Innovation in Language Learning

Edition 17

Accepted Abstracts

“Respect in the cyberspace: Learning about respect and teaching it forward”: (an eTwinning project in the context of the language classroom)

Maria Piedade Silva, Agrupamento de Escolas de Sátão CECC – Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Cultura Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal)

Abstract

Respect eTwinning project is an awareness-raising telecollaborative partnership designed to empower participants with knowledge about the benefits and the risks of using internet and socializing in the cyberspace, so as to develop respectful attitudes towards others and intercultural communicative competence.

            As the project opens up new opportunities for cooperation between the formal and non-formal educational contexts of ICT use and for collaborative learning across Europe, it aims at fostering students’ motivation to learn languages and to interact with people from different cultures.

            By implementing a project-based learning approach, in which pupils develop knowledge and skills by working for three months to investigate on different issues related to the theme ‘respect in the cyberspace’, participants were enabled to be more independent to make choices to what and how they would learn and the products to be created. Students actively explored real-world problems and challenges through a process of asking questions, using resources, and developing answers to produce knowledge. Thus, they were engaged in the learning process, developing a deeper and more significant knowledge and becoming more competent in using English and interacting with their project partners from Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, Sri Lanka, Palestine and International School of Algarve in Portugal.

            Authentic communication and collaboration was ensured through regular online meetings on the project’s Twinspace in the context of foreign language regular classes.  Issues of respect towards cultural and language diversity, intercultural communication, privacy and personal data protection, online grooming, cyberbullying and copyrights were covered through a variety of collaborative activities and micro-research projects.

            Students were creative in the development of the project and explored new ICT software and applications to gain knowledge and skills and to produce appealing final products (videos, animated presentations, board games, interactive quizzes) to teach others how to preserve safety and respect in the cyberspace. They used Photoscape, Picasa, Pixlr to edit and organise photo exhibitions; Sony Vegas, Powtoon, and moviemaker to make videos to disseminate the results of the project; Issuu and Calaméo to make booklets, Prezi and Powerpoint presentations to show the results of their researches; Artoonix, Goanimate to create animated cartoons and  Microsoft Publisher to make brochures.

            The Respect eTwinning project led to a change in the teaching and learning process by promoting an effective intercultural communication based on collaborative transnational team work. This project opened up the doors of the language classroom to a culturally diverse world. It fostered teachers and students’ intercultural learning through the exchange of different perspectives on using ICT and on issues concerning respectful attitudes and safety in the cyberspace. 

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