As temperatures hit highs of 20 degrees around the country pupils are eager to go outdoors and have some fun. How do we continue to integrate I.C.T. tools into our outdoor lessons? As we bring children outside to explore mini-beasts and complete the orienteering course it would be fantastic to be able to record what […]
VTech Action Cam – Suitable for schools Read More »
It’s probably every teacher’s worst nightmare: the children are plugged into virtual reality headgear and someone else is giving them their lessons while the teacher is redundantly hanging about or simply a bystander while the lesson is going on. Although the scenario is as unlikely as any virtual primary school teacher has so far proven
Virtual Reality and Education Read More »
I read a very interesting article recently on Silicon Republic written by the journalist John Kennedy. It was a thought-provoking article and it caught my attention because I had been involved with some of the ICT initiatives mentioned in the piece. The opening sentence of the article provides a clear synopsis for anyone who hasn’t
Technology in Irish Education Read More »
In the past week I met a group of primary principals and during our conversation the discussion turned to the use of tablet devices in the classroom. Many of the principals reported they were disappointed with the impact these devices have had in their schools and they were surprised that only a small number of
Digital Devices in the classroom – are they having an impact? Read More »
On the 24th of April Census 2016 will take place in every household throughout the country. “The census is a key source of information for everyone in our country. It provides information in relation to who we are, what we do and how we live our daily lives. This in turn provides the knowledge that
Census 2016, 2011, 1911 & 1901 Read More »
Many readers of this blog use ClassDojo as a behaviour management tool in their classroom but for those who don’t, I would highly recommend it. Not only is it completely free, it is a really clever tool for rewarding children’s behaviour in the classroom and much more motivational than most other reward systems out there.
ClassDojo and Ireland Read More »
In the autumn of 2015 the State of Vermont in the US introduced a law requiring all schools to implement Personalised Learning Plans for every student in the state. Each PLP would have to identify goals, learning styles, abilities and align these with the schools academic ethos to ensure each student continues to successfully progress
A school with a difference Read More »
Many principals and teachers find ICT integration a challenge and wonder where they might start in terms of identifying what knowledge and skills they possess and areas where they might develop their skills further. There are a growing number of self-assessment tools available to educators that allow one to assess your ‘level’ of digital literacy
Digital Literacy Tools – Framing your Digital Literacy Read More »
MinecraftEdu is a special edition of Mojang’s original Minecraft developed by TeacherGaming LLC in Finland in 2011. It has been used in thousands of classrooms in 40 countries all around the globe. At the heart of any MinecraftEdu classroom setup is the MinecraftEdu server. A separate server license is required for each classroom using MincraftEdu for pupils working
We have purchased two Raspberry Pi starter kits and are looking to get programming with Scratch on them with some boys from fifth and sixth class. We are going to hook the Raspberry Pi devices up to old PC monitors and use the Scratch, which comes with OS to develop our programming skills. The board
