Two Donegal Schools have been selected to participate in the trial of the Digital Learning Framework.
St Joseph’s National School Rathmullan and the Loreto Community School Milford have been added by the Department of Education to the programme to get enhanced digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment.
Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher Leas-Cheann Comhairle welcomed the local schools’ inclusion, adding that more needs to be done in primary and secondary schools to enhance digital learning.
He said: “We need to be maximising the full potential of digital technologies, enhancing how we use such technologies in the class rooms throughout our schools and using them as a resource for our teachers – this can only be done by investment in our schools and providing the necessary platform for such technologies in each of our schools.”
Pat the Cope added he welcomed the inclusion of the two Donegal schools – St Joseph’s National School Rathmullen with an enrollment of 87 pupils and the Loreto Community School , Milford with an enrollment of 783 students. Both schools we selected from over 300 schools nationwide which expressed and registered an interest in participating in this trial programme by the Department of Education.
The Framework provides a roadmap to help schools manage the transformation of teaching and learning as a result of new digital technologies.
- Help schools and individual teachers to plan how to upskill to realise the potential of digital technologies
- Provide for internal and external evaluation of how digital technologies are being embedded across all aspects of school activity
- Support planning in areas like literacy, numeracy and STEM which require a cross-curricular focus.
Pat the Cope stated, “the results of this trial will help the Department understand what supports will be required by schools and teachers at all levels to embed digital technologies into teaching and learning.
“The trial will also help refine the Framework, so that it can best assist schools to realise the potential of digital technologies and will be used by the Department in formulating a national policy of technologies in the classroom.
“It is going to be important for the Department of Education to now formulate a national policy in order that all schools can directly benefit from the use of technologies in the classroom – the present day fast moving technologies means, we cannot be disadvantaged by the lack of access to up-to-date technology and modern day resources in the classroom and there is a clear onus on the Government to act without delay and deliver a national programme on this,” concluded Pat the Cope.
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