NETWORK
TWINNING
Introduction
In today’s global world, increasing
organizational learning as well as generating new knowledge is crucial to
maintain and enhance competitiveness. As a consequence, development of
organizational learning seems to promise the challenges created by increased
international competition and the growing importance of innovation in the
knowledge society. Therefore, the question of institutional development becomes
a key element for assessing and strengthening the overall development of an
organization’s effectiveness. In relation to this, the idea of ‘twinning
strategy’ has become a vehicle for sustainable organizational learning means,
for building and strengthening institutional capacity. In another way, it can
be said that it is prerequisite for sustaining organizational competitiveness
and enhancing research performance
Network Twinning
According to
the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA), 'twinning' is
the distinctive method for promoting institutional capacity building and
improving knowledge transfer between research institutions that will embrace open innovation and
development co-operation. On the other hand, World Bank, defines twinning as a
“process that pairs an organizational entity in a developing country with a
similar but more mature entity in another country,” and recognizes the method
as one of its four primary technical assistance delivery modes, along with
long-term advisors, short-term advisors, and training. In simple terms we can
refer Twinning as a practice whereby two (sometimes more) schools in different
regions or in different countries help each other with the help of information
technology. Students may spend time in the twin school to gain experience they
would not get in their home school. Faculty may be exchanged, resources are
also shared.
Professional and institutional
growth
The Network
Twinning or e - Twinning action is an initiative of the European Commission
that aims to encourage European schools to collaborate using Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) by providing the necessary infrastructure
(online tools, services, support). Therefore, teachers registered in the
Network Twinning action are enabled to form partnerships and develop
collaborative, pedagogical school projects in any subject area with the sole
requirements to employ ICT to develop their project and collaborate with
teachers from other countries. The
primary workspace for the network Twinning action, is the e -Twinning Portal
(www.etwinning.net) and it is available in twenty-five languages. Teachers
registered in the e-Twinning action, also called e-Twinners, find each other,
communicate, share resources and collaborate through the e-Twinning platform. E
twinning is regarded as the educational communities in Europe. Teachers from
all participating countries can register on the portal and use the e Twinning
online tools to fund each other , meet virtually, exchange ideas and practice
examples, team up in e-Twinning groups, learn together in learning events and
engage in online based projects.
The main concept behind Twinning is that
schools are paired with another school elsewhere and they collaboratively
develop a project which is known as twinning project. The two schools then
communicate using the internet via email or video conferencing to collaborate
share and learn from each other. e twinning encourages and develops ICT skills
as the main activities inherently use information technology. Being twinned
with a foreign school also encourages cross-cultural exchange of knowledge,
fosters student’s intellectual awareness and improves their communication skills.
E-Twinning projects may last for any length of time ranging from only a week,
or a month or it can become a permanent relationship between schools. As Network Twinning promotes school
collaboration and school networking through the use of ICT, it provides advice,
ideas and tools to make it easy for schools to set up partnerships and start
collaborative projects in any subject area. Twinning helps teachers to share
their resources, discuss about it and thereby enhance knowledge level. In
today’s globalised society, connecting, collaborating and working together with
people in other countries is an increasing part of everyday reality. Bringing
an international dimension to Children’s education has become more important as
we have to make students competitive enough to meet the requirements of the
21st century. Network Twinning brings out the following benefits
• Increased motivation for learner to
learn across curriculum
• Improved ICT, communication and language
skills among students
• Increased intercultural awareness
through contact with peers in other countries.
• Sharing and exchanging expertise with
education professionals in another other country
• Understanding and comparing teaching
and/or management approaches, making improvements to own practices of teachers
• Facilitating teaching of curriculum
subjects by adding an international dimension
Teachers participating in e Twinning
activities can give positive status within their own work environment and also outside.
The e Twinning platform has gone through major changes. Over the period and new
social networking features have been added to platform to allow new ways of
interaction. Similarly, support for training of young professionals is the most
effective investment in research. This can be done through network twinning.
Building a research institution is a long term process and therefore it is
often viable to share the resources of existing facilities in other
institutions. Thus twinning proves to be an effective method in strengthening
institutional research capacity. Twinning can be done among institutions within
the country or with developed institutions in the developed countries. Twinning
can therefore be viewed as an reciprocation of technical training, exchange of
researches, exchange of scientific knowledge, research collaboration,
organizing scientific conference, sharing of facilities etc..
Conclusion
Network Twinning offers a platform for
teachers working in a school to get involved, communicate, collaborate,
research and be part of exciting learning communities. It promotes better
cultural as well as informational and educational collaboration among different
countries. Twinning can foster research activities and thereby provide better
professional growth for teachers and it also promotes the educational standard
of students where by institutional growth can also be achieved
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