Skoool.ie offers much to the second-level teacher in search of learning support material - or a new qualification

Not long to go before you pack up the chalk duster, clean out your locker, vacate the classroom and head off for a few months of rest and relaxation. This won't happen, of course, until you and your students face the inevitable turmoil of the Junior and Leaving Cert examinations. There's a new resource this year to help you - skoool.ie.

The site has already established itself as a useful source of support for students, with content and lessons developed for them by key members of the teaching profession in the State, but it doesn't stop there. skoool.ie also provides a vital resource to those other stars of the classroom, the teachers.

So what is skoool.ie and how can it help the teacher? Simply put, it's a vast educational resource for teachers to use inside and outside the classroom.

skoool.ie can help to enhance the classroom experience in a number of ways. The site can be used directly in the classroom as a teaching aid, via a computer and an overhead projector, or in a computer room where students can go on-line together, depending on the school's internet connection. There's also the Exam Centre, packed with study notes, which will prove invaluable during the coming months.

The site also offers a dedicated teachers' channel. There is a range of articles on how to use skoool.ie in the classroom, an IT room section with a series of helpful tips for budding web designers and the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) course for teachers to complete online free of charge. An "Are you Involved?" section suggests how teachers can encourage interaction between schools, businesses and the community and there are articles on technological advances in school subjects in the Explore section.

You may ask what good is an excellent interactive online educational tool when some teachers are unfamiliar with the technology? For the uninitiated, skoool.ie offers a means of learning IT skills from scratch, or, for those of you who wish to learn more, of improving your computer skills. The free ECDL course, along with the IT Room, provides the teacher with the necessary tools to explore and fully utilise the potential of skoool.ie and technology in general, as well as adding to his or her qualifications.

ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) is an international certification programme in computer skills, which is recognised in approximately 60 countries worldwide. The main focus of ECDL is to raise the standard of information technology and computer literacy and provide a qualification proving computer competence. There are seven modules in the ECDL: basic concepts of IT; using a computer and managing files; word processing; spreadsheets; databases/filing systems; presentation; and drawing and information network services.

The ECDL courseware on skoool.ie is available free to post-primary teachers and a special licence number is needed to access it. Licence numbers have been issued to the principals of all post-primary schools in the State. If, however, your school has been omitted, contact skoool.ie through the website and one will be sent out to you as soon as possible.

Even those teachers who are techno-literate will benefit from the IT Room section on skoool.ie. There are articles to help troubleshoot PC-related problems, from hardware and software to viruses. There's also a guide to the internet, which will prove to be a vital first step for any classroom research.

The "Are You Involved?" section invites teachers and students to join in with educational, environmental and business schemes for young people.

The Intel Teach To The Future programme, the Business and Education Links Programme (BELP), Millennium Forests and Young Enterprise Ireland all offer teachers a way to introduce their students to the real world of enterprise and community involvement, which will introduce new skills and experiences into their lives.

From its interactive lessons and essential study notes in the Exam Centre, to its contribution to the practice of teaching and the further education of the teacher, skoool.ie is the Irish online learning tool which will safely deliver education into the future.

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