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You’re right, Shelly. The instinct is often to think we need new devices or expensive supports, when there’s plenty already sitting there built in. The Windows settings you mentioned could make a real difference for some pupils, particularly cursor size, contrast, and speech-to-text. Small changes, but they take away a lot of the frustration for a child who’s struggling to get at the work in the first place. I’m with you on Immersive Reader too. It’s very practical in SET because it can be tweaked to suit different children without any fuss being made of it. The text-to-speech and line focus are especially handy, and once pupils get the hang of it they can use it fairly independently. A good first step might be showing one or two of these to staff at a Croke Park hour. I’d say plenty of teachers have no idea they’re already there.
Vikings always seems to be one of the topics that grabs them, Sinéad, and it sounds like you got great mileage out of it across the curriculum. A Google Form quiz would work nicely there, especially with a mix of straight recall questions and a few pulled from the children’s own projects. That way it feels tied to what they actually did and shared rather than a test dropped in from nowhere.
The link you made between climate change and what is happening in your own schoolyard is interesting, Triona. The lack of green space is such a clear example for the children, and I’d imagine they can really see the impact after heavy rain. The GLOBE Ireland project sounds brilliant. It’s great when pupils are doing real data collection and not just learning about climate change in theory. Measuring rainfall and pH levels makes the science feel much more meaningful for them.
What you’ve taken from the article is the part that stood out to me too Patrick: that change can start with how we see ourselves and how we treat the people near us. It brings global citizenship back down to something children can actually get a hold of in their own day. The empathy point is important too. With your class, you are trying to highlight that it’s the small things that matter: how they speak to one another, whether they think to include someone, whether they notice when someone’s been left out.
I agree, Eimear. Development Education does feel more urgent now, particularly when children are already meeting so many different cultures and backgrounds in their own classroom. And it doesn’t have to be a standalone lesson either a lot of it comes through in how we talk about fairness, respect and looking out for one another. Your point about multicultural classrooms giving us real opportunities is one I’d agree with. There’s a lot children can learn from each other once there’s space for different stories, languages and traditions to come out. One small idea: rather than setting Irish Aid themes aside as their own thing, they can often be tied into something already happening a story you’re reading, a geography lesson, or even a class discussion that’s gone somewhere interesting.
Aoife, the practicality of this is what struck me. The buddy system especially — for a child walking into a new school, having one person who’ll show them where the toilets are, or sit beside them at yard time, can take the edge off those first few days more than any amount of planning at staff level. Your point about art, music, food and stories is well made too. They’re an easy way in, and they let children meet a culture as something ordinary rather than as a topic to be covered. Small, but it does a lot.
I love your honesty, Rose, about not knowing about Africa Day before doing the module. I’d say that is true for lots of us with local events. They are happening, but we don’t always hear about them in time. Sharing these events with parents, or linking them to SESE/SPHE work in class, would be a lovely way to bring the learning to life for children. The multicultural days you mentioned sound brilliant too. Food, music, dress, flags, and art can make diversity very visible and positive for pupils, especially when children see their own backgrounds represented in the school.
I think a lot of us felt the same way in this module Mary, there really are so many AI tools and websites out there now that it can feel a bit overwhelming at first. You make a good point about cost too. It’s great to see what is available, but realistically schools have to think about budgets, and value for money and whether a tool will actually be used enough to justify paying for it. I also agree with you that the teacher still needs to lead the learning. These tools can support us, but they shouldn’t take over from good teaching or from knowing the children in front of us.
The draggable images idea sounds great, Deirdre. It could give the child more control over their response and might make the comprehension piece feel more interactive and less like a question-and-answer task. Maybe one simple option would be to use Google Slides with a few movable pictures already prepared on the side of the slide. The child could drag the image that matches their spoken answer or use the pictures to build the answer before saying it aloud. It would keep the activity visual without needing too much extra setup.
I like what you’ve said here about pupils taking a more active role in their own learning John. I think that’s a big part of good formative assessment, and it’s something that can easily get lost when we’re busy trying to check understanding ourselves. You’re right too that a lot of formative assessment is already happening naturally in the classroom through questioning, observation and feedback. The digital tools don’t need to replace any of that, but they could make some parts of it a bit quicker or easier to track. Google Forms would be a nice one to start with, even just for a quick check-in at the end of a lesson. It could be as simple as asking pupils what they understood well, what they found tricky, or what they might need more help with. Paul
I agree Arlene, that the comparison of two texts is a very simple idea, but it could lead to great discussion with senior classes. It’s the kind of activity that would get children to slow down a bit and actually question what they are reading, rather than just accepting the first version they see. I can see it working really well in history too, especially where there are different viewpoints or accounts of the same event. I also liked what you said about AI supporting the teacher rather than replacing them. That feels like one of the most useful takeaways from the course. If AI can save a bit of planning time and help us create better discussion prompts or resources, then that’s a real help in a busy classroom. Paul
You’ve made a lovely point Rachel about how development education doesn’t have to be something very complicated, especially with Senior Infants. It can start with very simple things like kindness, sharing, noticing differences, caring for plants, recycling, and thinking about how we treat people around us. I liked how you highlighted stories and play in particular. At that age, children often take so much from a good picture book or from a simple discussion afterwards, sometimes more than we realise. The gardening or recycling ideas would work really well too, as they give the children something practical to do rather than just talk about. Paul
Thanks, Eimear. It’s great to hear what’s happening in Cork City.
The ideas you mentioned, like using a buddy system and celebrating different cultures through stories, art and projects, are simple but could make a huge difference to a child who is new to Ireland and trying to settle into school life. I also like how you linked this to the local community in Knocknaheeny and Hollyhill. Bringing in organisations like NASC, (Migrant & Refugee Rights Centre) helps children see that support for refugees is not just something happening far away, but something that is part of their own city and local community.
<div>Your point about Development Education is very important Eimear. Children can learn so much through discussions around fairness and empathy and why people might have to leave their homes. If these class conversations are handled in an age-appropriate way, they can really help pupils become more understanding and welcoming.
Paul
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Thanks for your post, Michelle, and your reflection on the possibilities for how Google tools can make the teaching and learning process more engaging. I love your idea of the gert to know me slideshow at the beginning of the year. It’s a lovely way of getting to know your class and building good relationships. The children could even build their own slides, adding things like hobbies, fun facts, and a goal they have for the academic year.
Thanks for your post on this, Jamie. You have highlighted some of the pros and cons associated with Microsoft 365. It’s always good to have a central place for storage, but communication on the platform can sometimes be challenging. One thing you could try to sort that out is to maybe use Teams Chat is for quick, day-to-day messages, and email is for longer updates. That can cut down on the confusion and make everything a lot cleaner.
