I was disappointed to read that there were 2 “no shows” at the recent Robots.ie Soldering Workshop held at The Science Gallery . I would have liked to have been there but besides my recent respiratory problems I had also read on the site two weeks beforehand that the workshop was sold [...]]]>

I was disappointed to read that there were 2 “no shows” at the recent Robots.ie Soldering Workshop held at The Science Gallery . I would have liked to have been there but besides my recent respiratory problems I had also read on the site two weeks beforehand that the workshop was sold out so I didn’t apply. You can follow them on Twitter @robots_ie for news of future event. The finished article looks impressive.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

Shamrock in bloom in my back garden in Dublin.

The arrival of the CESI National Weblog on the scene has galvanised Liz and Liam into action. They suggested that all the online flavours of CESI Dublin Branch be funnelled into the main official site. To facilitate the porting of the data  in a simple and straight forward fashion I suggest we should all use [...]]]>  

The arrival of the CESI National Weblog on the scene has galvanised Liz and Liam into action. They suggested that all the online flavours of CESI Dublin Branch be funnelled into the main official site. To facilitate the porting of the data  in a simple and straight forward fashion I suggest we should all use the same theme. I think the Digital Dublin and Digital Chalk blogs should be left alone as they have earned their own place in the blogosphere.

CESI membership renewal has migrated to the conference registration time in the new year. This has led to a centralisation of funds at [...]]]> Kieron raised the sticky issue of membership subscriptions on www.digitalchalk.edublogs.org  Kathy Brennan mentioned the even thorny issue of value for money on www.digitaldub.edublogs.org . My views are well known at this stage.

CESI membership renewal has migrated to the conference registration time in the new year. This has led to a centralisation of funds at HQ as opposed to the original constitutional model where each branch mailshot their members and then sent the national executive committee its affiliation subscription to HQ.

The annual conference has become “the be all and end all” of CESI by default.  The newsletter, once a semester based publication seems to have degenerated into a pre-conference publicity instrument. Branch activities have fallen victim to “temporal poverty.”

Kathy lamented the passing of the the National Students’ Fair. Dublin Branch did its best to revive the event in cooperation with the Education Show Ireland promoters. The branch abolished the competitive nature of the fair  in the last two years and it still failed to attract schools. This year’s fair never got off the ground because the Education Show Ireland 2007 was cancelled.

Please bear in mind that the majority of teachers who visit our sites never attend meetings or conference for that matter. All the teachers on national and branch committees are unpaid volunteers with a keen interest in the integration of ICT in education. 

The decline of the branch structure and the non-publication of the newsletter is due in no small part to a lack of new blood in the society. All the existing members on the committee are engaged in masters degrees, care of the elderly and in one case an unfolding family tragedy.

Every effort will be made to relaunch the branch in the coming school year. Remember “you have got to give sime to get some.” Think about taking an active part in branch activities this coming year or tem.

It was shot in the crush of the crowd but it does capture the atmosphere and excitement of the historic event.

Last night’s Real Player version was a [...]]]> This is a “no frills” video of the arrival of the replica Viking longboat the “Sea Stallion from Glendalough” at Dublin’s Custom’s House Quay on August 14th, 2007.

It was shot in the crush of the crowd but it does capture the atmosphere and excitement of the historic event.

Last night’s Real Player version was a mess. Unfortunately, this a a very large file, nearly 120MB so only download if you have a decent broadband connection. This is an experiment in Apple Quicktime. Let me know if it is better or worse than Windows Media Format.

Apple QuickTime is available here

The Sea Stallion from Glendalough finally docked at Customs House Quay after its six week voyage from Roskilde in Denmark. The replica longboat travelled 1000 nautical miles manned (and womanned) by an international crew of 60. More pictures to follow [...]]]>   

The Sea Stallion from Glendalough finally docked at Customs House Quay after its six week voyage from Roskilde in Denmark. The replica longboat travelled 1000 nautical miles manned (and womanned) by an international crew of 60. More pictures to follow tomorrow.

The Sea Stallion from Glendalough rowed into the Malahide estuary in County Dublin this morning. Two days to go until they make their triumphal entry into Dublin City.

“A full ceremonial welcome will be afforded the Sea Stallion on its emotional arrival at Custom House Quay in the [...]]]>

The Sea Stallion from Glendalough rowed into the Malahide estuary in County Dublin this morning. Two days to go until they make their triumphal entry into Dublin City.

“A full ceremonial welcome will be afforded the Sea Stallion on its emotional arrival at Custom House Quay in the Dublin Docklands on 14th August at 1.30 pm. . . The LE Roisin and other smaller official vessels will provide a ceremonial escort.”

The primary school year ends tomorrow and along with it the official one year run of our eTwinning project “Once Upon A Blog.”

This project has received international recognition on a worldwide basis and many teachers have told me that the project has had a positive influence on [...]]]>  

The primary school year ends tomorrow and along with it the official one year run of our eTwinning project “Once Upon A Blog.”

This project has received international recognition on a worldwide basis and many teachers have told me that the project has had a positive influence on their teaching styles.

I received 11 links from educators in Europe, 4 from the USA and 2 from Australia all of whom have embarked on a similar media streaming journey as a result of viewing “Once Upon A Blog.” Unfortunately without exception, everyone of the sites carried unpredictable advertising and were subsequently blocked by Fortinet, HEAnet’s schools’ broadband contracted content filtering service.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the 1394 people who emailed moc.aulsnull@retsamdop in the past academic year. It is a pity you did not comment on the site or give permission for your emails to be published. I realise teachers, in particular, are slow to put their thoughts in writing especially in a second or third language.

The project will continue though I do not know whether its eTwinning life can be extended. I will have to discuss it with my colleague in Malta who is very busy at present.

In the meantime take a look at this video. It is a bit long and the music could be a bit more upbeat but take it for what it is worth. The digital natives are growing restless!