ACTIVITIES REPORT
Partners' Institution:
C.I.P.A.T.
Project's period (from/to):
01 October 2009 - 31 October 2011
WPs concerned:
WP 3 - Delivery of Courses

Objectives of activities carried out:
Assisting teachers in following the online courses
Having experiences of distance learning and evaluations of e-learning/teaching websites from participants to be uploaded on the LeTS Go portal
Analysing the Tools section of the Portal
Developing an online course
Experimenting the course with students

Description of activities carried out:
The Work Package is divided into 5 sub work packages:
Work Package 3.1,Course 0 “Introduction to e-learning”
Work Package 3.2,Course 1 “Research and Evaluation of e-learning based materials for language teaching and learning”
Work Package 3.3, Course 2 “Effective Use of e-learning based materials for language teaching and learning”
Work Package 3.4, Course 3 “Planning and Creation of e-learning based materials for language teaching and learning”
Work Package 3.5, Practical experimentation with students
WP3.1. Course 0
To carry on the activities related to Course 0, the trainers participated in two videoconferences which helped to improve their knowledge and skills.
In the workshops trainees were asked to speak and share their experiences, highlighting problems and advantages of e-learning in schools
The structure of the portal was shown during the first meeting together with examples from the database of experiences.
Instructions were given on how to access the different parts of the portal.
A PPT introduction to Course 0 was presented.
The form prepared by Pixel for the description of experience was shown during the meeting and then sent by email to each trainee
Online assistance was provided for teachers while they were writing their reports and a profile was opened on Facebook.
In the second meeting the experiences received were commented.
Once new teachers joined the project they were individually assisted to catch up with their colleagues.
A virtual meeting to discuss trainees’ opinions on the course and their experiences in distance learning was held at the end
The e-experiences were uploaded on the LeTS Portal.
WP3.2. Course 1
As for the previous course, the trainers participated in the two videoconferences held by Sillabo.
In the workshops a PPT introduction to Course 1 was presented.
Examples from the Database of products on the portal were shown and discussed
The form prepared by Pixel for the evaluation of e-learning based language was explained and e-mailed to the trainees. The face to face meetings were also the occasion to start and develop the evaluations of e-learning websites. Assistance online was also provided.
In the virtual meetings with their project colleagues the trainees commented the course and spoke about some e-learning products that they had found most interesting. The evaluations of e-learning products were uploaded on the LeTS Portal.
WP3.3. Course 2
The trainers participated in the usual videoconference guided by Sillabo.
A PPT introduction of Course 2 was presented to highlight the main points of the course. Comments were developed and shared both at the workshops and in online correspondence. The agreed opinions were then gathered and expressed by the trainees’ spokesperson in the course of the virtual meeting.
WP3,4. Course 3
In the first workshop a PPT presentation to introduce Course 3 was shown,
Then the structure and contents of the course to be produced were proposed and discussed. Once approved by the trainees, mini groups were formed and everybody’s contents to be developed were assigned. Teachers started collecting materials.
The main tools described in the Tools section of the Portal were examined and it was decided to use Hot Potatoes to create exercises on the texts the teachers were preparing.
A course on Tuscany was created. It was divided into three modules with twenty two paragraphs. each made of a text and two exercises on topics related to the places where the teachers work. A guide to the course was written. All the materials were uploaded on the portal in due time.
As for the previous courses videoconferences guide by Sillabo were held to share opinions and experiences.
WP3.5 Practical Experimentation
Twenty eight classes and some private students are involved in the experiment which is still going on.

Outcomes:
The delivery of Courses 0, 1, 2 and 3 has been carried out.
In the workshops the trainees have shared opinions and experiences and have then been provided with continuous assistance by a frequent exchange of emails and posts on Facebook.
Thirty-one experiences have been presented and uploaded on the LeTs Go Portal.
Sixty evaluations of websites have been presented and uploaded.
A course with the title "Tuscany welcomes you" and a guide to the course was developed and uploaded
Experimentation with the students took place. The experimentation was evaluated by the students and teachers.

Evaluation of the work undertaken:
The time schedule of the project presented some problems at the beginning and the planned activities were started earlier than expected as the trainees made it clear from the first contacts that they were not willing to be involved in training or producing materials while they were busy with their end-of-year tasks, particularly heavy in Vocational Institutes, where the majority of our teachers work.
Actually in May and June most of the teachers lose contacts, since July some new ones joined the project, others moved to new schools.
Though the general atmosphere of discouragement, the Italian school is at the moment facing, does not help fulfill extra engagements, we succeeded in carrying out the delivery of Courses 0, 1,2 and 3 as scheduled and in collecting all the materials required. In the workshops as well as in the online correspondence, the exchange of opinions has always been lively and the participation quite active. Most of the experiences are quite interesting and can be easily repeated in various situations, while the evaluations of e-learning based products allowed trainees to find and exchange good materials for their every day work.
The development of the online course, made by the trainees was probably the most interesting experience for the teachers. It followed the study of the Training Package and took profit of all the sections of the Portal. The trainees were really satisfied with all the work they had done.