eTwinning Groups
It is true to fact that, as eTwinning NSS, one of our priorities is to promote eTwinning as much as humanely and technologically possible. Hence in my previous post I discussed the importance of 'external' social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. However, eTwinning NSS didn't just idly sit and wait for the barrage of available services to take over. Far from it. We were just lurking in the background, trying to decide what we could do, what we could emulate, and most importantly, how to make the eTwinning Desktop more attractive than the rest.
First up, a whole re-vamp of the eTwinning Desktop - which is now called eTwinning Live! by the way - to make it look a bit more 'modern', 'flowing' and streamlined with other independent services.
The changes however weren't purely cosmetical. Some interesting features were added, including the ability for all eTwinners to hold their own video-conferencing session or online event (cut out the middle man - Skype, Flashmeeting, etc), the possibility to enrol and participate in Learning Events via the platform itself (no more multiple logins and forgotten passwords) as well as the newly added feature - eTwinning Groups.
eTwinning Groups can be set up by anyone, anytime, and have the added bonus of being open not only to eTwinners but also to 'visitors' (by email invitation). There are many different Groups already online and quite active in their own right, such as the Creative Classroom and eSafety, as well as a Group for School Leaders. I also had an idea - which I put in the eTwinning Activity Plan for 2016 - to create a specific eTwinning Group for Maltese Educators. The Group started out in March 2016 and so far counts approximately 150 members. My idea was to bring Maltese eTwinners together, to have a specific online Group which targets their needs, and to have a repository of online video tutorials and presentations, for the benefit of eTwinners. I have also took to using the 'mail all members' features of the Group (which sends INTERNAL emails to Group members, instead of spamming everyone's mailbox) to disseminate information such as letter circulars and training dates.
So far, I feel that this Group is still a works-in-progress, I am still inviting teachers and in the near future, I would like to expand it by having external guest videos or talks (by other European NSS, for example) as well as regularly more tutorials to get the teachers to 'come back' for more.
