As part of the individual mobility for teachers at our institution, in May I had the opportunity to spend a week in Lisbon, Portugal, to attend the training course "Digital Tools for Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Critical Thinking (4Cs)" organized by Europass Teacher Academy and led by the excellent trainer Ana Costa.

I shared the training experience with other teachers from various European countries: Germany, Estonia, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, and Cyprus, building significant professional and personal relationships within a cohesive and supportive group. The context allowed us to enrich each other; it facilitated the exchange of innovative teaching methodologies and diverse pedagogical approaches for a more global vision of education. The training also promoted the establishment of a European network of educators aimed at improving the quality of teaching in their respective schools.

During the course, we delved into the significance of the 4Cs - Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration - considered essential skills for today's students, and designed practical activities using the most effective digital resources to foster their development in students. The main objective was to learn how to integrate them into daily teaching through the use of appropriate digital tools, ideas, strategies, and materials that effectively enhance these skills. Through interactive workshops, we explored how to promote channels of communication and listening; how to stimulate students' creativity and critical thinking; how to design collaborative and cooperative activities, and how to integrate the 4Cs and digital tools into the curriculum meaningfully. Additionally, we learned to plan lessons or modules that combine the 4Cs with technology to create a more engaging and productive learning environment.