Social Media is ever evolving and the latest potential big thing is IGTV (Instagram Television) where you can now upload videos up to 10 minutes long on your own Instagram TV channel. It’s only been out a day or two so there’s probably going to be a few changes as time goes on but the … Read more
It can be a pain having to do things more than once – especially when it comes to putting out a message to parents from the school. In my own school, we use text messaging, email and most social media to get our messages out there. The two most popular social media platforms for schools … Read more
Lots of schools have signed up to Facebook to share their school’s news with anyone that “likes” their page. However, many schools were beaten to it by people who made “unofficial” school pages, such as Parents’ Associations, ex-alumni groups, and so on. This is not ideal because the school cannot control what goes out on … Read more
One of the problems with most social media services is that anyone can set up a profile without proving that they represent the entity. Schools are no exception and it is becoming common that parents, former pupils and even staff members are taking it upon themselves to create Facebook Pages, Instagram Profiles and Snapchat accounts … Read more
The Parents’ Association in my school are hell bent on setting up a Facebook Page for the school. Can they do this without consulting the BOM? Any advice how a Facebook page could be managed positively? Many schools already have set up Facebook pages but there are thousands that haven’t. How should a school deal with pressure from … Read more
Educational technology use has exploded in Irish schools over the last five years and almost every primary classroom in the country uses technology in some way everyday. It’s hard to believe that only 10 years ago, less than 4% of schools reported to use technology on a daily basis! However, in Ireland, this journey has been … Read more
I received an email from a principal who was having a discussion about photographs of the pupils on their school web site. The teacher has concerns that any photograph online could be manipulated and used for illicit activities. This teacher wouldn’t be alone. I give a number of talks around the country where I talk about how … Read more
Pinterest is fastly becoming a favourite tool of primary school teachers in Ireland with a number of great profiles offering great links to educational websites on various boards. The first time I saw Pinterest being used for education was a special school in Donegal, called Little Angels based near Letterkenny. On this Pinterest page, there are … Read more
Danielle Patten from eCadets has shared a very useful tool for teachers about Snapchat. Snapchat is fastly becoming one of the most popular apps out there for young people to communicate. The eCadets scheme empowers 3-18 year olds to become the next generation of school eSafety leaders. It is a multi-award winning three year programme which has … Read more
The latest fad, according to my Facebook timeline, seems to be Bitstrips, an app for Android and iOS devices. The premise of Bitstrips is that you can make a comic strip and add yourself and your friends to the story. My sister is addicted to it and everyday she posts up something that’s she does … Read more