Winners in Washington

Well done to Ms McHale and to 5th, 4th and 3rd class in St Philomena's.  We were prize winners in Washington, at the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum.

We came second in the "Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom" Category.

We are very popular in the media these days.

Read this article about us on siliconrepublic.com

• Irish Teacher Scoops Global Microsoft Educator Award

What a busy week...

Well ladies and gents, 

It has been a hectic week so far here in Washington DC.  We have been kept busy by Microsoft with workshops, excursions, presentations and projects.  There is so much to see here and so much to learn from other teachers who are working hard with their classes from around the world.  I have finally managed to find some time to share all that's been happening.

 

Yesterday a group of us were taken out to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre to have a look at all the work they do there, studying the environment, looking at water and trees and the animals and plants that live around them.  It was a wonderful afternoon.

After that we came back to the hotel for the beginning of our presentations.  It was our first chance to show off our projects to other teachers and also, to get a chance to walk around and talk to other teachers about their work.  We also had our first juding interviews. 

I've put some photos up on our Picassa albums to give you a quick look at where I am and what is happening.

Ms McHale in Washington

Hi blog followers,

I've arrived in Washington after a long flight from  Dublin to London and then on to Washington DC.  (You should find a map and see how far I've had to fly.)  We arrived at our very beautiful hotel, the JW Mariott last night.  It's right beside the White House, so we went out for a walk to have a look at how lovely it is at night.  It's hard to see in the photo, but it's a very impressive building.  I felt like I was in a movie.

We have started this morning with our meetings and presentations.  There are hundreds of people here from around the world, all with different skills and backgrounds, but all involved in education.  You can imagine how many ideas are here to make classrooms exciting and interesting for kids around the world.

Be sure to check back again later.  I'll keep you all updated on the exciting things that happen during the week.  

Big News from Moscow



Ms McHale receiving her award from
Dr. Deirdre Butler at the  Microsoft
 Partners in Learning European Forum.



A number of different awards for outstanding projects in different categories were given by an international jury of education experts, led by Dr. Deirdre Butler, professor at St. Patrick’s College, Dublin.  Those who demonstrated the most innovative teaching practices using technology are then selected to attend the Partners in Learning Global Forum which will be held in Washington D.C. later this year.

Ms McHale and her class were delighted when the “Birds of Bray” project was awarded first runner up in the Knowledge Building and Critical Thinking category.  This project will now be further developed and they have been invited to present the project at the Global Forum in Washington D.C. in November 2011.

Photos from the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum in Moscow

Off to Moscow...

Hi guys,

I'm heading off to Moscow tomorrow to go to the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum.  I will be sharing our project with lots of other teachers around Europe. 
It's going to be a busy week, with lots to see and do, and I'm looking forward to seeing all the other projects that are going on in classrooms around Europe.  Hopefully I'll pick up some great ideas that I can take back and try out in St Philomena's.
I'll be blogging for the week to let you all know the exciting things that are happening. 
Wish me luck!!

Ms McHale

Special Project - Microsoft Innovative Educators Forum

We are entering our Birds of Bray project in the Microsoft European Innovative Educators Forum.  Ms McHale is going to Moscow at the end of March to share our project with other teachers from around Europe.  We have been working really hard and hopefully some other teachers will see our project and think it's a great idea, and then they will try it out with their own classes.  It would be great if there were birdwatching classrooms all over Eurpope.