Connect Cork

eircom total ict announces the
winners of the Schools
Technology Competition

Press Release 14th December 2005

Today, eircom total ict, in association with Connect Cork™ announced the winners of the Schools Technology Competitions. The winners were presented with their prizes by Councillor Deirdre Clune, Lord Mayor of Cork at a special awards ceremony, which took place at Cork City Council Chamber, City Hall, Cork today.

Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Deirdre Clune and John Brosnan (Eircom Total ICT) with Prize Winners Stiofáin O'Nuanáin, Daire O'Shea, Conor Barrett, Christopher O'Halloran, Sophie Emerson, Jack Murphy, James Whelton and Daniel Rowell

All the shortlisted students and winners with their certificates of commendation with the Lord Mayor Cllr Deirdre Clune, John Brosnan and Val Kennedy of Eircom Total ICT, Ruth Buckley and Catherine Kelly of Cork City Council, Paul McDonnell of Cork Education and Support Centre and Clodagh O'Neill, PA Consulting. Shorlisted students were; Primary School - Aine Palmer, Anna O'Rourke, Christopher Harrington and Jack Meade, Daire O'Mahony, Darragh O'Donovan, Gearoid Crowley, Peter Madden, Fionn O'Reilly, Ronan Hayes, Darragh Hayes, William O'Donovan, and Barry Collins. Post Primary School - Aidan Bradfield, Eanna O Suilleabháin, Maria Buckley, Megan Henchin, Helene Day, Elaine Deane and Kelly Benam, Labhaoise Ni Aoileann, Sorcha Domican, Sinead Cunningham, Elain Bresnihan and Sophie Carlin. Congratulations to all!

Attendees at the ceremony included the shorlisted entrants, parents, teachers, representatives from the Cork Education and Support Centre and Cork IT, as well as members of Cork City Council.

There were two competitions run:

• Primary Schools Technology Essay competition; and
• Post-Primary Schools Technology Project competition.

There was a tremendous response to the competitions, with in excess of 220 submissions received from pupils across Cork City and County.

• Primary Schools’ Technology Essay Competition - "Cork in the year 2020"

In this competition, Primary School pupils presented a short story highlighting how technology will change people’s lives in Cork over the next 15 years. Moreover, it complemented their learning and academic development in the area of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

A winner’s prize and two runners-up prizes were awarded in this competition:

• The winner was Daire O’Shea of Ballinora National School, who received a HP Desktop PC
• The two runners-up were Daniel Rowell of St James National School and Sophie Emerson of St John the Baptist National School, both of whom received a MP3 Player
  

The standard of entries to this competition was extremely high, with a number of entrants using very innovative ways to express their ideas on how Cork is likely to change over the next 15 years. These ideas included hydrogen-powered cars; a tram network in Cork City; all students having laptops and homework being transferred electronically; intelligent trolleys at supermarkets; Compact Video Chips (CVCs) replacing DVDs; items being made with different materials so that they can easily be recycled; Pairc Uí Chaoimh being full computerised with electronic doors and computerised ticket collectors; and Brian Corcoran being Manager of the Cork Hurling team.

• Post-Primary Schools’ Technology Project Competition - "The Future of Technology in Education"

In this competition, Post-Primary School pupils expressed their ideas and views on how technology should be used in the future for the delivery of education. This not only helped to enhance students’ learning and ICT development, but provided a number of very compelling insights to Schools and the Department of Education and Science on how technology could be used to improve the delivery of education curriculum in the future.

There were two categories in this competition – an individual category and a team category:

• The winner of the individual category was Stiofáin O’Nuanáin of Coláiste Daibhéid, who received a HP Desktop PC
• There were joint winners of the team category, which was share between Christopher O’Halloran and Jack Murphy of Ballincollig Community School; and Conor Barrett, Alan Flannery and James Whelton; of Presentation Brothers College, Cork. Each person received a MP3 Player.

Many entrants demonstrated tremendous insight as to how technology could be used to improve the way in which education is delivered in the future. For example, students with disabilities will be better served through using better visual and audio technology; electronic whiteboards and interactive screens will replace the traditional blackboard; heavy schoolbags will be replaced with miniature pocket storage devices (digital lockers), which will store homework and other educational information (mobile library); drill-and-practice software, tutoring systems, instructional television, computer-assisted instruction, and intelligent computer-assisted instruction; and instant messaging and video-conferencing through VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) will be used for students who have difficulties travelling to school, or for holding interactive classes with students in other countries. However, the computer will not replace the teacher in the classroom!

“eircom total ict is delighted to be associated with these competitions which promote the development of ICT in first and second level education and underpins eircom total ict’s commitment to ICT development right across all sectors including education.” explained Tadhg Foley, General Manager of eircom total ict.
A distinguished panel of judges evaluated the submissions, including: Paul McDonnell, ICT Manager, Cork Education and Support Centre; Tadhg Foley, General Manager of eircom total ict; Michael Loftus, Head of Computing at Cork IT; and Ruth Buckley, Head of IT, Cork City Council.

Ends

For more information please logon to logon to www.eircom.ie or telephone 1800 428 428.

About eircom total ict

eircom total ict is a new specialised channel, which has been established to manage business customers' ICT requirements. eircom total ICT reviews business customers' core business, identifies communications and IT requirements, recommends and installs all the necessary software, hardware and networking solutions and provides all communications and IT support. A growing number of business customers from a range of different industries are benefiting from this single point of contact, which in addition to offering full support, also offers advice on new and emerging technologies.

About Connect Cork

Connect Cork™ is a Cork City Council initiative that will increasing awareness, understanding and use of Information Communications Technology (ICT) among businesses and consumers in Cork. Ultimately, the goal of Connect Cork™ is to develop Cork into a truly e-enabled city, resulting in improved economic and social prosperity. The initiative was launched by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin TD on 27th June, who said:

“The Connect Cork initiative is a comprehensive and integrated plan for ICT in and around the city, and represents a milestone in the development of the area for the information age.”

Back to list