Something to think about Ruairi Quinn (Part 1)
After attending the BETT conference in the UK, I experienced Michael Gove for the first time. For those of you who don’t know who he is, this is the education secretary in the UK who seems intent in driving everyone out of the teaching profession. Last week he announced that headteachers could now fire teachers […]
Thoughts on Ruairí Quinn's Plan for Literacy and Numeracy
Ruairí Quinn has figured out how we can improve literacy and numeracy standards in primary schools across the country. Since the PISA reports damned our education system in late 2010, a number of solutions were offered to our Minister. Many organisations suggested that we train up teachers and trainee-teachers in more modern teaching methodologies. Some […]
Survey Results: Web 2.0 in Schools
As part of Anseo.net’s competition to win a HD Flip Cam, participants answered some questions about the Web 2.0 tools that they use in school and at home. In this article, we’ll examine the results and explore some of the reasons behind the results. It’s worth pointing out that the people who probably took the […]
Douglas Adams, The Fourth R and Learning
I was happy to see that technology was on the agenda at the annual Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) conference 2010. Almost every speaker, including heavyweights such as Batt O’Keeffe (Minister for Education and Science), Eamon Gilmore (Labour leader), Enda Kenny (Fine Gael leader), Vincent Browne (Journalist and TV presenter), Seán Coterell (IPPN) and Professor […]
12 reasons to have Computerised Roll Books
Imagine it’s 11:30am on June 30th. What are you doing? Apart from trying to get the last 30 minutes of the curriculum into almost 40 cola and sweet-fuelled children who believe the summer holidays started two weeks beforehand, you’re probably trying to balance your rollbook. Inevitably, it doesn’t balance. Ever. And even when the last […]
Saving Money for ICT
I came across a great article from Open Source Schools, a British web site, that promotes using free software in schools. The author, Miles Berry, a senior lecturer in the Roehampton University, gives his top ten tips for schools to save money on technology. From an Irish perspective, I looked at some of his suggestions. […]
Why don’t VEC primary schools have web sites?
If I want to find out about a school for a particular reason, the first thing I do is look for their web site. There’s very few schools opened in the last 5 years that don’t have a web site. That is, with the exception, of the 5 VEC schools in Ireland. If one searches […]
ICT in Education Conference 2010
Last year was the first year I attended the ICT in Education Conference in Thurles, Co. Tipperary and I had a really great time. I met some really great people and attended a number of brilliant workshops. I listened to two amazing speakers – Daithí O’Mhurchú and Conor Galvin who both keynoted and capstoned the […]
A Case for Computer Rooms
Computer rooms were on top of every primary school’s wishlist back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In some cases, companies like Intel and HP were involved in sponsorship deals where they kitted out schools with completely networked solutions. My first two schools both had computer rooms. Every week I would usher 30 excited […]
Social Networking and Bullying
With the news that Bebo may soon be no more, I asked colleagues was it likely that teenagers would move to Facebook. One of these replies came from a teacher from Bonnybrook Youthreach and she has given me permission to publish her own findings. Sadly for me, in her opinion, students who abandon Bebo more […]