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Learning the lessons of a Pandemic Improving Blended Learning in the Irish Education System The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally disrupted the traditional Irish education system, almost overnight, when the decision was made to close schools under public health advice. Schools and educators found themselves quite suddenly under intense pressure to adapt and continue to deliver education across multiple platforms, to a dispersed student body. Students and parents also faced serious challenges to maintain learning and education in a home environment, an unfamiliar experience in a familiar place.As a stop gap, Wriggle moved to increase its training for teachers on platforms during COVID-19 as an interim measure and we have trained almost 10,000 teachers since schools closed in March, in order to help them adapt.As schools, parents and teachers continue to adapt to changes brought about because of the pandemic, this report looks at the initial phase, to understand their collective experience

St Joseph’s Secondary School in Rush, Co Dublin decided to switch to using iPads in the depths of the last recession after linking up with educational technology firm Wriggle. By Emmet Ryan, The Sunday Business PostPatricia Hayden is well aware of the importance of saying "I don't know". The principal of St Joseph's Secondary School in Rush, Co/. Dublin, had a bold plan during the economic crash, but she knew she needed help.Hayden was also smart enough to realise her lack of knowledge could help to identify the challenges ahead. In 2011, when Ireland wasn't flush with cash, she decided the school needed to switch to using iPads."We are short of space in the school and we had a lot of boys who found the traditional methods boring. We felt there was an opportunity with individual devices that we could inspire the students a little more," she told the Business Post."We wanted to change things in a way that would make them think differently. Back then, a Deis (disadvantaged) school

Half of the parents surveyed said they wanted standardised technology platforms for online learning.By Ciara O’Brien, The Irish Times. Improved support, standardised learning platforms and more training is needed to ensure a clearly defined approach to blended learning in the classroom and at home in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new survey has found.Digital learning company Wriggle commissioned research that found students lacked equipment suitable for home learning, with parents describing the home-school situation as “difficult”. Some schools had inconsistent communication with parents while others had only begun integrating digital platforms into their teaching environment when the pandemic took hold in March.The survey, conducted by Amárach Research, asked principals, deputy principals, teachers and staff in 371 schools, and more than 2,100 parents with children in primary and secondary school, about their experiences with learning online between Ma

Fewer than two in three schools reported that their students had devices fit for digital learning.By Katherine Donnelly, The Irish Independent More than one in three schools don't have a policy around digital teaching and learning, according to research that exposes gaps in the education system that caused major challenges during the lockdown.While the introduction of information and communications technology (ICT) into schools has been official policy for more than 20 years, the study highlights deficiencies in practices that exist. Half of schools only integrated digital platforms after the Covid-19 pandemic forced teaching and learning to switch from the classroom to the home.Fewer than two in three schools reported that their students had devices fit for digital learning.Two in three teachers said they had no experience of online teaching, while just over half said they were not comfortable with digital learning technology.Meanwhile, two in three (62pc) of parents described their c

Case Study - Blended Learning in St Vincent’s Secondary School, Dundalk iPad enables seamless transition to Blended Learning in St Vincent’s Dundalk Planning for Continuity of Teaching and Learning from Home in St Vincent’s Secondary SchoolAs early adopters of an iPad 1:1 model in their school, St Vincent’s Secondary School in Dundalk gave teachers and students access to iPads and training to support existing teaching methodologies. The result has meant a smooth transition to home teaching and learning as Deputy Principal Linda McCusker tells us:“As a school we had been using iPads for 7 years and, with the help of Wriggle and Louth Apple RTC, we had placed a large emphasis on training and upskilling teachers and students in order to harness the benefits of technology in education. This meant we were perfectly placed to continue teaching and learning remotely when school closures happened in March 2020.From the first day of the school closure, our students