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Path to e-Maturity
Start date: Jul 1, 2014, End date: Jun 30, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Scoil Eoin Pól, Loch an Iúir is a small rural school in Donegal, Ireland, with a vision of creating an e-Mature school, that will use best international practice to guide its implementation Having gained valuable insight into the European culture of ICT through blogging and web conferencing in our previous Comenius project, we feel confident now in developing our own Virtual Learning Environment, and in progressing to the next level of e-maturity. We as a staff believe that training and job-shadowing on a European platform, will be the best motivation staff and pupils will have in implementing the new Action Plan with regards ICT in our school, and developing ICT within International work. The objectives of our project are to: *become an e-mature school *developing an Virtual Learning Platform through Moodle *recognising International and European best practice in ICT *developing staff competencies in using ICT *developing staff e-confidence *Understanding and implementing e-safety in our school *developing and promoting the use of iPads and tablets, enabling remote access learning *promoting 'Google Apps for Education' as a means of mass storage for pupils * sustaining Good Digital Citizenship The whole school staff will be involved in this project. We are 2 full time teachers and a 2 part-time teachers on our staff. We also want to include our ancillary staff and assistants in these mobilities and training, as they will be instrumental in the implementation and success of this project. Staff members (6 in total) have varying levels of competencies in ICT- some with basic skills and others with more advanced skills. Our aim is to make sure that no staff member will feel left behind or inadequate in their application of technology. Thus, we have chosen staff training courses of different levels of ability and challenge, to suit the needs of our staff. Combined, these courses will help diffuse the technical challenges of ICT in our school, and promote the attainment of the aims and objectives of the project. Methodology: We want to identify the best way that our school can set up a Virtual Learning Platform, and develop our e-maturity. We would like to answer the following questions: Is e-maturity within our grasp? Will setting up a Virtual Learning Environment benefit the participation and engagement of pupils? Will staff e-confidence help promote an e-learning culture within our school? Are there advantages in working towards a hybrid classroom? Can we overcome issues with e-safety? How can International Policy and best practice help us achieve our vision? Will ICT training enhance our teaching? We will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative data to guide our approach. We hope to use descriptive research methodology along with staff, pupil and parent questionnaires during the life of the project. Random sampling of teachers and pupils will be used to obtain a representative sample of attitudes towards our e-maturity project. Once the training and job-shadowing has been completed, we expect the results to be very positive. We expect this project to have a great impact on our staff, pupils and wider school community. We hope to be a school at the fore of e-Learning in our county, and to encourage other schools to also take a leap of faith onto the path of e-maturity. As regards our school, this project will incorporate an important international element that will make our pupils and school community feel less remote and cut-off from our neighbouring counterparts. Living on the periphery of Europe has left us isolated and independent, but through this project we hope to integrate better with our European partners, through networking and face to face encounters. Pupils will be given opportunities to learn online, on a secure platform, at their own pace. Moodle will be able to engage them for longer, and they will become active participants in their own learning. Assessment of Learning will take place, as others with vested interest in the project will help provide feedback to pupils on an ongoing basis. The longterm benefits of this project are endless, as we could potentially work with our partners in Spain, United Kingdom and elsewhere on a Moodle collaboration, in which KA2 activities could be conducted. This Virtual Learning Platform would provide an ideal secure platform where pupils and teachers could interact before, during and after their strategic partnership mobilities, and where pupils from a small rural school in Donegal could interact with their peers across Europe, within a common learning theme. With the evolution of technology it is now possible for us to have the whole of Europe at the touch of a button in our classrooms. The possibilities are endless, blogging, webinairs, electronic lessons all things that we could only imagine 5 years ago but are now embracing as part of our normal day to day teaching.This dream can easily become a reality but we need funding to achieve this.
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