NCTE | News and Events

NCTE Website Questionnaire

The NCTE website and its content is currently being restructured and redesigned and we are very keen to get feedback and opinions from teachers, principals and other parties who use our services. As part of this process we have compiled a short, anonymous questionnaire which should take no more than 10 mins to complete...

Safer Internet Day 2010

The 7th Safer Internet Day will be celebrated on 9th February 2010 in more than 60 countries across the world. This year the theme is "Think Before You Post".

Scoilnet: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Further to media reports that Irish schools are being provided with inaccurate Encyclopaedia Britannica reference content concerning the Irish Civil War, the NCTE can confirm that the content being referred to is not published in the Online Schools Edition available to all 4,000 schools via Scoilnet.ie and the Schools Broadband Network.

Free Online Seminars on Using Digital Content for Education

Dublin City University's Learning Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre is coordinating a series of FREE online seminars on using digital content for education. The seminars are delivered by leading international experts on digital content in education. Starting with "An Introduction to Open Educational Resources and Where to Find Them Online" by Neil Butcher (OER AFRICA) on 4 February 2010.

Minister O'Keefe and Des Bishop launch new website to teach Irish

The Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe TD, today (Monday) launched an interactive website to improve teaching and learning of spoken Irish in post-primary schools in a move backed by popular comedian Des Bishop.

Scoilnet Primary Theme Page: Online Safety

A new theme page for Primary schools on Online Safety featuring links to resources for children and teachers.

BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010 - Winner announced

The overall winner of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010 is Richard O’Shea, an 18 year old sixth year student from Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Blarney, Co Cork. His project, which was entered in the Technology category, Senior section, is entitled, “A biomass fired cooking stove for developing countries”.

European Language Label 2010

The European Language Label recognises creative and inventive ways to improve the quality of language teaching and learning. The annual award, which is coordinated by the European Commission, is managed in Ireland by Léargas.

Minister O'Keeffe announces free online encyclopedias for 4,000 schools

The country's 4,000 schools are to get free access to online versions of the popular Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book as part of an e-Learning initiative announced today by the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe TD.

NCTE: e-Links

With the New Year upon us, it is time to get back to e-Links, the post primary ICT co-ordinating teachers online supported network. A lot of activity has been going on, including the School Server Workshop Videos, Britannica Webinar, Regional Saturdays and the 'Wish List' - you'll need to log in to e-Links for all the details!

NCTE: Continuing Professional Development - How to Access It

There are four different models of professional development in ICT available through the NCTE. All NCTE courses are fully funded for teachers attending. Courses are developed by NCTE, in conjunction with other educational partners and focus on both the skills required and the pedagogy involved in integrating ICT in learning and teaching.

College graduates to help develop digital material for schools under Microsoft deal - Minister O'Keeffe

Twenty graduates of technology or teacher training college courses are to get work placement positions in Microsoft Ireland to help develop digital material for the school curriculum as part of a deal signed by the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe TD.

Launch of Giftedkids.ie Pilot Series of Webinars

Beginning in January 2010 and running throughout the year, Giftedkids.ie is presenting a pilot series of 6 online webinars aimed at both parents and teachers. The running time for each webinar is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes and will provide participants with a bite sized introduction to each of the following topics with a Q&A session.

CESI Meet: Presentation slots still available!

Presentation slots are still available for the Friday evening CESI Meet in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise. Perhaps you have a favourite ICT-enhanced lesson? Maybe you'd like to demo a website that has been especially effective in working with your students? If so, consider sharing your topic by way of a brief presentation at the CESI Meet! The CESI Meet is a lighthearted evening where sharing is the name of the game! All newcomers welcome!

Scoilnet Weather - Snow and Floods theme page

This theme page is aimed at students of Junior Cycle Geography. The page has been updated to include information on snow and floods.

BETT 2010

BETT - the Educational Technology Show - takes place from 13th to 16th January 2010 at the Olympia, London.

NCTE: Safer Internet Day 2010

Safer Internet Day is part of a global drive to promote a safer Internet for all users, especially young people. This event has been celebrated since 2004 in a growing number of countries. The 7th edition of Safer Internet Day will be celebrated in Ireland, as well as in more than 57 countries around the world, on 9 February 2010.

FIS BookClub Launched Free Video BookReview Project for Primary Schools

Legendary national broadcaster and book lover Gay Byrne joined with bestselling children's author Derek Landy to launch the FIS BookClub (www.fis.ie).

NCTE: Giftedkids.ie

Beginning in January 2010 and running throughout the year, Giftedkids.ie, the voluntary support and advocacy website for exceptionally able and twice exceptional children, is presenting a pilot series of 6 online synchronous webinars aimed at both parents and teachers.

Junior Spider Awards announced

The winners of the first Junior Spider Awards have been announced.

Your Europe, Your Say!

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is organising, for the first time, a major European event – "Your Europe, your say" – aimed exclusively at young people aged 16-17. It will take place in Brussels from 15-17 April 2010.

eQuality Measures

eQuality measures is a set of resources designed by the Department of Education and Science to assist post primary schools in increasing awareness of the issue of gender equality. These resources focus spcecifically on formulating a gender equality policy, recommending changes within curriculum provision and recommending changes in teaching methodologies and other school practices

Taoiseach launches €150m plan for 'smart schools'

Every classroom in the country is to get a teaching laptop, software and digital projector over the next three years as part of a €150 million plan for 'smart schools' launched today by the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD.

Encyclopaedia Britannica now available through Scoilnet

Encyclopaedia Britannica, a worldwide leader in reference, education and learning is now available through Scoilnet (www.scoilnet.ie) and the Schools Broadband Network. The encyclopaedia, which is normally only accessible following a substantial subscription, has been specifically licensed for educational use within Scoilnet.

Students Urged to ‘Think Before You Click’

Every second level school in the State is to receive a copy of a new teaching resource that urges students to take responsibility for their privacy online. Jointly developed by the NCTE and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) for use on the Junior Certificate CSPE curriculum, Think Before You Click explores online privacy issues and encourages young people to take steps to protect their own privacy, and that of their classmates.

NCTE: IBM Kidsmart

Schools across the country have once again benefited from IBM’s continued commitment to education and innovative use of technology in education when they received Young Explorers™. This is IBM’s 10th successive year of the very successful and innovative KidSmart Early Learning Programme in Ireland.

CESI Conference 2010 - new date, new place

The Computers in Education Society of Ireland (CESI) National Conference will be held Friday and Saturday, 5 & 6 February 2010. The change in date, one week earlier than previously announced, presents the exciting opportunity of holding the conference at Portlaoise Community College and the nearby Portlaoise Heritage Hotel.

NCTE: Technology Integration Initiative

a. The regularly updated ICT Advice Sheets are developed specifically to advise schools and provide information and advice on a wide range of ICT equipment and related areas.

b. ICT purchasing frameworks are new processes that simplify the purchasing of PCs, laptops, and printers for schools.

NCTE is now on Twitter

NCTE is now on Twitter, informing teachers, principals, parents and ICT professionals of the latest news and updates regarding NCTE.

NCTE/Scoilnet: World Book

World Book, the renowned encyclopaedia and reference source is now available through Scoilnet and the Schools Broadband Network. The encyclopaedia which is normally only accessible following a substantial subscription fee is being offered to schools in Ireland free-of-charge.

NCTE: Twitter cleared on Schools Broadband

Twitter.com is being allowed on the Schools Broadband Network - on a trial basis. Scoilnet's Primary and Post Primary Twitter pages are being used to send out site updates as well as highlight the best use of ICT in learning and teaching.

New homepage for Imagebank.ie

NCTE has implemented a new homepage for Imagebank.ie. It involves a dynamic mosaic of 9 images that constantly rotate so that visitors instantly get a sense of the breadth of content available.

EuroCreator

The FIS Community and IADT in partnership with the NCTE are launching a brand new and very exciting project, which is designed for educators and young people. If you are working in a community environment, after schools based activity, within a school or simply just interested in learning how to create Digital Media, then this project is for you!

Scoilnet Webhosting-Blogging Service Update

The Scoilnet webhosting-blogging service provides both a website hosting and a blogging service for Primary and Post Primary schools. The Scoilnet blogging service allows schools to easily develop a school website or school blog and host it for free on the schools broadband network. The blogging service supports different types of content, including text, images, audio, including podcasts and video clips.

NCTE: RSS Feed

An RSS Feed has been created from the contents of the NCTE newsletter.

NCTE: Scoilnet Maps

The NCTE's web mapping website, Scoilnet Maps, provides a full range of maps that really excite learners – OSi maps, aerial photographs, world maps, country maps, and more. The Scoilnet Maps reference manual has recently been published and posted out to 1,300 registered users.

NCTE: I Am An Artist - Call for Artwork!

The primary school visual arts website, I AM AN ARTIST, has a gallery area where examples of students’ work are featured. We are always looking for new submissions and invite all primary school teachers to send in digital photos of children’s work to us.

NCTE: Digital Schools

Since its launch the Digital Schools Award has grown steadily. Nearly eighty schools have expressed an interest in becoming a digital school. Presently forty five schools have been awarded digital schools status and a further twenty five schools have registered and are at various stages of preparation. A number of developments have taken place recently which is expected to boost these figures.

NCTE: Broadband - Content Filtering

NCTE have an Adult Content Filtering Level which can be switched on for a couple of hours to facilitate Adult classes especially those educating parents on social networking sites such as Bebo.

NCTE: Schools Anti-Virus Information

Some of the main Anti-Virus suppliers have begun providing information to NCTE regarding Anti-Virus (AV) special pricing for first and second level schools. As updated information becomes available it will be made available on the NCTE website.

Scoilnet: Add logo to your school website

Why not download the logo and add it to your school website!

Scoilnet Star Site

The Schools Online section of Scoilnet has launched the Star Site icon. Schools that are named Star Site may display the icon which we hope will become a mark of distinction for school websites.

Reports on ICT in Schools Published

Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe, T.D., today (10 July, 2008) published two reports on ICT in Schools. Investing Effectively in Information and Communications Technology in Schools 2008-2013 is the Report of the Strategy Group appointed to advise on the priorities for investment in ICT in Schools having regard to the critical success factors for successful integration of ICT into learning and teaching. ICT in Schools reports on the evaluation of the impact of ICT on teaching and learning undertaken by the Department’s Inspectorate.

T4 Licensing requirements

Recently, schools have been contacted by Dell to ensure their licensing arrangements for the Microsoft Learning Suite software are correct under the T4 agreement

Software and Assistive technology Suppliers/ Publishers

The NCTE has published a list of some software and assistive technology publishers, producers and suppliers for special needs education on the Special Needs & ICT section of it's website.

QualifaX website

QualifaX have launched their updated website containing information on over 3000 full and part time courses in Ireland.

Newsletter Archive

Subscribers can obtain an archive of past newsletters. Instructions on how to do so are given.

NCTE: Publications Online

The NCTE produces a number of publications and these can be downloaded from the NCTE website.

The Impact of Schools IT2000

National Policy Advisory and Development Committee (NPADC) Report and Recommendations to the Minister for Education and Science on the Department of Education and Science Schools IT2000 initiative

Contact Us

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