Interview with MegaDojo organisers Barry and Eugene

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Roisin and Chris interviewed Barry and Eugene the organisers of MegaDojo. They told us about how they came up with the idea for the conference and also how they think it is progressing. They also told us how important it is for young people to learn skills such as those taught at CoderDojo. They also told us about how they hope to make it more successful in the future.

Roisin and Chris,

YMT.

Interview with Mags Amond and Susan Nic Reamoinn

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Chris and Roisin interviewed Mags Amond and Susan Nic Réamoinn. Mags and Susan spoke to us about their workshop and the technologies they use such as Little Bits and LEDs. They spoke about the importance of CoderDojo for young people in Ireland. They also told a little bit about their workshop at MegaDojo.

Roisin and Chris,

Youth Media Team

Interview with Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan

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Caitlin and Roisin interviewed Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’Sullivan. The minister spoke about the Digital Strategy for schools. Shhe told us that it will allow teachers to develop their skills and pass these on to their students in the classroom. She also spoke about the importance of events such as Megadojo and weeks such as Start Up Week and EU Code Week.The Minister also outlined the great work Coderojo is doing to allow young people to actively and willingly learn about IT and how this will benefit them in their careers.


Caitlin and Roisin,

Youth Media Team

Interview with Dr. Maria Hinfelaar, LIT PResident

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Chris interviewed Dr. Maria Hinfelaar LIT President at MegaDojo. Dr. Hinfelaar spoke about how important CoderDojo is for young people in Ireland. She also told us why LIT have supported CoderDojo since it was set up four years ago. Dr. Hinfelaar also expressed why the support from Minister Jan O’Sullivan and Sean Kelly MEP is valued at these events.

Chris,

Youth Media Team

Interview with Maureen Gaffney

Caitlin and Chris interviewed Keynote speaker and psychologist Dr. Maureen Gaffney. Maureen spoke about the importance of teachers connecting with their students and also how she hopes the education system will do more for the wellbeing of teachers and students.

Caitlin and Chris,

YMT

Ireland’s Minister for Education Chats with @YMTfm #Feilte

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

Interview with CAST and GaelGory here at # FEILTE

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

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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.

Talking Literacy with Damien Quinn and Maria O’Sullivan

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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.

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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!

Interview with Áine Lynch and Don Myers

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.

Lego Robotics with Maggie Green #Feilte

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