It is no secret that education today - both in Ukraine and around the world – has much room for improvement. The appearance of the Internet and the development of modern technology result in new requirements for the employees, as well as for students and teachers. An era, when the greatest value was the number of formulas or dates learned, has now come to an end. These days, not just an educated person becomes successful in the labor market, but the one who has a lot of practical skills. At one time, the EU compiled a list of 8 key competences needed for living in the 21st century and launched an eTwinning program to help develop these skills in children.

eTwinning is a European Commission training program, launched in 2005 with the aim of developing cooperation between European schools. Teachers and students registered with the eTwinning Network have the opportunity to undertake joint projects with other European schools. The key component of this education is the use of information and communication technologies. The eTwinning project expands the scope of educational opportunities for students and teachers, increases their motivation for learning and their openness to Europe. Twinning is a powerful incentive for learning foreign languages and improving the knowledge of IT. As part of the program, students also develop team-building skills and gain experience in creating collaborative projects. In addition, they learn about the culture of other European countries and make new friends. In turn, Ukrainian teachers have the opportunity to make contact with teachers from other European countries. eTwinning Plus is a platform for them to communicate and share experiences, useful information and teaching techniques.

Also, eTwinning is a great opportunity to take a creative approach to teaching and to remind teachers and students that learning and learning is not only necessary but also fun!

eTwinning project 2018

People with special needs - Do not dis-able us

Subjects

Cross Curricular, Foreign Languages, IT, Health Studies, Politics, Religion, History

Participating countries

Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Ukraine.

Awards

National Quality Label 2018

European Quality Label 2018

The Project of the Month (November 2018) in Ukraine

About the project

Understanding people with special needs starts with understanding ourselves. A handicap can be a physical or mental condition – a handicap is also what is created by people and our environment, or our own framing of conditions in or around us. We gather information about projects for or from people with special needs. We explore our environment simulating what it is like to be blind or dependent on a wheelchair. We learn about practical details of inclusion. Literature and films also offer a specific window onto the needs and the experiences of people with special needs.  Researching local archives, we want to also give a voice to the total voiceless victims of euthanasia during the Nazi period.

Also looking at our pasts offers a view on how people have dealt with people with special needs and which steps need to be taken not to disable people who are able but have special needs.

Aims

To improve students' command of English and IT, to promote contact among European students, to gain insight into chosen aspects of the wide field of understanding people with special needs and creating an inclusive environment and frame of mind.

Online tools

www.zeemaps.com, www.padlet.com, www.canva.com, www.prezi.com, www.kahoot.com, www.quizlet.com, www.answer-garden.com, www.vimeo.com, www.thinglink.com,

Work process

• Shared activity management

eTwinning groups introducing themselves 

 Map activity

 Exploring our twinspace - find and share

Getting to know/warm up: 3 'stations' along my way to school

 Self-awareness activity

 Logo Competition

Off-line (for some partners): interviews, site visits

 Welcome video conference

 Farewell video conference

• Curriculum integration

En-Abling

Projects from- with-for people with special needs in our region or beyond

Different types of disabilities which affect people

How our environment impacts on people with special needs

Disability through history

Disability in Religion

Disability in Sports

Disability in Art

Disability in the cinema

Games and drama

Important disabled people

Results

In our project "Do not disable us" we

- create awareness for how our environment impacts on people with special needs

- promote discussion about inclusion and people with special needs

- help to promote a positive frame of mind for integration

We create documents or work on activities which help to

1) get to know each other

2) practice the English language and develop our students’ imagination by telling stories Our students learn about foreign countries in the light of inclusion, compare the way people in our countries dealt with people with special needs in the past, find similarities and differences, improve their skills in several fields

3) establish new friendships which can be carried on in the future.

4) help to document steps in our learning process.