Scoil Bhríde finds itself in a very fortunate position of being able to make investments towards improving the school’s IT infrastructure in recent times. As we look towards IT in education it is important that we find clarity in how we help our students prepare for their future. Information technology has grown exponentially in the last decade and to predict where we will be in another ten years would be very difficult. However, as a school we must try our best to accommodate and prepare our students for jobs that haven’t even been invented yet, for skills in IT that they will most likely need to have, and yet we cannot replace this new “education” with current education values.

Scoil Bhríde is investing in sixteen laptops so student’s will be given the opportunity not just to learn the workings of programmes such as Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, excel etc… but also to create school projects in groups, working together and helping each other towards a common goal.  These projects will be curricular based and will provide a platform for active learning combining with skills such as communicating, compromising, problem-solving, and decision making.  We want our students working together and learning from one another. Students have always been creating projects, we are now just providing yet another new platform to work from and learn new skills along the way.

“ICT in primary education must  serve the pedagogical principles of the curriculum such as activity and discovery learning, child centred authentic learning, integrated and environment based learning, developing a child’s sense of wonder and curiosity, developing existing knowledge and experience, language being central to the learning process, the development of higher order thinking and problem solving skills, collaborative learning, catering for individual difference and supporting assessment.

ICT must be integrated around and in all aspects of the Primary School Curriculum. It should not be viewed as a stand-alone subject. We should be using ICT as a tool and a means for accessing the curriculum and supporting, enriching and extending teaching and learning. ICT in schools must emphasize and aid in teaching and learning.”

                                                                                                The use of ICT inPrimary Schools – INTO 2015

As a teacher, I look forward to seeing the above take place in our school.