Saturday was more of a half day at the conference – we only had one workshop. I attended one called “21st Century Skills in the Classroom” – I was expecting a technology rich session, but once again it made me realise how lucky we are with our IT facilities! Instead, it was a session spent thinking about students developing the skills they will need to fulfill jobs in the future which don’t yet exist. By that they meant that the world is changing so quickly, that you lot will most likely have jobs and careers that we can’t imagine yet. When I was a girl, jobs such as “web designer”, “blogger”, or “youtuber” simply didn’t exist. I wonder what new careers will be open to you when you are adults. What an exciting thought! One thing I am sure of, is that your French skills will stand you in good stead !
Then it was time for the final session – the plenary. We were back in the main hall, with all of the other 500 teachers. Two of the first eTwinners from 10 years ago came to talk to us – they had been children when the first projects started, and they had come back with their old teachers. They spoke about the impact of eTwinning, and how for them it had changed their view of school and life. It was very moving, and a fitting end to a brilliant conference. All that remained now was for me to fly home … which took a lot longer as I had to fly to London then Manchester. I eventually got home at about midnight, tired but happy !
