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Please see a link to a Google Form about All Ireland Finals – Past and Present. This is a nice topic to explore in September after the highs and lows of the GAA season that has just come to a close. I feel it is imperative to tap into the interests of our students. With a new and improved focus on wellbeing increasing physical activity, what better way than to celebrate the heroes of the summer by creating more exposure to those working and living among them.
A key learning from this paper is that not everything that is taught is learned. This to me shows where reflective practice is a key element of how a teacher develops his or her practice and how they can progress as opposed to stalling or becoming stale. The article outlines how in the past an assessment was carried out to evaluate knowledge as opposed to assessment strategies nowadays that focus on improving the entire process of the learning.
This key quotation highlights the moves towards involving the student in the entire process of assessment over recent years:
“clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions and criteria for success” and “activating students as owners of their own learning”. I think this is an excellent example of where students are more involved in the ‘how and why’ they are learning about a topic as opposed to just being told ‘You need to know it.’In terms of my own assessment practices over my teaching career I believe I have developed significant experience and learned from a combination of CPD, working with colleagues in three different schools as well as developing the confidence to try new strategies and not be afraid to admit when something new has not worked. Fear of the unknown is generally the biggest obstacle to teachers trying new AfL or AoL strategies. Providing feedback to students during teacher student conferences was a really effective strategy I used when discussing students’ academic progress using the Accelerated Reader programme. It developed a two-way conversation about what was going well and what required greater support in terms of making adjustments and improvements to ensure progress was transparent for all to see. Starting out in my teaching career, this strategy would have seemed daunting.
The use of Google Forms is an extremely invaluable resource in the effective and timely moments of generating honest and direct feedback to a topic being taught or a communication being shared with parents/staff. The generation of stored data ensures material/content does not go missing while also providing administrators/teachers and students with opportunities to reflect on results of a survey/google form.
Google forms was used by my school on three notable occasions this year:
Staff vote on school holidays 2026-2027. Two different forms were used deciding on return and finish dates as well as school holidays for the upcoming year.The second extremely important communication with parents focused on the Hot Meals Programme. Parental feedback was extremely high and positive when given the opportunity to complete a google form. It was easily accessible and efficient.
The final element focused on student feedback of our wellbeing surveys. This was also shared with staff and parents. It provided our wellbeing committee, ISLM and staff with a clear visual of where wellbeing was truly at in our school. SSE is directly informed through the results and process of collaboration and analysis of results involving key stakeholders.
A go-to lesson that I have found to consistently work at class levels at the senior end is a whole-class story. This derives from an extremely positive experience attending the Roddy Doyle Fighting Words Workshop. The whole class come together to decide on a title, main characters, a villain and a hero as well as the opening sentences of the story. Google Docs and slides would provide excellent platforms for this type of lesson. It also could create a book of short stories which could be printed at the end of the year. In my experience, this lessons works well once per half-term.
The second phase of the lesson/story being created turns to small group work, followed by peer work before an individualised ending/closing paragraph. It incorporates collaboration, opportunities for peer and self-assessment which builds confidence and resilience in students. The variety of endings ensures children recognise and celebrate each other’s individuality.
Teacher input is constant throughout where necessary – some students will require more scaffolding than others. It also presents children with the opportunity to scaffold and support their peers, thus developing leadership within the classroom.
Google slides could offer students an opportunity to create more of a comic-strip version of a story. This can be an extremely effective way of enhancing and encouraging creativity among students who are daunted by text-heavy written tasks.
What impact can developing your own use of Digital Technology have at school level (SSE)?
As an Admin Deputy Principal of my school, I am in the unique position of being involved in overseeing the effective implementation of Digital Technology resources in my school as well as witnessing the potential advantages and pitfalls of suggesting/recommending new features which may enhance teaching and learning in my school.
Our school has spoken at length over the previous 12 months about Initiative Overload and the damaging effect this can have on the overall quality of teaching and learning as well as the wellbeing of staff. As wellbeing is a priority curricular focus for our school over the next 12 months, the following features stood out to me as something that can really benefit my school:
The section which focuses on Managing Student progress really appealed to me. Our school has a long standing tradition of participating in Kildare Cumann na mBunscol Quizzes. I like how quizzes and resources can be created, stored and shared. This would bring a significant element of efficiency and continuity. The success of any team event or task is that when key personnel are unavailable, the system does not break down. I think this is reflected by this effective resource.
Hello John,
Similarly to yourself, I understand the importance of incorporating the effective and practical features of Google Workspace into my own teaching and learning to further support pupil engagement and collaboration. Luckily, in my school we have fantastic ICT resources including interactive whiteboards, a chromebook trolley and Ipad trolley as well as classroom chromebooks. This proves our students with excellent opportunities to use a number of Google Workspace features. With increasing numbers of students using assistive technology, these features are central components of our students’ digital skills being enhanced.
I find it interesting how you referenced the journey from using teacher-centred PowerPoints to the use of shared Slides which can be edited as learning continues to evolve. I think a lot of this comes down to CPD sharing opportunities within a staff. I feel teachers currently see the value of sharing ideas and teaching strategies which enhances teaching and learning nationwide.
Hi John,
I am also passionate about pupils taking greater ownership of their learning. I believe this enables them to develop a great interest in their learning as it ensures they see the ‘why’ and the reasons behind any tasks being completed. The use of digital checklists is a wonderful way of incorporating Google Workspace in their learning experiences. By providing our students with the digital tools necessary to develop essential life skills, they can also understand and track their own progress in formative assessments, thus ensuring effective assessment for learning is embedded in practice within the classroom.
Hi John,
The voice activity is an excellent method of using Google workspace. Our students on a daily basis see their older siblings/parents/role models using Voice messages as a method of communication with their family/colleagues/friends. This activity clearly equips our students with an alternative way in which to record and share information. The use of checklists on Google classroom could provide an excellent way of scaffolding students who require it while also providing a self-assessment method for students moving through tasks at a faster pace.
In supporting SSE, collating the information into charts provides an excellent opportunity to share information with the wider school community.
Hi John,
There are a lot of positive aspects to this post which I believe could be used in classrooms across the board. In supplying our students with the tools to enhance their digital learning skills, we cannot forget about the importance of regular peer learning and discussion. This will develop resilience and understanding that there is more than one set way to use digital technology. The link to SSE is excellent as it shows SSE is being embedded from the ground up in your classroom and school.
Hi Darragh,
I think your timeline idea is a very creative and worthwhile activity to do with your students. Recognising personal milestones throughout the year might be the only time some of our students receive positive feedback and affirmation – something we cannot overlook or take for granted. It also builds community spirit and a positive classroom culture while enhancing digital technology skills.
Outline how you would use some of the course resources to conduct a seasonal biodiversity project to run throughout the school year. What resources and recording sheets would you need? How often would you bring learning outdoors? How would you integrate other subject areas?
We have the benefit in Scoil Bhríde, Kilcullen of having access to an outdoor classroom. It is an absolutely fantastic resource that teachers make so much use of as the year progresses. Lessons are brought to life and the opportunity to then explore the outdoors is right in front of you. One topic that would work very well in our school is our regular Litter Pick which is on a rota basis for every class in collaboration with our Green Schools Committee and Tidy Towns Initiative in the village. I really like the idea of accessing the trailcam as we have had foxes make dens on our school grounds. To view the development of the dens, the movements of the animals would be fascinating for the children to see.
The following answer will explain how I would involve my pupils in an art, music drama and creative writing project based around my local natural heritage.
The topic I would choose would be revisiting the 1798 Rebellion which took place in Old Kilcullen. Our school has a long standing tradition of inviting our local Historian in to school to visit our 5th classes as they perform a reenactment of some of the scenes of the 1798 Rebellion. Children dress in old clothes of soldiers from both sides of the Battle and March with Pikes/Muskets in hand from the school to Old Kilcullen Round Tower. This is preceded by project work leading into the visit of our historian, who gives a much more detailed account of some of the events of the Rebellion. Students design artwork for the hall and complete a scavenger hunt and have a picnic at the Round Tower. It is a wonderful celebration of the Heritage, History and Art associated with Kilcullen.
In this post I will outline how I would integrate mathematical thinking and incorporate the maths skills appropriate to my class level. The bridge that I have selected to use is Kilcullen bridge. I am a teacher in Kilcullen, Co. Kildare.
One of the most rewarding activities we do in our school is a river study of he River Liffey which flows under Kilcullen bridge. By studying the engineering element of Kilcullen bridge, this river study could offer an excellent opportunity for cross-curricular integration. Children could conduct a project whereby they are given three famous bridges of the world to compare with Kilcullen bridge. This could focus on timelines being compared, materials used, purpose of the bridges etc.
There are a number of Mathematical activities that could be incorporated:
Measures:
1) Money: Find the cost of one block. Estimate the total cost of 2500 blocks.
2) Weight: What is the total weight capacity of the bridge. What skills do engineers need to work out this formula/figure?
3) Time: How long did it take to build the bridge? How many people were required to plan its building/ensure its safety?Making a model of the bridge: Using paper and sellotape how could you design a bridge in a group to support the weight of toy cars? This could be a hands-on challenge that a5th/6th class group could relish.
The lesson that I would like to make a plan for younger classes will be one on map making. In this post I will explain how I will incorporate some online tools such as Google maps and Geohive.
The class group I would target would be Junior Infants. After mid-term break, I would continue to call upon the Buddy system our school uses between 6th class and Junior Infants students. We have encouraged our 6th class students to work with a junior class to help build relationships, community spirit and foster the spirit of Meitheal in our school. The lesson would begin with infants only, discussing how we get from home to school, home to holidays, to the Church, to a different county etc. Children would then talk about what maps are and why we use them. At this point, 6th class students would have Ipads set up on Google maps. 6th class would scaffold children in Junior Infants as to why we use google maps. They would then ask the Junior Infants where they would like to go from school and then research how long it takes. By exposing Junior Infants to this type of technology, they will become more confident and competent learners in using useful technology and tools online.
STEM education in my classroom is one in which I have tried to incorporate a range of teaching strategies while using technology in as many ways as possible to support the nuts and bolts of topics that are being taught. An example of this is a Science lesson I taught about animals. Students selected an animal from Ireland and one from abroad to study. Using chromebooks, students conducted research into the habitat of the animal, the characteristics and traits of this animal, eating habits, position in the food chain as well as their ability to adapt to changing environment.
The lesson was supported by references to Planet Earth videos. I believe these are an invaluable educational resource that children are afforded the opportunity to learn so much from. This is an example of how the use of technology to support teaching and learning can be hugely beneficial. It also enables children to conduct research on super educational sites such as Brittanica online, Ducksters as well as National Geograhic.