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 »
Last month, I was quoted in the Irish Examiner saying that this would be the year of the teacher blog. In the last year, I have noticed that there has been a steady increase in the number of teachers who have decided to blog about teaching and learning and I believe that there are going
The Year of the Teacher Blog? Read More »
The Tarsia programme is a free download that enables the user to make a kinaesthetic test in which students can match up correct pairs of facts or questions with answers. The maker has control of the difficulty of the test to be generated, and there is a choice of format – triangular or rectangular jigsaw,
Testing with a Tarsia Twist Read More »
Literacy and numeracy have become major issues for concern in recent times. Several reports on these topics are in the public domain and in one report, “Incidental Inspection Findings 2010”, inspectors call for “urgent school improvements” and the provision of CPD (continuous professional development) for teachers to focus on the teaching of literacy and numeracy.
Digital Storytelling Read More »
In my last post I looked at some Web 2.0 resources and said I would continue with some others. But as it’s holiday time I abandoned that idea and instead decided to focus on something for the holidays! Whether you are travelling far afield or staying put in Ireland this little device will make your
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 »
The power of Twitter for educators has been well illustrated by others in previous posts on this blog. For most of us, when we first set up our Twitter account, we tend to use the Twitter website as the place we go to read and post tweets. This is how I started also; however as
Pushing Twitter further with Tweetdeck Read More »
This spring a fourth class teacher within our school decided to teach her pupils about the Life Cycle of a Hen. Blackrock Educational Centre were so impressed by the project that they assisted her in creating an information video for other teachers on how to undertake the project within their own classrooms. Check out the
The Life Cycle of a Hen Read More »
Over the past year, schools have received additional grants for computer equipment to update the ICT infrastructure within schools. In TeachNet, we believe that in addition to funding ICT equipment, teachers need high quality professional development to help them realise the potential of this investment. The international research clearly indicates that quality CPD is essential
Online Summer Courses for Primary Teachers Read More »
Interview with Michael Hallissy & John Hurley of TeachNet Ireland www.teachnet.ie With the summer course season nearly upon us for 2011, host Clifford Brown is joined by Michael Hallissy & John Hurley of TeachNet Ireland, to talk about TeachNet’s expanding online summer course programme. For Summer 2011, TeachNet are offering 17 EPV day approved CPD
TeachNet Summer Courses 2011 Podcast Read More »
