0</a></strong>? There are lots of ideas - and lots of teachers from all around the world - waiting for you (they'll make a great addition to your "glued at that pc" nights!)</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
- and even if you're an experienced eTwinner, what about having a look at the <strong><a href="http://www.etwinning.net/it/pub/index.htm#" target="_blank">eTwinning portal</a></strong>? You could find inspiration having a look at the kits, or at the projects of other teachers, or at the featured articles. Or you will just keep in touch with your eTwinning friends, planning new projects or thinking back to the old ones and all the fun you had together. Don't forget, inspiration comes from meeting and sharing. And eTwinning is the right place for both.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I wish everybody the best summer holidays ever.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Enjoy the sun, explore the net... and be proud of your being a teacher, on holiday as well!</div>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-3794908461828738322012-06-19T09:30:00.000-07:002012-06-19T09:31:05.294-07:00eTwinning Team PowerHi everybody, just few lines this time to wish you all the happiest summer holidays ever.<br />
<br />
And if you need something to read on the beach, what about having a look at our <strong>new issue of the</strong> <strong>"eTwinning e la realtà" emagazine</strong>? You can read it online or download the pdf version - download is free as long as you have a Calameo account (if you don't, creating one is a matter of minutes).<br />
<br />
This post is a big "<strong>thank you</strong>" to all those ones who contributed, supported, liked our teachers' room, or only had a look from time to time.<br />
<br />
And this post is <strong>our answer to all those ones who question the social aspect</strong> of eTwinning. We created three ebooks, we wrote lots of posts, we got plenty of new ideas, we just helped each other. We didn't need any certificate, any diploma, or any extra money to be convinced to do it. We enjoyed being together and we found it useful. This was enough. And that's the closest to a Community of Practice I've ever been.<br />
<br />
<em>Laura</em><br />
<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="500" id="calameo-viewer-0012527444699d4419371-1340123385" width="100%">
<param name="movie" value="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=0012527444699d4419371&langid=it" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="opaque" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" />
<!--[if !IE]>-->
<object id="calameo-viewer-inner-0012527444699d4419371-1340123385" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=0012527444699d4419371&langid=it" width="100%" height="500">
<!--<![endif]-->
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="opaque" />
<param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://s1.calameoassets.com/calameo-v4/widgets/loader/cloader.js"></script>
<!--[if !IE]>-->
</object>
<!--<![endif]-->
</object>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-59577511740165476282012-06-02T02:48:00.000-07:002012-06-02T02:48:38.351-07:00What I am walling in or walling out<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIT_TdTNn_vWI7MZ9y2dG92Em6AJ8XCfLbg1Gh59xtJHpxlMpQ8NQc6zJ8e8Vmlmsp3KQW-mhC2BxR8hHCTTI14JJCtAMeB-PPTLZlB73r0N9xQD-BTng8baqVamWC9zyZpSSLFf6pW4/s1600/and+in+Italy+now.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIT_TdTNn_vWI7MZ9y2dG92Em6AJ8XCfLbg1Gh59xtJHpxlMpQ8NQc6zJ8e8Vmlmsp3KQW-mhC2BxR8hHCTTI14JJCtAMeB-PPTLZlB73r0N9xQD-BTng8baqVamWC9zyZpSSLFf6pW4/s320/and+in+Italy+now.JPG" width="212" /></a><strong>Today, June the 2nd, we celebrate the birth of the Italian Republic</strong>. A celebration I truly love, for its sense of identity, pride, freedom - and for its colours and waving flags, that remind me of my childhood.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
I think we should build and feel our identity by <strong>what we<em> are</em> and what we have in common</strong>. But lots of people, especially in these hard times, prefer to define their identity by <strong>what we <em>are </em></strong>not. We even take pride in what we are not: black, old, poor, weak, ill, ugly, "different"...<br />
I don't think it works. It's a paradox. We struggle to feel part of something, of this shared identity, not by finding out what we have in common, but what we don't want to be. We are building walls between us and "the other". And I'm sure it will backfire.<br />
<br />
Before building a wall, we should reflect on what we are <strong>walling in or walling out</strong>. <br />
<strong>Let this be a day without walls.</strong> Let we feel we are what we are, and it's fine. Because we have a world in common. And our differences are exactly what enable us to teach and learn from each other.<br />
<br />
Thank you Robert Frost.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Something there is that doesn't love a wall</strong>, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And spills the upper boulders in the sun, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The work of hunters is another thing: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I have come after them and made repair </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Where they have left not one stone on a stone, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
No one has seen them made or heard them made, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But at spring mending-time we find them there. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And on a day we meet to walk the line </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And set the wall between us once again. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We keep the wall between us as we go. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To each the boulders that have fallen to each. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We have to use a spell to make them balance: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!' </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We wear our fingers rough with handling them. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh, just another kind of out-door game, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
One on a side. It comes to little more: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>There where it is we do not need the wall: </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He is all pine and I am apple orchard. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My apple trees will never get across </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If I could put a notion in his head: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Where there are cows? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But here there are no cows. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Before I built a wall I'd ask to know </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>What I was walling in or walling out</strong>, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And to whom I was like to give offence. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Something there is that doesn't love a wall, </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>That wants it down.'</strong> I could say 'Elves' to him, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He said it for himself. I see him there </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~ </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Not of woods only and the shade of trees. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He will not go behind his father's saying, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And he likes having thought of it so well </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors." </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-9579729518638702682012-05-30T02:35:00.000-07:002012-05-30T02:44:57.789-07:00A tool for a purposeI'm sharing here the Web 2.0 tools I'll be introducing during the <strong>eTwinning workshop "Web 2.0-Strumenti e percorsi didattici”, Empoli, 31 Maggio 2012</strong>.<br />
<br />
Of course, these are just some suggestions: there are hundreds of nice tools that can be used in a project, to enhance students' and teachers' creativity, involvement... and fun!<br />
What's important for me is to always <strong>be aware that the use of these tools is not a goal in itself</strong>: their use should have an added value in terms of learning, both for students and teachers. That's just my opinion, but I believe that if an activity can be performed exactly the same with any ICT tool or pen & paper, well, pen & paper should be.<br />
When you use - and ask your students to use - a certain tool, that tool should give you something more than simply perform an action: it could be more creativity, opportunity to work in a team, opportunity to overcome shyness, more fun, more choice. So, <strong>it's not only <em>which</em> tool you use: it's mostly <em>how</em>.</strong><br />
<br />
So, these are the tools I'm going to try out during the workshop. I grouped them according to the <strong>different steps of a project</strong> (eTwinning and not only). Obviously it's just a hint, in order to give the new eTwinners an idea of the <em>how</em>. Always remembering that, ultimately, this <em>how</em> will be up to the teacher and his class.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>1 – Introductions</strong></div>
<br />
<strong>Voki <a href="http://www.voki.com/">http://www.voki.com/</a></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Bombay TV</strong> <a href="http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/">http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Audioboo</strong> <a href="http://audioboo.fm/">http://audioboo.fm/</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Fotobabble</strong> <a href="http://www.fotobabble.com/">http://www.fotobabble.com/</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Present.me</strong> <a href="http://present.me/">http://present.me/</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>2 – Collaboration</strong> </div>
<br />
<strong>Vorbeo <a href="http://www.vorbeo.com/">http://www.vorbeo.com/</a></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Google Docs </strong><a href="https://docs.google.com/"><strong>https://docs.google.com/</strong></a><br />
<strong><br /></strong><br />
<strong>Google Forms (moduli) </strong><a href="http://www.google.com/google-d-s/forms/"><strong>http://www.google.com/google-d-s/forms/</strong></a><br />
<strong><br /></strong><br />
<strong>Blogger </strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><strong>http://www.blogger.com/</strong></a><br />
<strong><br /></strong><br />
<strong>Wordpress </strong><a href="http://it.wordpress.com/"><strong>http://it.wordpress.com/</strong></a><br />
<strong><br /></strong><br />
<strong>TwinSpace </strong><a href="http://new-twinspace.etwinning.net/"><strong>http://new-twinspace.etwinning.net/</strong></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<strong>3 – Products</strong></div>
<br />
<strong>Slideshare <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">http://www.slideshare.net/</a></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Animoto </strong><a href="http://animoto.com/"><strong>http://animoto.com/</strong></a><br />
<br />
<strong>Youtube </strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/"><strong>www.youtube.com</strong></a><br />
<br />
<strong>Calameo </strong><a href="http://www.calameo.com/"><strong>www.calameo.com</strong></a><br />
<br />
<strong>Issuu </strong><a href="http://issuu.com/"><strong>http://issuu.com/</strong></a><br />
<br />
<strong>Myebook </strong><a href="http://www.myebook.com/"><strong>http://www.myebook.com/</strong></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<strong>4 – <em>from doc to pdf?</em></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
CutePDF <a href="http://www.cutepdf.com/">http://www.cutepdf.com/</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
Convert on line Free <a href="http://convertonlinefree.com/">http://convertonlinefree.com/</a><br />
<br />
PdfOnline <a href="http://www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf/">http://www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf/</a><br />
<br />
Doc to Pdf <a href="http://www.doc2pdf.net/it/">http://www.doc2pdf.net/it/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>5 – let's meet here…</strong> </div>
eTwinning <a href="http://www.etwinning.net/">http://www.etwinning.net/</a><br />
<br />
Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">http://www.facebook.com/</a><br />
<br />
LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/">https://www.linkedin.com/</a><br />
<br />
Google+ <a href="https://plus.google.com/">https://plus.google.com/</a><br />
<br />
Teacher 2.0 <a href="http://teacher20.com/">http://teacher20.com/</a><br />
<br />
Classroom 2.0 <a href="http://www.classroom20.com/">http://www.classroom20.com/</a> <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>6 – <em>heavy files?</em></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em></em></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Rapidshare <a href="https://www.rapidshare.com/">https://www.rapidshare.com/</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Yousendit <a href="http://www.yousendit.com/">http://www.yousendit.com/</a> <br />
<br />
Mediafire <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/">http://www.mediafire.com/</a> <br />
<br />
Minus <a href="http://minus.com/">http://minus.com/</a> <br />
<br />
FileJungle <a href="http://www.filejungle.com/">http://www.filejungle.com/</a> <br />
<br />
Videoweed <a href="http://www.videoweed.es/">http://www.videoweed.es/</a> <br />
<br />
PutLocker <a href="http://www.putlocker.com/">http://www.putlocker.com/</a><br />
<br />
<object height="650" width="600"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.fotobabble.com/mediafiles/templates/basicslideshow/fb.swf">
</param>
<param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff">
</param>
<param name="wmode" value="transparent">
</param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
</param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">
</param>
<param name="FlashVars" value="autoPlay=false&remoteXML=true&appURL=http://www.fotobabble.com&id=V2pHbnVONXovcm89&increment=true&layout=theme2&size=large"/>
<param NAME=BASE VALUE="http://0ztevmk3kfy73v4y4m82-fb-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/content/V2pHbnVONXovcm89"/>
<embed src="http://www.fotobabble.com/mediafiles/templates/basicslideshow/fb.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="autoPlay=false&remoteXML=true&appURL=http://www.fotobabble.com&id=V2pHbnVONXovcm89&increment=true&layout=theme2&size=large" BASE="http://0ztevmk3kfy73v4y4m82-fb-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/content/V2pHbnVONXovcm89" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="325"></embed></object>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-51470611744082123162012-05-27T00:39:00.000-07:002012-05-27T00:39:50.114-07:00"eTwinning e la realtà" - emagazine n.2Here's the <strong>latest issue of our "eTwinning e la realtà" emagazine</strong>.<br />
<br />
This time, we concentrate on <strong>practical ideas for eTwinning teams and for students' mobilities in eTwinning / Comenius / self-financed projects</strong>.<br />
<br />
I talked about our <strong>teachers' room</strong> "eTwinning e la realtà", and the pleasure of working together, in <a href="http://lifelonglearningteachers.blogspot.it/2012/03/etwinning-e-la-realta.html" target="_blank">another post</a>. So, this time, I'll just say once more how happy and lucky I feel for the people I met and the ideas I got there. I definitely felt creativity is a collective process.<br />
<br />
The ebook, as well as the teachers' room, are in Italian: in fact, at the beginning they were ment as a series of experiences, tools, suggestion, ideas and strategies for new Italian eTwinners.<br />
<br />
Anyway, this second issue, and the third one, that will follow soon (ideally, first half of June) are so rich in useful information, tips & hints, that we are planning to translate some of the articles in different languages. It will be a huge thing, I know... but <strong>together</strong>, huge things just become a succession of small steps. <br />
<br />
<strong>Thank you everybody for making the best of teams!</strong><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
---</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
E visto che l'emagazine è in italiano, una piccola introduzione in lingua madre mi sembrava d'obbligo!</div>
<br />
Vi siete mai chiesti <strong>che documenti ci vogliono per portare i ragazzi all'estero nelle varie fasce d'età (primaria - secondaria di primo e secondo grado)?</strong><br />
<br />
...o <strong>che succede se un ragazzo perde la carta d'identità all'estero?</strong><br />
<br />
...oppure <strong>quante riunioni fare / come parlare con i genitori prima di organizzare uno scambio?</strong><br />
<br />
...e <strong>che fare se il vostro team comincia a traballare pericolosamente nel bel mezzo di un progetto?</strong><br />
<br />
...o <strong>come chiedere un riconoscimento per le ore extra effettuate in un progetto, o una diaria per le mobilità?</strong><br />
<br />
Bé, in questo ebook troverete, se non proprio tutte le risposte, almeno delle indicazioni e delle esperienze di "vita vissuta".<br />
<br />
Per <strong>la parte sulle mobilità, che è un vero patrimonio</strong>, troverete davvero risposte esaurienti, e molto di più! Nel <a href="http://new-twinspace.etwinning.net/web/p28399" target="_blank">twinspace pubblico di TNG</a> (sotto "useful materials" - cartella 8: mobilità degli studenti) ho caricato <strong>una raccolta di schede e documenti utili per organizzare lo scambio</strong> (scheda sanitaria, cosa metto in valigia, scheda per gli abbinamenti, ecc) che le colleghe hanno messo a disposizione di tutti.<br />
<br />
Per <strong>la parte sui team, considerato che ognuno è diverso e unico, abbiamo condiviso esperienze e strategie di "how to"</strong> sviluppate nella nostra storia di eTwinners.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Buona lettura a tutti !!!</div>
<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="500" id="calameo-viewer-001252744e6d46fa17510-1338104315" width="100%">
<param name="movie" value="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=001252744e6d46fa17510&langid=it" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="opaque" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" />
<!--[if !IE]>-->
<object id="calameo-viewer-inner-001252744e6d46fa17510-1338104315" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=001252744e6d46fa17510&langid=it" width="100%" height="500">
<!--<![endif]-->
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="opaque" />
<param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://s1.calameoassets.com/calameo-v4/widgets/loader/cloader.js"></script>
<!--[if !IE]>-->
</object>
<!--<![endif]-->
</object>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-61211337935014128562012-05-15T09:56:00.000-07:002012-05-15T14:30:10.606-07:00My European luggageSince the beginning of my career as a teacher, I am taking part in a <b>fantastic journey.</b> Where will I go? I don’t know the answer, but it is so exciting!<br />
<br />
<b>I started in a small village, called Bordány, in the south of Hungary.</b> It wasn’t a long stay, only one school year. Even if it was a really short time, I was happy because of my pupils, and because of the feeling: <em>yes, my childhood dream came true, I am a teacher!</em> A young and motivated teacher, just moving the very first steps - with some insecurities and doubts but, at the same time, trying to do my best for my pupils.<br />
<br />
My journey went on, in one of the school of my town, <b>Szeged, where I am still working</b>. I came here more than ten years ago. I worked in the afternoon school, I was responsible for the organization of cultural events, and during the years I got to know about new European initiatives, like the eTwinning and Comenius Programme. I was really curious and wanted to know more about them. And – since traveling with friends is much more exciting – I looked for new European partners. <b>New friends for my pupils, and for me.</b> <br />
<br />
I met my friend, Laura, and we started together a new and great adventure: a travel to Europe, with a lot of challenges. A travel to the „land of projects”, sharing ideas, having fun with our pupils, and, yes, with a lot of new competences. I put in my luggage a dictionary with new expressions – a new world for me.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbh5TBFBxqyGnW7-Mdn7jl7Iix3Ue0Bd39o6Y_eD5wgyfrW0BUqSIuIzhhoAsMHHSj8YBZgt1-PkpO20OjfYJaL7ku6T6yGBkSs0xD_M48cVRMkNRaRudO2tr91m0mDSNdyoV4sOxQLsW/s1600/MC900237181.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbh5TBFBxqyGnW7-Mdn7jl7Iix3Ue0Bd39o6Y_eD5wgyfrW0BUqSIuIzhhoAsMHHSj8YBZgt1-PkpO20OjfYJaL7ku6T6yGBkSs0xD_M48cVRMkNRaRudO2tr91m0mDSNdyoV4sOxQLsW/s200/MC900237181.bmp" width="200" /></a><br />
<div>
</div>
Lifelong Learning, ICT, project, dissemination, monitoring… how many new words to learn, to use and try out in the practice during the travel! <br />
<br />
Even if <b>at the beginning it was a virtual journey,</b> at school we felt we had <b>new friends from another country who were with us in the classroom</b>, and even if they lived in Italy, we could meet them by having fun and learning together, and <b>they were parts of our everyday life at school.</b> <br />
<br />
After the virtual journey, going on with our projects we had the first meetings in Italy and in Hungary. In 2008 we organized together the Italian week of Culture in our town. What a great experience!! Pupil choir, pupil actors, teacher presentations, exhibitions, sharing our experiences and meeting with the local authorities… a real European celebration. And in this magical year our school had the possibility to start <b>two Comenius projects.</b> I worked on the projects as a coordinator teacher. It was a new beginning for me, my pupils and my colleagues as well. We learned a lot about the culture of other countries, about tolerance, understanding and different education systems. Our small old school worked together with schools from 13 other European countries!! And Italy, our friends’ land, was always there. <br />
<br />
I visited lots of countries, from Turkey to Portugal, and I had the opportunity to visit many schools as well. I think this was <b>one of the most motivating part of the Lifelong Learning Programme.</b> Whenever I could visit one of our partner schools, I always felt I knew more about real life in that country. As a teacher I learned new strategies, I shared ideas with other colleagues, and I felt that as teachers in Europe we have similar experiences in the classroom, even if sometimes we are in a really different environment, and <b>we have different opportunities.</b> <br />
<br />
I met children in the desert, near to the Sirian border, in Turkey, who live in a very disadvantaged area. I know the real meaning of the word: poverty. I was so sad because I couldn’t help them. I visited there another school of the region. There were 5000 pupils in the school! I had never seen so many pupils in a school. I respect a lot my colleagues who try to do their best to teach so many children. I learned a new meaning of the word : diversity. In the same country, I visited another partner school in Dalaman. I took a lesson in a class with only 7 pupils. <br />
<br />
In traveling around Europe I found systems and schools I liked a lot, and I compared my school to the others. It was a miracle for me to see the richness of materials that our colleagues in France had at school. Colored papers, pens, pencils, books, a room only to play… in a school in England there was a theatre just for performances and for pupils’ shows, another room for meditation and so on.. I actually think that even if we in our school don’t have all this things,<b> we try to use more of our creativity.</b> And it is possible to do a lot of nice things together with our pupils this way as well. Together with good people, partners, colleagues, pupils, friends we can do it. <br />
<br />
At the beginning of May I had a special travel. <b>I went to Brussels</b> because of our eTwinning/Comenius project,<i> Bridges of Water</i>, a project we run with our Italian, Slovakian, Spanish, Turkish partners. It was an interesting conference about school teams with new information and ideas. And I could visit Parlamentarium, a centre where it is possible to know the history of EU. It was incredible, I could be really there. I was moved. And I felt I would like to share this moment with my friend and partner, Laura, who is always with me in my European adventures, with my colleagues in the partner schools, with my colleagues who help me in my own school. And, with my pupils.. I would like to tell them that <b>sometimes we think our dreams will never come true, they seem too far from us… but, fortunately, our dreams can come true. </b><br />
<br />
Now, <b>I have so many things in my European luggage: </b>children’s smiles, friends, challenges, sharing, memories, ideas and hopes. I hope I’ll go on with my great European travel. The travel that helps and helped me a lot in being the teacher I am. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>Mónikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03295218644569269619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-67963436039890429982012-05-14T14:44:00.000-07:002012-05-14T14:50:36.689-07:00CLIL lesson plan: solve the problem<br />
This is another lesson plan I've created for the <a href="http://www.euc.illinois.edu/TED/index.html" target="_blank">Transatlantic Educators Dialogue</a>. <strong>I've prepared it for History and Economics, but as usual it's flexible and easy to customize in order to suit different subjects.</strong> I’ve worked on two basic structures, the first suggested by Dr. Diana Hicks during one of her CLIL courses for teachers, and the second by the leaders of the eTwinning<a href="http://lifelonglearningteachers.blogspot.it/2012/03/creative-classroom.html" target="_blank"> Learning Event “eTwinning and the Creative Classroom”</a>. I added my personal touch and... here it is!<br />
<br />
Of course, every single time you use this lesson plan it has to be modified a bit according to the students you're working with, their level of FL and the topic you're willing to address.<br />
<br />
And that’s the best part of being teachers: you never have the same lesson twice!<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Where:</u></strong> computer room<br />
<br />
<strong><u>How:</u></strong> students working in group of 4 ( 1 pc / group)<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Materials:</u></strong> 1 pc/ group + 1 interactive board (or simply 1 projector, to show the groups’ works at the end of the lesson)<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Time:</u></strong> 1 hour for the preparation + 1 hour to share the different solutions (but it depends on the number of groups)<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Languages:</u></strong> since History and Economics are quite tough subjects (also as far as the vocabulary is concerned), I let them free to discuss in any language, as long as they produced a shared solution in English. I suggested they produced a list of simple sentences, beginning with "We could...".You may change this point, depending on the subject you choose and its level of difficulty.<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Goal:</u></strong> generate as many creative solutions as possible - understand cause/effect relationships.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>The problem:</u></strong></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmu32KUce7iCwcIQunnQfHVKJAXHxIqnbzghlE6rxAhhoMN0PvgpNruEEjC3HZ5detyHf9z9IxbPi7llQD6-9FOJryzJYTPgwYA8GseASTJJEiukr0MgHOefEIboEHl7W3FY5J0DH7iwU/s1600/industrial_pollution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmu32KUce7iCwcIQunnQfHVKJAXHxIqnbzghlE6rxAhhoMN0PvgpNruEEjC3HZ5detyHf9z9IxbPi7llQD6-9FOJryzJYTPgwYA8GseASTJJEiukr0MgHOefEIboEHl7W3FY5J0DH7iwU/s1600/industrial_pollution.jpg" /></a></div>
You live in a wealthy industrial city. However, in the last few years<strong> pollution</strong> has become major issue for the population (health problems, environmental destruction, etc.).<br />
<strong>Your teams are the special committees of experts chosen by the Mayor to solve the problem.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>You have to keep in mind the city key features:</strong><br />
- two big wood factories, very polluting but employing the majority of the citizens<br />
- heavy car traffic<br />
- poor quality of the air<br />
- expanding population (high need of new houses)<br />
- neighbouring woods<br />
<br />
The Mayor has a good city budget to invest on your ideas (money at the moment is not the main problem) but <strong>remember all decisions you take will have consequences</strong> (i.e. if you close the two factories you’ll stop pollution but you’ll ruin the city economy! So, look for sustainable solutions). <br />
<br />
<strong><u>The steps:</u></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>1: study carefully the problem</strong>, concentrating on the interaction among the different features<br />
<br />
<strong>2: each team member produces at least one idea</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>3: the teams discuss the different ideas</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>4: each team produces a shared solution</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>5: the teams present their plan of action to the Mayor</strong> (the teacher!) – <strong>discussion among teams</strong><br />
<br />
<strong><u>The Tools:</u></strong><br />
<br />
I usually encourage the use of mapping tools, such as<br />
<br />
bubbl.us <a href="https://bubbl.us/">https://bubbl.us/</a><br />
<br />
free mind <a href="http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page">http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page</a><br />
<br />
iMindMap <a href="http://www.thinkbuzan.com/intl">http://www.thinkbuzan.com/intl</a><br />
<br />
3D Topicscape <a href="http://www.topicscape.com/">http://www.topicscape.com/</a><br />
<br />
Prezi <a href="http://prezi.com/">http://prezi.com/</a><br />
<br />
But a simple ptt could do as well. If the students are working on these activity in more than one session, I invite them to create <strong>Google docs</strong> in order to share ideas.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
---</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Now you just have to try this one as well and let me know! And if you'd like to know more about TED, or join in a future session, you may want to have look at <a href="http://eucenterillinois-teachers.blogspot.it/2012/04/transatlantic-educators-dialogue-helps.html" target="_blank">this interesting article</a>. It's definitely an journey worth taking!<br />
<br />Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-50121803401292297452012-05-11T10:58:00.000-07:002012-05-11T11:00:15.886-07:00Economics – Education – EthicsWhen I decided to show this presentation to my husband, who's an economist, he looked at the title and told me "<strong>Why did you put Ethics? They won't understand. Any economist will tell you Ethics have nothing to do with Economy</strong>".<br />
That's the moment I knew he's so not a true economist. Which is great, because he understood.<br />
<strong>And my whole presentation dealt with this gap, the gap between the economist and the educator</strong>.<br />
<br />
But let's start from the beginning. This is another unexpected reflection coming from my <a href="http://www.euc.illinois.edu/TED/index.html" target="_blank">TED</a> experience. As I wrote in another <a href="http://lifelonglearningteachers.blogspot.it/2012/04/us-and-eu-teachers-meeting-other.html" target="_blank">post</a>, <strong>the Transatlantic Educators Dialogue gave us the opportunity not only to discuss and share ideas, but also to actually work with colleagues of different countries in the EU and US</strong>.<br />
As well as <strong>meeting on the moodle platform</strong>, we had <strong>weekly online sessions</strong>, in order to discuss specific topics connected with the educational world. Each of the sessions was led by a teacher or group of teachers who presented their experience on the topic, introducing different perspectives, giving info and opinions, and asking questions in order to start a debate.<br />
I led <strong><u>Week 7 - Immigration</u></strong>, with <strong>Gaelle Farout</strong>, from France. And it was a great collaboration, a great session... and a great "first time", for both of us, as speakers on the Elluminate!<br />
Then, some more weeks into the course, <strong>TED Coordinator, Mrs. Lucinda Morgan</strong>, asked if anyone<span class="hps" closure_uid_1gwabj="303" qc="null"> was interested in </span><span class="hps" closure_uid_1gwabj="304" qc="null">volunteering to lead <strong><u>Week 9 - Economics</u></strong>. I obviously was! As usual, I like everything that's challenging (and to be honest, I had loved the thrill of the first talk!).</span><br />
<span class="hps" closure_uid_1gwabj="304" qc="null">But here's the main reason why I decided to give it a go: <strong>we are living this huge crisis in Italy - and in most Southern Europe - and its impact on our everyday lives as teachers and persons is so heavy.</strong> In fact, we think (we obsess) about it most of the time. </span><span class="hps" closure_uid_1gwabj="304" qc="null">For the first time now, we understand that <strong>Economics are not just a set of theories</strong>, but something real and important - maybe way too much - something that can upset your life. <strong>Someone else's decision, following theories whose existence you don't even know, can change your life</strong>.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="hps" closure_uid_1gwabj="304" qc="null">So here's my reflection on Economics. Sad sometimes, but still hopeful.</span><br />
<strong>I thank all of my friends and colleagues, throughout Europe (and the world) who try to be educators even in a time of crisis - and who are helping the next generation to learn, dream and hope, despite the hard times.</strong><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="hps" closure_uid_1gwabj="304" qc="null"><strong>Economics, Education, Ethics. How do the three Es relate to each other?</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div id="__ss_12895239" style="width: 425px;">
<strong style="display: block; margin: 12px 0px 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/zerolalla/economics-education-ethics-laura-maffei-ted" target="_blank" title="Economics – education – ethics laura maffei ted">Economics – education – ethics laura maffei ted</a></strong> <iframe frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/12895239" width="425"></iframe><br />
<div style="padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint" target="_blank">PowerPoint</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/zerolalla" target="_blank">Laura Maffei</a> </div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>“But while they prate of economic laws, men and women are starving. We must lay hold of the fact that economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings”</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Franklin D. Roosevelt</div>
<br />Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-37449800913295557852012-05-09T08:56:00.002-07:002012-05-09T09:00:58.293-07:00A very special CLIL lesson plan for History & Geography<br />
I've created this lesson plan together with <strong>Gaelle Farout</strong> for the capstone session of <strong><a href="http://www.euc.illinois.edu/TED/index.html" target="_blank">TED 2012</a></strong>.<br />
During brilliant course (maybe you remember we talked about it in <a href="http://lifelonglearningteachers.blogspot.it/2012/04/us-and-eu-teachers-meeting-other.html" target="_blank">another post</a>), we had the opportunity to work in groups, sharing opinions and experences with teachers coming from all around the EU and the US. During last session, each team presented a lesson idea - which was a huge boost for our creativity! Now, we all have lots of new lesson plans, lots of ideas for new projects... and lots of new friends.<br />
So, there will definitely be a follow-up to this experience.<br />
<br />
As for Gaelle and me, we worked on <strong>a simple CLIL lesson plan dealing with the topic of immigration</strong>. You will recognize the structure (thanks again Dr. Diana Hicks!), but I think you'll find the content and activities to be new, engaging and easy to customize to suit different topics and age range.<br />
<em>Note: of course you have to choose a specific aspect/period connected with immigration. I was thinking of the Italian immigration to America in the first two decades of the 20th century. It's up to you: and once you've chosen the specific subject, you can give more details to enrich the scenario.</em><br />
<br />
Ok. Ready to become an inspector of the Immigration Service? or will you be a poor worker in need of a new home? Let the story go...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-h-gE4UuUoJJp18hgUx_fo0uzwfIMzpDw9HnJoT9QaQgCNc5rLqhfzi2e8KCjhYVTo6zT9gulnluRYt5t7kzLVVN0TaIbPHlXL6iRUL3O5RCYfR2a_qfYtO8Zi4iBSjK9R2P-QzxbxM/s1600/cartoon_house_st4.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-h-gE4UuUoJJp18hgUx_fo0uzwfIMzpDw9HnJoT9QaQgCNc5rLqhfzi2e8KCjhYVTo6zT9gulnluRYt5t7kzLVVN0TaIbPHlXL6iRUL3O5RCYfR2a_qfYtO8Zi4iBSjK9R2P-QzxbxM/s1600/cartoon_house_st4.gif" /></a></div>
<strong>LEAVING HOME: WHY ?</strong></div>
<br />
<br />
<strong>about 24 students - 12/13 years old</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>subjects:</strong> History/Geography/Languages<br />
<br />
<strong>Pupils working in groups of six</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Instructions given in English - pupils can answer and discuss, when needed, both in English and in mother tongue.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Materials:</strong><br />
<br />
- 24 cards with States from Africa, Asia, Europe, USA (6 cards/continent, needed to make groups)<br />
<br />
- blackboard / interactive board<br />
<br />
- textbook.<br />
<br />
And here’s what you will tell your students:<br />
<br />
<strong>1) Pick a card, look at your image and at those of the others. Then form groups: you’ve to discuss how.</strong> The students will soon understand they have to divide into continents. Once they are in their group, ask the eldest of each one – who’ll be the team leader – to explain who they are and how they formed the team. Example “we are France, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, Germany and Finland. We are together because we are in Europe”. And so on. Check that all the students are in the right place. If one or more aren’t, their classmates will probably realize and tell them to move. Let them go to their correct group (this is a warming up, not a test).<br />
<br />
<strong>2) - If your country belongs to EU or US, you are now 6 members of the immigration service.</strong><br />
Take a piece of paper and draw your immigration office, with your individual roles. Discuss your roles. The team leader is the member who takes the final decision. Who are the others? Find 5 important criteria according your taught about immigration.<br />
<br />
<strong>-</strong> <strong>If your country belongs to Asia or Africa, you are the six members of a family</strong>. Take a piece of paper and draw your family tree. The team leader is the grandfather/grandmother, who rules the family. Who are the others? Remember there can be members of the family who are dead. Be as creative as you can: put names, dates, etc. And don’t forget to write in bold the family name above the tree! Think of a job for your character, if he or she is old enough to work. (This is supposed to be the motivating and amusing part, so leave them free as long as they’re actually into the role).<br />
<br />
<strong>3) All the members of the family and the immigration service have now to introduce themselves to the others.</strong> Example “I’m Elena, the mother. I’m a journalist.” “I’m Fabio, the eldest son: I’m a singer.” "I'm Jaimie, the Director of the Immigration Office" etc.<br />
<br />
<strong>4)</strong> <strong>- Families:</strong><br />
<strong>Suddenly, the two families are forced to leave their house and their country.</strong> They realize they can’t live in their homeland any more, and decide the only thing you can do is going away. <br />
Remember, this means losing your house, friends, and much of what you have, so it should be something very serious.<strong>What has happened?</strong> Each student has to write five reasons why he could be forced to leave. Then, compare your list with those of your team mates. Are there any common ideas? Can you make up anything new together? <br />
<strong>Write a “family list” – 10 reasons that could force your family to leave.</strong><br />
<em>(They’ll probably think of natural disasters, spreading of a disease, war, etc. You’ll be surprised to see how close to real life they can get).</em><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: IT;"><strong>- Immigration service:</strong></span><br />
A family from Africa wants to immigrate in EU and a family from Asia wants to immigrate in US.<br />
Remember, this means they've lost their house, friends, and much of what they had, so it should be something very serious.<br />
<strong>What has happened?</strong> Each student has to write five reasons why he could accept this family in the country - what the family could do, how they can be useful for your country and its economy. And also what they have to do in order to be accepted. Then, compare your list with those of your team mates. Are there any common ideas? Can you make up anything new together? <br />
<strong>Write an “immigration list” – 10 reasons that could convince your immigration service to accept this family.</strong> <br />
<br />
<strong>5) </strong>Families and Immigration Services share their ideas. <strong>All of the ideas are collected on the board.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>6) You’ve been acting as the millions of people who were forced to leave their countries during the 20th century and as the host countries that received them.</strong> You’ve been trying to understand their reasons, and you’ve been asking yourselves what can be so terrible as to have you leave your land. You've also tried to find out how immigration can be positive for the receiving country, and how to regulate it.<br />
<strong>What did actually happen? Did you guess right? Let's take the book and find out together.</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>(...thank you Gaelle !!!)</em></div>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-59009673050746950432012-04-12T04:08:00.004-07:002012-04-12T04:11:23.207-07:00Teachers' teams: the challenge, the how-to!Those who've been following me in the last couple of years already know how much I believe in team working. I'm a very social person in my private life as well, but in my job I'm definitely committed to <strong>team building, working... and teaching</strong>.<br />
<br />
That's partly due to the fact that I became a professional teacher when I was very young. At the time, I felt I needed some kind of support and it was normal for me to <strong>turn to the more experienced teachers</strong>: and it worked perfectly, because <strong>it soon become a give&take relationship</strong> - they shared with me what I lacked (experience), I shared with them what they were sometimes losing (enthusiasm, fun, pupils' understanding, love of ICT, curiosity...).<br />
Now, 15 years later, commitment to team working, especially in international projects, is just part of who I am. I think I've a good experience of my own by now, and I've been trying to share it during the past years.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWguVYH1deOAkfrhZ9sXhPCTl8cUxDv6Os873hsaCNikjHgeiiLC58ScBO7pmNmnLtU_rj09SBL9HbdGXX-T1KZvxksDA12500VUVsZYnC2KZmycLmzFMMQVVIg3miCT0oX_h3Su_hrCk/s1600/logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWguVYH1deOAkfrhZ9sXhPCTl8cUxDv6Os873hsaCNikjHgeiiLC58ScBO7pmNmnLtU_rj09SBL9HbdGXX-T1KZvxksDA12500VUVsZYnC2KZmycLmzFMMQVVIg3miCT0oX_h3Su_hrCk/s200/logo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><strong>The eTwinning world is at the moment concentrating on School Teams</strong> as well, and some colleagues asked me <strong>how to build a team in their schools in order to work on EU projects</strong>. Now, I can just share some tips coming from my personal experience. But remember, every school and every context is different, so ultimately it's the the individual teacher that knows what works best for him or her.<br />
<br />
<br />
So, here's what I know:<br />
<br />
1) <strong><u>at the beginning of a new experience (including eTwinning) there's nothing wrong in working alone</u></strong>. If you don't find anyone willing to work on a new project with you, don't assume you did something wrong: <strong>it's just the novelty that can be scaring</strong>. Once you've worked on a new project for a while, when your students and their families are curious and involved, other teachers will be as well.<br />
<br />
2) <u><strong>Tell the others what you're doing and why, and how much you'd appreciate their contribution</strong>.</u> That means you'll have to want them for real, so you should <strong>offer them a role in your project idea</strong>. You can't just ask them, say, to register in eTwinning, join in your project and then "we'll see": offer them a role and a responsibility and see what their answer is. Remember, <strong>they are considering joining in something new and they need a good dose of daring for this</strong>: now, you can't expect them to jump into the unknown.<strong> The more specific you are in explaining what they could do, the more likely they are to say "yes"</strong>.<br />
<br />
3) <strong><u>Start with one or two colleagues</u></strong>: a small team is easier to manage (just think of the difference in planning a meeting for three and for thirteen). Decide who does what in the project, and then let the others free to do more if they want. <br />
<em>Hint: international projects+eTwinning are addictive: once you get them in, and they see where they are and 1% of what they can do, they'll be more than willing to do more than they are expected.</em><br />
<br />
4) <strong><u>Be prepared to share your ideas</u></strong>. That's the hardest part of it. Once you're in a team, "my" ideas actually become "our" ideas. <strong>I know this will be controversial, but since a person's ideas are his/her most precius property, I say, be careful</strong>. Good team mates will always recognize the value of your ideas and will own them to you - and of course you'll do the same with theirs. <strong>Sharing doesn't mean stealing. Never. </strong><br />
<strong>So, choose carefully the people you want in your team. People you trust enough to share your ideas with.</strong><br />
<br />
5) <strong><u>Be prepared to work more</u></strong> (usually with no extra money). Projects and team working require adequate planning. Which means extra hours for you, but also better (often very better!) results. Up to your priorities.<br />
<br />
6) <strong><u>Never ever force someone into the use of ICT, or into eTwinning, or into anything</u></strong>. They want to have a look and see what they can do from the outside? Fine. Remember you're not recruiting soldiers for your army. If you force or trick your colleagues into something they're not prepared to, it's most likely they'll end up hating you, your project, ICT, eTwinning... you name it.<br />
<br />
7) <strong><u>Market it!</u></strong> Let the other teachers, the School Principal, the families, know what wonderful work you and your colleagues are doing. Think and talk of the future: what you will do next month, next year. Your team mates will start thinking of a "next project", new ones may be willing to give it a try, and families will expect it (which will probably make it real).<br />
<br />
8) <strong><u>Support it!</u></strong> You created the project, you let the others in, now you'll have to support the project during the hard times. Long silences from the foreign partners, websites not working, personal problems of the involved teachers... your project will have its occasional dark spell, and it will be your duty to keep the spark alive. It won't be difficult. You just need some creativity and your students will do the rest.<br />
<br />
9) <strong><u>Laugh, learn and enjoy</u></strong>. The only reason why the extra work, the efforts and the committment are worth it, is that both teachers and students learn faster, and have fun. If you're not enjoying yourself, there's something wrong: so work with the students, do your best, and next year dump that team!<br />
<br />
10) At the end of the project <strong><u>celebrate your success, and then start all over again</u> </strong>(but with more colleagues, more ideas, more students!).<br />
<br />
That's what I learnt through the years. And - more recently - through the chatting and discussing with Monika, Mariella, Elena, Antonella and Paola. Thank you ladies. We are not in the same school, but we do make a very good team!<br />
Laura<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZCIwRyTc2vfq4-65pTlnmS8mK2ZQP-q0V0PYVZksqbXKniCw7-pRg5R0Vjm8FbEpgOWx2SSb6COzYH9ljjCbxq_Thrw43Jjuk-VkfShZZoKYrqlXFL2acqJL2TLOOemHTqppznjwiNk/s1600/teachers+A.+di+Cambio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZCIwRyTc2vfq4-65pTlnmS8mK2ZQP-q0V0PYVZksqbXKniCw7-pRg5R0Vjm8FbEpgOWx2SSb6COzYH9ljjCbxq_Thrw43Jjuk-VkfShZZoKYrqlXFL2acqJL2TLOOemHTqppznjwiNk/s400/teachers+A.+di+Cambio.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-32734439033875972492012-04-03T04:02:00.001-07:002012-04-03T04:05:34.187-07:00US and EU: teachers meeting "the Other"During the past decade, more and more teachers in the EU have been involved in international projects.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Lisbon Process, in its effort to <strong>create a new knowledge-driven economy</strong>, set the basis for a lasting change in education and training. The <strong>knowledge triangle of research, education and innovation</strong> is the core of the whole process: and <strong>lots of educators, of all school levels, found these three elements in international cooperation</strong>.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Students from all over Europe had the opportunity to meet, study/work/play together, and even live together, thank to Erasmus, Grundtvig, Comenius, eTwinning. N<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" id="result_box" lang="en" sc="null"><span class="hps" closure_uid_jtba5o="263" sc="null">ational barriers have</span> <span class="hps" closure_uid_jtba5o="264" sc="null">been</span> overcome - and prejudices with them, at least that's what we hope.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7P_Cc6JGSa1KRzZfZ0EqtcZCKSK2d7fDQ4EDQqiRAeokyGHv-PzGHjQgM7o5VaXC2ZJgj0EBaVSET05mOkQwwfILtAELe455UQJHrJ6ane94xKbyDHWe8gcsmmvlLHwV1QINJGMAth_0/s1600/EU-flag-320x253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7P_Cc6JGSa1KRzZfZ0EqtcZCKSK2d7fDQ4EDQqiRAeokyGHv-PzGHjQgM7o5VaXC2ZJgj0EBaVSET05mOkQwwfILtAELe455UQJHrJ6ane94xKbyDHWe8gcsmmvlLHwV1QINJGMAth_0/s200/EU-flag-320x253.jpg" width="200" /></a><span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null">Now, after more than ten years, we <strong>got addicted to meeting "the Other"</strong>. And we want more.</span></div><span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null">Personally, as a teacher, I just got curious. <strong>I wanted to know what was going on in the US, and I tried to contact teachers, or better, teachers' nets</strong>, living and working there. And once again, I couldn't help thinking how fantastic the web is. I found what I was looking for in a matter of minutes.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNuNH220szyNRAnOXA8v113dxBVuGubqcJaPbjD_xuXmUx_o40W8JqeoVCMr3MotA5V4XzoBIOOi1mE7WEuPN7RqwnxHOBBkT3r5MooWtTFBSgApO1O9uuKBa4fBrhyphenhyphenHjL9TKXpGTU3k/s1600/teacher2.0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNuNH220szyNRAnOXA8v113dxBVuGubqcJaPbjD_xuXmUx_o40W8JqeoVCMr3MotA5V4XzoBIOOi1mE7WEuPN7RqwnxHOBBkT3r5MooWtTFBSgApO1O9uuKBa4fBrhyphenhyphenHjL9TKXpGTU3k/s200/teacher2.0.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null">I started with a couple of <strong>great communities</strong>, <a href="http://teacher20.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Teacher 2.0</strong></a> and <strong><a href="http://www.classroom20.com/" target="_blank">Classroom 2.0</a></strong>. I met and chatted with lots of teachers from all around the world (literally!), I took Steven Hargadon's <strong><a href="http://mightybell.teacher20.com/" target="_blank">teacher 2.0 online workshop</a></strong> ...and <strong>yes, I'm a teacher 2.0 !!!</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null">If you've never heard of this online workshop before, do give it a try: it's simple, clear and very useful. </span><br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null">At first, if you're already familiar with the web, you could feel it's easy for you - but in fact it's extremely interesting for both its content and its structure. And it could be a precious resource for eTwinning Ambassadors, teachers' trainers, and all of the educators involved with training others about the web and its opportunities.</span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null">I'm still an active member of these communities, and, <strong>as it always happen online, one place led to the other, one person led to hundreds of others</strong>. My Professional (or Personal? not so easy to draw a line) Learning Network is expanding day after day. And I love this!</span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null">Then, at the end of 2011, I found on the eTwinning Desktop some info about the <a href="http://www.euc.illinois.edu/TED/index.html" target="_blank"><strong>Transatlantic Educators Dialogue</strong></a> (TED), sponsored by the European Union Center and the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This programme is supposed to <strong>"build bridges" between teachers in the EU and in the US</strong>, by having them reflect on <strong>their perception of "the Other" - and of themselves</strong> of course. The aim of these teachers' meetings is to better realize how we see others, and how others see us in the classrooms and schools of different countries.</span><br />
<br />
<span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null"><em>"TED is an online platform for educators in the United States and the European Union to collaborate in an online format<strong> to explore and examine how other countries, and in particular, their own country, are represented in their classroom and other schools in the U.S. and the E.U.</strong>"</em> </span><span a="undefined" c="4" class="short_text" closure_uid_jtba5o="274" lang="en" sc="null"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsJIavTDACX3BXAj7ozYPHzuP0iE2o0eAGyLiFeqb9Gw5p8-rft1oGUdRrmE0fucychblerEdIaWUEMj0qPKNEMRCzl4Rp-GJf1I5C11hsRNAqvfqufxXrD_EMP8-b6VFIumGAeOF6e8/s1600/waving_USA_flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsJIavTDACX3BXAj7ozYPHzuP0iE2o0eAGyLiFeqb9Gw5p8-rft1oGUdRrmE0fucychblerEdIaWUEMj0qPKNEMRCzl4Rp-GJf1I5C11hsRNAqvfqufxXrD_EMP8-b6VFIumGAeOF6e8/s320/waving_USA_flag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When I was accepted in the course I was thrilled. And I am thrilled now, three monts into the course.<br />
It's the first time I actually have the opportunity to talk about such delicate topics - <strong>personal and National identity, prejudices, approaches to teaching, students' and teachers' assessment, youth culture, immigration, </strong>and so on - with colleagues coming from so many countries.<br />
I'm realizing how things work (or don't) in different realities, and I've lots of new ideas, suggestions, doubts, and hopes.<br />
<br />
As I always say, the best way to learn it's out of your own experience... but learning from someone else's experience definitely ranks second. I've never had so many people, experiences, stories and identities available - and willing to share.<br />
<br />
One of the best part of this course is that we work with colleagues on a chosen subject and we present our ideas and our perspective on that subject during the weekly online meetings. That's great, since we have the opportunity to work together with new colleagues, present our ideas and listen to the others' different points of view, experiences, doubts, beliefs. <br />
I've had the opportunity to work with <strong>Gaelle Farout</strong>, and to discuss identity and otherness with <strong>Annamaria Donnarumma</strong> and <strong>Lorena Mihalec</strong>. It's a discussion and a reflection still in progress, and I hope it will last.<br />
<br />
I'll write more about this great experience, so <strong>stay tuned for more</strong> :)<br />
<br />
And<strong> thanks to all the great people who keep helping, supporting, and inspiring me in my job</strong>!<br />
<br />
LauraLaura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016387390545978969.post-68502485245322349912012-03-22T06:48:00.003-07:002012-03-22T14:01:13.944-07:00eTwinning e la realtàThis post is meant to celebrate the little word that works magic: <strong><em>together</em></strong>.<br />
<br />
At the beginning of December 2011, I had this idea of creating a special place in eTwinning where I could <strong>meet like-minded colleagues and friends, exchange ideas and support each other</strong>. I created a <strong>teachers' room</strong> (never tried before, I just thought I could give it a try: I was curious and wanted to take advantage of all of the opportunities offered by eTwinning).<br />
I named it "<strong>eTwinning e la realtà</strong>" because I didn't want another place for talking about an ideal world, where eTwinning is always the answer, where everything is simply perfect and all we have to do is congratulate each other on our success stories. Of course there are success stories, and of course we do congratulate, but real school life is not an exhibition: that's what it is, real life - not always perfect, not always successful. And I wanted to talk about <strong>reality</strong>, about <strong>our everyday practice in European projects</strong>, about the <strong>ups and downs of our schooldays</strong>, about our <strong>needs</strong>. Who knows teachers' needs better than teachers? So, let's have a place where to state what we need and ask for it. Who knows? Someone may listen.<br />
<br />
I called some Twin-friends, told them about my idea, asked if they were willing to join in. And that's how the teachers' room was born.<br />
<br />
Few days after creating "eTwinning e la realtà" I was involved in a car accident. Everything was forgotten for a couple of months. But that's when the little world, <strong><em>together</em></strong>, did its magic.<br />
<strong>When I went back to the teachers' room, I found it was full of ideas, messages, stories, jokes and projects.</strong> It was full of people with my same passion and hopes.<br />
<br />
And <strong>we came up with this idea of creating an emagazine out of our experiences</strong>, a collection of "stories" we could use in order to compare our different journeys in European projects, to encourage new eTwinners to get more involved and to disseminate the spirit of eTwinning.<br />
<br />
<strong>A couple of months later, here we are with our e-magazine.</strong> It was born thank to all of us, not only those who wrote the articles, but all of the others, who helped me with their suggestion, support, knowledge and, again, experience. It's so nice to feel you're doing something thank to someone else's experiences. This means that our success stories are important, but our mistakes have a value as well: they can prevent others from making the same mistake. We can provide others with the solutions we already have.<br />
<br />
So, thanks everybody. And... here are our stories!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Rita Napoli, Rossana Falsetti, Mónika Kiss, Elena Pezzi, Maria Rosaria Fasanelli, Paola Arduini, Sandra Branconi, Barbara Furiesi,</strong><br />
<strong> Maria Grazia di Iasio, Laura Maffei</strong><br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="500" id="calameo-viewer-001252744f7b070d8bf02-1332424081" width="100%"></P><p></P><p><param name="movie" value="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=001252744f7b070d8bf02&langid=it" /></P><p></P><p><param name="quality" value="high" /></P><p></P><p><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /></P><p></P><p><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></P><p></P><p><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></P><p></P><p><param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" /></P><p></P><p><!--[if !IE]>--></P><p></P><p><object id="calameo-viewer-inner-001252744f7b070d8bf02-1332424081" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://v.calameo.com/2.3/cviewer.swf?bkcode=001252744f7b070d8bf02&langid=it" width="100%" height="500"></P><p></P><p><!--<![endif]--></P><p></P><p><param name="quality" value="high" /></P><p></P><p><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /></P><p></P><p><param name="swfversion" value="9.0.45.0" /></P><p></P><p><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></P><p></P><p><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></P><p></P><p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s1.calameoassets.com/calameo-v4/widgets/loader/cloader.js"></script></P><p></P><p><!--[if !IE]>--></P><p></P><p></object></P><p></P><p><!--<![endif]--></P><p></P><p></object></div>Laura Maffeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957453584842008101noreply@blogger.com6