CBS Teacher presents at European Showcase School Conference in Estonia

The Christian Brothers Grammar School in Omagh recently had the honour of representing Ireland at the EduDay European Showcase School event in Tallinn, Estonia. As the representative Irish School, Mr Noel Donnelly (Vice Principal) demonstrated CBS Omagh’s progress in the adoption of digital learning.

The Microsoft Showcase EduDay is an exclusive, invitation only, two-day European conference, December 10th – 11th 2019, which brought together Showcase School leaders from around Europe, to experience the future of education.

The Guest speakers included Antony Salcito, Vice President Education at Microsoft  and Andreas Schleicher, who as OECD Chair, is responsible for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Estonia was chosen as host country because of its highly regarded education system, quoted to be “Europe’s top education system,” according to the 2019 OECD PISA report. The EduDay aim was to advance the collaboration, creation, and sharing of delegates’ experiences in integrating technology and pedagogy for the advancement of learning and the achievement of improved student outcomes.

The Christian Brothers’ Grammar school continues to be recognised for its excellent eLearning practice. It is in its fourth year as a Microsoft Showcase School, with Mr Noel Donnelly, Mr Jim Murray, Mr Finnian Moriarty, Mr Fearghal Quinn, Mrs Sonya Darcy and Mrs Una Doherty all certified as Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts. This has enabled them to train and assist fellow professionals across Ireland in collaborative education and digital facilitation of student improvement.

Mr Donnelly expressed his delight at the positive feedback received, stating that ‘It was exciting to share our staff’s innovative eLearning work across departments. I am thankful that our Governors and Principal Foncy McConnell have fully supported the development of e-Learning in the Christian Brothers. In particular, I wish to recognise our six Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts, our IT Technicians Mrs K Crawford and Mr Chris Eccles, and our Head of IT, Mrs Sinead McLaughlin, and her department, for their ongoing innovation in digital learning.’ 

Principal Mr Foncy McConnell extolled the benefits of technology assisted opportunities within the future Shared Strule Education Campus and how this is an essential component within its planning.

‘The world workplace is a technologically challenging and ever evolving space and we must provide our students with the skills and resilience to excel there. Students engage globally online; so too we must strive to be as proficient as any educator, in any school, on any continent. The opportunity to represent Ireland at the European EduDay Showcase Schools’ Conference, allows us to showcase and compare our eLearning practices on a European stage, and Mr Donnelly will bring the benefits of such experiences home.  We are working together for the shared provision of future educational opportunities in the  ‘Shared Strule Education Campus.’ The excellence witnessed at EduDay Estonia will prove invaluable in assessing future best practice. This will ensure our students’ future experiences will be innovative, inspiring and transformative.’