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 The National eTwinning Support Service in Greece, in collaboration with various organizations, organizes semi-annual remote e-seminars. The purpose of this initiative is to activate the large community of Greek eTwinning educators with the goal of utilizing web tools, educational robotics, and innovation in the implementation of eTwinning projects and in teaching all subjects through a Community of Practice.

Courses

The courses are divided into two main groups:

• The first group includes courses on web tools and digital skills tailored to the needs of educators.
  
• The second group includes specialized courses such as educational robotics, mobile devices, etc.

Education Model

The courses are conducted exclusively using distance education techniques and methods, primarily e-learning.

 Asynchronous e-learningis conducted using the Moodle Learning Management System. Moodle is free software that provides comprehensive asynchronous e-learning services.

 Synchronous e-learning and communication can use free teleconferencing software such as BigBlueButton and Jitsi Meet, which support multiple users with video and audio capabilities.

The e-learning platform seminars.etwinning.gr is hosted on the infrastructure of the Greek School Network.

Schedule

The courses are held annually from October to May of the current academic year.

• Application submissions for the courses open in June of the previous academic year. Announcements are made in all public schools and various educational websites.

• Courses begin in October of the new academic year.

• Each course's material is divided into a maximum of 25 weekly modules. There are at least 2-week breaks for Christmas and Easter holidays according to the school schedule.

• Courses end around mid-May or earlier depending on their duration.

The exact start, duration, and end dates of the courses may vary and can be adjusted if necessary.

Course Completion and Certification

A course is considered complete when you have successfully submitted and completed 70% of the activities. The certification can be issued by you through the platform once you have completed the required activities by a date announced after the end of the course, usually around mid-June. The certification will NOT indicate the success rate or any grades.

What You Should Know Before Registering

The seminar educational material announced may be modified. Although significant changes are not expected, some items might be removed or replaced.

The seminars are not specialized for a specific specialty or educational level. They are aimed at educators of all specialties and levels. Therefore, some educational subjects might not have direct application to your educational level.

The presentation of educational subjects is done in a way that allows all participants to implement the activities regardless of their experience. Some activities may be simple for users already familiar with the subject.

Participation is primarily voluntary. All participants (trainees, trainers, and trainer coordinators) participate voluntarily with a high sense of collegial solidarity.

The tools and services presented in the seminars are either free software or their free versions are used. Additionally, most tools are web-based and run through the browser without requiring installation.

The selection of educational subjects is based on their pedagogical utilization and overall usefulness to educators. Some educational subjects may not have direct application in teaching practice but may play a supportive role.

The educational material remains permanently available to all trainees.

Our goal is to create a community of educators engaged in integrating ICT into teaching practice.

Study Process

The course is conducted entirely remotely via the platform seminars.etwinning.gr. The material is divided into weekly modules that are gradually posted every Monday, when the educational content for the new week is "unlocked." Each week, you are required to complete the necessary activities and submit them electronically within a 2-week period. For more details on the activities and grading, refer to the relevant chapter.

Groups

Before the start of the course, participants are divided into groups of approximately 20 people, primarily based on their specialty. Each group is assigned a trainer whose main role is to provide feedback and evaluate assignments, as well as to support the overall learning process. Trainers, in turn, are organized into groups under the supervision of lead trainers.

Group Meetings

The trainer of each group can organize synchronous teleconferences at regular intervals with their group to provide support, resolve questions, and facilitate general discussions among group members. The frequency and dates of these virtual meetings are decided in consultation with the group members, and participation in these meetings is optional.

Resources and Activities

In Moodle terminology, everything posted in a course's content is classified as either resources or activities. Resources are the main educational material of the course and can take various forms. The most common types of resources used in the courses at seminars.etwinning.gr are the following:

 

Page: A single page of enriched text.

Book: Multiple pages divided into chapters or sections, with an option to download as a PDF.

Link: A link to an external URL such as a website, file, image, video, etc.

File: A file available to trainees.

Folder: Contains multiple files that may be necessary for the activities.

Note: The Book type has many pages, and you will need to open the side menu with the contents or simply click the Next button.

In each module, besides the resources, there are one or more activities. Activities are also part of the learning material but require you to take some action and may contribute to your grade. If an activity is graded, it will appear in the gradebook with a non-zero weighting factor.

 

Types of Activities

The main types of activities are:

Assignment: This is the most common type of activity. You are given instructions and asked to submit a deliverable, which could be text, an image, a document, or simply a hyperlink. Your submission will be reviewed and graded later by the trainer.

Quiz: Contains closed-type questions and is graded immediately and automatically without trainer intervention. In the rare case it includes an open-ended question, it will need to be graded by the trainer.

Forum: Here you need to make a post in the forum. If graded, your post will be assessed by the trainer.

Questionnaire: You are asked to complete a questionnaire. Questionnaires are usually optional and do not count toward the final grade.

Database: You are asked to make an entry in a database by filling out a form with various fields. It is graded like a forum, with the entry being directly assessed. This is rarely used.

What to Watch For

Ungraded Activities Some activities may not be graded either because they are optional or serve a different purpose. For example, there might be a forum in a module meant for discussion and sharing deliverables among trainees. To see if an activity counts toward your grade, check the course gradebook page. Typically, assignments and quizzes always contribute to the grade.

 

Combination of Assignment and Forum In some cases, activity instructions are given through an assignment, but submission and grading occur in a corresponding forum. In these instances, the assignment serves merely to post the instructions, while submission and grading are done in the named forum.

 

Evaluation Questionnaire At the end of each module, there is always a short questionnaire to evaluate the educational material of the week. This activity is optional and not graded, but it is recommended to complete it.

 

How to Submit an Assignment Activity

On the page of each activity, after the Submission area at the bottom, there is a "Add Submission" button. Once you click it, you can either upload a file or type text, depending on the type of activity.

Next, scroll down again if necessary.

File Submission

If it’s a file submission, a submission addition box will appear where you can drag and drop the file or click to select a file from your computer. Note that depending on the activity, there may be restrictions based on acceptable file types, the number of attachments, and the limit in MBytes.

After uploading the file, click "Save Changes."

Text Submission

For some activities, instead of submitting a file, you may be asked to submit text. In this case, a text editor box will open as shown in the image below.

When dealing with a URL link, it’s good practice to make the link active using the text editor’s toolbar icon.  

 

 

Completing the Activity

Attention! After submission, an assignment is not considered complete. The system will mark the assignment as complete at a later time once you receive a passing grade (1) from your instructor. The completion criteria and their status are displayed at the top of the activity page.

Editing and Deleting Submissions

After making a submission, instead of the "Add" button, you will now see "Edit" and "Delete Submission" buttons. Use the first to modify a submission and the second to completely delete it and make a new one.

Edit/Delete Submission Only When:

• You have uploaded the wrong file in the submission.
• You have received negative feedback from your instructor and are within the deadline to make a second submission.
  

Attention! Never edit/delete a submission that has been graded and is considered complete. Doing so will result in losing your grade and it will need to be graded again.

Assignment Submission Status

On the page of each assignment-type activity, at the bottom, the Submission Status is also shown. This indicates if a grade has been given, if feedback has been provided by your instructor, and other information.

Incomplete/Insufficient Submission

If your submission is deemed incomplete or insufficient by your instructor, no grade will be assigned but feedback will be provided noting the issue. You can then make the necessary corrections and either modify the existing submission or delete and add a new one, provided the deadline has not passed.

Sufficient Submission

If your submission is deemed sufficient, you will receive a grade of 1 and positive feedback.

 

How to Submit in a Forum Activity

Submitting in a forum activity is simply done by posting in the specific forum:

• In a new discussion topic, or
• In a reply to an existing discussion topic.
  

The instructions for each forum specify which of the two you should do.

Submission Deadlines for Activities

As mentioned in the seminar process, participants are required to complete the necessary activities and submit them through the platform within a 2-week period. Instructors review the activities and provide feedback to participants within this 2-week period (+2-3 days).

Only in the case of an incorrect first submission does the participant have until the end of the 3rd week to submit a revised submission for the activity, which will be reassessed by the instructor. All activities "lock" once the 3-week period has passed.

Grading Scale

The grading scale for all activities is set at 0 or 1:

• 0: No submission or deemed insufficient because it does not meet the minimum grading criteria. In practice, a grade of 0 is never given but remains as No Grade, which is equivalent to 0.
  
• 1: There is a submission that meets the minimum grading criteria.

Submission and Grading Stages

Once you submit an assignment within the 2-week deadline, it moves to the status of "TO BE GRADED." When your instructor reviews it, one of the following will occur:

• If deemed "sufficient" it will be graded with 1 and considered COMPLETED.
  
• If deemed "insufficient," suitable feedback will be added which you can read on the activity page. You will then need to correct and resubmit your response to the activity. In this case, an additional week is added to the submission deadline. For example, you submit in the 1st week, receive feedback in the 2nd week, and resubmit in the 3rd week.

Attention: If you have already submitted and been graded with 1 for an assignment and deliberately or accidentally modify the submission, it will automatically revert to "TO BE GRADED" status and you will lose your grade. In this case, you must contact your group's instructor to re-grade the submission, making sure to save the grade.

Delay in Grading or Feedback

Instructors are required to grade or provide feedback within the 2-week deadline + 3 days. However, sometimes due to workload or other issues, instructors may delay checking activities. The administrative team monitors instructors' "attendance" and ensures they are updated or replaced if they cannot meet their obligations.

If you have not received a grade or feedback within the above deadline, then:

• First, try to contact the instructor politely via email or the platform.
• If you do not receive a response or if the issue is not resolved within 2-3 days, then contact your coordinator.

The Course Gradebook helps you keep track of pending activities and your final grade.

Accessing the Gradebook

To view the gradebook for a course you are participating in:

From the course page, click on the "Grades" menu item.

 

You will then see the User Report which includes Grades and Feedback (if available).

 

As you complete activities, you can view both the individual and overall grades in the gradebook as they are updated. Each activity is graded as 0 or 1 and contributes to the total course grade, which ranges between 0 and 100. For example, if a course has a total of 25 activities, each contributes 100/25 = 4%. All activities have an equal weight, and therefore, this weight matches their contribution to the final grade.

 

⚠️ Attention: The current total grade also includes empty grades from unseen activities in future weeks that have not yet opened. Since future content can be adjusted, meaning activities might be added or removed for upcoming weeks, the weight and consequently the total grade can slightly change during the course.

For instance, at some point, you might have a total grade of 20%, and then it could suddenly decrease. This happens because course authors may have added an additional activity in a future week.

For this reason, you should not rely on the current total grade until it is announced that the content has been finalized.

As previously mentioned, in each course, participants are divided into groups, with each group assigned an instructor. It is very important to establish communication channels between the participant and the instructor, as well as among the group members in general. All group members can communicate with each other through the messaging system available on the platform seminars.etwinning.gr.

Additionally, each group can use its own communication channels such as email lists, Viber groups, Facebook, Google Meet, Zoom, etc. The instructor of each group will decide, taking into account the preferences of the group members, on the method, frequency, and overall framework of communication.

How to Find and Communicate with the Instructor

1. First, ensure you are on the page of the relevant course, in case you are participating in multiple courses (e.g., the course: Educational Robotics with Micro).
 In the menu, select the "Participants" item.

2. On this page, you will see a list of all the people in your group (e.g., Group 4) and their roles (student or instructor/restricted teacher). Select the name of the restricted teacher.

3. On the instructor’s/teacher’s profile page, you can view their email address or send a direct message through the platform.

 

How to Find and Communicate with Other Members of Your Group

In some activities, collaboration between group members is required. To view the list of your group members:

1.First, ensure you are on the page of the relevant course, in case you are participating in multiple courses (e.g., the course: Educational Robotics with Micro). In the menu, select the "Participants" item.

2. On this page, you will see a list of all the people in your group (e.g., Group 1) and their roles (student or instructor). If you are looking for a specific person, you can select the initial letter of their first name and last name.

3. If you do not select specific letters, you will see all the participants in your group. To view a participant’s profile, click on their name.

On the user’s profile page, you can view their email address or send a direct message through the platform.

 

4. Additionally, you can send messages through the platform to any group participants you wish. Select the participants (to the left of their names) (1), then choose "Select..." (2) and "Send Message" (3).

5. To view your messages, select (top right of the screen): "Message Drawer: Open/Close". If you have new unread messages, the number of new messages will appear on the message icon.

Through the platform, you will receive messages from your instructor. If you wish to receive immediate notifications for these messages via email, you need to enable the relevant setting.

Click on the message icon and in the pop-up window, click the "Settings" icon.

Enable email notifications.

Managing Notifications

The seminars.etwinning.gr platform generates notifications for other events as well, such as when you receive a grade, feedback, etc. To view notifications, click on the "bell" icon in the top right menu bar. To configure which notifications you wish to receive, click the "gear" icon in the notification pop-up window.

On the Notification Preferences page, you can disable all notifications or configure which events you want to receive notifications for. For each event, you have the option to set whether you will receive a simple notification that appears when you log in to the platform and/or a notification sent to your email.

You can seek help in one of the following ways depending on the type of problem:

• Course Q&A Forum: Here you will find answers to issues related to activities as well as the course in general.
  
• Contact your trainer: For issues concerning activities, grading, and course procedures.
  
• Send a message to support@seminars.etwinning.gr: For technical issues related to your registration, account, and any other matters that cannot be resolved by the previous methods.

Specifically, if there are disputes and serious complaints about your trainer, these should be resolved through the coordinator. If the issue remains unresolved, contact the seminar management team at support@seminars.etwinning.gr.

You can print or convert to PDF the instructional materials available in a course that are in the form of a book or page.

Book

1. Navigate to your course and, for example, view a Book (in our example, the Book is titled: Mobile Devices).

2. From the menu, select "More" and click on the "Print book" command.

3α.  If you are using Firefox, a print options pop-up window will appear.

Select your system printer or, if you wish to convert to PDF, select the virtual PDF printer. On Windows 10, the Microsoft Print to PDF tool is installed (1). Then select "Print," and the book will either be printed by your printer or simply saved as a PDF file on your device.

3b. Similarly, with the Chrome web browser, the following window will open. In the "Destination" box, select the printer or the PDF saving function.

Pages

For pages or assignment activities, there is no special print function. A good solution is to use Firefox's reading mode in combination with web page printing.

1. In Firefox, activate the reading mode for the page you want to print.

2. In reading mode, the web page is displayed in a format suitable for reading and printing, as unnecessary elements like menus are removed.

3. Use Firefox's print function to print or convert to PDF as described in step 3a above.