Category: stories

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctVsLlxI8mA&w=560&h=315] (This is post 3 of 3) The Shylight permanent installation in the Rijksmuseum was one of the highlights of the trip to Amsterdam to me. It was like a metaphor for everything the Scratch and Maker education espouses – the joy of creativity. And on the subject of the Rijksmuseum, it was jammed…

(This is post 2 of 3) Stretching this second Europe-based Scratch conference over 5 venues was a great a way to ensure we saw a lot of Amsterdam while we were there. From the opening throwback address by LOGO co-architect Cynthia Solomon on Wednesday evening, right thru ’til Saturday afternoon, we had Keynotes, Ignites, Workshops…

(This is post 1 of 3). The “pre-conference” portion of the Scratch World Conference, Creative Communities, in Amsterdam last month included a meeting for Coderdojo mentors. This was organised and hosted by Liberty Global, who also sponsored the conference. It took place in a wonderful venue – the OBA – the Openbare Bibliotheek – a most amazing…

Long overdue post – Big congratulations and thanks to all involved in organising Dublin Maker on July 25th, part of the Festival of Curiosity. I was alerted to it by Laser Laura (@choiceirregular), and went with daughter and 8yo granddaughter. We had a ball, as did every other family attending on the lawn of Trinity…

It has taken longer than boasted about planned to rise to the #blimage challenge received via Mary Loftus’s insightful Getting Bogged post, the post that has added upskittled to our lexicon. The post where she posted the image of the young student from Albermarle County stretched on the floor absorbed in her work. It took two long…

Finally made it to Great! I have missed the previous three summers due to bad luck, so was delighted to be able to attend this year. Leigh Graves Wolfe, of Michigan State University, has always welcomed her “#edchatie family” and the CESI community to visit her Master students as they finish their summer school in Ireland. This…

Thank you Ann O’Dea in Silicon Republic, for the invitation to write an obituary / tribute to Bianca, on behalf of her Ed Tech tribe. Composed with her friends in mind, it was a difficult but therapeutic exercise for me. And for the moment it is that commissioned text that will have to suffice here,…

When teaching Biology, specially if it is for 35 years, the word “excited” takes on a very specific meaning. An electron absorbing light energy and becoming “excited” is central to the process of photosynthesis, which drives most of the food chains in our global ecosystems. This form of “excited” means taken to a higher level.…

One of the best Teachmeets ever, and that is saying something in this past year, as Ireland really gets the hang of it, with TMs popping up in all corners. Bianca Ní Ghrógain, at the behest of the Head of Education, Seamie O’Neill, sort of “asked” her buddies in CESI, and the Froebel College in…