MR MURRAY TO REPRESENT IRELAND AT SINGAPORE WORLD EDUCATION EXCHANGE
- Posted by Fearghal Quinn
- Posted in School News
Staff at the Christian Brothers Grammar School recently congratulated colleague, Mr Jim Murray, on his selection as was one of two Irish representatives invited to the 2018 World Education Exchange conference in Singapore.
The E2 Education Exchange is an exclusive, invitation only, three-day world conference, beginning on March 13, bringing together 300 global innovative educators. Singapore was chosen as host country because of its highly regarded education system, quoted to be “the world’s best education system,” according to an OECD-led study. The Education Exchange’s aim is to energise the collaboration, creation, and sharing of delegates’ experiences in integrating technology and pedagogy for the advancement of learning, the achievement of improved student outcomes, and the transformation of educational engagement for pupils.
The Christian Brothers Grammar school continues to be recognised for its excellent eLearning practice. It is in its third year as a Microsoft Showcase School, with Mr Noel Donnelly, Vice Principal and Mr Jim Murray, Senior Teacher, both certified as Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts. This has enabled them to train fellow teachers across Northern Ireland in collaborative education and to present at Principals’ conference on their eLearning experiences.
A Senior Teacher and teacher of Technology & Design, Mr Murray expressed his delight, stating that ‘my selection is an exciting recognition of our staff’s innovative eLearning work across departments. I am thankful that our Governors and Mr McConnell have fully supported our vision for the development of e-Learning in the Christian Brothers, and in particular to Mr Noel Donnelly for his enthusiastic lead. Our eLearning group’s advances in piloting the virtual digital classroom has required courageous leadership and I am excited at the prospect of demonstrating our school’s advances to an expert audience.’
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 World Education Exchange, allows us to showcase and compare our eLearning practices on a global stage, and Mr Murray will bring the benefits of such experiences home. Early in planning for transition to the Shared Strule Campus, it was clear that collaboration and technology have an essential part to play for all local schools. We are working together for the shared provision of twenty-first century education in Omagh. The excellence delegates will experience at E2 will prove invaluable in assessing best practices, which, in turn, will ensure our students’ future experiences will be innovative, inspiring and transformative.’
This year’s Microsoft Education Exchange (E2) event will be held in Singapore, from March 13 through March 15, 2018. The new Shared Strule Campus is due for completion in 2021. Further information can be found at https://strule.org/