Marianna Gkioni’s Updates

WITH THE KEY OF COOPERATIVE INTELLIGENCE

The case of TwinSpace

TwinSpace is the virtual eTwinning project space. It is a secure online platform, accessible only to teachers and students participating in a project, in order to meet and collaborate. Stakeholders can also be invited (eg NGOs, museums, local authorities, teachers outside the eTwinning network, other experts).

 TwinSpace allows teachers and students to organize their work using collaborative tools, organizing online meetings, and hosting all the products of their work. The produced projects are visible to all the platform’s teams who can use them in the way that suits them.

In addition, teachers can take part in free learning events and online seminars under the guidance of experts in dozens of different fields. They can also learn from colleagues and discover new teaching materials through outstanding eTwinning events, professional development workshops, and annual conferences.

More specifically, in the context of New Learning, TwinSpace promotes students’ and teachers’ collaborative intelligence. Once the project is approved, a private TwinSpace is created where collaborating teams from different European countries are invited to work together. This is a collaborative space where eTwinners meet and discuss specific subjects, topics or other interesting areas. This creates a digital learning community in which everyone has something unique to offer.

Groups of students develop their skills, get involved and enrich their communication repertoire by supporting each other's work. The information is shared and used differently by each member of the team. Everyone has the responsibility to participate and everyone has to support everyone. As was the case in Alexander Dumas' novel, the classic novel with the title in French: Les Trois Mousquetaires, The Three Musketeers (Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and then Dardanian) whose motto was: one for all and all for one. My view is that this is how digital communities should work in solidarity and cooperation during the adventurous journey of learning which never ends.

Achieving collaborative intelligence not only presupposes the acceptance of the different way of thinking of the participants but also the utilization for good of these differences. Students and educators face the challenge of thinking with people who think differently. At the same time, teachers have the opportunity to participate in parallel in different groups of teachers from which they can receive feedback on improved practices and at the same time share their own experience.

Thus, learning is not an exclusive goal but is mediated, distributed through students, teachers, the digital environment, and group culture. What matters is the process. Learning is the result of the relationships between team members supported by the dynamics of digital tools.

In closing, I want to say that my post has the title WITH THE KEY OF COOPERATIVE INTELLIGENCE because I believe that New Learning is a big door that leads to the modernization of education. This door has 7 locks and to open it you need all 7 keys. Collaborative intelligence unlocks only one of them. So the modern teachers are necessary to plan with all 7 keys of New Learning in their pocket.

  • Marianna Gkioni
  • Marianna Gkioni
  • Theodora- Doretta Asteri
  • Theodora- Doretta Asteri
  • Angeliki Metallinou