A new guidebook aimed at helping Irish teachers to use the Internet was launched by Broadcom Éireann Research Ltd. last month. The booklet was presented to the Minister for Education, Niamh Bhreathnach, at the Computer Education Society of Ireland conference and is available free of charge to all Irish primary and secondary teachers. The booklet, entitled "Classroom of the Future - A guide to using the Internet in Irish schools", was written by two teachers and was published by Broadcom. It is aimed both at teachers with no knowledge of the Internet and at those who are expert "Net surfers". The guide is the product of a two year research programme undertaken by Broadcom to examine the impact of the Internet in three Dublin schools.
Broadcom is an Irish research company specialising in telecommunications. Created as a joint venture between Telecom Éireann, Ericsson and Trinity College Dublin, Broadcom’s remit is to investigate emerging telecommunication technologies and to study future uses of such systems. During 1995, it was suggested by Christy Maher, the Technology Director of Telecom Éireann, that Broadcom investigate how telecommunications can be used in Irish schools. This led to the launch of the "Classroom of the Future" project.
Currently, the world’s largest information network is the Internet. The Internet, or Net as it is more commonly known, links computers all over the world. Via the World Wide Web, a part of the Internet, computer users can retrieve pages of text and pictures from any computer on the Net and view them on their own computer. Similarly, users can create their own Web pages and make them available for anyone else on the Internet to read. Today, it is estimated that over six million people use the Internet. The Government of Ireland, the AIB, the GAA, the Irish Times, Kenny’s Bookshop, all the third level colleges and roughly 50 primary and secondary schools have their own pages, or sites, on the Net. A further 350 schools either access the World Wide Web or use the Internet for sending and receiving electronic mail (e-mail).
With this in mind, Broadcom decided that the best way to understand the information needs of the education market was to provide Internet access to a number of schools and to study it’s uptake in the classroom. To this end, a server computer with ISDN access to the Internet was provided to three Dublin schools. The ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) from Telecom Éireann is like the telephone system, except that it can transfer information at much greater speeds that a normal phone connection. Thus, a single ISDN connection can support an entire class accessing the Internet at the same time. Using these facilities, the schools in the project can send and receive e-mail messages, view World Wide Web pages and create their own Web pages for others to access.
Since the Internet facilities were installed in September of 1995, the three schools involved in the project - St. Andrew’s College, Booterstown (secondary), Pobalscoil Neasain, Baldoyle (secondary), and Good Shepherd National School, Churchtown (primary) - have been enthusiastically surfing the Internet. They say they have only started to explore the possibilities of Internet-enabled education, but what they have achieved so far is impressive...
The students in Pat Seaver’s school, Pobalscoil Neasain, use the Internet as part of a project involving five other European schools. The Energy Project requires the students to collate information on energy consumption within their own homes. The information is then shared with the partner schools via the Internet. As a Scientific Literacy teacher, Pat also uses the World Wide Web to obtain transcripts of the BBC’s Horizon documentary programmes.
Conall Hamill, a French and English teacher in St. Andrew’s College, uses the Internet to get access to French newspapers. In particular, he uses the "Lyon Capitale" Web site which includes search facilities allowing him to retrieve articles on everything from croissants to Coluche. Geoff Reeves, also of St. Andrew’s, finds the Internet "valuable, interesting and entertaining...it’s a resource and it’s here now. Point and click-it’s that simple".
During the summer, John Curran of Good Shepherd N.S. ran an in-service training course for other primary teachers on using the Internet. Amongst John’s main findings, he notes that the Internet can be used to publicise children’s work to a world-wide audience. "The chance that others throughout the world might view their work can be a powerful motivating factor for children", he says.
After the teachers’ success in using the Internet in their classrooms, Broadcom decided to extend the "Classroom of the Future" project. The teachers in the project had found that it could be difficult to find useful information on the Net. The information was definitely there, they decided, but there was just so much stuff out there that finding what you were looking for could be a formidable task. They commented that some basic guidelines in using the Net and some pointers to useful information would be extremely helpful.
To address these concerns, Broadcom has produced a guidebook, an informational poster and a resource site on the Web for Irish teachers. The booklet is intended to help teachers get on the Internet and gives them solid advice how it can be used in the classroom. The poster is aimed more at school children - to raise their awareness of the Internet and to provide them with some basic information. The resource site is a "first port of call" for teachers who are seeking useful educational material on the Internet. The site holds pointers to major educational sites around the world and a directory of Irish schools that have their own Web sites and e-mail addresses.
The booklet "Classroom of the Future - A guide to using the Internet in Irish schools" was written by two primary teachers with extensive experience of the Internet - John Hurley and Michael Hallissy of Scoil Mhuire, Woodview, Lucan. The booklet explains in plain terms what the Internet is and how it can be used in schools. It includes a subject-by-subject guide to the resources that are available. For example, history teachers can find out how to get information from the National Archives, science teachers can get lesson plans and up-to-date information from the American Space Agency, NASA, and art teachers can provide their pupils with tours of the Louvre. The guide also has tips on how to create your own school Web site and advice on how to get on the Internet with guidelines on the costs involved.
The "Classroom of the Future" resource site was designed and developed by two second level students. Eoin Curran of High School, Rathgar, and Peter Lonergan of Pobalscoil Neasain, Baldoyle, were employed by Broadcom over the summer holidays to develop the Web site from scratch. The final site is an excellent resource with a look and style any professional Web development company would be proud of. It is a great example of what Irish students can do with Internet technology. The site includes a county-by-county directory of Irish schools with access to the Internet, a "library" with pointers to useful sources of educational information on the Net and a "staffroom" containing worksheets and information specifically for teachers.
The reaction to the guidebook and the resource site have been superb. At the recent Computer Education Society of Ireland conference, one teacher said that the booklet was "excellent" and another commented that the authors had "inspired" him to create a home page for his school. The resource site has been visited by thousands of Internet "surfers" from places as far flung as the USA, Croatia, Australia, Canada, Sweden, France, New Zealand and Japan. The comments in the site’s guest book include: "Hello from San Francisco. It's great to see Irish Web Pages, especially when you are so far away from home. Keep up the good work." Clodagh Murphy, San Francisco, USA. "Greetings from half way around the world. I hope you all survived the ‘Big Wind’ yesterday and were not blown away. I was when I discovered this web sight, it's a long way from Tipperary where I went to school, some 30 years ago... Hope you all have a good year in school." Anthony Tucker, Vancouver, B.C. Canada. "Well done, good page. Keep up the good work. Slán." Emer and Caoimhín Connell, Bailey, USA.
Thanks to the efforts of a small, but growing, band of dedicated professionals, the use of the Internet in Irish schools is flourishing. A number of pilot projects, such as that organised by Broadcom, have shown how the Net can be used to bring down the walls of the classroom and let our children communicate with the world. Thanks to new telecommunications technologies, the Irish classroom is a growing part of the Global Village.
How to get a copy of "Classroom of the Future - A guide to using the Internet in Irish schools"
The guide is available free of charge to all primary and secondary teachers in Ireland. If you have not yet received a copy, please click here and fill in the form or apply to:
Classroom of the Future, Broadcom Éireann Research Ltd., Kestrel House, Clanwilliam Place, Dublin 2.
| About the author
Dr. Chris Bleakley is a researcher with Broadcom Éireann Research Ltd. |  |
This article was originally published in Parent and Teacher Magazine, December 1996.
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