18 Sep Case study: PDST Technology in Education
Title: Helping Ireland’s teachers move their teaching and learning online
Project: Teaching Online for Primary and Post-Primary Teachers
Client: PDST Technology in Education
About PDST Technology in Education
PDST Technology in Education promotes and supports the integration of ICT in teaching and learning in first and second level schools. It is part of the national support service, the Professional Development Service for Teachers, which operates under the aegis of the Department of Education and Skills. The Learning Rooms have been PDST Technology in Education’s digital learning partner for the past five years.
Business Challenge
In response to the closure of all Irish schools due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, the Department of Education and Skills was faced with a significant challenge of rapidly upskilling primary and post-primary teachers to teach and support their students’ learning online. Although a range of schools had existing systems in place for online teaching and learning, some did not and many teachers needed support and guidance on the various tools and approaches available to them.
“The Learning Rooms quickly responded to our request in March to develop this priority online course at very short notice. They ensured that, despite the tight deadlines, the course was designed to their usual high quality standards, helping to make the content engaging, interactive and accessible to all, no matter what level of experience or ability. The course has been accessed by 3,000+ users to date and has been very well received by our target audience.”
Madeleine Murray, National Coordinator, PDST Technology in Education
Our Digital Learning Solution
The Learning Rooms worked with PDST Technology in Education to develop an online course for primary and post-primary teachers, which was delivered on teachercpd.ie.
The modern, well-designed and engaging two-hour course introduces teachers to an extensive range of online educational resources and tools. These include websites for sourcing videos, podcasts and other digital content. The teacher is provided with a variety of different options to facilitate online communication and collaboration; both between themselves and the students, and between students. Finally, advice and guidance are provided to enable teachers to create and share their own content online with their colleagues.
The course is designed for all primary and post-primary teachers, including those with little previous experience in delivering teaching and learning online. It is especially valuable for teachers who are teaching and supporting their students’ learning online for the first time. However, even those with experience teaching online will benefit from the range of tools and approaches suggested to them in this course.
Key project features/outputs/results:
- Articulate Storyline 360
- Interactive and engaging content
- Rapid turnaround eLearning
- Tools for delivering teaching and learning online
- Communication and collaboration with students
- Content creation tools