Short answer to a long explanation ….. ‘cos Microsoft Education Ireland shafted me, my pupils and my school!

I genuinely want to advance I.T. in my school. I don’t want to do the usual stuff with the pupils.

I wanted them to get really hands on with I.T. …. develop an interactive education, perhaps have them involved in coding, …. whatever …. just as long as it linked in with the curriculum and was planned!

I contacted Microsoft Education for help/advice etc. (I didn’t look for soft money).

A year of promised visits never materialised.

I had told the pupils that Microsoft’ were visiting ….. then I had to tell them they weren’t!

Up until that moment I had every confidence in Microsoft and in my naivety expected Microsoft Education to have the answers to my questions.

I reckon we were one of the first schools in Ireland to have all our Windows operating systems and Office products fully licensed/legal.

I didn’t screw Microsoft ….. I made sure that the school didn’t screw Microsoft …..

Now I use Open Office with the pupils in the school and I have directed them towards the free alternatives that are available.

I promote Firefox …. not Internet Explorer.

I hate companies that believe their own PR and are doing nothing ‘real’ on the ground.

Another self clapping on the back IT business group in the south was approached by me also …. I needed advice on where I could take the school website … advice not a handout.

Help was promised …. again, it never materialised. I ended up revamping the school site the hard way …. I did it myself.

The one thing I’ve learned over 20 years of teaching and 40 years of life …… asking for help from people who have another agenda is a waste of time.

My only agenda when I ever ask for help in my school is to make education better for the pupils in my care.

I’ve never hesitated to ask for school.

I’ve even sold tickets door to door for my school.

I asked a friend of mine to sponsor a laptop for my school …. he did … and for that I’m grateful. It was hard for me to ask for that but the pupils use it daily so it was worth the asking.

I see the larger schools buying multiple interactive whiteboard at €5,000 each. I could open the world to my pupils and my teaching if we had one but we can’t afford it.

I.C.T. is mentioned in every curriculum document that we have … and is promoted as a tool but the financing of it is shameful.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) were/have piloted an I.C.T. plan in primary schools ….. can I get information on it? No!

No wonder I’m looking forward to early retirement ….

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