Sacred Heart SNS is very well known as a school that has been using technology since the early years. We were one of the first schools in Ireland to publish a school web site and one of the first schools to be awarded Digital School status. It is very common to see groups of teachers from other schools visiting Sacred Heart to get advice and information on some of the ways that technology can be used to enhance learning and teaching, and we always do our best to facilitate such requests.
The use of technology takes many forms throughout the school. Here are some of the ways that technology is used:
The use of technology takes many forms throughout the school. Here are some of the ways that technology is used:
- All classrooms have an interactive whiteboard to help make lessons bright, stimulating and appealing to pupils.
- Virtual reality headsets are used to enahnce children's learning and engagment.
- Children have access to eportfolios such as Classdojo and Microsoft office suite.
- Classdojo is used as an online communication tool between parents and teachers.
- The school has two computer rooms, which are used by classes on a rota basis.
- The mobile laptop trolley containing twenty laptops is a very popular facility for all classes. Broadband connectivity and colour printing are used to good advantage through the wireless infrastructure throughout the school
- We currently have one suite of iPads which are populated by a growing number of superb apps
- Pupils in 4th, 5th and 6th classes use Nintendo DS consoles with particular applications on a regular basis.
There is a range of digital still and video cameras available to all teachers. As well as recording important events, the use of cameras is important to help create a print-rich, child-focused environment throughout the school.
We believe that the use of technology is an essential part of life in any modern school. As well as helping to prepare pupils to take their place in a world where technology is all around them, technology, in lots of different ways, used judiciously, can play an enormous role in helping make school life interesting, stimulating and authentic for children. We don’t regard technology as a subject. Instead, it should be viewed as a cross-curricular resource, to be used, at teachers’ discretion to enhance the learning and teaching experience when appropriate.