Ireland's National Induction Programme for Teachers Presentation

Presentation at the Mid-South Educational Research Association (MSERA) Annual Meeting on Ireland's National Induction Programme for Teachers.

Ireland's National Induction Programme for Teachers from Paige Vitulli

Ireland the most educated country in Europe, says Eurostat

Ireland has the most higher education graduates per head of population of all 27 countries of the European Union, a report from EU statistical agency Eurostat has revealed.

See full article at:
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20130412132724421

Dublin Comes to the U.S.

At the SITE conference, we attended a presentation entitled Teacher Identified Uses of Technology in the Classroom-an Irish Cohort. Both the topic and the Irish connection caught our attention.

Alison Egan from the Marino Institute of Education, Dublin, presented research she conducted with Ann FitzGibbon and Elizabeth Oldham from Trinity College, Dublin.  It was interesting to learn how similar the use and non-use of technology are among the respondants in the Irish study and what we have observed in our own pre-service teachers. 

Little did we know, when we left for Dublin, what a warm spot in our hearts we would have for all things Irish and that we could continue to experience Irish connections.  Surely, this is a sign that there is a return trip in our future!

SITE 2013: Trials and Triumphs of Blogging Internationally

Our conference presentation for the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education

Thursday, March 28th 10:15-11:15 AM

Paige Vitulli, University of South Alabama, United States

Peggy Delmas, University of South Alabama, United States

Susan Santoli, University of South Alabama, United States

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Of course, we couldn't let this special day pass without wishing a very Happy St. Patrick's Day (Lá Fhéile Pádraig) to the wonderful people we met in Ireland! 

I'm providing a link to  the beautiful St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer that I read while in Ireland.

I baked some Irish soda bread, but it didn't taste nearly as good as it did in Dublin! 

Still loving The Meeting on the Turret Stairs

As I was recently preparing an art exercise with this wonderful watercolor to use with my students, I found two excellent YouTube videos that greatly enhanced my knowledge of and understanding of this work.  I hope that others will enjoy these as well!

William Frederic Burton:  Is This Ireland's Favorite Painting?  This video was actually done during the contest.

Sharon Corr:  Helellil and Hildebrand. The Meeting on the Turret Stairs.

This painting continues to capitvate all to whom we have "introduced" it!

Education In the Irish News...

Interesting education views in the Irish news...

How Northern Ireland became the new Finland
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/education/2013/0115/1224328845766.html

Acquisition of an enviable slot in international literacy and numeracy rankings, "according to the study, Northern Irish primary pupils performed better in reading and numeracy than in any other English speaking country in the world."

Education suffering death by initiative..
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2013/0126/1224329304067.html