Hello Desislava and first of all, congratulations on being chosen as Teachtoday’s Teacher of the Month! That’s quite an achievement for such a young (but obviously promising) teacher! Could you start by telling us about yourself? What subject and what age group do you teach?
I am a primary school teacher from Sofia, Bulgaria, which means that I work with children aged between seven and 11. This year, my students are 9 years old. I would like to take this opportunity to greet them all, as well as my colleagues at 137 Secondary School “Angel Kanchev” in Sofia! My special greetings go to Rumiana Neminska who has been my partner on this project. By the way, I am older than I look in the picture: I am 40 and I have been teaching for 8 years already.
What prompted you to start your eSafety project “Internet Safety: our first steps”?
Well, firstly, I love my job. Working with children brings me joy and satisfaction. I am also very interested in developments in education and in the process of building up 21st century skills. And I am at ease with technology. I am, for instance, the owner of the website www.KidsBG.com, which has enabled me to gain some expertise on eSafety issues.
What was your objective in starting this project?
The objective was really two-fold. Obviously, students were my primary target group. The idea was to plant in them the seeds of a “responsible use” culture when it comes to the Internet. To achieve this, I placed students in role-plays where they became observers of their own behaviours and decisions. But I also had us, the teachers, in mind in designing this project. I saw it as the opportunity for us to learn how to promote internet safety issues.
And do you feel that you have achieved this two-fold objective?
Well, this is what the amount of international attention that the project has received seems to indicate! No, just joking. But I do think that ‘Internet Safety: Our first steps’ has had a positive impact within our school community. It has strengthened the relationship and thus the trust between teachers, students and parents. One mother for instance created a Facebook group for our school as part of the project.
As for our students, they now have a more active attitude towards the internet. They no longer see it just as an entertainment source but also as a channel for communicating and exchanging information. And all activities in the project have fostered crucial competencies for the future in our children: Creativity and critical thinking; teamwork; tolerance; collaboration; ICT skills.
Would you say then that this award from Teachtoday did not really come as a surprise to you?
Yes and no. It is always amazing when your initiative gets picked among tens or hundreds of others. Especially when the choice belongs to a committee of judges from prominent ICT rganizations like Deutsche Telekom, Google, Microsoft or Vodafone. At the same time, I should also say that the Teachtoday award was not the first distinction that the project has received. It was also nominated this year in Microsoft’s European and Worldwide Innovative Education Forums. Needless to say that these distinctions just encourage me to do more!