Generation AI Best Practice in Ireland

As part of our research activities at the start of the Generation AI project, The Rural Hub has identified and profiled some unique national best practices that are currently being implemented to promote STEAM education in Ireland. So, we wanted to share some of these examples with you!

First, the LEGO League Junior event: The Robot Show (An Róbó Seó) was a project funded by the Schools Digital Excellence Fund to teach primary students, through the Irish language, how to build robots to be launched at a demonstrative show held in Dublin City University.

Next, a local best practice in Virginia, Cavan is High-Tech Kids. This is a training course for primary school children which provides computer and technology education. The aim of High-Tech Kids is to introduce young students to subjects such as coding, app development, HTML, movie making and G-Suite to develop their digital skills. In developing their digital skills, young learners are also introduced to the concept of safely navigating digital technologies and the online world. This is a key skill for learners who find themselves immersed in digital technologies throughout their every day.

Next up is an e-platform called Cognimates. This e-platform has the power to transform pedagogic practices throughout Irish classrooms. This platform, which uses artificial intelligence, teaches young students to build games, programme robots and train their own AI models. This technology would contribute to enhancing learning in the classroom by building digital competences and computational thinking through an online interactive platform. This practice would not replace the teaching methods of the teacher but rather, it would augment the learning experience for the students, so that they are motivated and engaged with the learning materials presented.