[Pat Brennan]

Hi Aisling,

You’ve clearly taken onboard Dylan William’s ideas around assessment and SRL and plan taking steps to shift towards more formative, student-centred assessment practices this September.

Incorporating, as mooted, strategies like quick quizzes, exit tickets, and self-reflection should not only increase pupil agency but also help refine your teaching approaches. Also, The use of Google Forms like the one linked below to track reading skills and confidence is a practical way to gather data and measure progress over time.

Another suggestion is to build in regular opportunities for pupils to revisit their goals and reflect on feedback received as this will help reinforce the link between assessment and learning.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi again Naomi,

One of the most biggest advantages of GenAI is its ability to rapidly generate powerful content as your famine examples illustrate. The real key lies in crafting well-designed, thoughtful prompts that guide the LLM toward the specific outputs you require. Spending time carefully crafting your prompts is time well spent as the resulting outputs will invariably be more effective and save time in the long run.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi again Aishling,

You’ve outlined a comprehensive and practical approach to engaging your pupils with climate action. The combination of school-based audits, local observation, and hands-on projects like the biodiversity garden and waste-free lunch campaign encourages both awareness and responsibility.

I also like your focus on pupil-led initiatives and inter-class collaboration as it’s a great way to foster ownership and community engagement. One suggestion to build on this would be to involve families by sharing student findings or progress through the school newsletter or other home-school communication channels This will help extend the impact beyond the classroom and reinforce learning at home.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Eva,

Welcome to the course! I agree, integrating AI into teaching, learning, and assessment offers significant opportunities, but these are balanced by the responsibilities it brings. This is especially true in your SET context, where structure, predictability, and personal support are so important.

Your use of tools like image generators and story builders to create personalised visual supports and social stories is a great example of how GenAI can enhance accessibility when thoughtfully implemented. As you noted, the human elements of  empathy, structure, and understanding remain mission critical.

To build on what you’ve outlined, one suggestion might be to collaboratively create simple AI-generated social stories with pupils using the tools you mentioned. This can give them a stronger sense of ownership over their learning while reinforcing key routines or social cues in a way that’s both engaging and personalised.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Olivia,

Welcome to the course! Happy to hear that this introductory module provided a clear and practical overview of AT particularly as a teacher new to the Irish context. Your experience teaching outside of the country  will be of great benefit I imagine as it lends important perspective.

Regarding SSE, your point about the need for consistent collaborative practice is well made. A lead teacher or AT Champion who’s happy to mentor colleagues would certainly help build capacity and confidence across a school. This type of peer-learning has proven time and time again one of the most effective ways to upskill staff.

To finish, on the SETT Framework, you’ve echoed the thoughts of many contributors to this forum. Its structure helps simplify decision-making and supports a more targeted approach to student needs. Again, as many have mooted, using the framework alongside the SSP makes the planning richer.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Sinéad,

I agree, Scratch is a great platform as it offers an accessible and engaging way to introduce pupils to coding and computational thinking. Its intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate, which is especially helpful when you’re, as mooted, starting out on the coding journey with your pupils.

Also, as referenced, the Educator Guides offer an excellent jumping-off point as they’re clearly structured and support a variety of classroom scenarios,  also, opportunities to share opinions adds a reflective element to the each lesson.

I also agree with your plan to start small with one lesson a week is both practical and sustainable. There’s always the danger of ‘fizzle out’ if too much is introduced too quickly. And as you note, the cross-curricular nature of the lessons means they can be integrated without adding to curriculum overload.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Cian,

You given some great, practical examples of how AI tools can be integrated into the curriculum with your 1st class in September. I particularly like the oral language activity with ChatGPT detailed, its an excellent way to develop questioning skills and digital literacy in tandem. How you have been using Khan Academy sounds really well thought out, it certainly is a great platform for ongoing knowlege checks and differentiation as you’ve outlined.

To build on this, I’d suggest sharing some of these approaches with colleagues, maybe through a short demo or planning session. Peer learning and collaborating on good practice can certainly help others get started with AI and build confidence using GenAI tools in a manageable way. A win-win for your school!

[Pat Brennan]

Hi again Olivia,

Agreed, there’s a lot in the module, so best to download the PDF of the slides as mooted from the lesson homepage. While these are flat with no audio or video, they do include all the links and text from the slides. A quick search online for any of the tools referenced should lead you to the relevant YouTube channels or online how-tos, which work well as refreshers.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Brian,

Welcome to the course! I couldn’t agree more, GenAI certainly holds huge promise, as Sal Khan’s TED Talk suggests, but it also brings real challenges, particularly around assessment, as you’ve pointed out. This is however, a universal issue in education, and arguably becomes more complex depending on the level a student is at.

Your point about blending AI with more traditional assessment methods ceratinly holds water We’re already seeing a significant return to pen-and-paper exams at second level and in higher education, despite the much-discussed (and often criticised) Leaving Cert reforms that are supposedly on the way. As always, the devil is in the detail, and it’ll be interesting to see how assessment evolves in the age of AI. I’ve heard lots of teachers talking about making their assessment approaches more “AI-resistant”and I’d be curious to hear how that might look in your sixth class.

Either way, the AI genie is well and truly out of the bottle, and there’s no going back. We watch this space with interest!

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Ashling,

Welcome to the course! It’s great to hear how your school community is so committed and indeed proactive, when it comes to challenging gender stereotypes. The example you shared from your Senior Infant classroom really highlights, like many others on this forum, just how early these ideas can take hold.

As you’ve outlined, continually challenging societal norms around gender is mission critical and activities like role play, storybooks, and mixing up class jobs are great and practical ways to keep banging that drum.. Thanks also for sharing The Little People, Big Dreams series, which I hadn’t come across before your post. From a quick browse online, it looks like an excellent  biographical series designed to inspire young learners.Which reminds me of another, similarly powerful and inspiring book, I’ve used, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. It might surther complement what you’re already doing in the classroom

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Olivia,

Welcome to the course! Thanks for highlighting some practical ways AI tools like Gemini and Copilot can support planning and reduce workload, particularly, as you noted, when it comes to short-term planning and writing pupil support plans. I completely agree that teachers are already overburdened and time-poor due to paperwork, and AI can offer a solid starting point. As is often said, it helps us “avoid the blank page,” which can save a huge amount of time.

This brings me to the importance of collaboration and peer learning at school level. One idea might be to set up informal sharing sessions or adopt a digital champions (mentoring) approach, where colleagues can share examples of how they’re using GenAI tools in their classrooms. This kind of approach can really help build confidence and enthusiasm across the school.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi again Orla,

This is a great example of how SDG 15: Life on Land can really resonate with pupils in rural parts of Ireland, especially those from farming communities. As you’ve outlined, these children grow up closely connected to the land and rely on healthy ecosystems for their families’ livelihoods.

Your ideas for supporting ESD to 2030 Priority Action Area 5, like biodiversity audits, planting native hedgerows, and protecting pollinators, are practical and achievable. Activities rooted in the local environs make the learning more real for pupils, and your suggestion of involving local farmers adds, as you’ve put it, an “intergenerational element” that can really deepen pupils’ understanding and pride in their environment.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Maire,

It looks like your response may have been generated with the help of an AI tool. While AI can be helpful for drafting ideas or exploring different ways to express your thinking, it is important that your forum post reflects your own understanding and engagement with the course content.
We would appreciate if you could take a moment to revisit your post and revise as needed.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi again Lina,

Welcome to the Google Workspace course! I think you’ve nailed one of the key strengths of Google Classroom, having everything in one place. Whether it’s docs, communications, live classes or assignments, that kind of organisation really helps, especially when tracking pupil progress. I’m reminded of the adage, “Better to be looking at it than for it.”

I also agree with your point about SSE, Google Classroom makes it easier to gather real-time, evidence-based data on engagement and achievement. It’s a great way to spot patterns and identify areas for support.

One suggestion to build on that is to try using Google Forms for quick pupil check-ins or end-of-lesson reflections. It’s a simple way to gauge understanding and gather feedback. Even better, the responses feed straight into Google Sheets, which you can then share via Classroom with colleagues. It’s an excellent way to boost collaboration and communication between staff, particularly class teachers and SET.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Phillip,

Welcome to the course! It’s great to hear how the module helped you see AT not just as tech, but as part of a broader, student-centred approach. The SETT framework really does shift the focus to what learners actually need, rather than just the tools or devices themselves.

I spent over 20 years working in a DEIS 1 school, so I’m acutely aware of the unique challenges that come with that context. Digital tools can be a huge support in DEIS from my experience, when used thoughtfully and with clear intent. Your examples from Scoilnet and Webwise are good examples, simple, accessible tools that can make a real difference. Hopwever, as you’ve pointed out, purposeful use doesn’t always mean high-cost solutions.

One suggestion (covered in the next module), is to try out Microsoft’s Immersive Reader, especially if your school already uses M365. It’s built into tools like Word, OneNote and the Edge browser, and it’s brilliant for supporting pupils with literacy or language needs. It works well in both SET and mainstream settings and is easy to integrate into everyday teaching.

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