ITL Festival Exhibitor 4 – Fluirse Education Solutions

Fluirse Education Solution’s specialises in designing and developing interactive media and software that coincides with the school curricula. Fluirse aspires to become the main provider of curricula-aligned software and they aim to do this by working closely with educators across the board in order to improve the teaching and learning experience for all. Anois, the company’s flagship series of products, were developed to address the needs of Irish language teachers and their curriculum. Anois was extremely successful so the company started working on a range of other primary school curriculum products.

Fluirse is unique in their approach as they:

• work closely with teachers, parents and education experts
• support teachers and parents with specialised training materials
• put education first and integrate technology where useful

If you would like to find out more information about Fluirse Education Solutions log onto http://www.fluirse.com.

We are delighted to announce that Fluirse will be showcasing some of their products at the Irish Teaching and Learning Festival 2010.

For more information on sponsors and exhibitors visit www.itlfestival.ie or Register here!

ITL Festival Exhibitor 9 – Matrix Display Systems

Matrix Display Systems is a branch of the AVM Group and it specialises in the educational sector. The company was formed in 1991 and it is now an award winning supplier of state of the art audiovisual technology. Matrix believes that the appropriate application is crucial for technological success. The company works for over 40 different Local Authorities, County Councils and Local Education Partners from playschool to university level.

Matrix is accredited by BECTA Framework Service Providers and it is a member of BESA. Today Matrix partners with leading manufacturers of audiovisual developments in education such as Promethean and SMART. Matrix participates in projects, such as Building Schools for the Future, which empower parents, teachers and pupils with the necessary educational tools required to succeed.

The Irish Teaching and Learning Festival is delighted to announce that Matrix Display Systems will be showcasing some of their products at the Irish Teaching and Learning Festival 2010.

For more information on sponsors and exhibitors visit www.itlfestival.ie or Register here!

Importance of Technology In Education

How educational material is prepared and presented by teachers’ plays a fundamental role is the dissemination of knowledge. Technology can help educators to create effective ways of preparing for class, of  transferring knowledge to their students and inspiring pupils to advance their studies further. Research has shown that presentation visuals supported by technology could be used to improve students understanding and retention of the course curriculum. The Irish Teaching and Learning Festival has been specifically designed with this in mind. The conference and exhibition will look at the importance of technology in education today and how it can play a fundamental role in classroom activities.

For more information about the Irish Teaching and Learning Festival visit www.itlfestival.ie or Register here!

ITL Festival Exhibitor 7 – Imex

Imex has been supplying solutions and products to its offices in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland for nearly 40 years. They provide Test and Measurement solutions to colleges, universities and numerous other companies throughout the UK and Ireland.

In 1998, Imex expanded its business into audio visual and interactive training solutions. This enabled the company to develop and specialise in the area of design, production and implementation of interactive teaching technology. Imex differs from other companies in that they do not offer an extensive range of products. The company prefers to work with some of the leading manufacturers in the business at the moment and select. The company focuses on a relatively small range of products, which in turn allows Imex to have a better understanding of how the product should be modelled and shaped to suit their customer’s needs. In doing so, Imex can obtain the best price as they tend to buy in bulk and they offer excellent support services.

The Irish Teaching and Learning Festival is delighted to announce that Imex will be showcasing some of their products at the Irish Teaching and Learning Festival 2010.

For more information on sponsors and exhibitors visit www.itlfestival.ie or Register here!

Sponsors and Supporters 7: Bonovox Ltd.

Bonavox Ltd.

Bonovox Ltd. have been supplying highly specialised Deaf Education and Soundfield systems to Classrooms all over Ireland for the last 10 years. Bonovox Ltd has kindly invited you to visit their stand to discover the huge advantages that can be attained by using these Systems in your Classroom.

For more information on sponsors and exhibitors visit www.itlfestival.ie

Sponsors and Supporters 3: The Centre for Talented Youth

The Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland

The Irish Centre for Talented Youth is the only organisation of its kind in the country. It provides challenging academic programmes for young people, aged between 6 and 16 years of age, who have a high intellectual ability. The Centre runs specialised courses in subject areas which may not ordinarily be available in schools around the country. Students who attend the Centre usually function in the 95^th percentile. Although CTYI is based in Dublin City University, it has a number of satellite Centres in University College Cork, Limerick IT, Tralee IT, Wexford town (Carlow IT campus), Athlone IT, Galway-Mayo IT and Letterkenny IT. Since the Centre was first established in 1992 it has seen more than 30,000 students walk through its doors. The Centre’s Director is Mr. Colm O’Reilly.

Nature of Courses:

The courses are designed to teach at a pace and level above that which pupils are used to at school. These courses present material in such a way that it challenges and stimulates new interests. Students are taught by an instructor who is either studying at PhD level or by someone who works in a particular field of interest; that way they are being exposed to cutting edge developments in subject areas. The courses at CTYI are designed to challenge the way students think and get them immersed in the subject they are learning about. Pupils are also encouraged to explore new ways of expressing themselves through their writing.

The Irish Centre for Talented Youth will be participating in the Irish Teaching and Learning Festival.

Irish Deaf Kids

Irish Deaf Kids – Inclusive Education – www.irishdeafkids.ie

Irish Deaf Kids (IDK) is a Dublin-based non-profit venture to support inclusive education for deaf children in Ireland. Classroom technology plays a big part in the move towards inclusive education.

Think how life would be, as a deaf or hard-of-hearing student. Daily challenges like not being able to fully hear what a teacher is saying in class, or missing essential parts of a video’s soundtrack.

IDK is constantly seeking new technologies to smooth communication for deaf children at home, at school, or during social activities.

Technology and collaboration are vital for inclusive teaching and information relay. Some samples:

1) Captioning is a top priority in an inclusive teaching environment.

Captioning in classrooms has two main forms, (1) real-time captioning of the teacher’s words by a captioner, on-the-spot or remotely, and (2) the captioning of educational DVDs or online videos.

Captioning enables deaf children to follow teachers in class, especially if words and images are linked for visual word association. Interestingly, classmates’ overall literacy can benefit significantly when captioning and visual word-teaching are practised in a technology-progressive classroom.

Where video captioning is not viable, a transcript can suffice. Interactive learning does not have to be abandoned if a deaf child is in a classroom with limited resources for captioning. Transcripts for videos and podcasts can be a lifeline for a child who’s deaf. When watching a video or listening to a podcast in class, give a transcript to the child and if needed, sit with them to read the transcript.

2) Interactive whiteboards link visual concepts to written words and boost literacy.

In recent years interactive whiteboards have been infiltrating schools in Ireland. These are useful in linking visual concepts or images to written words. Teachers can use the whiteboard to teach new words and work with the children to construct sentences around new concepts. For deaf children in particular, visual learning predominates, making whiteboards and laptops the ideal teaching media.

3) Laptops give older children easier access to class notes or presentations during a class.

As children grow up there are even more options. Laptops benefit older deaf children especially when they can access class notes and/or presentations during a class. The material is then easily available after a class for the student’s revision. This idea is already used in some Irish schools.

IDK is constantly seeking new ways to use educational technology in Ireland and abroad, to update parents and teachers on new developments. With daily advances in technology from e-readers to teaching applications, there is always something new and fascinating to report.

Irish Deaf Kids | www.irishdeafkids.ie | info@irishdeafkids.ie | twitter: @irishdeafkids | facebook: http://bit.ly/cmYyty | tel: 01-4903237



Competition Announcement

Win an ActiveBoard Mobile System Interactive Whiteboard from Promethean, complete with installation and training to the value of €4500. To be in with a chance simply register for the event and come on the day!  To register simply click on the icon to the right or visit the website www.itlfestival.ie.

Competition Prize

Neil Bruton – The 4C Initiative

Content. Capability. Connect. Collaborate.

Neil Bruton, a former Marketing and International Business and Management student of Dublin City University, is currently supporting the 4C Initiative project with funding from Cambridge University Press and the Nominet Trust.

The 4C Initiative is a series of projects aimed at increasing digital content capacity for education on a global scale. It can be used to provide educators and learners with the skills to discover, use, create and share content with others in the learning community worldwide.

Neil Bruton

It is believed that the 4C Initiative can be used to:

• Encourage collaboration within the global education community

• Build digital content publishing capacity

• Advance use of technology and the opportunity of learning through technology

• Encourage the use of the Internet to discover and use learning resources for educational outcomes.

One of the latest initiatives focused on capacity building amongst educators. With the support of Nominet Trust and Cambridge University Press, 18 free online sessions on various aspects of digital content for education with a particular focus on open and free content have been created and delivered. International experts delivered the sessions on their particular area of expertise. All sessions were delivered over Cisco Webex web conferencing system. Topics such as digital images, learning objects, reference content, audio, video and lesson plans were discussed in different sessions. They also looked at how these resources can be sourced, modified and used in the classroom. Sessions looked at issues such as the use of digital games, Google Apps, and interactive whiteboards in the classroom. All sessions were recorded and are available to be viewed at http://4cinitiative.com/?page_id=39.

The ITL Festival are delighted to join up with the 4C Initiative to share some valuable resources with our viewers. Finding educational resources online can be challenging for teachers but with these videos and resources, 4C have made it simple! Special thanks to Neil Bruton of 4C Initative for his help.

For more information about the Irish Teaching and Learning Festival visit www.itlfestival.ie or Register here!

Gifted Children

More and more, the education sector has been focusing attention on gifted children and how being ‘gifted’ affects a pupils entire school experience. A recent piece accessed on docstoc comments on the changes that occur in the social and emotional health of a pupil that is gifted. Treated in the wrong way a student with these capabilities can become frustrated and isolated from peers. The Irish resource for these students (www.giftedkids.ie) has made a huge difference to many parents and teachers in Ireland.  Developed by a voluntary group of Irish parents of exceptionally able children with the aim of  helping other parents and teachers to find the information, support and advice that they may need.

Exceptionally able and exceptional children can come from all socio-economic groups and from all parts of the country. It is the ethos of Giftedkids that all children, regardless of their home circumstances, should have equal access to an appropriate education, specific to their individual educational and unique social/emotional needs.

Register now to visit the Irish Teaching and Learning Festival to learn more about giftedkids.ie and other Teaching resources and sites!