Dublin, May 28th 2010: South Dublin County Council, on behalf of the project partners of the Connect School, has published an evaluation report on this innovative and award-winning project.  The Connect School (St Aidan’s Community School, Brookfield, Tallaght) uses technology to develop student-centered learning. The Connect school project evaluation was commissioned by South Dublin County Council on behalf of the project partners and was undertaken by FGS Consulting in conjunction with Dr Conor Galvin of the UCD School of Education. The evaluation was funded by NCTE and South Dublin County Council.

The five year project started in 2006 with the provision of laptops for teachers and first year students, the development of a virtual learning environment and the support of an eChampion provided by South Dublin County Council.

The Project Partners have made a significant investment in hardware and software provision and are committed to the training and development of staff in order to support students in developing of the digital literacy skills required in the 21st Century. To date, the project has proven remarkably successful in supporting improvements in student progression and retention, in-class discipline and team-working.

Speaking at the launch the Mayor of South Dublin, Mick Duff, noted that “As a Council we are committed to ‘Investing in Tomorrow’ and that means making a real difference to the lives of our communities, our residents and most especially our young people”.

The Mayor went on to say “Our schools play a key role in our society and technology and the development of e-learning offers so many new and wonderful opportunities to everyone especially to young people.”

The project partners include Department of Education & Skills, NCTE, IT Tallaght, Dublin West Education Centre, South Dublin County Council and St Aidan’s Community School.