The TeachNet programme has awarded grants of €750 to 50 primary and post-primary teachers to help them develop online curriculum content in their subject areas.
Tom Kitt TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and Government Chief Whip, presented the awards at a ceremony in the headquarters of the main sponsors of the TeachNet project, Citigroup, in the IFSC.
TeachNet Ireland funds teachers from around the country to publish curriculum units that demonstrate how information and communications technology can be integrated into a classroom setting in a meaningful and practical way.
The programme administers funds that are made available through a combination of its main sponsor the Citigroup Foundation and the Department of Education. Citigroup awarded €210,000 for the years 2006 and 2006, with the Department contributing €60,000 over the same period.
The project is hosted by St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra and over the next few months it will provide professional development and mentoring support to the teachers in web technology and in creating web-based projects. Since its inception six years ago, the TeachNet programme has led to the creation of more than some 250 education projects covering a range of subjects in the school curriculum across primary and secondary levels. These can be downloaded free of charge from www.teachnet.ie.
Aidan Brady, country corporate officer at Citigroup Ireland, also announced a new venture for the project by launching the TeachNet Online Learning Centre (TOLC). This provides teachers with more in-depth online support, eliminating the need for them to travel long distances at weekends. “It is important that while we continue to support TeachNet; we are updating the programme to meet the demands of our knowledge society,” he said.
By Gordon Smith
