Enhancing innovative pedagogical practices in Initial Teacher Education: eTwinning

There is no doubt that tomorrow’s teachers need a set of competencies and characteristics to be able toperform their profession accurately. Online learning environments in fostering Information andCommunication Technology (ICT) are essential to promote 21st century skills in future teachers. Amongmany of these online learning environments, a good example of innovative ICT integration in education iseTwinning- the European Commission-funded networking platform for schools in Europe. This paper aims toexamine the impact of eTwinning experience on empowering future teachers’ collaboration andcommunication skills. The study involves 145 future primary school teachers of University of Palermo and itdiscusses their perceptions about the impact of introducing eTwinning as a prospective pedagogical tool inInitial Teacher Education. Furthermore, it aims to investigate the impact of eTwinning on promotingtomorrow’s teachers’ academic achievement and digital competencies. The study concludes with adiscussion of the suggestions made for future research on the implementation of eTwinning in Initial TeacherEducation programs.