This is a post from Tina Reddin in Dundrum College of Further Education.
EPIC is a two year student and teacher mobility project with European partners in Norway, Estonia and Germany funded by Erasmus+ through our National Agency Leargas
Why we got involved and wrote an application
The rationale was two-fold namely:
1. To enhance the learning experience of students and to provide them with the opportunities that the experience of working in another European jurisdiction can provide, including increased motivation and engagement, societal awareness, multi-culturalism, initiative and relationship management, critical thinking skills and obtaining a heightened awareness of the vocational specialism.
2. To build the capacity of our FET / VET teaching staff to contextualise the European dimension of their vocational specialisms in line with European educational frameworks and best practice.
The aims and objectives of the project include:
The project aims to foster a culture of student peer support within the college, for example, the funding and the mobility aspect of the project enables students from different areas of study to work and travel together in another jurisdiction, something which we could not accommodate in Ireland. The development of these new relationships will create sustainable, supportive student networks for further dissemination of learning across the wider college community on their return.
To provide an opportunity for FET / VET teachers to align themselves with the best international practice. The staff mobility dimension of the project provides an opportunity for our teachers to up-skill and re-skill in both pedagogical and vocational specialisms in a non-formal and supportive learning environment and will we suggest enhance their capacity to deliver quality teaching, learning and assessments within their vocational specialisms.
Dundrum CFE is keen to develop European partnerships across all of our vocational specialisms, this project will build capacity in project management of such initiatives and will lead to the development of sustainable future strategic partnerships by building strong teaching and learning partnerships.
Our experience of this project to February 2020
Three teachers and three students from various business courses travelled to HKHK, Haapsalu in Estonia, teachers for 2 day observations and students for a fortnight placement. The success of the mobility is evident in their evaluations and the video created by one of the teacher participants.
Three teachers and five students across many of our humanity disciplines travelled to KVT, Trondheim in Norway, one of our Norwegian partners for the same duration as the Estonia mobility. Again the learning has been immense and this is evidenced in a video created by a DCFE teacher, a compilation of some of the many photographs our students took during their visit. Our students had the opportunity to engage with each other in a social context, meet students from other nationalities.
In the case of Trondheim our students were joined by students from Sallynoggin CFE and our teachers had the opportunity to collaborate together as ddletb teachers as well as working with Norwegian teachers.
As for Estonia, our students met French and Hungarian students also on Erasmus+ mobilities. This too added to their enjoyment.
I write this as we await the arrival of our Norwegian visitors, both teachers and students on Monday next….
DDLETB’s Teacher Leadership Programme
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleySeptember 2019 saw the exciting launch of a brand new initiative for the teachers of DDL. The Teacher Leadership Programme or TLP, followed on from the footprints of the TL21 project which successfully ran for 6 years within the scheme. The development team began work on TLP began many months before it launched and we had no idea just how well it would be received. However, we were delighted to register over 130 participants and 29 fantastic facilitators all of whom were equally as excited by the potential this project had for schools and colleges and for DDL as an organization. The volume of interest in a program like this, testifies to the quality of teachers the scheme has.
The aims of the TLP programme are to explore the world of educational leadership and develop the leadership capacity of each of the participating teachers. With these two aims in mind the program was designed with two working parts.
Firstly, there are the General Learning Sessions which explore different aspects of educational leadership. These were led by a host of facilitators experienced in the area of educational leadership The second element is that of the development work or TLP Projects which was led by the appointed school facilitators and their TLP teams. These carefully planned projects offered innovative and exciting developments for schools and colleges and were run with the support of school management. School facilitators were also provided with training sessions to support their work as team leaders.
Research tells us that effective professional development needs to be embedded. TLP aims to embed best practice, quality leadership skills and a strong sense of identity as participants discover the leader within, as an individual but also collaboratively with their colleagues.
Despite the abrupt ending to TLP with the closure of schools in March, the programme proved to be a positive learning experience for all learners and we are excited to see where this initiative will go in the future.
Happy Europe Day!
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyEurope Day held on 9 May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic ‘Schuman declaration‘. At a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable.
His vision was to create a European institution that would pool and manage coal and steel production. A treaty creating such a body was signed just under a year later. Schuman’s proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.
To demonstrate solidarity with those most affected by the current crisis and to honour Europe Day, the European Parliament calls upon all citizens to put the EU flag at their window this Saturday, 9 May.
Join a special Facebook live session on https://www.facebook.com/events/236198284319637.
The Parliament will also hold an on-line event all day on Saturday (10:00 to 18:00), with EP live in 8 languages, EBS and a Facebook live.
Broadmeadow Community National School Now Taking Applications
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyApply Now For Youth Club Grant 2020
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyUse the application below to apply now for the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme.
Youth Club Grant Scheme Application Form 2020
LYCGS Guidance Information 2020
The Local Youth Club Grant Scheme (LYCGS) supports volunteer-led youth club/group activities at a local level. Funding for the Scheme is provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) and is administered locally by Education and Training Boards (ETBs) on behalf of DCYA. The ETB is considered to be a co-grantor for this Scheme.
The Scheme supports voluntary youth club/group activities for young people; with priority given to clubs/groups catering for young people aged 10–21. The primary focus of the Scheme is to assist local, volunteer-led youth clubs/groups that provide a programme of youth work activities for young people. In addition, other clubs/groups that work with young people, but are not specifically providing youth work, are also entitled to apply for funding under the Scheme.
Photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com
Covid 19 Translated Resources
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyYou can find a large set of translated resources to help share the messaging about coronavirus (COVID-19) in various languages.
These posters and booklets are available from the HSE website for download and printing.
https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/newsfeatures/covid19-updates/partner-resources/covid-19-translated-resources/
Teaching & Learning Continues At DDLETB
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyStaying In Contact
Following Government advice concerning COVID-19 and guidance on Working from Home where possible, we are implementing remote working arrangements to ensure continuation of services as far as possible. We request that all communications are therefore sent to us electronically to info@ddletb.ie so that we will be in a position to receive and respond to same more promptly, as hardcopy post-processing may be impacted during this time. Thank you for your co-operation.
DDLETB Head Office Closed To Public
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyIn light of the most recent Government advice regarding COVID-19 the Head Offices of DDLETB will be closed to the general public until further notice.
Ensuring the health and safety of our staff and minimising the risk of spread of infection is our utmost priority.
This is a precautionary measure in the interest of safeguarding public health and we apologise for any inconvenience.
DDLETB Head Office can be contacted by phone on 01-4529600 or by email at info@ddletb.ie
Autism Awareness Workshops
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyAutism Awareness Day is 2nd April 2020. It is estimated that over 1 in 100 people in Ireland currently have a diagnosis of autism. There are many individuals who do not have a formal diagnosis and for the most part, their autism does not impact hugely on their daily lives. There are some life experiences that cause more stress and anxiety than others. The autism spectrum is broad, with people affected in a variety of ways, to varying degrees. No two people on the spectrum are affected the same way. However, the areas of difficulty for those on the spectrum can largely be summed up under 4 headings:
• Social Communication
• Social Imagination
• Social Interaction
• Sensory Processing
To mark World Autism Day, DDLETB Youth & Sport Development Service are hosting two workshops with ASIAM on Autism Awareness
These workshops will be held on April 1st in DDLETB Head Office. The first is on from 3.30-5.30pm and the second is on from 6.30 to 8.30 pm.
The workshops will look at understanding the condition and simple ways you can make your environment more autism-friendly for the children & young people you work within your school, youth club, scout hall, sports club etc.
Click here to register for these free workshops.
Image created by freepik – www.freepik.com
Dundrum CFE Erasmus+ EPIC Project (2019 – 2021)
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyThis is a post from Tina Reddin in Dundrum College of Further Education.
EPIC is a two year student and teacher mobility project with European partners in Norway, Estonia and Germany funded by Erasmus+ through our National Agency Leargas
Why we got involved and wrote an application
The rationale was two-fold namely:
1. To enhance the learning experience of students and to provide them with the opportunities that the experience of working in another European jurisdiction can provide, including increased motivation and engagement, societal awareness, multi-culturalism, initiative and relationship management, critical thinking skills and obtaining a heightened awareness of the vocational specialism.
2. To build the capacity of our FET / VET teaching staff to contextualise the European dimension of their vocational specialisms in line with European educational frameworks and best practice.
The aims and objectives of the project include:
The project aims to foster a culture of student peer support within the college, for example, the funding and the mobility aspect of the project enables students from different areas of study to work and travel together in another jurisdiction, something which we could not accommodate in Ireland. The development of these new relationships will create sustainable, supportive student networks for further dissemination of learning across the wider college community on their return.
To provide an opportunity for FET / VET teachers to align themselves with the best international practice. The staff mobility dimension of the project provides an opportunity for our teachers to up-skill and re-skill in both pedagogical and vocational specialisms in a non-formal and supportive learning environment and will we suggest enhance their capacity to deliver quality teaching, learning and assessments within their vocational specialisms.
Dundrum CFE is keen to develop European partnerships across all of our vocational specialisms, this project will build capacity in project management of such initiatives and will lead to the development of sustainable future strategic partnerships by building strong teaching and learning partnerships.
Our experience of this project to February 2020
Three teachers and three students from various business courses travelled to HKHK, Haapsalu in Estonia, teachers for 2 day observations and students for a fortnight placement. The success of the mobility is evident in their evaluations and the video created by one of the teacher participants.
Three teachers and five students across many of our humanity disciplines travelled to KVT, Trondheim in Norway, one of our Norwegian partners for the same duration as the Estonia mobility. Again the learning has been immense and this is evidenced in a video created by a DCFE teacher, a compilation of some of the many photographs our students took during their visit. Our students had the opportunity to engage with each other in a social context, meet students from other nationalities.
In the case of Trondheim our students were joined by students from Sallynoggin CFE and our teachers had the opportunity to collaborate together as ddletb teachers as well as working with Norwegian teachers.
As for Estonia, our students met French and Hungarian students also on Erasmus+ mobilities. This too added to their enjoyment.
I write this as we await the arrival of our Norwegian visitors, both teachers and students on Monday next….
Information On Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
/in Corporate News /by Jennifer FarleyThe HPSC (Health Protection Surveillance Centre) has provided information on the Novel Coronavirus.
What is the Cornonavirus?
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that circulate among animals, including camels, cats and bats, with some causing illness in humans e.g. SARS (civet cats) and MERS (dromedary camels). Rarely, animal coronaviruses can change and infect people and then spread between people such as has been seen with MERS and SARS.
Images combined from a 3D medical animation, depicting the shape of coronavirus as well as the cross-sectional view. Image shows the major elements including the Spike S protein, HE protein, viral envelope, and helical RNA. Image from wikimedia.
What are the symptoms?
Common signs of infection include:
How to prevent infection
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include:
For more information on the Coronavirus see the HPSC website.