Jan O'Sullivan

Digital Schools of Distinction programme returns

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Minister for Education & Skills Jan O'Sullivan with pupils from Scoil Iosagain in Limerick

23 October 2014

The Digital Schools of Distinction programme promoting, recognising and encouraging best practice use of technology in primary schools is to enter its second year thanks to support totalling €200,000 from HP and Microsoft.

Some 1,100 schools signed up to become ‘digital schools of distinction’ in the first full school year of the programme and it is expected another 750 will do so this year.

So far, 138 schools have been awarded digital school of distinction status and it is expected that a further 300 will be accredited.

Primary schools who become digital schools of distinction status receive a range of supports, including free printing for a year via a HP OfficeJet Pro printer and a monthly printing allowance of 250 colour pages and 2,500 black and white pages; Microsoft software and educational apps; as well as technical support and access to education ICT specialists.

In a survey of 300 Irish primary schools who have registered to take part in the programme, access to high speed broadband, IT maintenance, support and funding were identified as the major obstacles to integrating ICT in the classroom. The survey also found that 80% of teachers strongly agreed that the use of ICT had a positive impact on student motivation.

Principal Patrick Hanley, Scoil Íosagáin said: “Our focus is on the continued integration of ICT in the classroom, to enhance our curriculum and benefit the pupils. Supported by the Digital Schools of the Distinction programme, our pupils are given the opportunities to become familiar with a range of technologies and to develop the skills to use them in a meaningful way that cultivates their independence, problem solving, communications and collaboration abilities. It is a great honour for our school to become a digital school of distinction and we are looking forward to the benefits and opportunities it will undoubtedly bring us.”

Cathriona Hallahan, managing director, Microsoft Ireland, added: “As the economy shows clear signs of a return to growth it is more important than ever that we in industry do what we can to help equip young people with digital skills so that they can participate fully in the economy of the future. From basic IT literacy all the way up to coding – these are increasingly becoming basic requirements for young people to engage fully in society and later in the economy. We are delighted with the success of this programme to date and with the fact that it is helping keeping the issue of digital skills and IT access on the agenda while at a practical level helping to raise the awareness and skills amongst teachers and pupils throughout the country.”

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