Photos from the Conference

Photographs taken at last weeks Connect Education Conference in the Dublin West Education Centre are now up on the Connect Education facebook page

Ronan Herron, Georgina Byrne, Shane Foley, Stephen Howell, Maria Donohoe, Lord David Puttnam and Noel Malone.

Have a look and let us know what you think.

@rherron

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, You're far too kind....

I'd just like to say a huge Thank You to everyone who presented at todays Connect Education Conference in the Dublin West Education Centre.

Thank You to Anne McMorrough, Shane Foley, Stephen Howell, Noel Malone, Georgina Byrne and of course Lord David Puttnam.

And to all who attended, thanks for engaging - there are no hurler-on-the-ditch when it comes to the subject of education which you are all so passionate about!

Next what we need to do is harness the massive positive energy that was so obvious today and and direct it into something practical.

I'll be in touch with all participants and attendees next week to see where we go from here.

In the meantime feel free to let us know what you thought of the Conference by leaving a comment below.

The Future's not what it used to be - ... and the only constant is change!

@rherron #ICTed

Speaker's Biographies - Noel Malone - Colaiste Chiarain.

When Noel Malone, @npmalone, started work in Coláiste Chiaráin in 1999 there were just 86 students, there are now approximately 900. Why is this? Noel recognized that something radical needed to be done to attract students to Colaiste Chiarain – part of the plan that he put in place involved the rolling out of laptops to all students, transforming the school into a cutting edge digital space, setting up a Virtual Environment using Moodle and moving storage to the cloud using Google Docs.  This year, his is the first school to roll out up to twelve new ‘Super Options’ for his new first years as part of the new Junior Cycle. Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation are hallmarks of this radical new approach. The school was featured prominently last November in a major article in the Irish Times, ‘Is this Ireland’s Best School?’ 

All of the textbooks used in Coláiste Chiaráin by first and second years are now on the students’ laptops with many opting in all the way up to and including senior cycle. It is remarkable that this has been achieved in a climate where the incumbent educational publishers have been reluctant to allow their books to be made available in digital format.
Listen to Noel tell the incredible story of Coláiste Chiaráin and learn how to replicate this success in your school.

Speakers Biographies - Shane Foley - Dunshaughlin Community College

Shane Foley is the former Deputy Principal of Adamstown Community College and as of this September the Principal of Dunshauglin Community College. In the schools where Shane has taught to date he has brought an emphasis on technology that has strongly influenced not just how teaching and learning take place but how the school is run. 

Shane would agree that teachers do their best work when they are free from many of the mundane administrative tasks that can eat into teaching time. Shane is a strong believer in the power of data to better inform pedagogical decisions within the school system. His work in Adamstown Community College has left that school in the vanguard of ICT in Education and his latest move to Dunshaughlin can only lead to great things for a school which is one of only 12 international “Microsoft Schools of the Future”

Conference Speakers - Georgina Byrne - South Dublin Libraries

Georgina Byrne, @georginabyrne is County Librarian for South Dublin Libraries – delivering contemporary library services to over 265,000 citizens across the County. South Dublin Libraries are recognized nationally for their use of technology in the delivery of services and have received national and international awards for their ebook service, library website and literacy programmes for families and young children. The County Library in Tallaght is one of the largest public libraries in the country, offering over one hundred public access computers and a rich programme of lifelong learning opportunities to local communities. 

Services provided by the library network throughout the county include over 600,000 books for loan, computer and wifi facilities, website and web-based services, reference, local studies, cultural and educational events, and children’s services. South Dublin Libraries believe strongly that to work effectively they must work as partners with local parents and educators to enhance teaching and learning outcomes for all.

Conference Speakers - Anne McMorrough - Marino Institute of Education

Anne McMorrough - @annemmcm, is a primary school teacher currently seconded to Marino Institute of Education, Dublin where she is lecturing in ICT/eLearning. In 2009,  Anne completed a Masters in Education at the School of Education, University College Dublin. The focus of her dissertation explored the creative and innovative use of digital technologies within an infant class setting, using eTwinning (etwinning.net) as a catalyst for collaborative learning and teaching.

As an Ambassador for eTwinning in Ireland, she has actively participated in a wide range of eTwinning projects and teacher professional workshops. She also participated in the recent Mission V Project (missionv.ie) aimed at enhancing children's learning through creative interaction and construction in a virtual world. She is a member of the National Executive, Computers in Education Society of Ireland (CESI, cesi.ie) where she networks with teachers from around Ireland and beyond, sharing ideas and showcasing the potential of digital technologies in education today. In 2010 Anne began her doctoral studies under the supervision of Dr. Conor Galvin, PhD. at the UCD School of Education.