This booklet was released at the recent Microsoft Educational Summit in the Aviva Stadium. The document explores the literature around how children learn today before going on to explore the changing workplace that they will enter in the coming years. Having established that the workplaces of today and tomorrow require a unique set of skills […]
Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century Read More »
Those involved in distance education struggled for many years to interact in live settings with their learners. Distance education is with us since the 1890s while the Open University (OU) created its first online course in 1988. The Internet has done a great deal to transform how learners can now learn at a distance. One
The task of supporting teachers to integrate ICT into teaching, learning and assessment practices is as big an issue today as it ever was for Irish teachers at all levels of education. Though thousands of teachers have been “trained” many feel they are not sufficiently competent to use digital technology in their classrooms. They appear
Shared Professional Practice Read More »
Last Thursday The Irish Times carried an opinion piece by Brian O’Connell entitled, “Technology in classroom still in the Dark Ages”. In this article Brian makes some interesting observations on the state of ICT in Irish primary and second level schools. Though these observations appear to be based on personal experiences it is good to
“Technology in classroom still in the Dark Ages” – Are we Really? Read More »
A recent Edutopia article, Program or Be Programmed, got me thinking about the place of computer programming in schools. In this article Mary Beth Hertz, a computer teacher, from Philadelphia bemoans the fact that many schools are dropping computer science. Yet the article identifies some interesting tools that teachers, parents and young people might find
Computer Programming in Schools – How should we teach it? Read More »
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the BETT show in London. This has now become an annual pilgrimage to view what is new in the world of technology and education. At first glance this year’s show didn’t appear very different from other years but when you went under the surface there were some
BETT 2012 & Free Programming Tools Read More »
Teachers sharing good practice within their profession Last Monday evening, November 7th, I had the pleasure to attend the launch of, Enhancing Literacy and Numeracy with ICTs in Dublin West Education Centre by Junior Minister Mr. Brian Hayes. This publication, which was also supported by Navan Education Centre, contains a total of 18 chapters, all
Enhancing Literacy and Numeracy with ICTs Read More »
It is only mid September and already there is significant talk of educational change in the media and specifically in the Irish Times in recent weeks. Three issues that have been to the fore are the need to reform the CAO system, the need for alternative assessment modalities at Junior and Leaving Certificateand the need
Winds of Change – Time for Skills not Points Read More »
As the summer approaches many teachers will again engage in a range of continuous professional development courses, on topics ranging from the environment to the Internet. But did you ever consider using Twitter as a source for your own professional development? Will Richardson, http://weblogg-ed.com/, author of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other powerful web tools for
Teacher Professional Development via Twitter Read More »
This morning I came across a tweet from the Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning website entitled, Books You Can Play With and Games You Can Read: The New Market in Young Children’s Book Apps, and it got me thinking on the implications these new devices might have on children’s literacy levels now and in
Thinking about books in a new light Read More »
