Barnardo's eager to improve children’s literacy [belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
- Published: 08 February 2011
Barnardo's in Northern Ireland is tackling low literacy levels among children from socially deprived areas with its new programme, Ready To Learn.
The children's charity said that by the age of three, children from disadvantaged areas in Northern Ireland may be as much as one year behind their peers from more affluent backgrounds.
The charity also said that 20% of children here are leaving primary school unable to read or write to the required standard.
The programme will promote a love of learning among 300 children from nine randomly selected primary schools in Antrim, Ballymena, Belfast and Larne.
The P1 children will spend three hours a week taking part in the project, with their parents or carers involved in a parallel programme.
Children’s literacy expert, Professor Timothy Shanahan, said the project could positively change the lives of the children taking part during these times of austerity.
He said: “Programmes like this allow schools to up their game and actually raise achievement.
Full Story: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Facebook face-off at study time [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 February 2011
Many parents are frustrated about the amount of time their teenagers spend on Facebook, and some teachers consider it to be the greatest threat to established study patterns in a generation – and research is proving them right
THINK OF the ways you could spend seven hours a week. Perfecting a new language, maybe learning an instrument – or how about exchanging sound bytes and pictures with people you see all day anyway?Parents and teachers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the amount of time that students are spending on Facebook. The social networking site has become a universal, round-the-clock presence on laptops and smartphones in classrooms and libraries, studies and bedrooms. What, they are asking, is the impact of all this on homework and concentration?
“Facebook has become an obsession among students,” says John Cronin, principal of Castleknock Community College in Dublin. “They can’t go anywhere or do anything without going and sharing the details online. It must be having an impact on study. It’s like having 15 of your friends in your bedroom with you, chatting away while you try and do your homework.”
Irish second and third level students are spending more and more time on the site. The school students we interviewed confessed to spending between 2 and 8 hours a week on Facebook and a recent UPC study conducted in colleges around the country found that 95 per cent were on Facebook with almost half saying they spend between six and 10 hours on the site each week.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Six out of ten children 'lie about age on internet' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 08 February 2011
Six out of every 10 young people who make contact with strangers on the internet lie about their age, a new survey has revealed, and 43pc have online 'firends' they've never met in real life, says research to mark Safer Internet Day.
Young people are defying the dangers that adults have warned them about and are still taking chances that could put themselves at risk online, according to new research.
The survey from the childrens charity Kidscape interviewed more than 2,300 young Britons aged between 11 and 18 about their internet use.
The survey was held to mark Safer Internet Day today.
The survey results showed that currently one in two young people lied about their personal details on the internet. Of those, the one in eight young people who talk to strangers online are the most likely to lie, with 60pc lying about their age and 40pc about their personal relationships.
In a separate survey for online security firm Kaspersky Labs, YouGov found that as many as 43pc of people with internet access have online ‘friends’ they have never met in real life. Over half (54pc) of those aged between 18 and 24 have online friends they haven’t met in real life, identifying the possibility that young people today are sharing personal information from strangers.
Kidscape officials say their survey indicates that many young people adopt a different identity online,.
Peter Bradley, Kidscape's deputy director and a psychotherapist specialising in adolescents, said: "We were alarmed by the number of risks being taken by teenagers online.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Teacher's Pet [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 February 2011
An insider’s guide to education
That bitter dispute between UCD president, Hugh Brady and Tom Boland (pictured), chief executive of the Higher Education Authority over unauthorised allowances to senior Belfield staff continues to rage.
But behind the scenes, both parties are being encouraged to stop digging. The other university presidents and some board members of the HEA take a dim view of the dispute – and want to see an end to hostilities.
The argument is that the dispute, if left simmering, will do long-term damage to higher education by encouraging the politicians to examine every line of university spending.
The good news? A happy resolution of the dispute is set to be announced after the next HEA board meeting in March. UCD will make a without-prejudice payment to student services and the HEA will back off.
That, at least, is the plan. It’s now up to UCD vice president, Philip Nolan and Tom Boland to tidy up the details.
- Pat King, the new-ish general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) is being widely praised for his calm stewardship of the union since taking office last year.
Instead of a less-than-splendid isolation, the union entered talks on Croke Park and is now reballoting members.
So far, so good.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Children feel they use web ‘too much’ [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 08 February 2011
MORE Irish children consider they spend too much time on the internet than their European counterparts.
A new survey finds that 43% of Irish children report using the internet excessively compared to the EU average of 30%.
The EU Kids Online study also finds that over half of Irish children between the ages of nine and 16 are using the internet for more than one hour each day.
Excessive use of the internet is particularly prevalent among 11 to 12 year-olds.
Over 45% of those surveyed say they have spent less time than they should with friends, family or doing schoolwork because of time online. This is compared to the average 35% on a European level.
The publication of the survey, entitled EU Kids Online: The Ireland Report: Risks and Safety for Children on the Internet, was made to mark the annual Safer Internet Day, which is part of a global drive to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people.
The survey also found that a growing number of children in Ireland (37%) are allowed use the internet in a private space away from supervision. However, far more (56%) only access it in a public room at home. This is a reverse of the European finding where more children had private internet access (49%) compared to public rooms (only 38%).
"It’s up to parents themselves," says Catherine Bolger, psychologist with Dublin Institute of Technology. "They have a responsibility to strictly supervise their children’s and young teens’ access to any internet sites — not just social networking sites. It sounds obvious but parents need to know what their children are doing."
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
