Web 2.0 in History and Civic Education:

An experience with wikis through the eTwinning Platform

By María Jesús Campos

Developed by:IES Parque de Lisboa (Madrid, Spain) English-Bilingual

Section, 14-15 years old students

National School for Plastic Art and Design (Kazanlak, Bulgaria), 14-16 years old students

Where did the idea of this project come from?Bilingual students need:

1. To share knowledge2. To practise English3. To work collaboratively, reach agreements

and produce materials with students from a different country and culture

Why eTwinning?It encourages the establishment of school

partnerships between European countries on the Internet

It offers a safe environment, easy access and management for students and teachers

It provides constant support and supervision through National Services

The project:European Cities: Past and Present

Objectives:1. To communicate, collaborate and reach

agreements with students in other European countries

2. To practice English3. To develop the students’ technological skills4. To learn about the history of European cities5. To contemplate their role as European citizens

Methodology:

Students play the leading role in the learning processTeachers act as mediators and facilitators Students and teachers communicate through the

eTwinning PlatformThey create and load materials on a wiki site

(europeancitiespastandpresent.wikispaces.com)

Tools:Web 2.0 tools: wiki, blog, xtranormal, CmapTools,

google.maps, etc.More traditional tools: PowerPoint, Moviemaker, etc.

Built onThe eTwinning Platform The European Cities –

Past and Present Wiki http://europeancitiespastandpresent.wikispaces.com

The eTwinning Platform1. Safe working space, only accessed by

authorized users

2. Divided in five areas: homepage, project activities, staff room, pupils corner and chat

HomepageGeneral informationCalendarBlogMembers

Staff roomOnly accessible to

teachers

On this area, educators reach agreements, communicate, solve problems, etc.

Students’ cornerAccessible to students and teachers On this area, pupils reach agreements, communicate,

solve problems, share concerns, etc.

Project activitiesThe area where

activities are developed

The WikiEuropean Cities: Past and Present

AdvantagesIt has more design optionsIt is the students’ work showcase on the InternetA wiki stores easy available contents to be used for

teaching or other purposesIt is easy to access and manageIt promotes the type of intelectual collaboration that

web 2.0. was meant to encourage

Focused on:Madrid (Spain) and Kazanlak (Bulgaria), the cities

which the students live inResearch on the cities’ history, main buildings, main

sites, sport centres, museums, festivals, etc.Develop language skills (English, Spanish and

Bulgarian)

Students have:ResearchedSet up web pages, videos, audios and presentationsReached agreements through the “discussion”

feature on the wikiTranslated their peers’ work into their own languages

ResultsAlthough the project is not yet finished , the students

have:1. Learnt about European cities2. Enjoyed meeting students from a different

country3. Realized that, despite cultural and linguistic

differences, what unites us is greater than what separates us.