Gaelscoil Ó Doghair

Gaelscoil Ó Doghair, Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick

Gaelscoil Ó Doghair is an Irish-medium primary schools where pupils acquire the Irish language through ‘language immersion’ – the teaching of the standard curriculum in the Irish language – and these schools have built a deserved reputation for academic excellence. With its strong emphasis on ICT, Gaelscoil O’Doghair also achieves academic success through immersion in interactive learning technology – with SMART Board interactive whiteboards at the heart.

Each of the school’s nine classrooms is equipped with a SMART Board interactive whiteboard, which are used in a variety of imaginative ways across all the core subjects of Irish, English, and Maths, as well as OSIE, OSPS, art, music, and PE.

“There’s almost no limit to what you can do on a SMART Board, and you can make lessons much wider than you can just using books,” says ICT Co-ordinator Valerie Condon. “The SMART Boards give you much more flexibility and variety, and teachers can use their creativity and imagination to make every lesson different and find ways to teach things differently. Using SMART Boards also enables you to differentiate between the different learning styles of individual children or groups.”

“The children love using the SMART Boards, and they help to keep them focused and interested. That can only be a good thing for making learning more effective and improving educational outcomes.”

Challenge

To enhance engagement and motivation and help improve educational outcomes

Solution

SMART Board interactive whiteboards in every classroom

Benefits

Greater pupil engagement and motivation, with a significant cost saving on books