[Pat Brennan]

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for sharing your ideas and possible classroom actions. Your suggestions for reducing consumption, using more renewable energy, and promoting biodiversity are really practical.

You’ve alluded to being a keen gardener, a classroom activity that might dovetail here, is getting your pupils to keep a simple climate log that tracks local weather patterns and its effect on plant growth in the school garden over time. This can help them connect climate change to their own environment and develop observation and recording skills in a meaningful way.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Shane,

I’m a firm believer starting small as you’ve outlined and building from there. Thanks for highlighting the work of the Cork City of Sanctuary organisation which I recall previous participants mentioning on this course. Also, for sharing practical ways your school fosters inclusion. The activities you’ve outlined like story sessions, the Welcome Wall, and the buddy system are powerful approaches that help build empathy and understanding.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Adrienne,

Thanks for sharing and I agree this is an excellent resource for 5th and 6th class pupils to build critical thinking and digital collaboration skills and certainly as you’ve mooted fits with the PCF and supporting students to become informed digital learners.

To develop on what you’ve already outlined you could get pupils to build research portfolios. They could

• Choose a topic from SESE or SPHE.
• Use Google Docs to compile 3–5 sources they believe are credible.
  Justify each source’s credibility using a checklist (e.g. author, date, domain, bias).
• Present their findings in small groups, comparing how each group evaluated the authenticity of each.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Harriet,

Welcome to the course. Just to pick up on your point “I think it’s important that as educators we embed global citizenship into daily learning in the classroom and school.” I couldn’t agree more and one classroom idea, you could try is getting your pupils to make a “Global Goals in Action” wall. Each week, they could explore one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals through stories, examples, or class projects, and create artwork, reflections, or questions for inclusion on the wall. It’s a simple way to keep global citizenship visible and connected in your classroom.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Áine,

Welcome to the course and good to hear hear how the module has introduced new ways to support both research and creativity in your classroom. The challenge of helping pupils find and reference reliable sources is a common one, and and AI tools with inbuilt referencing can certainly help. Getting the pupils not to use the first thing/source they find as per your Wikiipedia example, that’s another days work and not sure how a bot can help us address this age old issue🤔

[Pat Brennan]

Hi James,

Welcome to the course. Given the level of concern in the media when GenAI tools first emerged, it’s understandable that many teachers initially focused on risks like cheating, plagiarism, and so on. However, It’s interesting to see how your perspective has developed. The example of Khan Academy is a practical illustration of how AI can support differentiated learning while still promoting pupil understanding. The potential time savings in planning and assessment is also significant, allowing more space for direct teaching and targeted support.

Of course, it’s important to maintain a balanced view. While there are clear benefits, teacher oversight remains essential—what’s often referred to as “the human in the loop.”

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by Pat Brennan.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Rebecca,

Welcome to the course and it’s good to hear  how this module has introduced you to new tools and prompted you to consider on how existing equipment can be adapted to support learners. Immersive Reader’s picture dictionary and translation features are indeed well suited to younger pupils and EAL learners. Exploring voice typing and alternative input devices is a practical next step. As you’ve outlined Immersive Reader can be used in both Teams and Edge without needing a M365 login which you don’t use in your school.

For accessibility advice specific to Google tools, the Google for Education Accessibility page provides a comprehensive overview of built-in features across Google Workspace and Chromebooks, including screen readers, voice typing, and visual supports. Well worth checking out for anyone teaching in a Workspace school.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Colm,

Welcome to the course. Your senior infants experience  shows just how early ideas about gender roles can influence children’s thinking. However, as you’ve mooted development education provides useful strategies to address such societal assumptions. As outlined both storybooks with diverse characters and role-play opportunities are practical ways to encourage more inclusive perspectives. It would be interesting to hear how others are approaching this in their classrooms.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Colm,

That’s fine, you’re the first person to post to the DE course forum.

 

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Roisín,

Thanks for sharing your comprehensive Minecraft project plan. Minecraft is the perfect tool to explore sustainability hands on as they build their sustainable towns collaboratively. I’ve been fortunate to see first hand similar projects over the last two years at Microsoft’s annual Dream Space Showcase event (Usually held in June). The focus here is to develop sustainable solutions using technology. Initially this project started as a pilot n rural schools in Tipperary and Longford but I understand the plan is to extend its reach so it might be something your class could get involved with next year. More information is available at Dream Space Showcase

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Ryan,

I agree, Immersive reader can be a very powerful literacy tool for students with dyslexia, also for ESOL students and indeed for literacy development in SET across the board. It enables all work to be accessible to all students and provides a scaffolding approach to learning. Functionality as you’ve referenced, like the ability to adjust text size and spacing, break words into syllables and the talk to text features are the key parts of this scaffold. Also, the translation options  are really effective for the aforementioned ESOL students, improving confidence and increasing their opportunities to work independently. Dictate too is a great tool in 365, particularly for students who struggle with keyboard input.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Niamh,

I think by their very nature single-sex schools are predisposed to more overt perceptions around gender roles and I thinks it is not just in your situation the absence of girls, I think the same issues arise in all-girls schools also and that is just reality in a large proportion of schools in Ireland. There is however so much you can do in an all-boys school (or indeed all girls if that was the case)  using a debate-led approach when discussing gender. There is of course a bigger picture too, it’s so important at a whole school level to clearly articulate the school’s commitment to having a culture of equality and respect irrespective of the gender makeup of the school.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Ciara,

I agree our classrooms and schools are microcosms of communities both nationally and globally and developing an understanding and appreciation of diversity is a life skill that everyone needs. I also agree looking at our own indigenous history and culture is a great starting point for developing understanding and ultimately empathy. Restorative practice too is a very powerful and meaningful to resolve conflict as it is build on tolerance, understanding and respect.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Fearghal and welcome to the course.
You have made a number of interesting points regarding the importance of developmental education and it’s curricular linkages and your approach to closely linking exploration of DE themes with your Irish History lessons, in particular the famine, is a great way to develop understanding and empathy.

It’s also great to hear about the joined up thinking your school has around Development Education across all classes. This whole-school approach ensures continuity, and the collaborative supports and modeling of best-practice to new staff is progressive and highly commendable.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Brendan and welcome to the course.

Just picking up on one point from your post. The impact you’ve noticed on motivation and interest after introducing Kahoot to your class and  I would suggest this effect can be universal when using digital technologies in the classroom once we have carefully planned for their integration. Key to this is starting  with the teaching, learning and assessment strategies and then integrate the technology, not the other way round. Far too often digital technologies are seen as the panacea for all and this notion becomes particularly nuanced when it comes to assistive technologies. Technology should only be part of a bespoke student support programme when the technology is matched with the needs of the student.

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