eTwinning Rules

Created by Erol Keskin

Last updated by Erol Keskin 7 months 3 weeks ago

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https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/en/etwinning_code_of_conduct   eTwinning Code of Conduct

A. Basic Principles

eTwinners, their activities, messages, posts, project materials and everything published on the eTwinning space   must comply with and be compatible with the following fundamental principles , in line with the Fundamental Values ​​and general principles of the European Union .

-  Be inclusive.  Everyone's thoughts and opinions are always welcomed and allowed to be expressed within the boundaries set in this Code of Conduct. eTwinners are encouraged to look beyond their own perspectives, be interested in different cultures and be sensitive when including other users in their activities, projects, groups and networking events, both online and on-site. eTwinning encourages understanding, empathy and mutual openness, with the aim of making the community a safe and harassment-free space.

-  Be respectful.  Members of the eTwinning community must be respectful when dealing with their peers and interacting with each other. Respecting other people and their activities on this platform, and assuming that the motivators behind their actions are well-intentioned, makes eTwinners feel not only comfortable and safe, but also motivated and productive. eTwinners may not insult, degrade or use violence against other members based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or gender, and/or because they are members of a country, group or minority.

-  Be tolerant.  Disagreements are inevitable from time to time. Tolerance for the views of others drives the pragmatic approach encouraged in this community. The important thing is to always seek constructive solutions to disagreements and differing views within the boundaries described and defined in this Code of Conduct, and to accept that some situations may lead to a “decision to disagree.”

-  Be polite and friendly in all forms of communication,  especially remote communication, where the possibility of misunderstanding is greater. Being polite means being aware of other people, respecting their feelings and showing that respect. The eTwinning space on the European Platform for School Education, the home of all eTwinners, is an online space where they can express themselves freely, exchange ideas easily, elaborate their ideas and thoughts in considerable detail and treat the ideas and thoughts of other members equally. This means doing our best to carefully choose the words and content in events, project materials, online and on-site meeting descriptions, publications and messages.

B. Some of the rules that all eTwinners must follow

eTwinning has set some rules that must be followed by all users to make it easier to understand what is and is not allowed in the eTwinning area of ​​the platform.

1. eTwinning cannot be used for commercial purposes.  The use of the platform for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Any company, entrepreneur, event or commercial software will be removed and access to the platform will be blocked.

2. Direct threats, bullying or harassment are not allowed.  eTwinning does not tolerate cyberbullying or harassment. If you are a victim of cyberbullying or if someone threatens you while using one of the eTwinning areas (public and private areas), please report this by sending a message or contact your National Support Organisation. Anyone who cyberbullies or harass other members of the platform may be permanently banned from eTwinning.

3. Intellectual property.  Ensure that the content you upload to the platform does not infringe any copyright. Before sharing any images, videos, documents or other resources; please make sure you have the right to do so.

4. Identity theft . eTwinners may not impersonate any other person or group/organization that they do not represent, in any way intended to deceive, confuse or defraud others.

5. Students (underage).  eTwinning takes students’ privacy and security seriously. Avoid publishing pictures of students on your eTwinning profile, in the TwinSpace, in Groups, etc. In cases where you must publish, make sure that you have obtained consent from the minor student or the person with parental responsibility over the child, who has the authority to give consent, in accordance with Regulation 1725 ( link ), and that you also provide a copy of the privacy notice ( link ) or that the students are not recognisable in the pictures in question.

6. Private information and Sensitive data.  Be careful when posting content that concerns others. You should not share personal information such as personal phone numbers and addresses, credit card information or other private information, or other users' personal information or private photos and videos. Always think before posting!

C. “Internet Ethics”

eTwinners should conduct their online interactions professionally, politely, and respectfully, just as they would in real life interactions. Below are some examples of what users should and should not do.

1. Use the internal messaging system carefully and responsibly.  Avoid sending too many messages to teachers you don’t work with. Before contacting a user: check their profile; see if they’ve indicated they’re available for projects; make sure your message is on topic. Don’t send the exact same messages to too many users.

2. Avoid spamming the forums.  Thousands of messages are posted in the forums of the European School Education Platform Networking area. Make sure your message is relevant to the topic of the thread. Before publishing a new post, check if there are any other relevant messages and reply to them. Help us keep the forums on topic to improve collaboration!

3. Only post comments that are relevant and appropriate to other users' posts.  When posting a comment on someone else's profile, make sure the comment is appropriate for the user. Comments should be for individuals and relevant to the user's post. Do not post the same comment to too many users.

4. Avoid sending random contact requests and project invites.  Avoid asking eTwinners to be your contacts or join your projects without prior communication. Make sure you have a reasonable and manageable number of contacts on your list. Want to follow other people’s updates? Follow them instead.

5. Tailor your room invitations to your target audience.  Avoid inviting your contacts to rooms you manage unless you are certain that these colleagues will be able to join. Random invitations to rooms are considered spam.

D. Violation of Code of Conduct

What can you do if you think an eTwinner is not complying with the Code of Conduct?

In the Support Community, we do our best to protect people in eTwinning from abuse and spam, but as an active and pluralistic community, we rely on you to help us maintain a positive attitude and reduce unwanted incidents. Therefore, we encourage eTwinners to report such incidents when necessary.

If you encounter, receive a private message or see any posts, events or comments in the Journals or Forums that you find offensive, copyright infringing or otherwise inappropriate, you may use the “report” button – if applicable, you may also contact Support Services – and provide your reasons for reporting. Your message will be handled by Support Services.

What happens if a user does not respect the Code of Conduct?

Failure to comply with the rules set out in this Code of Conduct constitutes a breach of its terms and may result in the temporary or permanent removal of any post or material uploaded by eTwinners at any time and without prior notice. In such cases, the owners of the relevant materials and the Support Services will be notified and the reasons for removal will be explained. Users who do not comply with the Code of Conduct may be temporarily or permanently banned from eTwinning.

In case of disagreement, a final decision will be taken by the European Commission, which is responsible for the operation of eTwinning.

eTwinning Rules

https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/en/etwinning_code_of_conduct

eTwinning Code of conduct

A. Core principles

Every eTwinner and their events, messages, posts, projects’ materials and everything published on the eTwinning area must adhere to, and comply with, the following core principles, in line with the European Union’s Fundamental Values and general principles.

- Be inclusive. Everyone’s opinions and views are always welcomed and allowed within the boundaries set in this Code of Conduct. eTwinners are encouraged to look beyond their own perspective, relate to different cultures and show sensitivity when including other eTwinners in their events, projects, groups, and networking activities – both online and on-site. eTwinning fosters understanding, empathy and openness towards one another with the aim of making the community a safe, harassment-free space.

- Be respectful. Members of the eTwinning community must be respectful when dealing with their peers and interacting with one another. Respecting other people, and their activities on this platform, and assuming that their actions are motivated by good intentions will make eTwinners not only feel comfortable and safe, but also motivated and productive. eTwinners cannot insult or put down others, or incite violence against people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender, and/or as a member of a country, group, or minority.

- Be tolerant. Disagreement is inevitable, from time to time. Tolerance for the views of others drives the pragmatic approach encouraged in this community. What is important is to seek constructive solutions to disagreements and differing views, always within the limits as described and defined in this Code of Conduct, and accept that some cases may result in “agreeing to disagree”.

- Be polite and friendly in all forms of communication – especially remote communication, where opportunities for misunderstanding are greater. Being polite means being aware and respecting the feelings of other people and showing it. As home of all eTwinners, the eTwinning area of the European School Education Platform is the online space where they can express freely, exchange easily and elaborate considerately their ideas and thoughts and treat equally the ones of other eTwinners. This means doing our best to carefully choose words and content in events, projects’ materials, online and onsite meetings descriptions, posts, and messages.

B. Some rules all eTwinners must adhere to

To facilitate the understanding of what is allowed and what is not allowed on the eTwinning area of the platform, eTwinning has drawn some rules which must be respected by all eTwinners.

1. No use of eTwinning for commercial purposes. It’s strictly prohibited to use the platform for commercial purposes. Any company, initiative, event or software with a commercial intent will be removed, as will their access to the platform itself.

2. No direct threats, bullying nor harassment. eTwinning does not tolerate bullying or harassment. If you are victim of cyberbullying or someone is threatening you while using any of the eTwinning spaces (public and private ones), please report the message or contact your Support Organisation. Be aware that anyone caught bullying or harassing other members of the platform may be permanently banned from eTwinning.

3. Intellectual property. Ensure that the content you upload to the platform does not infringe any copyright. Before sharing pictures, videos, documents or any other resources, please make sure you have the right to do so.

4. Impersonation. eTwinners cannot impersonate other individuals or groups/organisations they do not represent in a manner that is intended to or does mislead, confuse, or deceive others.

5. Pupils (minors). eTwinning takes pupils’ privacy and safety seriously. Avoid posting pictures of pupils on your eTwinning profile, TwinSpace, Groups, etc. In case you do, make sure you have the consent from the minor entitled to give consent or from the holder of parental responsibility over the child in line with the Regulation 2018/1725, also that you have provided a copy of the privacy statement  or make sure that pupils are not recognisable

6. Private information and sensitive data. Be thoughtful about content you post that relates to others. You should not share your or other eTwinners' private information - such as personal phone numbers and addresses, credit card details or other private information - or intimate pictures and videos. Always think before you post!

C. “Netiquette”

eTwinners should conduct their online interactions professionally, politely, and respectfully as they would do in their real-life interactions. Below are some examples of what users should and should not do.

1. Careful and responsible use of the internal message system. Refrain from sending too many messages to teachers with whom you are not working. Before contacting a user: check their profile; check if they are available for projects; make sure your message is relevant. Do not send the exact same message to more eTwinners.

2. Avoid spamming in forums. The forums in the Networking area of the European School Education Platform may generate thousands of messages. Make sure that your message considers the subject of the thread. Before publishing a new post, check to see if there are other relevant messages on the subject and reply to them. Help us keep the forums relevant to improve collaboration!

3. Only post relevant and appropriate comments on people’s posts. When posting a comment on somebody else’s profile, make sure it is relevant to the user. Comments must be for individuals and related to the user’s post. Do not write the same comment to more users.

4. Avoid random contact requests and project invitations. Avoid asking eTwinners to be part of your contacts or to join your project without any previous communication. Make sure you have a reasonable and manageable number of contacts in your list. Do you want to keep track of someone’s updates? Follow them instead.

5. Targeted Rooms invitation. Avoid inviting your contacts to Rooms you manage, unless you are certain that these colleagues can participate. Random invitation to Rooms will be considered spam.

D. Violation of the Code of Conduct

What can you do if you feel that an eTwinner is not respecting the Code of Conduct?

In the Support Community, we do our utmost to protect people from abuse in eTwinning, but as an active and pluralistic community, we count on each and every eTwinner to help us maintain the positive attitude and reduce unwelcome incidents. Therefore, we encourage eTwinners to report when necessary.

In case you encounter posts, events or comments in Journals and Forums, receive a private message, or see content that is offensive, infringes copyright or data protection, or you simply find inappropriate, you can use the “report” button – if available, otherwise you can contact your Support Organisation - and share your reasons for reporting. Your message will be handled by the Support Organisations.

What happens if somebody is not respecting the Code of Conduct?

Failure to comply with the rules included in this Code of Conduct constitutes a violation of its terms and may result in temporary or permanent removal of any posting or material uploaded by eTwinners, at any time, without prior notice. In such cases, the authors of the materials and their Support Organisation will be informed and reasons for the removal will be provided. Users who do not comply with the Code of Conduct may also be banned, temporarily or permanently, from eTwinning.

In case of controversies, a final decision will be taken by the European Commission, on behalf of which eTwinning is operated.opean School Education Platform

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