Teachmeet @ Feilte 2015

I had the pleasure of presenting at Teachmeet today! Thank you to Ciara for organising a great event. 

My day began with listening to a very motivating talk by Mark Pollock- he reminded us to be involved in our lives and not just a spectator. To be a competitor- not to win, but to be apart of life. 

My presentation was based around the use of sketch books in the primary classroom. Check out this post for more information: 

http://clairesprimaryschoolart.blogspot.ie/2015/08/sketch-books-in-classroom.html

I really enjoyed listening to fellow teachers and educators new ideas and innovations for the classroom. Here's just a few of the amazing presentations-

Mary Jo Bell, who I was familiar with from the twitter account @MrsBellsClass brought forward the idea of using Evernote in the classroom for digital portfolios of the children's work. (Twitter @mjbell)

Paul Knox described some of the benefits of Playworks in the primary school year. This is a programme that a colleague of mine is very excited about- and after hearing Paul's presentation today I am too! (Twitter @pauldechnoic)

Patrick Burke's Prezi captured everyone's attention. I really enjoyed the medium of "Prezi" for presenting (https://prezi.com/). It was so effective. Patrick used an app called "DoInk". This app can enable teachers to make a green screen from any background in their classrooms. (Twitter @patjburke)

Mags Amond introduced us to a handy site- classtools.net. (Twitter: magsamond)

Michelle Stowe discussed how to implement Restoratice Practice in schools. (Twitter @mstowerp)

Cormac Cahill works in an autism unit. I spent a few months working in one and I know how many resources have to be made and how long this takes. He uses the Book Creator app to make social stories that can be read on a child or parents phone or tablet. Not only is this faster to create a story, but as it's on a phone is also less conspicuous than a hardcopy social story. (Twitter @cosmiccork)

There were many other influential presentations, these are but just a few! If you are interested in presenting or attending the next Teachmeet check out  http://teachmeetireland.com/ and Twitter page @TeachmeetIRL 

I was also very excited to see so much interest in the art and outdoor education workshops at Feilte. I begin Forest School Leadership training later in the month and I can't wait to bring this mindset to my art and design education.