Relationship

Science and technology

Business and society

Culture and sport

November 2006

Aticle from "Doing it better" (newsletter)

YOUNG BUDDING REPORTERS SHAPE THE JOURNALISM OF TOMORROW

The aim of this project is to train young secondary school students in two countries (Slovakia and (Poland) in the field of reporting. By using internet technologies, each group is asked to prepare, exchange and circulate articles on themes such as science and technology, business and society, culture and sport, traditions and local customs.

An innovative project allowing young people to discover the field of reporting

eTwinning is the main action in the European Union's e-learning programme. It encourages the use of ICT (information and communication technologies) in schools across Europe. Teachers and students use the internet to work together without borders. They cooperate, exchange information and share learning tools. eTwinning widens the scope of teaching opportunities offered to teachers and students, encourages learning and transforms Europe into a giant classroom. This is the context which led to the development of the young reporters project in two schools in Slovakia and Poland. The aim of this project is to offer an innovative teaching environment which allows secondary school students to learn about the field of journalism/reporting. Each class forms a team of editors made up of 8 to 12 students, and the working language is English. The students are divided into sub-groups to cover subjects as varied as science and technology, business and society, culture and sport, traditions and local customs. Each sub-group explores a subject, collects information, organises interviews and takes photos, thus discovering the daily work of journalists/reporters. The sub-groups in charge of the same subject cooperate via internet in order to exchange, share, verify and add to the information gathered. All of the information gathered is presented as articles published on each school's website (http://zssb.ids.czest.pl/etwinning/index.php, http://www.zssd-mt.edu.sk/twin/).

eTwinning: an ideal framework for cooperation favouring the acquisition of intercultural skills

Thanks to the cooperation developed through the eTwinning initiative, this project undoubtedly enabled an improvement in communication and intercultural skills. The ICT knowledge and skills of students and teachers were reinforced. A new learning environment which is attractive to teachers, students and the whole school was gradually created, truly favouring innovation in the field of teaching. At a more global level, this project offered a  newperspective of culture and values. It allowed working methods to be modified in traditional classes. Above all, it led to an increase in contacts and exchanges

with other schools in Europe. It allowed schools to have a new view of the outside world, enabling the acquisition of intercultural skills, which are essential for the development of European citizenship.

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/valorisation/doc/newsletter7.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/dialogue/index_en.html