[noelinmckenna@gmail.com]

Thank you, Anna, for listing out the resources you found useful. This is very beneficial to me as a teacher new to SEN this year, and as some weren’t mentioned on the course before now, I have made a note of them to look into them when I have time.
I totally agree about the overwhelming selection of resources, sometimes I spend too long trying out the games, and searching for something suitable when concrete materials might be just as effective.
I am sure that if I stay in the SET position for more than a year, I will get the benefit of having a resource bank built up, and also be more proficient at and familiar with using the websites and tools.
I also agree that we need to use ICT equipment as tools to be used in conjunction with many others at our disposal, and not get too dependant on them.
I have found it really beneficial to look at the websites and apps that Adrian and Fiona showed us this week. Reading posts has also been helpful as I have found out things that other people found useful.
I feel focussed on the planning I need to do and I feel less overwhelmed at the prospect of my new role.

[noelinmckenna@gmail.com]

Wow, Julie, you are doing amazing work! Thanks for sharing!

I also teach in a multi-grade school and we keep paper portfolios of the children’s work, and we want to move towards digital portfolios in the future. Maybe we could start with SEN students as a way of trialing bringing it in.

I feel I have a lot of work to do in terms of conferencing with students and parents, although we communicate and conference very well as a staff. In the SET role, I will automatically have more conferencing to do with parents and I will aim to do some with students, especially with more senior students.

I also feel that I fall down in terms of documenting kinds of assessments I do, as I was able to tick all the boxes when I was reflecting on the kinds of assessments I use, but I don’t have any written evidence of this, apart from the odd reflection or comment at the end of a Cuntas Miosuil.

Lots of targets for me!

[noelinmckenna@gmail.com]

I am new to SET this year but our school uses portfolios throughout the school and the children bring them home at the end of 6th Class.

After completing the assessment module yesterday, I feel I have not been involving the children enough or conferencing with them enough. I really liked Sample 2.6 page 25 of the NNCA Assessment Guidelines, and how it showed how it can be useful to have both peer conferencing and teacher-student conferencing. I think I would use this if I was in a senior class again.

For SET, I think in September I will use the Play Diary for one particular child going into Senior Infants who isn’t really playing with other children yet, and also the “My Thoughts about School” as a “Getting to know you” session with all the children, to help me formulate my plans with the children’s strengths, challenges and interests in mind.

I will also try the “Incredible Work Wall”, as I think you are right about many of the SEN students having self-confidence issues, and anything that can boost their confidence even a little bit is a bonus.

I had no idea that there were so many useful tools in the NCCA Guidelines, and I will be sure to dip into this book more often.

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