The project will process the historical link between the regions of the Moselle River and Verona, which will be presented as an e-book. This link stems from antique Roman times. The e-book will be in the form of a travel guidebook and will introduce these regions to tourists. In the second year the e-book will be expanded into an iBook. It will be produced by the pupils of "Martin-von-Cochem-Gymnasium" in Cochem, Germany and Liceo Statale "Carlo Montanari" in Verona, Italy. The pupils are approximately 15 years old. The group will consist of 15 persons who learn Latin and therefore learn about Antiquity. The Italian pupils also learn German and thus have an interest in meeting Germans. The subject matter "Roman Antiquity" is especially suitable to link our two schools since both regions were part of the Roman Empire in antiquity, which is evident in structures extant from the time. For example, there are identically constructed theatres in Trier and Verona. In the course of the first year the pupils visit each other reciprocally. During the whole year they work on creating an e-book which presents the Roman heritage of the respective region. The pupils work in groups, partly independently at home, in the following phases at regular project meetings t school, partially in class. There they will present the results of their work. This also allows for the various work stages to be monitored. The pupils should experience the abstract subject matter of Roman Antiquity in a concrete manner by observing it ("grasping Antiquity"). They should learn that the label "Europaschule" (Europe School), that Martin-von-Cochem-Gymnasium school bears, has a tangible meaning by becoming acquainted with another European school and interacting with its pupils. The Italian pupils should apply their German language skills. All participants should practice their use of acquired foreign language skills. The e-book produced during the course of the project documents the completed travels, the iBook created in the second year is intended to serve as interactive educational material. It is suitable for the subjects of history and Latin. The e-book is to be published on the homepages in both regions and therefore be available to all.
Our project examined the historical link between the Moselle region in Germany and the region of Verona in Italy and presents its findings in the form of a bilingual e-book. The e-book serves as a travel guide and introduces the two regions for tourists. It has been published on the homepages of both schools and is available in a printed version in the town of Cochem. In addition, it contains assignments, thus making it implementable in a class situation. Therefore, it also fulfills the function of a text book (in digital and print form). The pupils of the Martin-von-Cochem-Gymnasium in Cochem and the Liceo Statale “Carlo Montanari” in Verona worked on the e-book during the Covid pandemic. Their ages were from 15 to 16 years. The cooperation between the two schools thus took place solely in a virtual setting (eTwinning, MS Teams). We communicated partially in video conferences, wrote e-mails, telephoned, and shared results digitally. The language of the correspondence was primarily English, but occasionally also Italian and German. Additionally, the pupils translated the texts into Italian or German and corrected the translations of their partner school. Planned visits all had to be cancelled, as the pandemic prohibited travelling. The pupils worked in virtual groups, at times independently at home, then subsequently in phases during regular project meetings at school, on occasion in class. There they presented their findings. This also aided in monitoring their progress. Aside from the e-book, the project provided further results. Real friendships developed among the pupils and instructors of both countries, continuing even past the duration of the project. The pupils and their instructors gained more self-assurance in their use of English. The interest in Erasmus + activities has grown at both schools. The project has proved – despite adverse conditions – to be motivational. For the long term, it can be asserted that the European idea has been further entrenched in our pupils, because it can now be associated with concrete people. The e-book can be useful in class instruction in the future.