[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Katherine,

Thanks for your overview of the above accessibility tools. Certainly, ‘Immersive Reader’ and ‘Dictate’ would be suitable for children in 1st class, subject to their specific needs. Immersive Reader is such an excellent tool that can be introduced across a whole class, as it offers so much functionality. The ability to identify and locate ‘parts of speech’ is something that all children can benefit from. The picture dictionary is also really useful for EAL learners. Using ‘Dictate’ will also help those children who are strong orally but struggle with getting their thoughts down in writing.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Shane,

Thank you so much for sharing this activity. I can see myself using it with my own class next year. I am often looking to find activities to do based in a novel – very often I find myself stuck in a rut of assignment comprehension questions, character profiles, etc. and motivation among the students wanes over time. However, this activity is just fantastic and has the added bonus of touching on a number of 21st century skills.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Claire,

Thank you for sharing your Sway outlining how you would promote collaboration in junior infants. Providing the children with ‘what if?’ scenarios is a great way of promoting talk and discussion and a critical approach to their thoughts. This is particularly important in the infant classes. As you said, working together allows children to partake in decision making, problem-solving and turn taking. These are all important elements of the 21st century skills of both collaboration and skilled communication.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Claire,

Thank you for offering your thoughts on the differences between Seesaw and Microsoft Teams. I would have to agree that Seesaw is a more accessible learning platform for children in younger classes. However, in senior classes I think the use of Teams or Google Classroom allows students to go deeper into their learning. Potentially from 3rd/4th class onwards, they could start transitioning over to the more ‘grown up’ platform.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Ellen,

As you said, a problem that can occur with Teams is that teachers are not adequately trained or confident enough to use the platform as the primary means of sharing information. It’s important that robust CPD is provided internally to ensure teachers have this confidence and have someone to go to if there is a problem at any stage. Forming a DL team in the school is a good way of achieving this goal.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Mary,

The decision tree and rubrics for each of the 21st century skills are excellent resources to have to refer to. Within the infant classes, Aistear is the perfect way in which to incorporate and develop 21st century skills. The reciprocal two-way conversations and turn-taking that Aistear promotes all feed into the skill of collaboration and skilled communication. The activity you have described sounds like it would be excellent for developing these skills.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Matthew,

Thank you for your contribution here. I am always trying to find ways in which Gaeilge activities can be integrated with digital technologies. It is so important for children to be engaged and motivated to learn through Gaeilge. This is a great activity and Maps is the perfect tool for incorporating ‘logainmneacha’ in the senior classes. It is something that I may try a version of with my 5th class next year.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Jacqui,

I have been a huge advocate for the Digital Learning Framework since it’s inception. It has allowed us to plan for digital technology integration in a meaningful way and aligned it to the priorities of the school from a management point of view. The work you have managed to do with Minecraft for Education sounds excellent. I love the approach of having the 6th class students act as mentors for the infants. Both groups of students benefit so much from this, and it can build a great spirit around the school.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Sarah,

The comments you have made about digital technology making learning conditions more visual and engaging is certainly a major benefit of it’s use in classrooms. Within the Office 365 platform, there are so many tools like Sway, PowerPoint, Forms and OneNote that can provide these learning experiences. They really help to motivate students and make learning outcomes more attainable for the children. In addition to this, as you’ve mentioned there is a great opportunity for differentiation and the use of tools such as the Immersive Reader to assist students.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Matthew,

Welcome to the course. Google Slides is a very useful tool for use in the class, particularly if you are using Chromebooks. There is very little difference in general use between it and PowerPoint. PowerPoint does have some additional features, but these are not overly application to the education sector. The ‘Explore’ tool and the ability to add images from Google without leaving Slides is a really nice feature. The collaborative and ‘file sharing’ features are a really good way of promoting group work both in school and remote. All in all, it’s fair to say that it really is one of Google’s ‘staple’ classroom tools.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Ciara,

This is an example of an activity which can really develop 21st century skills while using a myriad of the Workspace apps. I really like your reference to Google Jamboard. This is a really good resource that can be used in the introduction to lessons and as a way of recording the findings of group discussions. It’s really good for ‘jigsawing’, as many groups can work on different areas, before reviewing the work of other groups. You have also managed to incorporate the use of Slides and Docs for showcasing and producing content.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Clare,

As you have said, it can be very difficult to plan for activities that will explore and develop the 21st century skills within an infant classroom. However, it is possible – we simply just to redefine what our criteria is for each skill. Substantive decision making will look a lot different in an infant and senior classroom. Your post (and accompanying slideshow) really shows how it can be achieved in an infant classroom.

The Aistear framework is the perfect foil for the development of these skills. Within each Aistear station, there is a premium placed on collaboration, problem-solving and skilled communication. The idea of linking up with a class in England is so lovely, and opens up many opportunities for cross-curricular integration.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Claire,

I like your description of Teams as a ‘shared workspace’. This is very true and it really can form the hub of a class’ learning journey. It gathers all of the Office 365 applications together and creates a powerful virtual learning environment. It’s functionality is equally suitable to promoting collaboration within the corporate world. It’s integration with OneNote is one of my favourite features and how the seamless transition can allow pupils to view items in their ‘content library’, etc. Once children has become accustomed to navigating Teams, the potential in a senior class is endless.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Mary,

Welcome to the course. It is great that this module has afforded you the opportunity to explore some of the Office365 apps away from the staples of Word and Powerpoint. There is so much potential within the Microsoft apps for designing engaging learning experiences and allowing pupils to present and create work in a number of different ways. You have made a great point around Forms and how it is equally effective for both AfL and AoL. We should be making every effort to pull from both sides of the assessment continuum. Digital assessments has certainly helped me to do this. Designing a one/two-question exit ticket is an easy way to gather data on a pupil’s thoughts of a particular lesson or concept.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Karen,

Once you copy your text from Word/Docs right-click in the reply box on the forum and select ‘paste as plain text’ from the menu. Alternatively, you can press ‘Ctrl + Shift + V’ to paste without formatting.

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