The Connect Education Conference takes place on October 11th in the Dublin West Education Centre with the theme “The Future’s not what it used to be”.

The nature of ICT in the classroom has changed so much over the past few years that at times it’s difficult for teachers and school managers to know the correct direction to go in. And so while some technologies have seemed like a sure bet, invariably disruptive technologies have emerged that have challenged long-term thinking. Current disruptors would include the iPad and the self-publishing revolution, while netbooks and laptops would have been disruptors in the past.

So while it is true that “The futures not what it used to be” it is also true that stronger consensus is emerging on what the future of the classroom looks like. This consensus would probably adhere to the idea that:

- Classrooms should be internet-connected.
- Students should have personal learning devices.
- Textbooks should be on those devices and interactive.
- Schools should have an online aspect to their educational community, VLE’s etc.

These are just some of the ideas emerging. The beauty of the emergence of ICT in Schools is not that it allows schools to do more efficiently what has always being done, it’s the fact that it allows schools to do things that may not have been considered before. Things like getting our Geography students to record and upload a gps trace of their local area, or having language students brush up on their grammar using apps, or having History students work with their local library’s local history group.

Our half-day conference will look at some of these ideas and our capstone speaker, David Puttnam CBE, will have some very interesting input. In a time when the Junior Certis undergoing change is there a role for agencies like the Local Authority or the County Library to get involved in co-developing short courses for the new Junior Cert. And what about the role of Local Authorities in Education, can we learn from the British experience? There have already been successful partnerships in the delivery of new schools.

Other areas we’ll be looking at include how students learn outside of formal educational settings and also how improved administrative processes can free up teachers to do what teachers do best - teaching.

We anticipate that our conference will have lots to offer to teachers, student teachers, school managers, and also to other agencies which are informally involved in education. The Conference is free but booking is essential.

Speakers include:
- David Puttnam CBE.
- Stephen Howell, Lecturer IT Tallaght.
- Georgina Byrne, County Librarian, South Dublin County Library.
- Shane Foley, Principal - Dunshaughlin Community College.
- Noel Malone, Principal, Colaiste Chiarain, Limerick.
- Anne Mc Morrough - Primary Teacher currently seconded to Marino Institute of Education, Dublin where she is lecturing in ICT/eLearning.

For further info and booking go to - http://connectschool.blogspot.com/

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