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Page 1 of 21 E-Learning: delivering third Level education online Hibernia College presentation to the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection Dr. Sean M. Rowland (President) & Dr. Nicholas Breakwell (Executive Dean) 3/11/2013

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Page 1: Hibernia College - delivering third level education online · delivering third Level education online ... 3. CPD for Teachers - A range of online programmes from 25 hours courses

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E-Learning:

delivering third Level education online Hibernia College presentation to the Joint Committee on

Education and Social Protection

Dr. Sean M. Rowland (President) & Dr. Nicholas Breakwell (Executive Dean)

3/11/2013

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Table of Contents

1. Hibernia College Overview .......................................................................................... 3

2. Company Purpose ........................................................................................................ 5

Vision ............................................................................................................................. 5

Mission .......................................................................................................................... 5

3. Overview of Programmes and Services ....................................................................... 6

Main Programmes ......................................................................................................... 6

3. E-learning at Hibernia College ..................................................................................... 7

Learning Services ........................................................................................................... 7

Services offered: ............................................................................................................ 7

The Student Experience ................................................................................................. 8

A Day in the Life of a Hibernia College Student .............................................................. 9

4. Management Team ................................................................................................... 12

5. Board of Management/ International Advisory Board .............................................. 13

6. Partners and Networks .............................................................................................. 14

7. Director Profiles on Hibernia College Faulty .............................................................. 15

8. Digital literacy and e-learning in Ireland .................................................................... 18

Advantages of e-learning for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) ........................................ 18

E-Learning on a global scale – the Mooc ...................................................................... 18

Appendix 1: Board of Management profiles ..................................................................... 19

Appendix 2: International Advisory Board profiles ........................................................... 20

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1. Hibernia College Overview

Established in 2000, Hibernia College is an internationally accredited college offering blended and

online, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in teacher education, health sciences, law,

business, management and computing.

Hibernia College is based on the concept of using web-based technology to make world class

education available to an audience previously excluded due to the constraints of location and time.

The College’s mission is, “to make a significant contribution to the widening of access and the

development of innovation in education”.

The senior management team at Hibernia College realises that in an increasingly competitive market,

quality is the key to success. To ensure this quality, the College has engaged with key stakeholders

and made strategic alliances with organisations that are world leaders in their respective fields.

One such example is the College’s attainment of PharmaTrain IMI Centre of Excellence status in 2011.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is Europe's largest public-private initiative aiming to speed

up the development of better and safer medicines for patients. The College’s Centre of Excellence

designation recognises that students on its M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Medicine receive the highest

quality education available in medicines development.

With students and alumni in over 30 countries, Hibernia College is probably best known for its Higher

Diploma in Arts in Primary Education and its more recently established Professional Diploma in

Education for post primary teachers. Hibernia College is now the largest provider of qualified school

teachers in Ireland at no cost to the exchequer.

The College has also been accredited by the UK government’s Teaching Agency to train Maths,

Physics and Chemistry teachers in England and has developed a network of hub-schools across

England to support its initial teacher training programme, elearnITT.

In terms of teacher education, Hibernia College is now in a unique position on a number of fronts.

Not only is it an online education provider breaking new ground in a predominantly onsite education

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environment, it is also the sole private sector player in what has traditionally been a public sector

industry.

However, as the Right Honorable Lord Patten of Barnes CH, Chancellor of the University of Oxford

commented at the launch of Hibernia College’s tenth anniversary celebrations:

“It doesn’t matter who provides, what’s important is the quality of the provision and I think what

you’re demonstrating at Hibernia is that the private sector can do, sometimes, better than the public

sector what had been traditionally regarded as public sector jobs.”

In terms of expansion and programme development, 2012 was another exciting year for Hibernia

College with the launch of its undergraduate programmes taking place in July. Through these

programmes, participants can study for University of London degrees through Hibernia College’s

blend of online learning and regional onsite delivery. Initially, degrees are being offered in Business,

Management, Creative Computing and Computing and Information Systems.

With an increasing student base and an ever growing reputation, both domestically and

internationally, Hibernia College is set to continue its development into the future. As Taoiseach,

Enda Kenny, T.D. observed:

“International demand for the education services of Hibernia College is growing rapidly and it is the

wider world that offers such huge growth opportunities...There currently is a shortage estimated at 16

million teachers around the world so the scope for Hibernia is enormous...If we're not the traditional

island of saints and scholars we can certainly be the island of scholars and export that potential to

places around the globe that may not have heard of Ireland yet, but they should beware because

Hibernia is coming their way.”

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2. Company Purpose

Hibernia College was founded to enable high quality career-relevant education to be accessed by

anyone, regardless of where they are or when they are available to learn. Twelve years on, this

premise continues to drive our strategic growth as we focus on providing flexible, accredited

programmes which directly impact learners' career opportunities. We focus on providing

programmes where there is a demonstrated career related need and where the market is in need of

innovative solutions to drive change and address supply shortages.

Vision

A world where high quality education can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, anytime

Mission

We use the full benefits of technology enhanced education to deliver high impact programmes on a

global scale. We achieve this by:

� Preparing, developing and supporting engaged professionals who are academically

strong, professionally competent, technology empowered and responsive to the needs of

a diverse global society.

� Promoting academic excellence and maintaining the highest standards of academic

rigour while developing and delivering innovative, technology enabled programmes that

are available to all learners regardless of location, work or family commitments.

� Working with government agencies, leading University partners, global corporations and

professional bodies to ensure that our programmes meet the needs of our learners, the

market in which they operate and society at large.

� Developing and delivering our programmes according to best practice as informed by

evidence based research and in turn we aim to make a significant contribution to this

growing body of knowledge.

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3. Overview of Programmes and Services

We offer post-graduate and undergraduate programmes in education, health science, business and

computing. Hibernia College is accredited by HETAC (Higher Education Training and Awards Council)

now part of QQI (Quality and Qualifications Ireland), the Teaching Council of Ireland, the Teaching

Agency (UK), Pharmatrain and the University of Plymouth (PGCE).

In the academic year 2011/2012, 2200 students were enrolled on full award bearing programmes,

with an additional 2000 on short courses. Students are located in Ireland, England, China, India and

32 other countries. On average, over 95% of all students enrolled, complete their programme of

study.

Main Programmes

1. ITE (Initial Teacher Education) Ireland - primary and post-primary initial teacher education

programmes accredited by HETAC and the Teaching Council and funded by student fees at no

cost to the exchequer. Two year programmes with up to 24 weeks in a school placement.

Hibernia College is Ireland's largest provider of newly qualified teachers.

2. ITE England - ITE programmes accredited by the Teaching Agency and Plymouth University,

delivered online and in partnership with regionally based, hub schools. Student fees are eligible

for funding through the Student Loans Company and trainees receive generous bursaries from

the Teaching Agency which increase with undergraduate degree class. Provision is subject to

inspection by OFSTED.

3. CPD for Teachers - A range of online programmes from 25 hours courses to a two years Master's

programme, significant Teaching Agency funded provision for qualified teachers in England.

4. Health Science - Master's provision and CPD for the pharmaceutical industry and allied

professions accredited by HETAC and the University of the Western Cape with new provision

being accredited by the Medical University of Vienna. Long standing partnerships with Pfizer and

Novartis assist in student recruitment.

5. Undergraduate - Bachelor and Diploma programmes offered in partnership with the University of

London International Academy. Programmes are under the academic direction of London School

of Economics and Goldsmiths College. Programmes are three years in duration with a one year

Diploma for Graduates in Management also available.

6. Learning Services - corporate e-learning contracts to develop and deliver e-learning programmes.

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3. E-learning at Hibernia College

Learning Services

Hibernia College offers a range of pedagogical services designed to enable clients to provide flexible,

21st century learning solutions. Hibernia’s online courses utilise video, multimedia presentations,

graphics, animation and text to create a truly engaging educational experience designed in

accordance with sound pedagogical principles. Recognising the importance of social learning,

Hibernia ensures that course designs feature collaborative activities and built-in student interaction

as a core design principle of all group-based programmes. For those activities that require real-time

interaction, we offer live online tutorials using virtual classroom technology, with full training and

support. Our instructional designers can integrate these elements with bespoke or pre-existing

classroom sessions to create a comprehensive solution to meet all education and training needs.

Services offered:

� Perform a detailed needs analysis and advise clients on the most cost effective approaches

and designs to meet their requirements.

� Collaborate with subject matter experts to plan, design and develop bespoke online and

blended courses that meet designated learning outcomes.

� Devise a structured pedagogic approach and assessment plan and work with accrediting

bodies to deliver professional certification and accreditation.

� Transform existing classroom course content into dynamic, interactive online programmes.

� Carry out rigorous QA reviews to ensure pedagogical robustness and adherence to quality

standards.

� Plan and design live online tutorial sessions, with full training and support.

� Set-up, configure and host the virtual learning environment (VLE) in accordance with client

needs.

� Provide access to millions of online journals and e-books through the online library.

� Offer life-cycle management of students, including

o Induction

o VLE training

o Technical and academic support

o Study skills, time management and online

learning skills

o Exam and assessment administration

o Professional certification management

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The Student Experience

Academic programmes are based on a philosophy of education that seeks to combine advanced expertise with the

development of the broader skills that are required for success in the modern marketplace. These skills,

including IT, analytical and research skills, give graduates the ability to search out and exploit information and

enhance their creative and leadership capacities.

Lesson content

A student at Hibernia College interacts with three main forms of content on a weekly basis:

1. On-Demand Content

This fully interactive content represents the main lecture material and can be studied online,

downloaded for viewing offline or downloaded as a podcast. It can consist of text, audio, animations

and video.

2. Live Virtual Classes

Each on-demand lesson will be accompanied by a scheduled live class where students and a tutor can

interact as if in a normal classroom. In the virtual classroom, the tutor is able to pull up material on a

whiteboard and facilitate discussions on this material. All students can communicate (by voice and text)

with the group or privately with the tutor.

3. Learner Communities

Each week, students are asked to reflect on that week's material in the course discussion forum or

through a personal learning diary. Fellow students will comment on each other's experience and post

their own comments. Students are also able to build groups of friends and send messages to their

peers.

In addition, the student may also attend on-site sessions to receive face-to-face tuition to complement

the on-demand content and to undertake practical, curricular study, which may not be suitable for

online delivery, for example, physical education. Students are also able to access a world-class online

library offering full-text peer-reviewed journal articles.

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A Day in the Life of a Hibernia College Student

Time Task Technology Contact

7:50 Check email and discussion forum: read the

bulk email from Hibernia College admin and

catch up on forum posts in subject specific

forum

Discussion Forum

Email client

12:15 Log on to HELMS and download assignment

document. Print

HELMS

(My Documents)

12:30 Seek help from fellow students in the

discussion forum regarding nature of the

assignment.

HELMS

Discussion Forum

Fellow

students

16:30 E-mail tutor seeking clarification of requirements for the assignment.

HELMS (My Contacts)

E-mail client

Course tutor

16:50 Log query in the helpdesk regarding difficulty with

viewing Macromedia flash files.

HELMS

Helpdesk

Hibernia

support

staff

17.05 Log on to HELMS and study lesson in

preparation for the live tutorial.

HELMS

(My Courses)

Interactive content

18:15 Visit the library to access recommended

reading for the assignment

Library

19:00 Attend the live online tutorial by clicking on a

link from the calendar

AT&T Connect

HELMS

(My Calendar)

Course tutor

Fellow

students

20.30 Load documents to personal secure digital drop

box.

HELMS

(My Documents)

The following are definitions of the terms displayed in Bold font in the above table:

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Course Tutor

Course tutors are the main academic contact point for students studying with Hibernia College and are

chosen for their academic qualifications, interpersonal skills and their ability to relate to students. On

commencement of work with Hibernia College, course tutors receive extensive orientation to ensure that they

become acquainted with the operation of the College and the special character of online learning. As the

deliverers of online tutorials, they also receive an extensive orientation in the use of AT&T Connect software,

which facilitates the delivery of the online synchronous tutorials.

HELMS

The Higher Education Learning Management System (HELMS) is a learning management system that provides total

secure management of the College's learning resources. Students access all of the content and services that they

require through HELMS.

Hibernia College's HELMS has an intuitive navigation system that is extremely user friendly. Students can navigate

directly to their lesson of choice with a single click of the mouse. A standard menu system and page layout is

used for all courses so that students quickly become familiar with the course presentation and can easily find

the information they are looking for.

Interactive Content

All Hibernia College course programmes include some or all of the following interactive and multimedia

components: audio voiceover, video, self-assessment items, interactive diagrams, web links and interactive

laboratories. Each multimedia experience is built to conform to relevant web technology standards and is

built to run in any Internet browser. All resource file sizes are closely controlled to ensure that students on

standard 56k dial-up connections can still avail of the full learning experience.

Help Desk

The College provides registered students with many forms of support during their course of study. Academic

queries relating to course content, reading lists, assessments and examinations are addressed to the course

tutor. For all other queries, the students may access the College helpdesk, which can be accessed via a link on

HELMS. A query is submitted online and a member of the College's support staff will respond to the query

within a few hours. Support staffs are available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 9 a.m. to

5 p.m. on Fridays. Each query is given a unique ID number, which students can use to track the query and

which can be used in all correspondence regarding that query.

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Discussion Forum

HELMS uses an advanced discussion forum that allows students and tutors to post messages and respond to others'

posts. Message threads can be tracked so that the user receives an e-mail when a message is added. Users can also

see who else is online. The College provides a number of general discussion forums, private tutor group discussion

forums and subject-specific forums.

AT&T Connect

AT&T Connect provides a virtual classroom environment. A virtual classroom delivers classroom teaching

activities outside the traditional setting with the help of computing resources. Hibernia College uses a

synchronous virtual classroom, which enables real-time teaching with full audio (and video) capability for

students and teachers. This allows tutorials, special lectures and even one-to- one tutoring to take place when

the student and teacher are geographically separated.

Library

Online libraries provide students with instant access to newspapers, periodicals, journals and e-books. Hibernia

College has partnered with two online library providers to give students access to relevant online material,

depending on the content of their course. The College has also developed its own database of online resources

for students and supplements these with physical access to reading resources where required. The library is

supported by an experienced librarian with specific expertise in e-resources.

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4. Management Team

The Senior Management Team (SMT) is a highly experienced and dedicated team with long standing

commitment to Hibernia College. The team boasts extensive experience in developing and delivering

high quality online education programming in the Unites States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, France

and Africa. Team members bring deep experience from world class academic institutions including

Harvard, Boston College and Trinity College Dublin, from leading global e-learning companies

including Skillssoft and Laureate and from government.

Dr. Sean Rowland (from 2000)

• President and Founder (Director IE and UK)

• Company leader, business development, govt, & corporate relations, Teaching Council member

Sara McDonnell (from 2000)

• Executive Vice President and Founder (Director IE)

• Operations, Human Resources, Branding, Chairperson HECA

Dr. Nicholas Breakwell (from 2000)

• Executive Dean (Director, HCUK)

• Chief Academic Officer, New Business , Finance, I.T., UK

Naomi Jackson (from 2007)

• Registrar

• Q.A., Programme Validation, Improvement Planning, Assessment

Jeremy Coninx (from 2010)

• Director of UK Operations

• New Business, UK Govt relations, Heads UK office

Lars Smith (from 2010)

• Vice President New Business Development

• New Business, Online Sales and Marketing

Dara Cassidy (from 2003)

• Director of Online Learning

• Strategic Product Development, Online Programme Delivery

Ciara O’Toole (from 2004)

• Director of Student Experience

• Academic Administration and Operations

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5. Board of Management/ International Advisory Board

The Board of Management

The College Board of Directors and the International Advisory Board will provide the general policy,

direction and guidance to the College’s executives who implement the College’s strategic plan. Both

boards play a different role and have different responsibilities. The Board of Directors has fiduciary

and legal duties as established in corporate law. The role of the Board of Directors is also to set

broad goals and strategic policy objectives for the company which will benefit and protect the

interests of the shareholders. It is incumbent upon the executives to develop and implement plans

to meet these goals and objectives.

Board members include:

Dr. Don Thornhill (Chairman), Professor Thomas Mitchell (Academic Chairman), Dr. Sean Rowland,

Sara McDonnell, Dr. Nicholas Breakwell (please see appendix for expanded profiles)

The International Advisory (IA) Board

The Advisory Board was establishment in 2012. Members will not have fiduciary responsibilities to

shareholders or obligations under company law. The Advisory Board was convened for general

growth purposes with a specific focus on expanding the College in established and emerging

markets.

Board members include:

Lord David Triesman, Dean Kathleen McCartney, Dr. Don Thornhill (Chairman), Professor Thomas

Mitchell (Academic Chairman), Dr. Sean Rowland, Sara McDonnell, Dr. Nicholas Breakwell

From left to right: Dr. Sean M Rowland, Sara McDonnell, Dr. Don Thornhill, Lord David Triesman, Professor Tom Mitchell,

Dean Kathleen McCartney, Dr. Nicholas Breakwell

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6. Partners and Networks

Hibernia College is a high quality educational brand. The founders deliberately and successfully

sought to empower the brand through partnerships and collaborations with established prestigious

brands. The College has successfully leveraged many of these networks to establish world class

programmes.

Academic

Partners

Government

Partners

Corporate

Partners

International

Networks

Sporting

Partners

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7. Director Profiles on Hibernia College Faulty

Hibernia College’s programmes are led by a strong team of directors with a wealth of experience in

academia, research and management. Below are their profiles:

Dr. Siobhán Cahillane-McGovern

Hibernia College, HDAPE Programme Director

Siobhán is a graduate of MICE, Limerick and also holds an M.A. in Education from theOpen University and a Ph.D. from Leeds Met. University. Having started her career as aprimary teacher, she then worked with the Primary Curriculum Support Programme(PCSP) in the initial phase of the Revised Curriculum. Subsequently, she lectured at StPatrick’s College, Drumcondra where she had particular responsibility for literacy on theundergraduate and graduate programmes. She also taught on the Current Issues, TeacherIdentity and Qualitative Research Methods modules of the online M.Ed. programme. Herresearch interests are in the areas of Literacy, Assessment and Teacher Identities; she haspresented papers at national and international research conferences and is a member ofthe Reading Association of Ireland (RAI), the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA),Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) and American Education ResearchAssociation (AERA).

Melanie Ní Dhuinn

Hibernia College, HDAPPE Programme Director

Melanie is a graduate of the University of Limerick where she qualified as a post-primaryteacher of Gaeilge and Physical Education. She taught Gaeilge and Physical Education for12 years during which time she acted as an assistant written examiner and oral examinerin Gaeilge at Junior and Leaving Certificate level. She worked as a Junior CertificateSchools Programme Co-ordinator and as a School Completion Co-ordinator before beingseconded into the role of Education Co-ordinator (DES) at Wexford Area Partnership andsubsequently Wexford Local Development.

Malanie holds a Masters in Health Education Promotion from Waterford Institute ofTechnology and she is currently completing her PhD in Education in Trinity College Dublin.Her doctoral research work is a sociological study focusing on the impact of family cultureson educational attainment in post-primary education.

Her research interests are in the areas of family and school cultural capital and lifechances, learning styles and online educational provision. She has presented papers atnational and international research conferences and has a number of publications invarious education and physical activity journals.

Lori Johnston

Hibernia College, Undergraduate Programmes Director

Lori Johnston has a BA in Natural Sciences (Physics with Astrophysics) from Trinity CollegeDublin (1998), and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Management withthe Open University (2007). She worked for the Institute of Physics Publishing (1999–2000)before joining the Open University as a Technology Editor (2000–2005), preparingteaching and learning materials for distance education students on a range of programmesacross the Technology, Science and Social Sciences Faculties. She subsequently worked forDublin City University ('05–6) developing and running an access course for adult learnersin IT, maths &study skills.

She moved to Hibernia College in 2006 and has worked in various areas in the college,including as Project Director for the UK Initial Teacher Training programme, CourseDevelopment Manager and Learning Technologies Manager, before taking up the post ofHead of Undergraduate Programmes in 2012. She is currently studying for a Doctorate inEducation with the University of Glasgow.

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Director Profiles continued….

Michael Hallissy

Hibernia College, MATL Programme Director

Michael graduated from Coláiste Mhuire Marino with a BEd Degree (1986) and hesubsequently completed his honours degree in TCD in 1987. His research projectfocused on managing the microcomputer in the primary school. He subsequentlyenrolled as a graduate student in the Boston College School of Education (1989) wherehe obtained his MEd (1992). His work here focused on the use of educationtechnology. On returning to Ireland (1994) he was seconded by the Department ofEducationas a researcher to work on developing their first ICT in schools policy, SchoolsIT 2000 (1997). He later worked (1998) in the newly constituted National Centre forTechnology in Education (NCTE) as a National Coordinator for Interactive Software inthe Curriculum from 1998 to 2002. On leaving the NCTE he and his colleague JohnHurley established H2 Learning to focus on ICT in education initiatives. During that timehe has worked with a range of organisations such as The Digital Hub DevelopmentAgency, TeachNet, Discover Science and Engineering, The World Bank, Microsoft, Inteland others on ICT initiatives.

Michael is currently enrolled as a doctoral student in Institute of Education (IOE) inLondon where his research is focusing on the professionalism issues associated withonline tutors.

Jeremy Whitty

Hibernia College, Pharmaticeutical Medcine Director

Jeremy has a M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Technology from Trinity College Dublin, an MBAfrom IE Business School and is conducting his doctoral research at Trinity CollegeDublin. Hibernia College which is the first college or university to be designated a“Centre of Excellence” by the European Union’s Innovative Medicines Initiative,Pharmatrain programme. Jeremy is also Professor of Operations and Quality in the LifeSciences at IE Business School, Madrid.

He has 17 years industry experience working in both Operations and Development andis currently working on projects with Novartis, Pfizer, ECPM, the European Center ofPharmaceutical Medicine in Basel, the Innovative Medicines Initiative and EFPIA, theEuropean Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations . He is currentlyresearching developments in Regulatory Sciences, Pharmaceutical businessmanagement, Ethics and the application of Operations Management to drugdevelopment, especially from Proof of Concept to the end of Phase IIb.

Anna Davitt

Hibernia College, Ceann na Gaeilge/ Director of Irish

Is céimí í Anna de chuid Choláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath, áit ar bhain sí MA amachsa Nua-Ghaeilge. Chaith sí sé bliana ag comhordú chúrsaí Gaeilge i Roinn na Nua-Ghaeilge mar Chúntóir Teanglainne agus mar Stiúrthóir na Teanglainne. In 2007ceapadh Anna mar Stiúrthóir ar Chomhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge, an eagraíocht afheidhmíonn mar thaca do mhúinteoirí atá ag múineadh Gaeilge nó atá ag múineadh trímheán na Gaeilge.

Le linn a tréimhse mar Stiúrthóir ar Chomhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge d’fhorbair síseirbhísí éagsúla do mhúinteoirí Gaeilge – cúrsaí cruinnis, seimineáir, foilseacháin agustograí trí mheán na Gaeilge sna scoileanna. Le linn na tréimhse sin, rinne Annacomhordú ar shuirbhé náisiúnta, trí Ipsos MRBI, a léirigh meon an phobail i leith naGaeilge mar ábhar scoile ag leibhéal na bunscoile agus na meánscoile. Tá suim ar leithag Anna i bhforbairt agus stiúradh cúrsaí i gceantair Ghaeltachta ar fud na tíre. Léirigh síacmhainní teagaisc éagsúla agus d’oibrigh sí ar thionscadail liteartha agus sna meáin tríGhaeilge. Faoi láthair, tá Anna ar Bhord Stiúrtha Comhar, iris litríochta na Gaeilge.

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Director Profiles continued….

Dara Cassidy

Hibernia College, Director of Online Learning

Dara holds a BSocSc (Hons) from University College Dublin and an MA (Film andTelevision studies) from Dublin City University. She is currently studying for a Doctor ofEducation (EdD) in Queen’s University, Belfast. She has previously worked as a writerand instructional designer for e-learning company Knowledgewell (1999-2001), whereshe collaborated with a team at the University of Kansas to develop an innovative pilotprogramme to create one of the first computer-based business degree courses. Shewas later engaged as an instructional designer in an R&D initiative at Smartforce (2001-2002) focused on maximising engagement in the delivery of online IT and businessskills courses.

Since joining Hibernia College in 2002, she has dramatically expanded the onlinedevelopment capacity of the college. As Director of Online Learning, she hasestablished a cross-functional R&D team to ensure that Hibernia College is at theleading edge of e-learning provision and that student engagement is at the heart of thedevelopment and delivery of all the College’s courses.

Teresa Whitaker

Hibernia College, Masters in Teaching and Learning Director

Teresa Whitaker is Programme Director of the Masters in Teaching and Learning inHibernia College (MATL). She has worked as a sociologist for the past twenty years,either teaching sociology in higher level institutions (Hibernia College, UCD, DCU, TCD,SNMCI, CMI) or conducting research (UCD, NACD).

Teresa has worked for Hibernia College for the past three years, teaching and assessingmodules (Interculturalism and Research Methods) and is involved in programme andcurriculum development. She has been lead tutor in the module on the Sociology ofEducation and Research Methods for the Professional Development in Education (PDE– Higher Diploma in Post Primary Education). Her work involves supervising studentswho are conducting their Masters Degrees. She has presented papers at national andinternational conferencesand has published widely.

Mary Kelly

Hibernia College, Deputy HDAPE Programme Director

Mary graduated from St Patrick’s College Drumcondra in 1989 and received a first-classMaster’s Degree from UCD in 2003. She worked as a primary school teacher beforebeing seconded by the Department of Education and Science in 2001 to provideprofessional development in the area of Learning Support. She then went on to work asDeputy National Co-ordinator of the Primary Curriculum Support Programme, withresponsibility for implementing the numeracy and literacy programmes under DEIS.

Her research interests are in the area of Literacy and Early Childhood Education. Shehas worked as a literacy consultant for the past four years with the ChildhoodDevelopment Initiative (CDI) on their intervention programme, Doodle Den; a literacyprogramme targeted at children in disadvantaged communities. A recent evaluation ofthe programme showed strong evidence of the effectiveness of the Doodle Denprogramme in improving children’s literacy outcomes.

In the past year she has presented at national conferences including the INTOEducation Conference, the Reading Association of Ireland Conference and at aconference for School Completion Co-ordinators on the area of early literacyinterventions. Most recently she has been invited to speak at the United KingdomLiteracy Association International Conference on approaches in teaching literacy.

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8. Digital literacy and e-learning in Ireland

Advantages of e-learning for Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

Hibernia College attracts a diverse, highly skilled and experienced cohort of students from a wide

variety of backgrounds, who without Hibernia College’s accessible, flexible and innovative approach,

would otherwise be unable to return to third level education. Our students are encouraged to draw

from their experiences in order to create a rich and unique learning environment in their classrooms.

They can draw from previous experience in areas such as languages, sports and science which are a

huge advantage for them and for schools in terms of teaching and learning.

Blended learning contributes to the development of an innovative, adaptive and ICT literate teacher

who combines traditional learning techniques with innovative ways of learning. These graduates can

respond to the changing face of education as technology permeates children’s lives. Having used

forums, blogs, podcast, virtual learning classrooms as everyday tools in their own learning they

should be able to present learning that is innovative and exciting for children.

With all Hibernia College class sizes averaging a 25:1 student: tutor ratio student teachers receiving

far greater access to their tutors than in the traditional settings. They are also encouraged to

develop their relationships with the tutors through email and on the online forums. All our online

tutorials are recorded and made available on our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) system so

student teachers can return to them to assist their learning and to aid them when writing an

assignment or preparing for exams and research.

E-Learning on a global scale – the Mooc

MOOCs (massive open online course) are a recent development in distance education. 2012 became

"the year of the MOOC" as several providers, associated with leading universities, emerged,

including Coursera, Udacity, and edX. Stampedes of universities and educational institutions from

across the globe have joined in the provision. The MOOC model is built on the concept of free

education for little or no cost. The first MOOC out of Stanford University signed up 160,000 people.

Hibernia College has been leading the way in e-learning in Ireland for the past 13 years and intend to

launch Irelands first Mooc on Exploring Irish Identity in March 2013.

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Appendix 1: Board of Management profiles

Dr. Don Thornhill

Chairman, Hibernia College

A former top civil servant, Dr. Don Thornhill is now a consultant and adviser on strategy and policy to

a number of leading Irish organisations.

Dr. Thornhill is former chairperson of the US/Ireland Fulbright Commission, the Irish Payments

Services Organisation and of the INSPIRE interuniversity nanoscience consortium. Also he is a former

Board member of the Irish Management Institute, the Irish Taxation Institute, Science Foundation

Ireland and of the Digital Hub Agency.He played the key role in the development and roll out of the

Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI).

In January 2005 Don completed a seven year term as Executive Chairman of the Higher Education

Authority (HEA). Prior to his appointment to the HEA he was Secretary General of the Department of

Education and Science from 1993 to 1998. He also worked in the Irish Revenue Commissioners, the

Departments of Foreign Affairs and Finance and in the Unilever group of companies.

Don is a graduate of University College Dublin (B.Sc. and Ph.D. (Chemistry)) and Trinity College

Dublin (M.Sc. (Econ)). He has been awarded an honorary doctorate of education by the National

University of Ireland. During 1987 he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Brookings Institution in

Washington DC.

Dr. Thornhill is an elected member of the Royal Irish Academy and of the Irish Academy of

Engineering. He was conferred with honorary life membership of the Royal Dublin Society for his

services to Ireland.

Professor Thomas Mitchell

Hibernia College, Academic Chairman

As an academic and educator of international stature, Professor Mitchell brings a wide range of

experience and abilities to the work of Hibernia College. He had a distinguished academic career in

the United States at Cornell and Swarthmore, before being appointed to the Chair of Latin at Trinity

College Dublin (TCD) in 1979. In 1991 he was elected Provost of TCD and led the college through an

eventful period of large-scale expansion and development throughout the 1990s. Professor Mitchell

has won wide recognition for his scholarly achievements as well as his academic leadership and has

written extensively on many aspects of third-level education.

Professor Mitchell holds a B.A. and M.A., both with first class honours, from University College

Galway and has two doctorates, from the University of Dublin and Cornell University, Ithaca, New

York. He has also been awarded eight honorary doctorates by universities around the world.

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Appendix 2: International Advisory Board profiles

Lord David Triesman

Hibernia College, Chairman, International Advisory Board

Lord David Triesman has been involved with education, employment, regulations, treasury, security,

business and innovation, trade and industry, transport and football over the span of his career.

Triesman first became a full-time union official at NATFHE in 1984. He was General Secretary of the

Association of University Teachers trade union from 1993 to 2001 and the General Secretary of the

Labour Party 2001 to 2003.

Over the last decade, Lord Triesman was a member of the Better Regulations Task Force and the HM

Treasury Public Services Productivity Panel. In addition, he was the Government Minister for

Education and Skills, Trade and Industry, Transport and International Development. Between 2005

and 2007, he held the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Foreign Commonwealth

Office) and Under-Secretary of State (Intellectual Property and Quality).

He was a Government Spokesperson for: Education and Skills 2004-05, Trade and Industry 2004-05,

Transport 2004, International Development 2004-05; Government Whip 2004-05; Foreign and

Commonwealth Office: Government Spokesperson 2004-07, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

2005-07; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Intellectual Property and Quality) and

Government Spokesperson, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills 2007-08; Opposition

Spokesperson for: Business, Innovation and Skills 2010-11, Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2011-

present.

Dean Kathleen McCartney

Hibernia College, IA board member

Kathleen McCartney, the Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Early Childhood Development, was named

Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2006. In collaboration with a dedicated faculty

and administrative team, she has implemented a strategic plan that has resulted in the creation of

two new degree programs, the doctorate in education leadership (Ed.L.D.), and a new interfaculty

Ph.D. in education; a 25 percent growth in core faculty; a doubling of financial aid for Ed.M.

students; a dramatic increase in fellowship support for doctoral students; and the establishment of a

partner network with over 30 districts and non-profit organizations.

McCartney’s she has published more than 150 articles and chapters on child care, early childhood

education, and poverty. She is a member of the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, which

summarized the results of their longitudinal study in Child Care and Child Development. She also co-

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edited Experience and Development, The Blackwell Handbook of Early Childhood Development, and

Best Practices in Developmental Research Methods.

McCartney received her B.S. in psychology summa cum laude from Tufts University, where she now

serves as a trustee, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Yale University. In

2012 she was inducted as a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and in 2009 she

received the Distinguished Contribution Award from the Society for Research in Child Development.

McCartney is also a Fellow of the American Education Research Association, the American

Psychological Association, and the American Psychological Society.