In 2014 EXCITED held the first Digital Learning Festival in Dublin Castle. Last year it returned with a theme of “Growing the Network”. On Friday 20th and Saturday 21st May it once again visits Dublin Castle with a theme of “Celebrating Success and Sharing Innovation”.
Over the course of the two-day festival teachers, students, academics, policy makers and industry leaders will gather to celebrate and showcase groundbreaking innovation in Irish education. In total, over 1,200 participants will be gathering to share their passion for enhancing learning through the use of technology.
Events include:
Friday 20th May
EA Robotics Finals
A unique competition that pits rival robots from secondary schools throughout Ireland against one another. Participants gain a deep understanding of programming and engineering in making their way to the national finals.
Saturday 21st May
Digital MegaMeet
Exclusively for teachers, EXCITED, in partnership with CESI (Computers in Education Society of Ireland), are providing Ireland’s first Digital MegaMeet from 10.00am until 4.00pm. A myriad of speakers will share insights, experiences, opportunities, stories, guidance and more about digital learning with everybody in attendance. You can read the programme for the MegaMeet HERE. I’ll be giving a short presentation at the MegaMeet on “Apps For Working With Images“.
The event is free of charge, but you need to register HERE.
LearnStorm Finals
LearnStorm Ireland is the free maths challenge for students of all abilities powered by Khan Academy and delivered by Camara Ireland. In 2016, over 30,000 students aged 8-16 signed up for the challenge. By the time they get to Dublin Castle, the 200 students invited to represent their school and county have earned their stripes online by mastering and persevering with learning maths skills as well as developing effective learning strategies.
Digital Schools of Distinction
This showcase is an exciting opportunity to see at first-hand how teachers and students collaborate in the use of technology to enhance learning in their classrooms.
Schools Digital Champions
20 teams from schools across the county who have participated in this pilot programme showcase their digital skills and achievements in a session hosted by Bláthnaid Tracy and Stephen Byrne, presenters on RTE’s TwoTube. RTE are a media partner for the Excited Digital Learning Festival 2016.
Excited is supported by Science Foundation Ireland, the largest competitive funder of science and innovation in Ireland. ‘Excited 2016 – Celebrating Success and Sharing Innovation’ is a celebration of what is possible when people who are deeply passionate about education come together to share their knowledge, their wisdom and above all, their desire to confer upon our young people the skills they will need to live long and rewarding lives.
Again, the Excited Digital Learning Festival is free of charge but you need to register in advance HERE
