Digital Schools Award - DSA
Coláiste Bríde has been awarded Digital School Award status in acknowledgement of its excellence in the use of digital technology in teaching and learning. We are delighted to announce that we have become the first post-primary school in the Republic of Ireland to receive this accolade.
The Digital Schools Awards Ireland is an industry backed initiative to encourage schools to integrate digital skills across the curriculum. The Award is recognition to schools and teachers that are committed to identifying and achieving effective practice in making digital technologies part of curriculum.
Coláiste Bríde will now receive ongoing practical support and resources as part of the community of digital schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
This award builds on the aims and processes of the Irish government’s Digital Strategy for Schools and the Department of Education’s Digital Learning Framework for Post-Primary Schools. The school was invited to self-assess their developments in digital technology under the two areas of Leadership and Management, and Teaching and Learning.
Coláiste Bríde’s vision for digital learning is one in which all students and teachers are capable and confident in the use of digital technologies to support teaching and learning. We aim to integrate technology into the student experience and foster an environment of support and innovation. We further aim to use digital technologies as tools to further embed collaboration between all our school’s stakeholders. It is envisioned that digital technologies will be used in a meaningful way as a resource to support our students in becoming highly engaged independent, active and critical learners. Students will leave our school as ethical, confident, creative and productive users of digital technologies.
During the assessment stage, our school evaluated their performance against the Digital Learning Framework’s criteria in order to meet the necessary requirements for validation such as Acceptable Usage Policy, Digital Learning Plan, the school website and individual self-evaluation statements from teachers outlining their use of digital technology to enhance learning and teaching, any recent achievements and highlighting effective use of any digital tools, practices or initiatives which the school feels deserve recognition.
As part of the validation process to become a Digital School, we facilitated a visit from Mr. Victor McNair from the DSA, who assured us that The Digital Schools Award aims to validate good practice, recognising the school’s journey and rewarding innovation. During his validation visit the school had an opportunity to introduce Mr. McNair to our school community and to supplement our online evidence with discussions about how our vision is implemented across the school, emphasising how we deploy digital technology for learning and teaching.
Students from 1st to 6th year illustrated the school’s digital journey during the visit. The visit celebrated the hard work and achievements of both our students and teachers but in particular the efforts made by our student team of Digital Mentors and our staff team of Digital Leaders. We look forward to continuing our technological journey, ensuring our students develop the necessary skills to prepare them for their future in a digital world.
Coláiste Bríde will now receive ongoing practical support and resources as part of the community of digital schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
This award builds on the aims and processes of the Irish government’s Digital Strategy for Schools and the Department of Education’s Digital Learning Framework for Post-Primary Schools.
