EU launches 'eTwinning' for schools

The European Union has launched eTwinning, an initiative to encourage the twinning of schools across Europe, using the internet.

The project will provide every child in Europe with the opportunity - at some point in their schooling - to engage and learn with other children from across the continent. They will be able to learn about each other, their school culture and family while practising their ICT skills at the same time.

The action aims to have 30,000 schools in Europe twinned by 2007. Participating schools are to use ICT technologies to build "sustainable partnerships".

Schools can register for an eTwinning activity through a portal, www.etwinning.net, which carries information in 20 languages, including Maltese, on how to go about it.

Speaking at a conference last week to launch the action, the European Commissioner responsible for education, Ján Figel, said digital and media literacy were now becoming as important as reading, writing and arithmetic.

"And schools must respond to these new challenges, preparing pupils so that they leave feeling competent and confident in their use of ICT, in an increasingly diverse, multicultural and multi-lingual environment."

He noted that more than 93 per cent of schools in Europe were now connected to the internet, and the ratio of pupil per online PC had gone below 15.

"As problems of connectivity and infrastructure have gradually been resolved, so our attention has turned to the next challenge, i.e. the need for high quality content, new pedagogical practice and appropriate teacher training.

"More needs to be done to support teachers in their use of ICT in schools and to ensure pedagogical relevance. In this respect, we believe that encouraging schools to work together, to share their knowledge and experience, can be very beneficial.

"School twinning will not only take full advantage of the new opportunities for school cooperation and networking provided by ICT and the internet. It will also reinforce the European dimension in school education, promoting intercultural dialogue and raising awareness among pupils of the cultural and linguistic diversity of Europe."

Partnerships between schools were nothing new in Europe, said Mr Figel, and the use of the internet and new media in such partnerships was increasingly common.

However, many existing school partnerships were not interlinked and the experience and know-how gained were not sufficiently shared with the larger school community.

And very often they did not fully exploit the opportunities offered by ICT for creativity, innovation and collaboration - core competencies for the knowledge society.

"We live in an age where the use of mobile telephones, computers and the internet is second nature to most children. They use ICT with ease and dexterity.

"However, there is growing evidence that ICT is not being used sufficiently for creativity, for innovation and for collaboration. We strongly believe that school twinning will help to correct this situation by equipping young people with the higher-order skills necessary to work and live in the knowledge society, while promoting diversity, mutual respect and understanding."