THIS YEAR'S SCHOOLS CONFERENCE in Tipperary Institute differed from the past four events in that the lack of substitute teacher cover pushed the organisers to setting it on Saturday. That was good in one way--some traditional non-attendees could finally make the journey. But it was bad in another way because Saturday was a First Communion Day for more than 50 people who would have learned about digital literacy in the 21st century but couldn't take time away from home. Nonetheless, more than 100 people sat for the opening keynote address from Daithu O'Murchu (on the screen to the right of the shot) and when everything wound down at 3:30 PM, I counted 96 people who were being entertained by Conor Galvin's take on elephants, penguins and teachers. In between time, I spent hours listening to Storytelling Alice, results of research on digital literacy in the 21st century, a plan for user-generated videos about hurling in County Tipperary, and a conversation between one of our creative multimedia students and Josie Fraser. Several clearly outstanding things occurred during this fast-paced Saturday in Thurles. The first happened at the beginning with a flawless virtual presentation through Online Meeting Rooms. The second happened while Rachael Cooke managed to get quality audio [3.5 MB M3 file] during an interview in the middle of a lively auditorium. Both of those little vignettes proved the versatility of technology we have used faithfully for more than a year. To see the two segments occur without a hitch is a great stress test of information technology we continue to use to great effect.
James Corbett -- "Report from ICT in Education Conference" and the Daynuv Report.
Simon Lewis -- "Topp Day in Tipp"
Bonus Link: Conor Galvin on the beautiful, leafy campus with the square lake.
