In November 2008 the Minister for Education and Science launched a €1 million grant scheme for DEIS band 1 schools to help them acquire the Digital Schools Award. A great idea but with typical hamfistnedess only 100 of the 179 schools in this category were invited to apply. The social inclusion unit of the DES […]
ICT Grant to Deis Band One Schools Read More »
The new eLearning manual published by the NCTE is being distributed at seminars for primary school principals. It is, indeed a fine piece of work and is very readable and insightful. It was developed by H2 and other partners and will be an invaluable resource for schools as they address how ICT should be integrated
So as the school year draws to a close what were the highs and lows for ICT in learning? I think we should all take stock of what has been a disappointing year for schools wanting to improve their integration of technology into the classroom. We are all aware of the lack of funding, policy
Looking Back, Looking Forward Read More »
Here is a Web 2.0 based application I came across recently called Wordle. It’s a word cloud and the user can create a wordle from any text, website or the clipboard and change and configure the wordle to suit their own preferences. Check it out atwww.wordle.net It’s completely free and wordles can be shared on
I have been using Scratch software with teachers andtheir pupils from the Elevate Learning initiative of the Digital Hub and what a fantastic free resource it is. Scratch is a graphical programming language that lets you control theactions and interactions among different ‘sprites’. For those of you familiar with Logo from some time ago you
On the day when the Minister for Education and Science announced further cutbacks in schools which will target the most vulnerable children it is hard to be upbeat unless you are a banker getting bailout money today. The goodwill of teachers and their care for the children they teach is being preyed upon as the
Educational Cutbacks Read More »
With the mobile phone now at saturation point in society how are we as educators addressing the potential these devices have for new digital learning opportunities? It is common for school authorities to place a ban of mobile phones in school and this policy is generally based on what is perceived as the potential for
Mobile Phones for Learning? Read More »
100 primary schools in the DEIS Urban band 1 received letters from the NCTE inviting them to apply for dormant accounts funding to assist them achieve digital schools status. The invited schools have to complete the self evaluation on the Digital Schools website, submit their school ICT plan and complete the application form with details
Dormant Accounts to Assist Primary DEIS Urban Band 1 Read More »
The Budget brought many unseen cutbacks to our schools which have left me stunned. How a Minister for Education can allow Ireland to slip to last in Europe on the issue of class size defies belief. When Ireland was one of the wealthiest nations on the planet we should have been investing in education to
The Budget and Education Read More »
www.pppst.com This is a website (Pete’s Power Point Station) I came across that was recommended to readers of another teacher’s blog. The site has a vast number of free Powerpoint presentations which can be downloaded by teachers for their own use. It is suitable for both primary and secondary schools and the teacher can amend
Pete’s Power Point Station Read More »
