NCTE (National Centre for Technology in Education)

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Volume 11 - October 2010

Welcome to the NCTE email newsletter.

Our newsletter aims to provide ICT news and information to Principals, ICT Coordinating teachers, teachers and all those involved in education.

NCTE: Broadband to Schools (Post Primary)

world image On October 4th, Communications Minister Eamon Ryan announced that the €13 million Broadband to Schools Scheme has delivered 100 megabit high speed fibre and wireless broadband to 78 second level schools nationwide. The Scheme will extend to all second-level schools nationwide in the next two years.

Autumn CPD schedule

typing image The autumn schedule of NCTE courses, support groups and whole school training is filling fast, so why not book your place now? Additional details are available directly from the websites of the relevant Education Centres. Remember, there are no course fees for teachers attending NCTE-funded courses.

TFC agus an Ghaeilge

gaeilge image Is cúrsa cúig-thráthnóna an cúrsa TFC agus an Ghaeilge a dearadh le tacú le múinteoirí Gaeilge agus le múinteoirí a mhúineann trí mheán na Gaeilge (dara leibhéal) an TFC a chomhtháthú sa teagasc agus san fhoghlaim. Cuirtear béim faoi leith sa chúrsa ar chur chun cinn scileanna labhartha na scoláirí, ag aithint na n-athruithe sna scrúduithe Gaeilge faoi láthair, agus cuirtear béim freisin ar bhealaí leis an nGaeilge a dhéanamh níos ábharthaí agus níos suimiúla do scoláirí. Tá an cúrsa seo, a dhear an NCTE i gcomhpháirt leis an STDL Gaeilge, á mhaoiniú ag an NCTE.

Tuilleadh eolais

NCTE: Internet Safety

Think B4U Click Irish Language Resources

Teaching resources urging students to take responsibility for their privacy online are now available in the Irish language.

YouTube Safety Mode

YouTube Safety Mode is a feature on the popular video site that allows you to block content that may be inappropriate for children. Follow the link to find out how to enable YouTube Safety Mode.

Acceptable Use Policies for Schools

AUP image An AUP is a document which addresses all rights, privileges, responsibilities and sanctions associated with the Internet. Ideally it will be drawn up by school staff, students, parents and Board of Management. Learn about the process for developing an AUP and view sample AUPs and document templates that you can adapt for your purposes.

NCTE: e-Links

elinks image e-Links is NCTE’s online Community of Practice for post primary ICT co-ordinating teachers. It's there to assist in finding support material, advice and best practice guides for teachers in their role as the ICT co-ordinating teacher in their school. If you are an ICT Co-ordinating Teacher in your post primary school and not yet a member please download, complete and return the e-Links Registration Form.

Scoilnet Search

search image The keyword Search on Scoilnet has improved and now users can see results from Scoilnet’s Resource Finder, images from ImageBank and articles from Ask About Ireland (the public libraries website with plenty of useful, educationally relevant content). When used on the Schools Broadband Network, Encyclopaedia Britannica results are also displayed.

Visit Scoilnet

Site of the Week

browser image Each week Scoilnet presents a new website which it has deemed to be 'Site of the Week'. There is a comprehensive review of the site along with recommendations and links to the curriculum. A 'Site of the Week' archive of past websites is also given.

Scoilnet Halloween Themepage

halloween image Meet the ghosts, ghouls and goblins in our links. Lots of activities to keep pupils and teachers busy (Hopefully they won't get too scared - the teachers, that is!).

The Ireland Collection

encyclopaedia image Scoilnet.ie is pleased to announce that the Ireland Collection on JSTOR.org is now freely available to all schools on the Schools Broadband Network. Developed in cooperation with Queen's University Belfast, the Ireland Collection is an interdisciplinary collection of journals and other materials.

Also remember to follow us on Twitter!

NCTE: Technology Integration Initiative

Purchasing ICT Equipment (Primary Schools)

typing image Primary schools are reminded that when they are purchasing ICT equipment using the Department ICT Grant (issued in late 2009), that they are required to seek quotes using ICT procurement frameworks where they exist, and in doing so may also seek quotes from other suppliers in order to seek best value. Schools should review the associated guidelines, FAQs and ICT information provided.

Remember our other important related ICT advice and procurement framework links.

Win XP no longer available on School PCs and Notebooks

Schools should be aware that over the coming weeks PCs and Notebooks purchased through the PC and Notebook frameworks will no longer be provided with Windows XP Professional but instead will ship with Windows 7 Professional. This move is driven by Microsoft who will shortly not allow Windows XP to be purchased on new computers. The exact switch over dates may vary per manufacturer. On a positive note, Windows 7 has had a lot of positive feedback and in general it does seem to be well accepted in schools that have purchased it earlier this year.

More from NCTE

Content Filtering levels

young people image Remember four additional filtering levels offer extra flexibility for schools in terms of access to Youtube, "social networking", "personal" and "games" sites. Schools wishing to change their filtering level can download and return the Content Filtering Changes form.

Mastering ICT-led change

world image An article by JEROME MORRISSEY, Director of the National Centre for Technology in Education, for ASTIR magazine, September 2010, discusses moves towards greater integration of ICT in schools.

NCCA Curriculum planning tool

other news icon The new NCCA online planning tool means that you can find and select content objectives from the Primary School Curriculum and create short-term planning notes or a yearly overview at the click of a button. The planning tool is especially helpful in planning for multi-grade classes or cross-curricular learning.

International News

international news icon Find out about the European Studies Programme, eTwinning, the Media & Learning Conference, the Insafe Newsletter, the iTEC Project and Acer-European Schoolnet's Educational Netbook Pilot.

Competition News

competition news icon Information about the TRTÉ Christmas Doodle, MEDEA Award Finalists, the All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad 2011, Doodle 4 Google, Euroscola, U4energy, F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, Junior Spider Awards, BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition and Graduate.ie.

Useful Weblinks

useful weblinks icon Music in the Classroom, the Big Test, Choose IT, BETT 2011, Media in Education, further Giftedkids.ie webinars, Doctrid Conference and Project Spectrum with Google SketchUp.

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About Us

The National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) is an Irish Government agency established to provide advice, support and information on the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in education.