Comments on 9am: Arrive in Ireland. 10am: Meet Government.TypePad2008-05-28T13:28:11ZEwan McIntoshhttps://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2008/05/9am-arrive-in-i/comments/atom.xml/Barry Howard commented on '9am: Arrive in Ireland. 10am: Meet Government.'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e5528df39b88332008-05-29T20:31:52Z2008-05-29T20:31:52ZBarry Howard@ Tom Before I became a teacher I worked in some schools at home just to get some experience. One...<p>@ Tom</p>
<p>Before I became a teacher I worked in some schools at home just to get some experience. One of the main things I did was sort their computers out. The system was a mess a mishmash of different machines from different suppliers, of varying ages. Some were also riddled with viruses.</p>
<p>It's not right that schools have to rely on parents, extended families or a few select staff members to deliver what is an essential service in education in this day and age. </p>
<p>But these are political decisions, that sadly will and are having an impact on Irish children's education. </p>Iain S commented on '9am: Arrive in Ireland. 10am: Meet Government.'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e55288e5b188332008-05-28T19:09:15Z2008-05-28T19:09:15ZIain Shttp://drilly.wordpress.com/Things might be moving forward in the PE world in Ireland I have been invited over in October to Dublin...<p>Things might be moving forward in the PE world in Ireland I have been invited over in October to Dublin to present some of my work using Dartfish and support some of the pilot work taking place using ICT in PE.</p>
<p>Iain</p>Tom Gleeson commented on '9am: Arrive in Ireland. 10am: Meet Government.'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e552a091c888342008-05-28T15:03:37Z2008-05-28T15:03:37ZTom Gleesonhttp://blog.gobansaor.com@Barry I'm not a teacher myself, but my sister is a soon-to-retire Primary principal, and as her (and occasionally my...<p>@Barry</p>
<p>I'm not a teacher myself, but my sister is a soon-to-retire Primary principal, and as her (and occasionally my own children's school's) un-official technical support person, I've seen the joke that is ICT in Irish education first hand.</p>
<p>My sister has done wonders with tiny budgets (and none) and her own enthusiasm to make her own small rural school a fine example of the use of IT, but she's soon to retire and it looks like there's nobody to take up that role.</p>
<p>Most schools seem to depend totally on the effort of one or two teachers (if they're lucky). I know that's also the situation with things like sports, music and drama, but in our so-called knowledge economy, IT is not an optional skill!</p>
<p>Tom </p>Barry Howard commented on '9am: Arrive in Ireland. 10am: Meet Government.'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e5528799bb88332008-05-28T14:31:46Z2008-05-28T14:31:46ZBarry HowardI agree with Tom. The government have dittered about with regard to this. My mum lives in a city and...<p>I agree with Tom. The government have dittered about with regard to this. My mum lives in a city and can't even get decent fixed line broadband.</p>
<p>Is 252 million euros enough? I think they need to spending alot more to bring Irish school ICT provision up to date.</p>
<p>In the past provison has been very patchy with schools having to usually fund the equipment themselves, with no central support.</p>
<p>The teaching friends I have at home are envious of the amount of equipment that we have over here and the level of support we get.</p>
<p>Why was this not part of the National Development Plan in the past?</p>Tom Gleeson commented on '9am: Arrive in Ireland. 10am: Meet Government.'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e552877c4088332008-05-28T14:10:26Z2008-05-28T14:10:26ZTom Gleesonhttp://blog.gobansaor.comThe problem with ICT within the Irish education system (both primary and secondary) is that the politicians have talked-the-talk but...<p>The problem with ICT within the Irish education system (both primary and secondary) is that the politicians have talked-the-talk but rarely walked-the-walk. </p>
<p>The reality is that it's a complete mess.</p>
<p>The last "great push" was broadband roll-out; the end result is that most rural schools (even those within 5KM of a telephone exchange) are lumbered with an atrocious Satellite based system that's slower than dial-up during school hours.</p>
<p>And it looks like it's not going to get better, see http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0528/breaking52.htm<br />
<br />
Tom</p>