eTwinning contact seminar 2nd – 4th June, 2011 Treasures of the Mountains Zadobrova Primary School, Ljubljana

A word of introduction Zadobrova Primary School has taken part in COMENIUS LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME School Partnerships (2009 – final report due in September 2011) Eight partner schools have been involved in the project: Spain (coordinating partner school), Italy, Austria, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and Slovenia.

Getting started... First step: eTwinning portal (registration  browse the database  find a topic of interest  contact the proposer  arrange a preparatory visit. The participating partners work out details and agree on the course of work  complete the application form (Treasures of the Mountains project website: )

Project outline The general context which unites all participating schools is the location in or near significant European mountain regions, which influences and defines one’s daily life and forms one’s identity.

Project aims Increase students’ interest in the surrounding mountainous world (raise awareness, healthy life-style, environment conservation) Improve English language skills Improve ICT skills (WEB 2.0 tools) Introduce alternative learning styles (outdoor learning, modern equipment (GPS – Geocaching)) Promote cross-cultural communication and tolerance Create long-lasting relationships and friendships

Project activities Each country’s treasures (places of interest) selected  treasures presented in a form of riddles with hints for other partners to uncover  students learn about the uncovered treasures and add information to Wikipedia Trips to the mountains organised  tracks recorded with a GPS device  uploaded along with photos and a short description to Wikiloc website (username: “treasuresofthemountains”) A number of professionals working in related fields (geographers, mountaineers, mountain guides) invited to join in the project work A souvenir box buried on interesting spot along visited trails  GPS recorded and uploaded to the Geocache, a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game official website (same username). Regular local community update on project activities (photographic exhibitions, local media articles, school website bulletin...) A board game developed. Students have fun playing and learn at the same time

Other project activities On-line game (all, in progress) Project DVD (Poland, in progress) Project logo (contest – 2. workmeeting) Project T-shirt (Turkey) Project website (Slovenia)

How we involve students Activities in the afternoon (Trekking itineraries, Geocach, discovering treasures, table and online game ) Multi-day camp in the mountains (Planina pri jezeru) Several times during the regular classes (English, Geography and Computer Science) Eighteen mobility

Work meetings 4 coordinated work meetings (Courmayeur – Italy, Lillehammer – Norway, Innsbruck – Austria and Kayseri – Turkey). 3 individual visits carried out separately among some of the partners (Austrian partner visited Spanish partner, Norwegian school paid a visit to us and Polish partner is planning a visit to Slovakia).

Means of communication E-twinning portal (we stopped using it at an early phase of the project) Facebook group (students) School blog (students) Moodle portal (draft versions and official reports archive) Wikispaces (work environment) SMS, MMS etc.

What we have learnt... The more participants  the more difficult coordination Cultural differences are many, but are usually a lot of fun. Judging people upon first appearance is deceiving. Include talkative and outgoing students who will easily socialise and make friends. Don't hesitate to get involved in the next project immediately ;)

The final dissemination The project website will remain active. You will be able to play the on-line game, contact project coordinators, access picture galleries and websites links (YouTube, Wikiloc, Geocache…) as well as get information about the project's final products locations (school and public libraries...).