Teachers wanted

Update (01/10/2009): Relaunch of the website classroom4.eu [does not exist anymore] on October, 10. Democracy & portraiture started.

Nevertheless, we are still looking for teachers and classes to participate in this school year’s classroom4.eu-project:

What is this classroom4.eu-project about?

It’s an internet based project wanting to create a complentary website with (hi)stories from different regions in Europe giving regional perspectives on the big themes treated in the book (see below) and showing the supranational and interregional links in the development of a common European culture.

What is the reason for the project?

A textbook for upper secondary schools about European civilization by the European Academy of Yuste under direction of Abram de Swaan, published in june 2010. For the members of the Academy see also  the  homepage of the Fundación Academia Europea de Yuste in Spain.

What’s innovative about the book?

A very different approach to history, a complete crossover to the national histories we teach until now, restructuring and focussing European history in some artistic and scientific developments, like e.g. democracy, portrait painting, the lens.

How are we going to work?

Interested teachers will work in small groups to pilot the project on different themes. They will use eTwinning for communication and look with their students for relations in their regions to the big themes and investigating, writing and publishing stories on the classroom4.eu-website, maybe in addition also working materials as sources and photos. The language of communication will be English, but students can publish their work in one of six languages of the European Union, e.g. also French, German or Polish. As tool for work and communication we will use a virtual classroom on eTwinning.

How long are we going to work?

The first phase is going to take place from the beginning of the new school year in september 2009 to the publishing of the book in june 2010. Then, we will decide on if and how to continue, hopefully, the project being a success we can turn the website in a long lasting professional tool for history and language teachers from all over Europe. For more information see the homepage of the project.