Well, this is the weekend I head off to Hong Kong for the Innovative Teachers Forum Awards. I'm going with teachers form both the North and South of Ireland.

From Northern Ireland the entries are from Tom Fitzsimmons and Ciaran McLaren (Crumlin Integrated College) and Eileen McStocker (St. Pius X, Magherafelt)

From Ireland the entries are from Kate O'Connell (Scoil Mhuire Kilvemnon, Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary) and from Kathleen O'Connor  (St. Joseph's National School, Ballyadams)

Let's wish them all luck and hopefully we'll be bringing back a winner.

I'll be posting updates throughout the week so check back to see how things are shaping up.

If you want to know more about Virtual Classroom Tours (VCTs) click HERE and see what my colleagues Kristen and Stuart say. (Thanks guys)

Here are a few photos graciously provided by Pat McGuigan Photography in Randalstown of the winning Teachers from Crumlin Integrated College

Pictured are Ciaran McLaren, Me and Tom Fitzsimmons

Mrs. Annabelle Scott, Principal of Crumlin Integrated College, Eibhlin Tinneny of the RTU and 2 of the students that participated- Rebecca and Ryan

I must be saying something interesting

Announcing the winners of this year's Northern Ireland Innovative Teachers Forum Awards

Eileen McStocker

Conservation Online     

St. Pius X College, Magherafelt, NI-Head of Department and ICT Coordinator

"The 10 week course will take the user on a virtual journey around St. Pius X College conservation area. The various stops on the conservation area will be outlined through digital photographs and the associated theory topics will be conveyed to students using a variety of files, work tasks and discussions. Each week a new topic or stop will be covered some tasks may extend over two weeks. When the 10 week course is complete students will make an actual visit to the conservation area."

Tom Fitzsimmons and Ciaran McLaren

GCSE Double Award Engineering with Mathematics support (Via e-Learning)

Crumlin Integrated College, Crumlin, Northern Ireland- Heads of Design and Technology and Engineering

"The pilot course that was initiated was a foundation for the pupils in year 10 who would later choose GCSE Double Award Engineering. The design and planning of the course assumed no prior knowledge of Engineering concepts nor that the pupils had any previous experience in learning through the virtual environment. Therefore the course planning had to ensure that the students were fully inducted and introduced to both the rules of online learning and the fundamental concepts of Engineering"

The judging panel consisted of members from the Regional training Unit (RTU), the University of Ulster, Classroom 2000 (C2k) and Microsoft. There were 5 finalists out of 70 submissions. From the judges:

As quoted by Dr. Victor McNair, Senior Lecturer. University of Ulster:

"This year the judges had a challenging task as all the entries were of very high quality and reflected the creativity and commitment to ICT-supported learning  our teachers have. I was particularly impressed with the way teachers integrated their excellent lessons with well designed and  stimulating ICT-based activities."

And by Eibhlin Tinneny, E-Learning Development Officer, RTU

"It was impressive to witness such a high standard of online learning - the engagement between tutor and pupil was real and effective.  It is evident that the teachers have a good understanding and experience in online learning and tutoring.  Congratulations!"

There were also 3 projects that warranted Honourable Mention. They were:

Dara MacCoille

Learning how to use Microsoft Outlook in Irish- - Coláiste Feirste. Belfast

Eoghan Barr

Using 3D Modelling in Digital Multimedia- St. Columb's College, Derry

Navanna Doherty

GCSE History Online Revision- St. Mary's College, Derry City

You can see the Winners and Honourable Mention submissions on my SkyDrive HERE

Congratulations to all of the finalists and well done on some really terrific work.

Start thinking about the Western Europe competition in March where the venue will be in Vienna !!!