H2 Learning are proud to say we were key consultants on the recently launched Strategy for Technology Enhanced Learning in Further Education and Training 2016 -2019.
The Strategy, commissioned by SOLAS and ETBI for the Further Education and Training sector, has taken account of feedback from more than 100 respondents. The Strategy acts as a road map of how to bring technology into further education, in order to facilitate and support innovative teaching and learning practices.
H2 Learning and CDETB is delighted to be hosting the Work-Based Learning Conference: Sharing and enhancing current professional practice, which will take place at Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) Head Offices in Naas on Wednesday 12th of October, 2016, from 09:30am to 2:15pm.
With a central focus on work based learning (WBL), this conference will disseminate the findings and share outputs from a European research project, Skills 4 Work; which is an Erasmus + funded project, aiming to improve the quality of work placement programmes (internships, apprenticeships, mentoring) for Vocational Education and Training (VET) learners through the development of best-practice guidelines, teacher professional development resources and by building strong relationships between VET centres and local enterprise.
Opening Speaker: Mr. Michael Moriarty, General Secretary of ETBI
Presentations: The Skills 4 Work project partners from Northern Ireland, Germany, Slovenia, and Ireland will deliver presentations on their individual experiences of the project and there will be opportunities to interact with them throughout the day.
Agenda: The conference agenda follows four main themes, which arose from the Skills 4 Work project:
Reflecting on professional practice to evolve WBL
WBL as a holistic learning experience
Developing and maintaining sustainable relationships with employers
Implications for FET sector in Ireland
Coffee and lunch are provided on the day.
If you’d like to register to attend the conference, please click here.
In Late July, 2016, H2 Learning received confirmation from Léargas, the Irish National Agency, that our project proposal was selected for funding under the Erasmus + Programme. The project title is: Technology Enhanced Learning Mentoring Support (TELMS) and will start in November 2016 with partners from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Slovenia and Italy.
The question of finding the right blend of face-to-face and online learning when it comes to teacher professional learning, was explored at St. Patrick’s College, DCU on Tuesday (August 23rd) with an attendance list made up of principals, teachers, academics and policy makers. The animated discussion could have continued well into the afternoon.
The ENTELS project (a teacher-training, research and development project funded by the EU Commission’s Erasmus + programme), presentations and group-discussions were central to H2 Learning’s half-day symposium.
Dr. Terry Maguire (director of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning) speaks on the need for blended learning as part of teacher CPD.
From 9:50am, presentations were delivered by our own Aedamar Frawley, who gave an overview of the ENTELS project, and Dr. Terry Maguire from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, who examined whether there is a need for blended learning and if so, what is the right blend?
Following a brief questions and answers session and a coffee break, the teachers who used the tools that came about from the ENTELS project, took to the podium. The teachers, Carrie Archer, Catherine Smith and Michael O’Donoghue expertly explained the challenge that educators can expect when they use technology in the classroom, as well as the various ways it can both intensify and simplify the teaching and learning process.
Next came the breakout sessions, which had the whole group break into four colour-coded tables. Each table had a question to deliberate over a 20-minute duration.
What are the key ingredients for teacher professional learning in the 21st century? (Blue)
What can be done to promote greater teacher participation and interaction in online professional learning? (Green)
What is a good blend for online teacher professional learning? (Red)
How can professional learning be sustained beyond fixed course timelines? (Orange)
One group delivering their feedback on how professional learning can be sustained beyond fixed course timelines.
With the help of Padlet, a collaboration-based app, people at each table were able to condense and document their own thinking. A feedback session followed and a panel comprised of teacher, Carrie Archer, Dr. Michael Hallissy (H2 Learning), Prof. Linda la Velle (Plymouth University) and Dr. Terry Maguire, offered their reflections on the feedback.
The panel weighs in on groups’ feedback.
The day concluded on a lively note, when circled groups carried on their conversations as they had lunch. Thanks to everyone for their contribution to this crucial conversation.
The breakout sessions were animated and the feedback ranged from rolling out nation-wide professional learning to whole-school culture change. You can find the key points that were discussed below.
What are the key ingredients for teacher professional learning in the 21st century?
John Hurley, H2 Learning (Event MC), Dr. Michael Hallissy, H2 Learning (Panelist).
Inspire imagination.
CPD should be pragmatic, relevant, cohesive.
There’s an issue regarding collaboration – there’s not enough of it and it’s one of the most-needed element of professional learning in the 21st century.
learning is constant (every day is a school day).
As a teacher, joint-reflection/ group reflection on your practice is very important.
Have to overcome the consistent challenges that never seem to have changed over the past two decades.
Secure investment in teachers- time investment and financial investment.
it’s very hard to work with people who have differing levels/types of knowledge, from different teaching backgrounds (post-primary, further education, higher ed etc.)
Functional resources (WiFi etc.).
CPD should nearly be disruptive in order to inspire.
Maybe professional learning should be rolled out nationally.
What can be done to promote greater teacher participation and engagement in online professional learning?
Tap into teacher needs, especially teachers working in remote areas looking for support. Compare teaching practices. Further Education face-to-face meetings. Very focused themes but underlining teaching and learning is the core.
Making personal contact.
Keep it simple!
Need early adopters. Encourage others to take part.
Quality of the teacher. Very important.
Online Twitter network. #edchat.ie. Teach Meets for face-to-face. Preparation and getting familiar.
Go global first. Try not to change initial teaching and learning process.
In webinar. Invite to talk or ask opinions of participants.
Giving teachers an opportunity to observe others in their classroom. Seeing is believing. Going to help you.
Encouraging people to move from being spectators to participants.
Google group. Sharing science. Exclusive feel not intended. Missing those who need it most. Support, encouragement and provision from school management.
This group deliberates on what are the key ingredients for professional learning in the 1st century.
How can professional learning be sustained beyond fixed timelines?
Badging could be counter-productive as the motivator is extrinsic as opposed to bringing the intrinsic value to the fore.
Culture of compliance with mandatory professional development as opposed to the culture in Ireland and the UK where people engage willingly.
Focus on the model, on the approach.
Must be a reason for the learning to continue.
Not a lone experience.
Important to note that we are looking at professional learning as opposed to professional development.
Learning is tacit.
Moving from how to why – the kernel is the why- questioning the values and the beliefs
Teaching teams being student centric.
iScoil operates in an interesting space where the teachers’ roles are more interdependent – this does have its pros and cons.
Culture of compliance with mandatory professional development as opposed to the culture in Ireland and the UK where people engage willingly.
Good professional learning should challenge you and cause a dissonance.
Professional learning is a mindset rather than a skillset.
Disconnect between teaching and learning – should not be distinct. In New Zealand there is one word for teaching and learning (Ako)
Teacher morale affected by public opinion – no culture of recognition for teachers’ work outside of school.
Moving from how to why. The kernel is the why; questioning the values and the beliefs.
Learning distributed among a profession.
Important to note we are looking at professional learning as opposed to profession development.
Information-sharing.
Panelists: L-R, Prof. Linda la Velle, Plymouth University, Carrie Archer, Marino College, Dr. Terry Maguire, National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Dr. Michael Hallissy, H2 Learning.
What is a good blend of online teacher professional learning?
Face-to-face and interactive learning.
Collaborate online.
Have an experienced tutor.
Engage in reflection and debate through strong/appropriate learning design.
As practiced professionals in the world of e-learning, we are often involved in domestic and European projects where we are asked to build professional learning courses for educators, or develop learning strategies. Our experience of this building process has alerted us to the fact that there is much more to be discussed and understood around the use of blended learning in continuous professional development (CPD).
On August 23rd, 2016, H2 Learning is pleased to host a half-day symposium, Teacher Professional Learning: Finding The Right Blend, which aims to investigate how both online and face-to-face learning can be used in teacher professional development.
This symposium recognises the findings of a European research project called ENTELS; an Erasmus + funded project, aiming to bring Information Communications Technology (ICT) into schools and into teachers’ practice through an online blended CPD model.
The symposium will explore the following questions that have emerged from the ENTELS project:
What are the components of quality online CPD for an educator?
How can we enhance participation in online or blended teacher professional development courses?
How can educators remain connected and continue sharing their learning beyond the fixed course timelines?
Dr. Terry Maguire, Director of the National Forum on Teaching and Learning, will join us on the day to share her views on the future of teacher professional learning and in particular the opportunities afforded by digital technology. Participants will also hear from Irish teachers on their experiences of online learning.
Coffee and light lunch are provided on the day.
To register to attend our symposium, please click here.
In Late July, 2016, H2 Learning received confirmation from Léargas, the Irish National Agency, that our project proposal was selected for funding under the Erasmus + Programme. The project title is: Technology Enhanced Learning Mentoring Support (TELMS) and will start in November 2016 with partners from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Slovenia and Italy.
H2 Learning, the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA), the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), Krzyzowa Foundation (Poland) and MFG Baden-Württemberg (Germany), have partnered-up to develop a project called the Digital Skills Pathways for Youth across Europe.
The project aims to provide teenagers across Europe with opportunities to develop a range of digital literacy skills; to provide them with a virtual space to showcase their work and to network with peers; to expose them to the wide range of possible careers in this evolving sector and to identify pathways they can follow into further education and future employment in the field of digital media.
What’s happening now?
At the moment Digital Mentors are working on the development of the CPD (Continuous Professional Development) materials for youth tutors.
Partners are preparing for the third project meeting that will take place in Poland in October 2016.
JCT’s Sinéad Tuhoy and H2 Learning’s John Hurley meet Minister of Education and Skills, Richard Bruton.
Following three previous partner meetings in Cyprus, Slovenia and Krems, the fourth ATS2020 partner meeting, hosted by the Irish partners, Junior Cycle for Teachers and H2 Learning, kicked off at 9am on Thursday, June 9th at the Clock Tower, Department of Education in Dublin.
Lasting for two days, the 36 partners from 11 countries discussed multiple issues at the meeting, which relate to the facilitation, development and results-evaluation of the pan-European classroom pilot.
ATS2020 group photo at the Dublin meeting.
Day 1
Workshops and presentations took place throughout the two days. Workshops on developing learning designs for participating teachers, pre and post-evaluation procedures for the ATS2020 project as well as presentations on learning platforms for creating accounts (on both Mahara and Microsoft 365) were scheduled for day one.
After the Minister’s departure, partners became involved in workshops on quality assurance and project evaluation guidelines and tools as well as presentations on the dissemination of project results (spreading the word), and a means of appropriately implementing the project. A presentation on the overall project management of ATS202 took place in the final hour of the partner meeting.
H2 Learning and CDETB is delighted to be hosting the Work-Based Learning Conference: Sharing and enhancing current professional practice, which will take place at Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) Head Offices in Naas on Wednesday 12th of October, 2016, from 09:30am to 2:15pm.
In Late July, 2016, H2 Learning received confirmation from 
t Georgeson, Plymouth University -Key learnings from the ENTELS project
As practiced professionals in the world of e-learning, we are often involved in 
In Late July, 2016, H2 Learning received confirmation from 
