Teachers, You will be told that your holidays are too long; teach anyway. You will be told that you must raise standards even though you always aim to get the best out of your kids; teach anyway. You will not be given tax-breaks, bonuses, expensed-cars or luxury Christmas gifts; teach […]
Peter Lydon
On Saturday 21st March I attended Power Up 2015, the first Power Up presented in collaboration between Excited, the PDST and CESI. In this free-to-attend professional development opportunity, five workshops were on offer; Using social media for professional learning Finding and selecting information Capturing and using images on mobile devices […]
Power Up 2015 with Excited, PDST and CESI
News comes that Finland has decided to do away with what are, in schools, traditionally called ‘subjects’. In other settings, subjects were referred to as ‘disciplines’. There is a world of meaning in the difference. A discipline is a knowledge and skill base acquired after in-depth study. It speaks to […]
Finnish Education – Subject to Conditions
Ciaran Cannon TD is an advocate of the needs of gifted children and of the importance of technology in education. On Saturday, a new book on gifted education both here and in the United States will be launched in DCU. Ciaran launched the first comprehensive report on gifted education in […]
Ciaran Cannon TD on Gifted Education and on Technology
Presentation to AGTI Conference 2014 on Assessment for Learning
Assessment for Learning
In 2011, commenting on the release of the Draft Framework for the Junior Cycle, the then Minister for Educaiton, Ruairí Quinn, complemented the NCCA for having kept their deliberations secret. This secrecy, coupled with a politically managed consultation process that actively limited teacher input, sowed the seeds of what is […]
That’s Another Fine Mess……
Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Out to Get You! The Irish Times reports that the Minister for Education has decided that ‘Fitness-to-Teach’ hearings will be held in public and she will amend the Teaching Council Act 2001 to include this. This is a very serious step […]
Minister for Education Overrules The Professionals on Fitness-To-Teach Hearings
Teachers in Ireland are going on strike tomorrow. This strike is a little different. It’s not for money. It’s not for smaller classes. It’s not for reduced workload. The reason for the strike is the demand by the Department of Education in Ireland, on foot of old research conducted 15 […]
Irish Teachers Strike To Protect Their Students
This post is a variation of an article I was asked to write for and published in Education Matters Yearbook 2014. I have been using computers for over 36 years. I am an advocate of the utility of ICT in education. I teach ICT modules and run a Code Club in […]
Taking Tablets: Addressing The Symptoms or The Problem?
So, I was flitting through the tweets from the weekend trying to catch up on what was occurring. The first thing I noticed was the announcement by the Teaching Council that teachers would have to do mandatory ‘upskilling’ (http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/regular-upskilling-to-become- mandatory-for-teachers-1.1952456 ). A few things struck me about this. […]