Course: Rural Schools: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities through eTwinning

Module 1 and Module 2 open

Monday 6 November

Module 3 and Module 4 open

Monday 13 November

Submission phase opens

Monday 13 November, 12:00 CET

Deadline to submit your activity

Monday 20 November, 14:00 CET

Peer assessment phase starts

Monday 20 November, after 14:00 CET

Deadline of peer review and end of the course

Wednesday 22 November, 23:59 CET

Topic outline

How to get started with this course

Welcome to the course Rural Schools: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities through eTwinning!

It is really a great pleasure to welcome you on this learning journey and learn together with you for the next two weeks!

Before we start, we would like to highlight the timeline of this course to help you plan your learning and successfully complete the course.

The course is divided into 3 main modules including a final assignment:

Module 1 – The Reality of Rural Schools and Empowering Students

Module 2 – Inclusion and Collaboration of the Community

Module 3 – eTwinning and the Use of New Technologies

Module 4 – Final Assessment

Course schedule

Module 1 and Module 2 open	Monday 6 November

Module 3 and Module 4 open	Monday 13 November

Submission phase opens	Monday 13 November, 12:00 CET

Deadline to submit your activity	Monday 20 November, 14:00 CET

Peer assessment phase starts	Monday 20 November, after 14:00 CET

Deadline of peer review and end of the course	Wednesday 22 November, 23:59 CET

How to complete this course

Optional activities. The course offers you optional activities and it is up to you to decide whether to complete them. However, we highly recommend you choose the ones that interest you the most, as this will help you to gain more ideas and successfully complete the final assignment.
Mandatory activities. Across the modules, there might be activities that are labelled as mandatory, including the final peer assessment. The peer assessment activity entails the submission of your work and assessing 3 of your peers. Complete all the mandatory activities to receive a certification of course completion. Be mindful of the start dates and deadlines!

We highly recommend you keep a learning diary, meaning a collection of notes, observations, thoughts and other relevant materials built up over the duration of this course.

Course Competencies

The recipient of this certificate has demonstrated proficiency that develop the fowllowing competences according to the digital competence framework of the European Commission's Selfie for Teachers tool:

Professional collaboration B1 level
Professional learning (through digital technologies) B1 level
Professional learning (about digital technologies) B1 level
Teaching B1 level
Collaborative Learning B2 level
Accessibility and inclusion B1 level
Actively engaging learners B1 level

For more information about the competencies and the proficiency levels see the Selfie for Teachers Toolkit here.

Behind the course

Course moderator – Salvador Páez Rodríguez

Salvador Páez Rodríguez comes from Estepa, (Andalusia) South of Spain. He works as a primary and physical education school teacher. He also holds a degree in Phycology. He had coordinated the eTwinning Group in Rural Areas in Spain from 2020 to 2022 and now he is the moderator of the European eTwinning group “Small and remote rural schools. Many years ago, he found that eTwinning offered many opportunities to learn either from collaboration, communication and project development with partners from all over Europe. Since he became an eTwinning ambassador he also focuses on rural areas with onsite and online webinars, workshops and seminars, National and European Level.

If you have any questions while going through the modules, please feel free to ask other participants on the course forum or get in touch with the technical support.

Module 1 – The Reality of Rural Schools and Empowering Students
Hi dear eTwinners,

Welcome to module 1. Thank you so much for your motivation and hard work in the introduction module.

The topics we will be covering in this module are:
Overall, in this module participants will:

Explore tips and activity plans for integrating entrepreneurship into eTwinning Projects

Take a step closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset

Participate in a variety of activities concerning entrepreneurship in eTwinning
- 1.1 Small and remote rural schools: background theory Page
- Discussion: Let's break the ice! Page
- Discussion: Transforming rural challenges into opportunities Forum
- 1.2 Transforming rural challenges into opportunities Page
- Discussion: How can eTwinning help your school? Forum
- 1.3 Turning weaknesses into strengths Page
- 1.4 Fostering Collaborative Learning: empowering students Page
- Discussion: How to empower students in rural schools Forum
- As we conclude the first module, we are more aware of the starting point for effective engagement and empowerment for students. Now, it’s time to extend this collaborative spirit to the wider educational community. Let’s embark on Module 2!
Module 2 – Inclusion and Collaboration of the Community
Welcome to Module 2!

In the previous module, we explored student participation through analysing strengths, weaknesses and threats and opportunities of small and rural schools. In this module we will learn about the environment of collaboration and participation of the wider school community. The objective is to tailor the learning process to meet the needs and interests of students in such schools, empowering their motivation for learning through effective collaboration.
In this module, you will:

Become familiar with the rural school mission through learning communities
Learning what inclusion and collaboration entail in eTwinning projects
Develop strategies to promote a whole school community culture through the collaboration of the different agents
Analyse the current situation in your rural school through the participation and collaboration of all sectors involved
Module 3 – eTwinning and the Use of New Technologies
Welcome to Module 3!

In this module we will learn about the use of technology in eTwinning. We will start by looking at innovation in education, the challenges schools face and how eTwinning incorporates this. The objective is to discover tools that improve online collaboration and teamwork within small and rural schools.
In this module, you will:

Understand the Educational innovation as a transformation aimed at improving teaching and learning processes
Discover web tools that improve online collaboration and teamwork within the small and remote school
Understand the benefits of collaborative eTwinning projects beyond small and remote rural schools.
Module 4 – Final Assessment
During the last modules we have focused on: 
On the benefits of using inclusive, innovative and creative approaches in class and in projects.

The Identification of inclusive, innovative, and creative learning approaches.

The areas and benefits of collaboration beyond the classroom

The strategies of collaboration outside the school.

The challenges and solutions of implementing a school-approach to professional development

The opportunities that can lead to a successfully professional development.
In this module, based on the practices you have learned during this course, we invite you to create a lesson plan that focuses on fostering an innovative, inclusive and creative learning environment (that you could also develop during a European eTwinning project with your students).

To successfully complete this activity, you need to upload and share your plan and also assess 3 other lesson plans designed by your peers. 
In this module, you will:  

Design your very own lesson plan that focuses on fostering and innovative, inclusive and creative learning environment

Review the lesson plans of 3 of your peers

Learn how to give constructive feedback. 
- Before submitting the task, have a look at the template you will be using as well as at the activity rubric that all of you will use to do the peer-review. Needless to say, you can use it for self-assessment as well.
  
  Tip: Prior to creating your lesson plan, consider the evaluation categories outlined in the rubric and utilize it for self-evaluation.
  
  Make sure your lesson plan can actually be implemented in your school and think of the ways you could measure its success.
  
  Please, note, that your design has to be in English. Sharing project activities enables you to learn from each other and get inspiration and ideas that you can bring to your classrooms. Please remember to save your activity in a format that is easily accessible to most users, such as PDF or word.
  
  After you submit your activity, you will be assigned three activities developed by fellow participants to give feedback on. Use the rubric to guide your feedback. You can download them both below:
  
  Download the template here
  
  Download the rubric here
  
  Give constructive feedback that would encourage the author of the project to improve her/his work. When reviewing your peers’ activity try to address the following questions: What works, what can be improved and what is interesting?
  
  To earn the course certificate, you need to:
  
  submit your own activity (individually) by Monday 20 November, 14:00 CET and
  
  review the projects of 3 of your peers by Wednesday, 22 November, 23:59 CET.
  
  In case you need some extra inspiration, don’t hesitate to revisit the content of the course, the different external links and the videos, as well as the discussion forum and the Padlets. Keep in mind that your peers’ experiences can be a great source of inspiration and creativity!
- This Module will open on Monday 13 November!
- 4.1 Peer assessment Page
- 4.2 How to provide constructive feedback Page
- 4.3 Peer assessment activity (final activity) Workshop
  
  Receive a grade
- 4.4 Post-course survey Page

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Rural Schools: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities through eTwinning

Rural Schools: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities through eTwinning

How to get started with this course

Course schedule

How to complete this course

Course Competencies

Behind the course

Module 1 – The Reality of Rural Schools and Empowering Students

Module 2 – Inclusion and Collaboration of the Community

Module 3 – eTwinning and the Use of New Technologies

Module 4 – Final Assessment

Announcements

Modules

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Topic outline

How to get started with this course

Course schedule

How to complete this course

Course Competencies

Behind the course

Module 1 – The Reality of Rural Schools and Empowering Students

Module 2 – Inclusion and Collaboration of the Community

Module 3 – eTwinning and the Use of New Technologies

Module 4 – Final Assessment