IT Upgrades
We received a digital learning grant (EU NRRP) of €22,000 from the government in the 21/22 school year.
We used this grant to purchase…
5 interactive screens for classrooms at a cost of €13,250.
These screens were fitted to 4 senior infant classrooms and 1 first class classroom as we wanted all of our pupils to have access to an interactive screen and ensure continuity throughout the school.
€9,061 was used towards the purchase of 32 iPads, protective cases and secure charging trolleys which cost €14,895.37 in total.
The iPads are shared between our 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th pupils (12 classes in total).... (approx 360 pupils)
We wanted a whole class to have their own individual iPad to use for learning opportunities in the classroom rather than sharing a device with another child (as had previously been the case).
We have used these devices to help develop children’s coding skills throughout the school - starting with the use of Beebots in junior classes, moving on to use of Scratch Junior in the middle classes and finally using Minecraft Education in senior classes.
As children move through the school they build on their skills being developed in each class level. In senior classes children begin to use iMovie to create advertisements as part of English curriculum. Children also take part in designing their own Kahoot quizzes as a fun way to enable children to take part in creating peer assessments. Pupils use Kiddle, Scoilnet and Google Earth to support self directed learning and research. Each student is also documenting their learning digitally through the Seesaw App.
Mathletics, Times Tables Rock Stars, 99 Math, Read Theory, Typing Club and Duolingo are some of the other websites and applications children utilise in supporting the development of their literacy, numeracy and IT skills.
Online safety and consent regarding the sharing/taking of photographs etc. is something which we support our students with too to help them confidently and safety navigate the online world. Cyber Safe Ireland gave talks to parents and students in February 2023 to support our school community.
We are very passionate about building upon these skills for our students and look forward to continuing to invest in IT in our school for the benefit of our student body.
