Author: Pam O'Brien

Ireland’s Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan explained the important role of the student voice in education, especially when trying to provide the pedagogical and technological foundations for connected learning.

Youth Media Team members Adam O’Dwyer and Amy Lombard asked the Minister about Ireland systemic approach to technology-driven innovations in an era when many school students feel more comfortable with technology than their parents or teachers.

Feilte has grown to become one of the largest gatherings of teachers in Ireland and as the Minister noted in conversations with attendees, the annual event spawns conversations that reach across the country with contributions that surface during TeachMeets at regularly scheduled intervals.

Youth Media Team
Adam and Amy

Here Eoin and Finn meet up with a couple of “characters” CAST and GaelGory, who are exhibitors here today in Dublin.

The first interview was GaelGory, who was dressed in a cloud suit of all things and a dinosaur costume. He spoke to us about GaelGory itself and threw in a bit of Gaeilge to catch us out.

The second interview was with Noel of CAST, a film festival for young people, which two members of the team, Adam and Eoin, were involved in themselves. Noel spoke about the festival and its quick growth from humble beginnings.

Youth Media Team,

Eoin and Finn.

Caitlin and Amy spoke to Damien Quinn, who runs the Seomra Ranga website, providing resources for primary school teachers. He shared details of the Signs of Autumn Twitter project.

Eoin and Finn spoke to Maria O’Sullivan, a librarian with South Dublin Libraries, about literacy, a 1916 resource pack for schools, collaborative learning and not forgetting SummerBuzz!

Adam and Chris chat to the National Parents Council representatives of primary and secondary schools in Ireland. In their panel discussion earlier in the day Áine and Don expressed how vital it is for parents to teach their children in the home as they are the primary educators. In the interview they discussed the role of the Parents Council and the role of parents in their children’s education.

Youth Media Team,

Adam O’Dwyer & Chris Fennelly.

Maggie Green, a primary school teacher and Lego Robotics enthusiast, shared ideas on how to integrate clever games and projects into school curriculums. Maggie is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in game creation. Her major project involves developing a computer game for children with speech and language impairment.

In The School Door, a Halloween workshop, “the mad scientist is getting ready to take part in some terrifying tales”. Maggie’s “spooky literacy workshop” runs inside Facebook (The School Door) and her website offers equally intriguing ideas that mash up hands-on learning that helps to link maths and science to the real world with problem solving based on deep and creative thought.

Youth Media Team
Amy

Caitlin Donnelly, Chris Fennelly, and Amy Lombard roamed the floor of Feilte 2015, learning more about innovative education from various showcase presenters.

Presenters from SBP Radio broadcast via WiFi in Scoil Bhride, Portlaoise, every Friday from 9am to 9:30 throughout the school. Programmes often feature interviews with teachers, accompanied by popular music.

Physics Busking team members used simple materials to create really cool science projects. One of the projects involved lifting Amy off the conference floor purely with the power of friction. (See photo below.)

The Second Level Transfer Education Programme gives Sixth Class students an opportunity to prepare for second level education.

Brendan Colleran, secondary school teacher in Limerick, explained Castletroy College’s e-Twinning project. More than 300,000 teachers are involved in e-twinning throughout Europe.

More than 80 different showcases were on display in the RDS during Feilte 2015 with dozens of teachers providing first-hand descriptions of innovative education in Ireland.

Amy and Caitlin interviewed Ciara Mc Cardle. We chatted about her article in which she spoke about the negatives associated with technology. She shared her thoughts on being part of the panel discussion ‘Technology In Education’ which allowed her to learn more about the positive aspects of using technology.

Caitlin and Amy,
YMT.

Amy and Caitlin interviewed Cathy Hynes,Eve Casey and Kathleen O’Brien from Kinsale Community School. The girls are BT Young Scientist winners 2014 and spoke about the hard work and dedication that goes into presenting and creating an award winning project. They also spoke about their opinions on ‘Technology In Education’-the panel discussion they participated in.

Youth Media Team,
Amy and Caitlin.