Since March 2020, Schools and education as we know it drastically got turned upside down and inside out due to this current pandemic that has been inflicted across the globe. Here in NCC we were technologically prepared for this shift in our teaching and learning approach for our students. With everyone having their own devices and wi-fi networks from their usual everyday school routine, we were able to transition smoothly to our new timetable. With new procedures being put into place and instructions given out to our students, our remote learning experience began. Due to this being such a fresh and new method of teaching, we as teachers learned from the opportunity and reflected on lessons that were successful and how to improve some of our lessons that needed to be reassessed. We were pushed to be creative and innovative in our online lessons from the safety of our own homes. Here are a few examples from several teacher voices and their experience in our approach to online remote learning. We hope to use our experiences and challenges to help in our approach to our altered school environment as we prepare our students a return to school in the most supportive way possible.
Examples of Lessons carried out by our teachers online are as follows:
Examples of Lessons carried out by our teachers online are as follows:
| Ms Curtis carried out live Zoom lessons alongside her workings from live videos of workings for our HL leaving cert class. This allowed our students to ask questions when workings were being carried out while having physical examples to look back on for their own revision. |  |
Mr Bolger created a guideline for a series of physical exercises to be completed during the week and examples of different types of classes our students could complete during the week. There were various different versions of lessons that our students could approach such a Yoga/mobility, circuits, Running challenges and High Intensity Interval Training lessons.
Ms Kearns gave us this insight into her Spanish lessons that took place remotely:
My first year Spanish class made PicCollage posters last week with all of the things that they like using the verb gustar. I made one as an example for success criteria and then the students had the chance to make their own. This gave students a chance to practise the new verb they had learned in Spanish but in a more creative and fun way than writing sentences.
It addressed the Modern Foreign Languages learning outcomes 1.19 “Create texts about aspects of their lives and topics that interest them such as family and friends, school, holidays, leisure activities, fashion, sport, celebrities” and 2.2 “Apply all language learning to creative activities such as producing simple poems, posters, presentations, games and drama”
In general I have also been using Loom which is an app that allows you to record your iPad screen with a voiceover. This has been very convenient for remote modern foreign languages learning as students can replay any parts they are unsure of and can pause and replay listening activities as many times as they like. This allowed me to address the listening section of strand one of the Modern Foreign Languages learning outcomes for Junior Cycle, eg “1.3 identify specific information in texts related to familiar topics such as announcements, conversations, simple news items“. It was received very positively by students as they could go at their own pace.
My first year Spanish class made PicCollage posters last week with all of the things that they like using the verb gustar. I made one as an example for success criteria and then the students had the chance to make their own. This gave students a chance to practise the new verb they had learned in Spanish but in a more creative and fun way than writing sentences.
It addressed the Modern Foreign Languages learning outcomes 1.19 “Create texts about aspects of their lives and topics that interest them such as family and friends, school, holidays, leisure activities, fashion, sport, celebrities” and 2.2 “Apply all language learning to creative activities such as producing simple poems, posters, presentations, games and drama”
In general I have also been using Loom which is an app that allows you to record your iPad screen with a voiceover. This has been very convenient for remote modern foreign languages learning as students can replay any parts they are unsure of and can pause and replay listening activities as many times as they like. This allowed me to address the listening section of strand one of the Modern Foreign Languages learning outcomes for Junior Cycle, eg “1.3 identify specific information in texts related to familiar topics such as announcements, conversations, simple news items“. It was received very positively by students as they could go at their own pace.
| Ms. Courtney’s lesson plans entailed some of the following classroom approaches for her Maths and Science classes: 1. Video lesson for math, students can watch, rewatch, pause, use to correct own work, revisit at a later stage etc. 2. Virtual dice roll activity to summarise the lesson and for teachers to gain feedback from students 3. Schoology traffic light poll to assess students understanding 4. Word doc editable graphic organisers (excellent tools for reveison)  |  |
Ms Sullivan’s approach to her practical subject was a difficult one but here’s an account on how she successfully tackled some of the challenges through our digital platform.
| 1st year Visual Art Colour Wheels & Tonal Scales As part of their revision of the Elements of Art, all 1st year Visual Art students created colour wheels and tonal scales with items that they found around their homes. To revise the element COLOUR , the aim was to create an entire colour wheel (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple) by arranging coloured items in this order. They were also asked to create a tonal scale to revise TONE, by lining up items in a scale from light to dark. Our students came up with some fantastic images to demonstrate their knowledge and brought a 3D element to both topics. | |
Photography Scavenger hunt
Following instructions on what to consider when using your phone/iPad for photography, our 1st Year Visual Art students were sent on a photography scavenger hunt! They were given a list of a variety of objects to find in and around their homes and to compile them to create one large photography combination piece. Students had to consider, light, composition and layout when creating these works which turned out great! We definitely have some budding photographers in our midst!
Following instructions on what to consider when using your phone/iPad for photography, our 1st Year Visual Art students were sent on a photography scavenger hunt! They were given a list of a variety of objects to find in and around their homes and to compile them to create one large photography combination piece. Students had to consider, light, composition and layout when creating these works which turned out great! We definitely have some budding photographers in our midst!
TY Art Module
Re-creating Famous Artworks
As part of their Art module, the Transition Year students were challenged with re-creating a famous artwork at home. They could choose whatever piece of artwork they liked. The results were fantastic! They submitted such a variety of artworks, from still life with fruit to portraits. A special thanks to all of the siblings and parents used in the making of these re-creations!
Re-creating Famous Artworks
As part of their Art module, the Transition Year students were challenged with re-creating a famous artwork at home. They could choose whatever piece of artwork they liked. The results were fantastic! They submitted such a variety of artworks, from still life with fruit to portraits. A special thanks to all of the siblings and parents used in the making of these re-creations!
| 5th Year Art History Placemats Working in the area of artwork analysis as part of their Art History course, our 5th year students used Placemats in order to describe, analyse, interpret and judge a variety of artworks from their study of Street Art. | |
 | Comparing/Contrasting Artworks Continuing with artwork analysis, our 5th years compared and contrasted two pieces of artwork by Wassily Kandinsky by describing the similarities and differences between the two pieces of abstract artwork. |
Our Classics and Spanish teacher – Ms Kinsella used her time during our initial lockdown to try out various different methods of teaching in her online classes. Please find her account of numerous different digital platforms that she used over the course of the lockdown period.
Zoom
Zoom is a great tool for remote learning with varied scope for different types of class activities. I used Screenshare to share teaching materials and work through topics with PowerPoints, example exercises and was able to complete remote Quizlet and Kahoot quizzes which the students really enjoyed. The breakout rooms were a great way for Spanish students to practice Spanish dialogues together or work through an exercise as a team. Lastly, I was able to use Zoom to carry out 5th Year Spanish orals, which is an essential element of assessment in senior Cycle Spanish.
Zoom
Zoom is a great tool for remote learning with varied scope for different types of class activities. I used Screenshare to share teaching materials and work through topics with PowerPoints, example exercises and was able to complete remote Quizlet and Kahoot quizzes which the students really enjoyed. The breakout rooms were a great way for Spanish students to practice Spanish dialogues together or work through an exercise as a team. Lastly, I was able to use Zoom to carry out 5th Year Spanish orals, which is an essential element of assessment in senior Cycle Spanish.
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| Loom Loom is an excellent online tool used to create videos of your desktop for students that they can view online and pause where they need it. I used it to provide a sample presentation voiceover for my third years to help them with their May assessment and for explaining corrections of work assigned. It could also be used to present materials or correct materials and is particularly good for those students who struggle to follow a class (they can pause/go back/ re-watch etc.) |  |
 | Schoology Quizzes These are a great Assessment of Learning tool but also Assessment for Learning tool. I used these a number of times with students as a closure activity when studying chapters of the Aeneid in Classics but also as a self-assessment tool in Spanish (where students can add multiple submissions with the aim of improving on previous results). |
PowerPoint Screen Grabs
I used these a lot during remote learning. Like Loom, they are great for narrating over your subject presentations on your desktop and allow the students to work at their own pace. They were also very good initially for showing students where to find things on Schoology. You can also record yourself explaining corrections from work assigned, which helps students to better understand where they went wrong.
I used these a lot during remote learning. Like Loom, they are great for narrating over your subject presentations on your desktop and allow the students to work at their own pace. They were also very good initially for showing students where to find things on Schoology. You can also record yourself explaining corrections from work assigned, which helps students to better understand where they went wrong.
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Schoology Discussion Forums
Lastly, I used Schoology discussion forums during this period of remote learning, particularly in order for students to engage with each other as well as the materials. It’s a great way to get students to compare notes/ideas/responses and think critically about the topics they are covering. I also used a discussion forum in each of my subjects as a ‘Questions Thread’ for students to ask about work when they were stuck.
Lastly, I used Schoology discussion forums during this period of remote learning, particularly in order for students to engage with each other as well as the materials. It’s a great way to get students to compare notes/ideas/responses and think critically about the topics they are covering. I also used a discussion forum in each of my subjects as a ‘Questions Thread’ for students to ask about work when they were stuck.
