Intel launches eSchools plan to boost wireless in classrooms [siliconrepublic.com]
- Published: 25 March 2011
Straffan National School in Kildare is to be the first school in Ireland to benefit from Intel’s eSchools programme, which aims to enable primary schools to embrace the use of wireless technology in the classroom.
Each year, Intel donates a classroom technology package to a chosen school, which includes 30 new laptops, a dedicated teacher laptop, an LCD projector and a portable trolley unit to allow the kit to be moved between classrooms.
Students and teachers can then use the wirelessly enabled laptops to access the internet from anywhere in the school, allowing them to incorporate technology into the teaching and learning process.
This year for the first time, eSchools was linked to Intel’s Mini Scientist initiative for primary schools as those who entered the science program have the opportunity to apply for the eSchools competition.
There was a fantastic response to both the Mini Scientist program, which had more than 2,600 participants in 2010, and to the eSchools initiative, which had a large number of applicants.
Child not read to at bedtime is 'abused', says Quinn [IrishTimes]
- Published: 25 March 2011
A CHILD not read to when going to bed at night was an abused child, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn told the Dáil.
“If a home does not cherish literacy, it is a form of abuse,” he said.
Mr Quinn said literacy started in the home. “By the time a four-year-old arrives in junior infants, outcomes in literacy have already been significantly determined by the commitment of parents, no matter what class or socio-economic group,” he added.
The Minister said he had raised concerns in the past about the State’s “wonderful” education system not delivering. He added that party colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, a primary school principal in Dublin’s inner city, was the first to highlight the need for a right-to-read programme.
“I will be looking at that not to scapegoat teachers or schools, because we are all failing, as parents, society and families, and we must find a way collectively to deal with the issue,”said Mr Quinn.
Mr Quinn said a middle-class child from a committed family arrived in school at four years of age with a vocabulary that was twice that of a child from a disadvantaged family.
A working-class boy who left school at 15 years of age, unable to read or write, was destined for a future of intermittent employment and, possibly, crime.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Quinn backs down in college row [Independent.ie]
- Published: 25 March 2011
MINISTERS are preparing to soften tough new restrictions on appointments and promotions in universities.
Academics say the "Soviet-style" controls, designed to reduce the cost of the public sector paybill, would strip universities of their independence and autonomy.
There is widespread anger over the new Employment Control Framework drawn up by the state funding agency, the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
The new controls would even affect appointments to positions funded privately or by the EU, such as those on prestigious and lucrative research contracts
But Education Minister Ruairi Quinn and Enterprise and Innovation Minister Richard Bruton said yesterday that a review was under way.
Mr Quinn said while they could not take their eye off the "bottom line" of the nation's finances, they were mindful of problems arising around research activity. He said they would welcome constructive suggestions from the third-level sector and believed "we can find a solution".
Mr Bruton said there were elements of the framework that had to be reviewed and that they could not have a system that restricted research.
Dr Eoin O'Dell, of TCD, said there was unanimous opposition among academics to the framework and that the framework was also of dubious legality. This was because staffing guidelines issued by the HEA are not binding under the Universities Act 1997.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Cap on Special Needs Assistants a travesty – Crowe [sinnfein.ie]
- Published: 24 March 2011
Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Education Sean Crowe has called on Labour Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn not to implement the proposed cap on Special Needs Assistants.
Describing the cap as ‘a travesty’ Deputy Crowe said that pupils should be allocated Special Needs Assistants based on educational need alone.
Deputy Crowe said:
“It is not acceptable that children with special needs would go without the appropriate support to see them through their education. Leaving children without these supports is a travesty.
“Pupils should be allocated Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) based on educational need alone.
“SNAs are not overpaid, quite the opposite, they receive just a little more than the minimum wage – less than €12 an hour. Money can be saved elsewhere. This is about priorities and looking after the educational prospects of our most vulnerable children must be made a priority.
Full Story: www.sinnfein.ie
NCCA wins eGovernment award [NCCA.ie]
- Published: 24 March 2011
The Curriculum Planning Tool, developed by the NCCA, has won the People's Choice category in the eGovernment Ireland Awards 2011. The Tánaiste Éamonn Gilmore presented the award to the NCCA at a ceremony on March 23rd. Many thanks to everyone who voted for us. Our work to support teachers in their planning continues, and the online tool which enables primary teachers to search for objectives and generate long and short term plans, has recently been enhanced, with more functions and extra content added. See it for yourself at www.curriculumonline.ie/primaryplanningtool.
read more ...
