“Teaching at all levels of the educational system must keep abreast of the potential created by the new technologies for the process of teaching and learning. It is increasingly important that a basic appreciation and understanding of the modern information and communication technologies is fostered in young people, from their early years in school up to the completion of their education” Green Paper on Education 1992
ICT Vision Statement.
Kiltiernan National School strives to be a learning centre for ICT, serving the educational needs of the children, through creative educational use of present and emerging information and communication technologies.
It is hoped that a sense of fulfilment will be experienced , while experiencing the benefits of ICT in academic achievement. This pedagogic tool should equally enhance the learning opportunities of all the children, from the weak to the exceptionally able, in an atmosphere of self-worth, self-belief and self motivation.
Specific Aims of ICT in Kiltiernan N.S
• To enable the child to use a wide range of ICT tools in a relevant curriculum context
• To enable the child to develop and use ICT skills in the attainment of curriculum learning objectives
• To foster the child’s confidence in his/ her use of ICT, through enjoyable learning experiences.
• To develop the child’s understanding and practice of the safe use of ICT
• To enable the child to overcome barriers of access to learning resources caused by geographic location, culture, or language
• To enable the child to use ICT to support his or her learning effectively and creatively
• To inform the child’s attitudes regarding the role of ICT in society, including the benefits and challenges of ICT use
• To support the development of the child’s social skills through cooperative learning and problem -solving.
ICT will be used as an educational tool to:
• Promote a positive, masterful attitude to technology.
• Use computers as tools to enhance further learning.
• Facilitate cross-curricular learning.
• Develop basic keyboard skills.
• Promote imagination and creativity.
• Develop problem solving skills.
• Encourage children to communicate effectively.
• Develop project management and presentation skills.
• Develop co-operative skills through participation in ICT projects that demand the pooling of skills and interactive development of ideas and materials.
Our Objectives are:
• To make pupils comfortable and reasonably proficient with the computer as a new educational resource.
• We have established timetables from infants to sixth class. Children will be allocated a certain time where their skills can be developed each week. We aim to use the computer as a new and exciting classroom tool which is available to the children at the earliest possible age.
• Where possible adhere to a termly timetable -structured play time in Junior Classes
• To ensure that all training given to the pupils is relevant to their needs.
• To train pupils in the use of certain technical skills regarding use and maintenance of computers in the schools.
• To train pupils in the use of certain software packages that are directly relevant to their areas of education.
• To present children with certain project ideas that can be enhanced through the use of computers.
• To train the pupils in the use of the internet from 3rd class to 6th.
• To enthuse pupils so that computer skills are seen as a relevant, coherent and basic part of education in the future.
• To give pupils the technical skills to make them independently responsible for the continued use of computers in their school.
On leaving Kiltiernan N.S. it is desired that each child will possess the following ICT knowledge:
• Introduction to the PC – Switch on / off, Microsoft works, word, excel,- use of the mouse, opening documents, typing documents, editing,, retrieving documents, adding pictures from clipart/internet, clicking and dragging/highlighting saving on hard drive and USB key and finally printing.
• Word-processing, Creative Writer and such packages.
• In Senior classes that the children will be able to use the internet, research a topic and choose appropriate sites with suitable information for their topics.
The teachers of Kiltiernan N.S aim to:
• Pool resources within the school.
• Identify a teacher or teachers within the staff with special interest and/or skills in the area of ICT.
• Provide a method for feedback on the success or failure of the ICT in the school.
• Audit the ICT resources of the school on a regular basis.-See Appendix 1
• Acquire the necessary software to continue the development of ICT skills and initiatives at the school.
• Source, within the community if possible, technical advice and expertise.
• Identify a person within the community with necessary skills for hardware repair and maintenance.
• Ensure a time at staff meetings is set aside to discuss the use made of ICT across the curriculum and to ensure consistency.
By fundraising, the BOM, parents and staff of Kiltiernan have succeeded in their goals of installing an interactive whiteboard in each of the three classrooms in 2010. The school will respect the software copyright laws. Site licenses will be purchased where needed. Where data on students is kept, the data will be available to
relevant persons as requested. Otherwise this information will be kept on a file with a password.
Acceptable use policy on the use of the internet and e-mail will ensure the safety of all children. The acceptable use policy is available in the Plean Scoile and school website and displayed in all the classrooms.
Special Needs Children.
Our aim is to select software that will aid the learning of all children. This is done in consultation with the Learning Support Teacher, and Special Education Guidelines. Programs such as Word Shark and Lexia cater for some of the needs presented throughout the whole school. Staff will familiarise themselves with each program before its introduction to the classroom. At the other end of the spectrum we will provide software that challenges high achievers and give them further opportunities to extend their educational experience through the use of ICT.
ICT–Coordinating Teacher- Emer O Doherty
Role of ICT Co –Coordinator
• Take the lead in policy development and the integration of ICT into school culture.
• Support colleagues in their efforts to include ICT in their development of work plans, in their implementation of those schemes of work and in assessment and record keeping activities.
• Monitor progress in I.T
• Take the responsibility for the purchase and organization of central resources for ICT, including relevant computer magazines.
• Provide technical support to colleagues in their use of ICT in the classroom
• Lead or inform staff of in service support, where needed.
• Keep up to date with the use of ICT in the curriculum
• Pass on information to colleagues as appropriate
• Ensure that hardware is safe and complies with School Safety Statement
• Liase with external agencies
• Help teachers to help themselves.
School Audit 2010-2011
Availability of ICT Throughout the School 1 computer for every 6 pupils
Junior Room-
1 Black & White Laser printer
2 Computers
1 laptop
1 Coloured laser printer
1 Black & White laser printer
1 Interactive Whiteboard
Middle Room-
2 Computers
1 laptop
1 Coloured laser printer
1 Black & White laser printer
1 Interactive Whiteboard
Senior Room-
3 Computers
1 Black & White laser printer
2 Coloured printers
1 Interactive Whiteboard
3 laptops
Office-
1 Office Computer
1 Colour laser printer.
Scanner
Telephone
Networked coloured photocopier
Overhead projector
Digital Camera.
Internet Points: 4 in each classroom & Office/LS /Resource classrooms
ICT Management and Security; Password on all computers
Virus Scan on all Computers
Acceptable Use Policy on Internet displayed in the
classrooms and on website.
ICT Resources for Pupils with Special Needs: 1 Laptop
1 PC
1 Printer
Maintenance and Technical Support Arrangements: North Star Computers, Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare.
Appendix 2-Classroom notices
Turning on the computer
1. Switch on the printer and computer at the wall.
2. Press in the round button that has a circle with a little line on the top of it.
3. Press the on button on the screen also.
4. Check that the printer light is on, if not turn on the printer.
5. Wait for the computer to show the desktop.
Choosing a program
1. Go to Start ( in the bottom left hand corner)
2. Go to programs and look at the selection of programs to choose from.
3. Select the programme by placing the cursor ( using the mouse) on the program title and left click on it.
Printing work
1. Check the work before printing so that you are not wasting paper and ink.
2. Do a spell check by pressing on F7 on the keyboard.
3. Go to File, Print Preview and look at the work to see if it exactly what you want to print.
4. If it is click on the printer icon.
5. If not click on “close” at the top and make any changes you need to make.
6. Then you can go to File, Print Preview and look again.
Shutting Down
1. Save the work completed using the USB key.
2. Close down the file.
3. If you are asked “ would you like to save changes” click on no, unless you have been told to do so.
4. Do not save work onto the computer memory, only use the memory stick unless asked to do otherwise.
5. If you are the last person to use the computer at the end of the day you need to shut down the computer for the night.
6. Go to Start, Turn Off Computer, and the red Turn Off button.
7. When the screen is black and the computer no longer sounds like it is on, switch off at the wall.
Using the USB key
1. Find out what the teacher has called the USB key e.g. 5th_class_kiltiernan or USB_Middle_Room
2. Stick the USB key into the computer as shown.
3. Wait for a little box to appear in the bottom right corner to tell you that the computer is ready to use the key.
4. Go to the document that you wish to save.
5. Click on File, Save As, Click on the name of the USB Key from part 1.
6. Insert a file name in the file name box.
7. Underneath this is a box, scroll down to Rich Text format and click on save.
8. Check to see if the document is saved using My Computer, USB Key, and look to see if the document is there.
9. Close down the file pressing the X in the right hand corner.
10.Go to the bottom right hand corner, click on the green arrow and wait for the computer to tell you that “ you can safely remove”.
Word Processor
1. You can change the size of the writing or font by going to the toolbar at the top of the page.
2. In the box you can roll down from 12 to choose a larger font. Use the mouse to do this.
3. You can change the font style by changing from Times New Roman by scrolling down also.
4. If you would like to highlight something click on B, or make the writing slanted using I, or underline using U.
5. If you would like to move all of the writing into the centre you can choose the lines between the font boxes and bulleting boxes.
6. If you make a mistake go to Edit and select undo.
7. If you would like to insert a picture or funky writing go to Insert, Picture and select autoshapes or word art or clip art.
8. Save all work onto the USB key not to the computer.
Using the Internet
1. You must have the permission of the teacher to use the internet!
2. Under no circumstances is anybody allowed onto the internet without the consent of the teacher.
3. You double left click on Internet Explorer. The home page will come up.
4. If you would like to search for a specific thing and you have the address you type in the address into the address box. It must be an exact match or else it wont work so be careful of spaces and capital letters.
5. If you are looking for information and you do not have an address you go to www.google.ie.
6. In the search box you type in the information you are looking for, the more specific you are the better the chance you have of finding it.
7. You will be presented with many things that are like what you typed into the search box.
8. It your job to select the closest thing to what you typed in.
9. DO NOT OPEN ANY FILE WITHOUT TEACHER PERMISSION.
10.To close down the internet you click on the red x in the right hand corner of the screen.
