Virtual Learning

http://corneliusyoung.blogspot.com/

Blogging
Pod Casting
Second Life
Professional Development
VoIP

Blogging

Blogs are basically webpages that contain the writings or posts of an individual or group of individuals. They usually centre on a particular theme and follow a reverse chronological order. Not only do they provide an online space for individuals to express themselves they also facilitate reader commentary, critique, and interlinkage between sites and other blogs. 

Commonly used blogging tools include: Blogger, Wordpress, and  Edublogs. 

Scoilnet webhosting & blogging service enables schools to establish an online presence providing both a website hosting and a blogging service for Primary and Post Primary schools in Ireland. The Scoilnet blogging service allows schools to easily develop a school website or school blog and host it for free. The blogging service supports different types of content, including text, images, audio, including podcasts and video clips.

Tumblr.com

Kidblog.org

Teachers

http://ictandeducation.com/ by teachers at St Columba's

Mrhttp://tkendall.edublogs.org/ Maths blog by Tom Kendall

http://slua.com/ Blogging/Podcasting by Joe Molloy
http://www.sccenglish.ie// Julian Girdham, St.Columbas English Department

School Sites

Carlow Educate Together NS; http://www.carloweducatetogether.ie/home

CBS Mithchelstown NS; http://cbsmitchprim.scoilnet.ie/blog

St. Colmcilles CS: http://stcolmcillesscience.blogspot.com/

St. Andrews Library: http://librarysac.wordpress.com/

Classes/Projects

Gaelscoil na Ríthe, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath: http://eolaiocht.webs.com/

Team Tree to One http://loretobalbriggan.ie/ty/teamtreetoone

Pod casting        

A podcast is a broadcast of multimedia information (usually audio) over the Internet. It is different to a broadcast in that it is not restricted to a schedule nor does it require sophisticated equipment to create a podcast. Video and radio programmes, music, lectures, announcements are often podcast. These are then downloaded on demand to a computer or tranferred to a portable device such as an ipod or an Mp3 player. They are usually free and can be listened to at a time that is convenient to you.

Commonly used pod casting creation tools include: 

Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Podomatic: http://www.podomatic.com/
Apple Garage Band: http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/

Podcast hosting  sites include:
Pod Bean: http://www.podbean.com/
Podomatic: http://www.podomatic.com/






Callystown NS http://callystownns.scoilnet.ie/blog/our-school-podcasts/

http://thinkforyourself.ie/2009/03/11/neutrinos-they-are-very-small/
St. Columbas SCC English http://sccenglish.podbean.com/

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Audio Boo
St. Columbas SCC English: http://audioboo.fm/sccenglish
Physics 

Second Life

Second Life can provide a platform for educators to experiment with designing spaces for learning.  Although it is being used in several third-level colleges in the United States, it is not commonly used at primary or post-primary school.  

MissionV began as a pilot programme based in Gaelscoil Eoghan Uí Thuarisc, Carlow began in 2010 when five students logged on to their 16 acre digital desert island.  This was the first time that virtual worlds technology was used to support the Irish primary school curriculum in a learning support setting. Here, they learned to model and programme in 3D using Scratch and by the end of the first phase of the project had built a complex “city in the sky”, had recreated replicas of the Castledermot High Crosses and had enjoyed an online visit by award winning children’s author Bob Burke.  The Learning Support Teacher, has been teaching small groups of exceptionally able children at the Carlow Gaelscoil for the past number of years and was interested in using this type of technology to provide enrichment material for her current group of students:

Mission V website; http://www.giftedkids.ie/daynuv.html

Professional Development

OECD’s report (TALIS, 2009) found that “informal dialogue to improve teaching” is mentioned as the most frequent professional development activity.  Similarly,“professional development networks”, such as those online, can have a considerable impact on teachers’ development. 


Best Practice in Education: http://www.teachnet.ie/
Education Resources: www.skoool.ie
Computer Education Society of Ireland: http://www.cesi.ie/
Irish Curriculum Website: http://www.ncca..ie/
Professional Development Service for Teachers: http://www.pdst.ie/


National Technology in Education Portal: http://www.scoilnet.ie/

Twitter

@russeltarr ........general + history

@TheFrogBlog.......science teacher St.Columna's

@sccenglish........English teacher St Columba's

@NL_84 ........primary

@lissmiss........, mostly primary

@simonlewis....... Princ. Ed tog Primary

@Seomraranga....,, primary 

@IrishTeachets

@fboss from NCTE

@Irisheducation........tweets articles from daily papers relating to Irish education matters

Also @eschatie is where Irish teachers get together every mon night on twitter

Podcasts from our workshop




Andrew
 

Dhitta


Marinna


Fofo


Shivali

Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD

Effort 1.egg on Aviary.

sample1.egg on Aviary.

sample1.egg on Aviary.

MOBILE PHONE AS AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

Task 1: Watch this video below and read through Liz Kolb's blog site http://cellphonesinlearning.blogspot.com/ , then comment on the forum at the bottom of this section.

If your mobile phone has Bluetooth, try connecting it to a laptop.  You may have to look up the instructions manual or, perhaps, find the instructions on the internet.  Try sending photographs/video from a smart phone to a device via Bluetooth.

Task 2: As a team create a storyboard on a mutually interesting topic including images from around the centre.  Using your mobile phone or digital camera recreate the storyboard using MS Photostory, using the instructions below.

You may wish to use http://pixlr.com/editor/ to enhance the quality of your images.  You may also find suitable images on www.flickr.com but have a read of the license conditions under http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/ first.

Task 3: Again using your mobile phone or digital camera and the instructions below, create a short sequence using MS Movie Maker.  You may need to use a file conversion site such as http://www.mediaconverter.org/ to convert your clip into a .avi for use in Movie Maker.

Alternatively, you may prefer to create your short sequence using http://www.animoto.com/

BLOGGING AND PODCASTING

Blogs and podcasts are great ways to engage your pupils in real and meaningful language learning tasks. Harnessing technologies such as social networking sites, mp3 players and mobile phones to channel your pupils creativity will allow them to personalise their learning by giving them access to tailored resources whenever and wherever they want. Blogging and podcasting can help you to moderate standards in writing and speaking across the age range, create assessment for learning opportunities and provide learning materials they can use to revise away from the classroom in their own time. 

Task 1: Review the following blogs, using the forum below: comment on the potential value of Blogs for teaching and learning:

A selection of Blogs

Labhair leis an lámh by Eleanor Moloney, St Paul's Secondary, Greenhills
Douce France by Conall Hamill, French teacher
From the Ground Up by Pauric O'Donnell - follows the re-design of a school website and integration of ICT into the classroom.
eLearning Island, by Dónal O' Mahony
Think for Yourself, by Noel Cunningham, Physics Teacher
The E-Learning Curve by Michael Hanley, Consultant
Integrating ICT into the Modern Foreign Languages Classroom, by Joe Dale, Language Teacher
Using ICT in Further Education, by Patricia Donaghy, ICT Coordinator
An Increasingly Digital Life, by John Hegarty
Simon's EduMoBlog, by Simon Lewis
Anseo.net by Simon Lewis
Blogging and Podcasting by Joe Molloy
Careers Ireland by Francis O' Toole
Faith Arts by Brendan O'Regan
Free Resources for Educators by Patricia Donaghy
Pennybridged's Weblog
Mr Kendall Recommends Maths blog by Tom Kendall
More Stress, Less Success by Humphrey Jones
Department of Information and Commnication Technology - St Colmcille's
ICT Education by teachers at St Columba's

Task 2: Produce a Podcast using Aviary Myna, in pairs, record a short poem podcast.  

Now click on the HTML option of your (Blogger) Blog, copy and paste the podcast code from Myna.  After pressing save, view your blog and your podcast should now play in your blog.

Dev with pop.egg on Aviary.