Every few months, a new digital camera comes on to the market with more megapixels, bigger screens and nifty gadgets. But how much of this is needed in primary schools? I’m going to be investing in some digital cameras. I think every classroom should have one – it saves the hassle of running around the … Read more
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a range of conditions on a common spectrum. According to the Irish Society for Autism, it is a condition which is “characterised by severe problems in communication and behaviour and an inability to relate to people in a normal manner.” While little is known about the causes of ASD … Read more
A school web site has become a basic requirement for any primary school in Ireland today. Not only can they be used to give people information about a school, it can also serve as a valuable part of showcasing what’s going on behind the doors on a daily basis and can establish links with the … Read more
For those of you unfamiliar with Learning Response Systems (LRSs), they are small handheld devices, not unlike a mobile phone. Each device has a number of buttons on them. The most basic have 4 buttons labelled A, B, C and D and others have a full range of buttons to allow text messaging, etc. Each … Read more
Over the last couple of years, the term “Cloud Computing” has been buzzing around in the techie world. Inevitably, it buzzes into the education world at some point. And yes, it’s starting to cause a bit of a stir. Today a principal from Co. Meath impressed me greatly when he suggested that another of his … Read more
The government have invested nothing in ICT in the majority of primary schools since about 1997. Yes, we were wired up to very slow Internet connections a few years ago but the vast majority of schools have funded their own hardware and software purchases without any proper independent guidance. The only guidance available are from … Read more
Update: August 2016 Schools don’t really need top of the range equipment. Given our budgets, we only need equipment that runs the software that we use. Since the Internet and Open Source software has become so mainstream, there really isn’t any particular software we need that requires a huge amount of power. In fact, with cloud computing … Read more
Bee-Bot is a robot shaped like a bee. It’s a very simple but brilliant device that allows the user to move the Bee-Bot either forwards or backwards and either turn left or right. It’s best used with a Bee-Bot grid – either a template or a see-through blank. The video below shows an example of … Read more