[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Laura,

Thank you for your post. I also feel very strongly about the value and potential for Google Classroom within a flipped classroom approach. The use of rubrics is something I am a big fan of – sharing the success criteria with students is very effective at focussing them on what is expected within the task – this may take a couple of goes (but in the end, they really get into the swing of it and find them very useful). From a teachers point of view, Google Classroom is an ideal ‘one stop shop’. Having everything in the one place allows you to direct pupils to relevant websites and resources and removes the worry about children browsing freely on the internet.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Laura,

Welcome to the course. The short course n creating a photo journal is an excellent choice. The beauty of the Google Workspace apps is that the pupil themselves can choose whether the work they have completed should be shared with a wider audience or kept personal. Having this knowledge before they start a task can often lead to them ‘freeing up’ and expressing themselves clearly, as they view it as a safe space. The task can be manipulated to suit whatever you are doing and can focus on recall of personal events, or be a collaborative endeavour that focuses on some element of school life.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Noirin,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your comprehensive post. It is very clever to attempt to map the course content to some of the students you have worked with, or will work with in the coming year. The Microsoft Education Centre is an excellent resource and one which is best kept at the front of our bookmarks – every time I visit the site, there is something new that I pick up. As you have said, using the DLF enables a school to create that ‘shared vision’ of what they want to achieve with the technology and the methods they will use in order to meet the needs of all learners.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Rioghnach,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your post. The storage and organisation of files within Google Drive is something which can either cause immense frustration or make your workflow much easier. Setting up a system from the start is an excellent idea and hopefully this short applied digital skills course will help you. The 100 TB organisation limit essentially means that users within an organisation will have unlimited storage. ‘Drive for Desktop’ (which can be downloaded under the settings wheel with Drive on the Chrome browser) has been a game-changer for me. I have this downloaded on my work and personal laptops and can save files seamlessly without the need to move them from documents to Drive on the web browser. It essentially appears as an extra folder on your desktop. You can also add any shared school drives in this way too.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Aoife,

Thank you for your post. Like you have said, when designing and implementing a SETT plan, it is crucial that all personnel working with the child are involved. The same could be said for drawing up a School Support Plan. Indeed, it may also be useful to get the views of the pupil themselves, especially if they are in a senior class. From sharing your plan, it is clear to see that the students’ needs are very much fitting in with the different tools suggested at all three levels, e.g. pencil grips for handwriting difficulties, Chromebook access for developing touch typing, voice recorder and Dictate for spelling difficulties.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Deirdre,

Thank you for your post and for sharing your sample SETT plan with us. I have mentioned the value of the SETT model in previous replies, and how it allows you to identify specific interventions for this child. From completing the initial sections, you were able to identify samples of the different interventions that would be suited to this child at all three levels. As you have said, the SETT plan and the Student Support Plan should be complementary of one another and there should be a clear correlation between the targets outlined in the SSP and the suggested approaches in the SETT plan.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Arlene,

Thank you for your post. You have listed a huge number of areas that a specific learning difficulty like dyslexia can impact upon. What is fascinating (and also, extremely difficult) about dyslexia is how specific it is to an individual, and how it can show up so differently in children within the same class. Thankfully, there are so many online tools and apps that can assist children with difficulties from across the ‘dyslexia spectrum’. The ‘ReadWrite’ pens are great, and I love how discrete they can be and when a child learns to use them properly, they can be so effective. I haven’t hear of ‘Doodle Maths’ before but it certainly warrants an investigation based on your post.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Deirdre,

Thank you for your post. The Immersive Reader really comes into its own and begins to add serious value when a child enters the upper primary classes and secondary school. When the complexity and length of written text increases, children with learning difficulties can begin to struggle and develop negative dispositions towards reading. The easy-to-use nature, as well as its multiple features, makes Immersive Reader a ‘no brainer’ to use. The ability to identify different parts of text and colour code them is another important feature. The ‘picture dictionary’ is a feature which may also be of particular use to students with English as a second language.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Sharon,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your detailed post. I think splitting the types of AT into three separate categories is an effective way of getting us to identify the specific intervention (and the level of intervention) required. In terms of the DLF, I think the use of assistive technology really speaks to the first standard and statement you have listed. ‘Fostering active engagement’ is something we all want to see. In an SET or special school setting, it can be the use of assistive technologies that allows for this. The DL Planning website is a brilliant resource, and is certainly a ‘must visit’ in advance of updating your digital learning plan.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Megan,

I think Teams and OneNote combined have huge potential in terms of the sharing of resources at a whole-school level. Aladdin is excellent for communication with parents and general school administration, but is nowhere near as interactive as Teams for staff interaction. The huge benefit of using a LMS like Teams is that multiple people can be involved in the process, and there is potential for ideas to be added, commented on and amended. All in all, it creates a much more collaborative environment, where people feel like they have a genuine say in the direction of school/curriculum policy (rather than simply having it sent to them on Aladdin).

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Megan,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your post. I like the way you used Sway to create your Australia quiz. I understand how you feel that PowerPoint is easier to use and navigate, but this potentially could be borne out of greater familiarity. Sway certainly creates that more striking and visually appealing look and is quite ‘polished’. Forms is a great assessment tool, and as you have said, it could be used as a homework tool. It may be particularly useful in a ‘flipped classroom’ approach, and could be used to ensure students study or read-up on a topic prior to introducing it in class the following day/week.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Eoin,

I think you have highlighted a really excellent and important point around the principles of Cosán. The new class that most teachers will get each September have different needs, interests and personalities. What worked well in the previous year may not work well with the new group of children you will receive. Therefore, we must be reactive to this, and identify the professional development needs that will meet these interests. Ensuring we maintain high standards in the profession is essential to meeting the evolving needs of the education system.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Eoin,

Thank you for your post. For those with moderate learning difficulties (and often, also mild general learning difficulties), the use of systematic phonics instruction is often difficult to implement. Assistive technologies are particularly useful in this regard. Tools like Immersive Reader and Dictate enables pupils to aurally decode and orally express their thoughts. As you have mentioned, this all happens with frustration levels kept low. The knock-on effect of this is that children can often develop an interest in text/reading, where they previously were put off by the struggle that it caused.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Damien,

Thanks for sharing your quiz, which showcases your skills in designing a Google Forms quiz. The quiz is certainly topical for those in the senior primary classes. You are correct to say that it can remove the stress and anxiety from written tests, and that it can cater to a number of different learning styles. The incorporation of a video clip is one example of this, and you have included it within your own quiz. This assists children who may find it difficult to read excerpts or chunks of text.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Maureen,

It goes without saying that the future is digital, and that digital literacy and proficiency is now an essential life skill. The issue of teacher confidence in engaging with digital tools has been spoken about for a long time now. The best thing we can do is to experiment with a small number of digital tools each year. We can then make an informed decision about the tools that are useful, and those that are not. The use of digital technology certainly allows for a more facultative role, as the students guide their own learning more so than traditional means. It is those engaging learning experiences that we are all seeking to create, and digital technology is one medium through which we can achieve that.

[Author]

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