Results from the Varna “Six Thinking Hats workshop”

1. Results from the Varna “Six Thinking Hats workshop” Chania PDW 1-3 October 2009 Alexandra Tosi Unità Nazionale eTwinning Italia Agenzia Scuola

2. What is the role of eTwinning Ambassadors in the eTwinning Community?

3. Green hat results (creativity) • Teachers’ training and support (T&S) • Promotion and information activities (P&I) • New activities ideas for Ambassadors (A4A)

4. Teachers’ training and support (T&S)

5. T&S • Help organize and act as speakers, trainers, moderators during European level events, such as: • European conference • PDW • Seminars and other events • eTwinning Summer School • This will help develop multilingual aspects of the eTwinning Community!

6. T&S Moderate and animate the eTwinning online Community: • moderating eTwinning thematic groups • organizing online Learning Laboratories • tutoring new comers • Taking part to other online events

7. T&S Help identify, document and showcase best practices and case studies • Interviewing teachers • Writing articles • Monitoring projects • Detecting most frequent problems and ways to overcome difficulties

8. T&S T&S • Lead an European study of issues commonly facing schools involved in eTwinning (this could be a basis for developing future Learning Events) • Survey of needs at ground level in order to inform policies at European level

9. eTwinning promotion and information (P&I)i.e. eTwinning Back to School Campaing and eTwinning 5th Anniversary

10. P&I • Help organize competitions (video, e-cards, games, calendars etc.) • Organize coordinated promotional events with other countries during eTwinning weeks (e.g. eTwinning marathonon Czech’s model) • Present case studies at Head teacher meetings

11. P&I • Help organize European Events thatinvolve pupils and the whole school community, run locally but within a common European framework. Two examples: • eTwinning Bus starting from the European Conference in Seville and travelling across Europe) • Competition for the best eTwinning birthday cake

12. Activities for Ambassadors(A4A) There should be some official recognition of Ambassador on the national and maybe international level (e.g. a label, certificate).

13. A4A • More face to face meetings for ambassadors, for instance during the European eTwinning Conference • Summer Camp for ambassadors run by ambassadors (peer to peer)

14. A4A • Create and share a database of European ambassadors’ expertise and specific professional interests to foster exchange and collaboration • Organize international exchanges of ambassadors (e.g. bilateral) for training and development (both as speakers and experts in other nations’ events, and as job shadowing)

15. A4A Develop and better structure the online ambassadors’ community: • Introducing a ‘Buddy’ system whereby experienced ambassadors mentor inexperienced ones, across countries; • Creating online groups based on FAQs – moderated by ambassador/group of ambassadors per country per month (‘hot seat’ idea); • Developing learning events and working groups only for ambassadors • Getting people together at given moments with a scheduled calendar.

16. Thank you! You will continue the work your colleagues started in Varna during the last workshop, where you will work on some of these ideas! a.tosi@indire.it