CESI joins the Blogosphere!
Welcome to the blogosphere! http://www.cesiblogs.eu/blog/
Dublin Branch of CESI
. . . blog and podcasting site !Conference 2008 Booking Links
8th – 9th February 2008
Coláiste de h-Íde, Castle Tymon Rd, Tallaght, Dublin 24
” Teachers Using ICT “
Click on the CESI logo to book online or download the Conference Registration Form in PDF format.
January Workshop hiccup!
Unfortunately, the ICT Lab is experiencing technical difficulties at present so the January workshop will have to be re-scheduled or held over until after midterm next February.
Calendar of Events
We are facing into a very short and congested term. In a little over a month’s time the 2008 CESI Annual Conference will kick off followed by the midterm break. That will leave us with just a month to cram everything in as Saint Patrick’s Day falls on the Monday of Holy Week.
The Calendar of Events will have to be revised accordingly. Any suggestions?
What’s Another Year
2007 is in its dying hours and I can’t hide my disappointment and frustration with the Department of Education and Science’s failure to provide the education sector with the promised NDP funding for ICT. An entire year has gone by! To add insult to injury we have received no indication of how the money is to be spent. The envisaged timeframe renders the amout involved almost insignificant. The only plus in its favour is that ICT hardware is becomng more affordable the longer they wait.
The aquisition of hardware and software is not enough. Let’s hope there will be a professional inservice training element built into the “big spend”. I hope they do it properly this time around. It certified and compulsory and not similar to the heretofore peer-to-peer, elective model. It would also be imperative that management/principals as well as ICT coordinators be included in any such training as many principals and BOM members have little or no idea of what is involved in managing a modern network.
The role and renumeration of ICT Coordinators will have to be re-evaluated as many of us find ourselves maintaining networks on our own time. Many of these networks are equivalent to medium sized enterprise installations.
A maintenance and support network needs to be put in place on a cluster school basis. Schools should not need to worry about contracts or where the money is going to come from. The hardware innovation cycle is so rapid nowadays that an onsite repair is often uneconomical. A replacement, whether it be a refurbished or brand new item makes more sense. National and regional site licenses should be negotiated and made available through the local education centres.
Finally, I hope the minister is not waiting until we are all on holidays to announce a trimming down of the fund or a delay in its distribution or implementation. The summer works scheme has already got the chop. What next?
I am off to my brother’s house to bring in the new year with plenty of Coke (Coka-Cola)
Lets hope IT WILL BE GREAT IN 2008 AND NOT LATE IN 2008. We want the money yesterday!
Happy New Year!
Thank You Everyone
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Thank you for all the Christmas Ecards. They were great fun to read. Special thanks to our US and Australian friends. Enjoy the rest of the holidays. |
Teachers TV Channel
It does what it says on the tin.
Watch out for its BETT 2008 coverage in two weeks time.
The Channel is available on Sky and free-to-view satelite.
eBay and Christmas
Thanks Liam for the lead times from the USA. The favourable dollar/euro exchange rate is unlikely to drop in the near future. I would hold off ordering for Christmas at this stage as the USPS (United States Postal Service) is working flat out to meet domestic demands. It is worth remembering that if you use a courier service you will probably be charged import duty, VAT and a handling charge, particularly in the case of large or heavy items.
NDP funding announcement
The long awaited announcement regarding NDP funding for ICT in education is due shortly. I sincerely hope the steering committee consulted the grass roots in their respective fields otherwise it will have been a fruitless and possibly an expensive exercise .
