This article is from page 32 of the 2010-02-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
THERE was good news on the dou- ble for Gort Community School last week when it was announced that the school has been granted funding to construct three new classrooms and has also been chosen to take part in a new high-tech school programme.
The announcement of the new classrooms was made last week by local TD Noel Treacy (FF) who said the new classrooms and changing rooms will come as a big boost to the staff and students.
Meanwhile, the school has also been chosen to take part in a pilot programme to test the benefits of high-speed broadband and _next-
generation technologies in the class- room.
In the coming weeks the school will be kitted out with new, super high-speed broadband and will also receive 31 laptops and 25 digital pro- jectors.
The pilot project, which has been launched by the Department of Com- munications, Energy and Natural Resources, will see a wireless LAN connection installed in the school, allowing high-speed internet to be received anywhere in the school elena euneres
The new technological investment, which will total around €50,000, will also allow the school to create a mobile computer suite, with the
wireless broadband enabling them to bring the laptops to any room in the school.
The investment will also allow the school to further enhance the use of technology while teaching music. The school’s music students already use the music notation software Fi- nale Print Music which can be used instead of pen and paper to notate music.
This software also allows students to compose and arrange music the way they want it to sound which can then be transposed to any key and for any instrument. Through this technology, students can also play a MIDI keyboard with a metronome and watch their music appear on
screen in real time.
“We are taking online learning out of the confines of the computer room. In classrooms and corridors, students and teachers will poten- tially be able to carry out interactive chemistry experiments and access demonstrations and exhibitions from all over the world,’ said Eamon Ryan (GP), when launching the scheme last week.
“A class learning French could talk in real time with a class in France. A Leaving Certificate physics stu- dent will be able to take part in Ivy League lectures and experiments. With this level of connectivity, the opportunities for interaction and col- laboration are unlimited.”