JUAN JOSÉ
: They enjoyed reading new letters but they liked
contribute to the webpage too.
11.
What did you, mentors, find the most
interesting?
EMANUELA
There are many aspects that I like: students work in a
really collaborative environment, waiting impatiently for
the next e-mail and improve their writing skills. The
project is so flexible - for teachers and students - that
you really feel free to use it as you like, but at the
same time you find a sort of “frame” within which you must
work: this is very important, because sometimes you – as
teacher - start a project with certain objectives and then
you realize that you are not able to reach them, because
they were either too high, too difficult for you students
and so on. With The Image you can improve strategies for
planning projects based on collaborative learning with ICT.
Another aspect that I really liked is that the topics and
structure of the project can be easily
transferred/translated into other languages.
JUAN JOSÉ
: An e-mail project like “The Image of the Other” is a
good way to begin working on projects. It is flexible and
you achieve the objectives from the first sending.
12.
What improvements, changes did you do during the
project to make it more efficient?
EMANUELA.:
The most important changes were made during the second
year of our collaboration. After the first three months
and five letters, we understood that the motivation of the
website was very high. Each student could send his/her own
contribution and this was the most important task for
them. We realized, for instance, that the student
checklist of e-mails was a very useful tool not only for
us teachers, but for the students too; we discussed each
topic with the students and agreed with them on the
activity that could be more useful.
JUAN JOSÉ
: We changed the content of some letters to adapt it to
our students’ interests.
13.
What do you think about the new portal of the
project and a possibility that teachers can search for
partners themselves, express the wish for working on the
project and try to find partners in database?
EMANUELA.:
I think that it is really very important to have a portal
where you can have a look of what other people do,
especially at the beginning of the project when you really
need to understand how it works. It is also important,
from my own experience, that you can look for your partner
and choose him/her.
JUAN JOSÉ
: It is a perfect tool easy to use to find partners,
information and share experiences.
14.
How do you find the materials for the teacher and
for the student ready-to-use in this project?
EMANUELA.:
They are so ready-to-use and help teachers – and students
- a lot. As a teacher you spend a lot of time preparing
worksheets and so on, so it is really very useful for us
to have all the material ready and the suggestions are
helpful too. You really feel free to choose whatever fits
for your class. On the other hand, students know exactly
what is required and follow a scheme that they can easily
follow.
15.
Did you publish materials of the project on the
internet? – provide the URL.
EMANUELA.:
You can have a look at the materials on
http://usuario.tiscali.es/cefax/
16.
What advice would you give to those starting the
project for the first time?
JUAN JOSÉ
: It is very important to get/send the letters on time
otherwise students will be disappointed. After the
students work, teachers can collect all the letters they
write and send them together to the other teacher to avoid
missing letters. Don’t count the hours you spend on a
project. It’s worth doing it.
EMANUELA:
Yes, it is!!!
Thank you for your answers and
collaboration. The interview will be published in the
ECOLE newsletter and on the
portal of the project.
Viljenka Savli
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