This quote from Judith Benedek captures the experience of being successful in one’s work as a teacher. Judit Benedek and Andrea Pap, teachers in schools, are committed educations, both believers and practitioners of project pedagogy and love what they do. We could hardly wish for more. In one of the Autumn 2023 episodes of the Knowledge Hub podcast, Judit and Andrea and I looked at the challenges of project pedagogy and the eTwinning programme, plus advice on what they would recommend for a beginner teacher, how to get involved in international work through eTwinning and how an eTwinning Ambassador can help you in your everyday life.

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The Knowledge Hub podcast “Connect to Europe as a teacher! / eTwinning – European School Networks”, guests Judit Benedek and Andrea Papp, teachers in Hungary, guided us through the world of European teacher cooperation and knowledge sharing through project pedagogy and eTwinning networks. Although you will find a detailed introduction of both of them at the end of the article, it is worth knowing that Judit is an English teacher and eTwinning ambassador at Radnóti Miklós High School in Dunakeszi, (town north from Budapest) winner of several prestigious national and international awards, and Andrea is an English-Hungarian teacher at Tamási Áron Primary School in Petervására (small village in Northeastern Hungary), an eTwinning project owner since 2015 and an Erasmus+ project owner since 2019, as well as a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network and the Jane Goodall Institute Network of Associated Schools. 

Among other topics, the discussion covers project pedagogy, eTwinning, European cooperation opportunities and how the curious teacher can start on this path.

How to get started?

Judit says that you don’t need to organise a 30-hour project right from the start. It is worth starting small and experimenting. It is important that there will be difficulties, but you should not give up after the first difficulties, because – as in all cases, including project pedagogy – practice makes you perfect. For the experienced, it will be easy to implement larger-scale projects because you will know what tools and methods you need. Judit also says that talking and planning in the working group of your institution or in the wider professional community can be an important first step. It can be very helpful if you can find supporters and facilitators for the process. Of course, if you have a specific question, feel free to contact an eTwinning Ambassador in your region.

Andrea suggests that you should start by looking at the many successful (already implemented) eTwinning projects available and learn from them. The eTwinning Ambassadors are also happy to help with questions and stumbling blocks, and the free 30-hour training courses offered by National Service Point can be a very good starting point for learning about the subject. 

First project experiences – love at first sight

Andrea participated in her first partner search seminar in Linz, Austria, through the eTwinning Service Point competition. The event included a series of seminars, workshops and activities to help find common ground through which the teachers present can build successful partnerships. In addition to the realisation of her original application plan, she was also attracted by the opportunity to travel and cooperate internationally. For her first project, she found partners in Ukraine and the Czech Republic, with the common theme of preserving traditions and learning about cultures. It was a pleasure to show her own culture to her foreign partners, and it was here that she learned the basics of how to organise virtual meetings and how to involve children in cooperation with students from other countries. It was a great help that as a class teacher she found a core of people in her own class who were willing to take on the compulsory elements of the project month by month. Often it was the extra-curricular topics that were most memorable: learning about the gastronomic culture of other countries was a great experience for her, as was making goulash soup with her students in her own kitchen.

Judit’s journey began with a competition and award on cultural heritage on Europeana (https://www.europeana.eu). As a starter, it was a great help (and challenge) to be able to use the previous assignments – she built on them to start her first projects. It was almost unbelievable for her to be chosen as a beginner, which is why she encourages everyone to dare to participate in the opportunities that are advertised, as it is not only experienced colleagues who are successful!

For Judit, a project is really good when it is not only within her own subject, but also looks at other areas. In this respect, language teaching is a rewarding field, as it can easily be combined with almost any subject. Perhaps this is why language teachers in many schools are the pioneers of project pedagogy. Whether it’s painting or the environment, we can explore any subject, but the most important thing is to tailor it to the children – choosing topics and tools that suit them. Once this is done, they absorb the knowledge and learn without even noticing.

It's important that the project has a beginning and an end – we map what the student knows and by the end we arrive at a goal with a tangible outcome. And in between, things happen that are out of their comfort zone, which pushes their knowledge, develops 21st century skills, makes them think critically and ideally they present all this to others.

Andrea says that language lessons are also a very good opportunity to work on topics at school that are not given (enough) time – such as the environment, sustainability, and preserving our values. The projects produce a lot of exemplary products that other teachers can build on in their work.

For Andrea, the COVID-19 epidemic was one of the reasons that led her to immerse herself in the world of projects. Not only because she needed to motivate the students, but also because it was a good opportunity to involve parents, for example, which was particularly needed during the period of distance learning. But he also needed the support not only of parents but also of colleagues – it is a great help when competent teachers help in the design of the cross-curricular elements.

This is what eTwinning means for us…

For Andrea, the most important thing is that these projects give students the chance to work on exciting and important topics – and to learn about them in depth over several months. And for her, it’s a great opportunity to learn from other partners, to incorporate new tools into her practice. 

“It was always a great experience for me and my students to take part in the eTwinning Hungary competition, where the students can present their projects” – says Andrea. On the first day, the students’ work is presented, and the best entries are rewarded, and on the second day, the participants are taken on a leisure activity (e.g. film park, zoo, boat trip).

For Judit, international connectivity was the most important driving force that started her on the path to becoming an eTwinning Ambassador. She highlights the help she received in the early stages from another Ambassador (Ms. Éva Tóth, Editor-in-Chief of Modern School educational magazine, the biggest one in Hungary), which shows the importance of this support system.

The eTwinning Ambassadors can be contacted by anyone who needs help either to navigate the ESEP (European School Education Platform – https://school-education.ec.europa.eu) interface or to implement their first ideas. In Hungary, there are Ambassadors per region, and you can find the Ambassador for your region and contact details at https://www.etwinning.hu/nagykoveteink

What is the ESEP portal for? What can we find on this online platform?

They are both avid visitors to the ESEP portal, which is a kind of European education platform. On the one hand, Judit is very fond of the training courses available on the ESEP portal – in English. She has just completed an online course on Artificial Intelligence and will soon start the next one. On the other hand, Twinspace is a very important platform, also available through ESEP. If you document your work well here, it can become a certified eTwinning project – opening up further opportunities for the project afterwards – for example in the form of grants. Twinspace is also important because it provides a closed, secure space for students and teachers involved in collaborative projects to communicate or share pictures and videos. It’s also great to be able to search for partners and collaborators across Europe by topic or interest.

(European School Education Platform – https://school-education.ec.europa.eu)

eTwinning from a student perspective

As well as the experience of participating in an international collaboration, Andrea highlights the confidence that students gain in using English in real life, and the presentation of project results is a great way for students to practice in both a national and international context. Overcoming these barriers can be an important milestone in the lives of both the students and the teacher – and can even make it easier for them to embark on an Erasmus mobility afterwards.

How does this help cooperation and networking between teachers?

They both stress the importance of personal contact and meetings in eTwinning projects. It is a great pleasure to meet in person, even after years of virtual cooperation. Andrea provided a concrete example. For example, she and a Turkish teacher finally managed to meet in person at the end of their 3-year project. These occasions always deepen the relationship. That’s why they both recommend applying for partner search events and international training courses abroad if you have the opportunity. The relationships built here can lay the foundations for decades of joint work.

Judit says it would help if teachers knew that you don’t need perfect English to participate. Participants from home and abroad often break English, but it is still possible to do great projects together. It is also important that you don’t need a lot of tools to do it, a few tried and tested methods and tools can be a good basis for implementing an idea. And if you want to expand your toolbox, colleagues who have taught abroad can give you great ideas. Andrea cites the example of her Turkish partners, where it is common for the idea owner to ask an English teacher to interpret at meetings. 

In addition, if language is the only barrier, it is also possible to implement a joint project with Hungarian-speaking partners at home or abroad.

Members of the table

Pap Andrea

Andrea has been working as an English-Hungarian teacher at Tamási Áron Primary School in Pétervására since 2009. Besides teaching English and Hungarian, it has always been important to her to bring colour into the life of her school. She puts a lot of effort into motivating her students, which is why she started eTwinning in 2015 and later launched her first Erasmus+ project in 2019. Since 2017, he has also been running a fishing club at the school.  She is responsible for Pénz7 (Money Week) and the Sustainability Week theme weeks in her school. Last year they also joined the UNESCO Associated Schools Network. In June 2023, the Ministry of the Interior awarded the János Apáczai Csere János Prize for outstanding work in the field of education and foreign language teaching and the Hatvan School District Centre also commended her for her “Outstanding Professional Activity and Role Modeling for the Next Generation”.

Email: papandrea@pvi.edu.hu

Judit Benedek

Judit Benedek has been teaching English at the Radnóti Miklós High School in Dunakeszi for eight years and is an eTwinning Ambassador for the Central Hungary region. She has gradually become fascinated by digitally enhanced education, project pedagogy and eTwinning. The combination of these three areas provides the perfect opportunity for children to build relationships, learn and acquire skills that they can use outside the school walls. They are also regular participants in Digital Week and eTwinning projects. They have two Europeana project wins, several national certifications and one internationally certified eTwinning project. As a committed lifelong learner, she is constantly looking for new opportunities to help her become a better and better teacher. eTwinning is one such search, and although she has not been involved for long, she and her students are very enthusiastic and increasingly experienced. She is eager to share her knowledge and experience with others. The use of digital tools is easy to learn if you are open to it and she is happy to help you on the way to routine use.

Her own website: https://sites.google.com/view/juditteacherlanguageschool/f%C5%91oldal

Bertalan Péter Farkas, editor-in-chief

Knowledge manager, knowledge management consultant, trainer, project manager, but originally a teacher of geography and history. In his day-to-day work he provides global knowledge management for management consultants, coaches and international experts, and as an entrepreneur he works to promote the education scene in his home country and Europe. After a few years of teaching, she worked for government agencies (Educatio, EMET, Tempus) and headed the Knowledge Centre of the Tempus Public Foundation for almost 6 years. As managing director of Learnitect Design Ltd. he is involved in knowledge management and design of learning spaces for knowledge transfer, online and offline learning management, design of community spaces, international tender writing and project management. He conceived the idea for the Node podcast in 2022, which finally became a reality in autumn 2023.

More information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bertalanpeterfarkas/ 

The Csomópont podcast is Hungary’s first knowledge management podcast, a place about knowledge and knowledge management, where original people, inspiring ideas, engaging community and corporate stories, carefully crafted lines and a dash of public thinking come together.

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Article written by Kristóf Györgyi-Ambró, edited by Éva Tóth.

Thank you for the support of our media partner, Modern School! 

This content was produced with funding from the European Union. The opinions and statements expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Union or the European Agency for Education and Culture (EACEA). Grant agreement number: 2023-1-HU01-KA210-SCH-000152699.