County Derry schools come together for Digital Leader training

Children from 13 primary schools across County Derry came together on Thursday to participate in Digital Leader training focusing on coding.

The event, which was run by the staff and children of St Colmcille's Primary School and Nursery Unit in Claudy, was held at Owenbeg Derry GAA Centre and coincided with Europe CodeWeek.

The event is aimed at giving children the opportunity to develop coding skills that will be very important in an ever-increasing digital economy.

Throughout the day, the children, who are digital leaders in their own schools, had the opportunity to use iPads to create their own apps.

They also had the chance to create their own digital art using coding and mathematical knowledge.

They even built the main stand in Owenbeg in Minecraft, a very enjoyable activity that required them to plan and build a structure in a similar way that architects and contractors would.

Michael O'Kane, Principal of St Colmcille's, which is home to the Claudy Apple Regional Training Centre, said the event was a great success.

“We were delighted to welcome groups of Digital Leaders from a number of schools in the area. The children have been magnificent," he said.

"This day has been very important in giving children the opportunity to raise their confidence, learn new skills and move towards a bit of normality after the tough times of the pandemic.

“Coding is a great skill to learn as it will be useful in the future as there are more and more jobs in the North that require knowledge of coding.

"The children can now take this knowledge back to their schools and train their friends, teachers and classroom assistants.

“We’d like to thank Derry GAA for the use of their wonderful facilities which allowed us to run the day in an enjoyable fashion alongside Covid-19 guidelines.”

Aodhan, a P7 pupil of St Canice's Primary School, Dungiven, said he was 'excited' to learn new things during the Digital Leader event.

“I want to learn more about codes and how to make apps. I would like to work with computers when I am older so I want to learn new things here today.”

Rachel, who is in P6 at St Mary's Altinure, is one of four digital leaders in her school.

“We are responsible for helping the younger children in our school when it comes to computers. We have to make sure iPads in our school are charged and that the apps are all downloaded and updated. I am excited to be here today to learn about coding,” she said.

Shea, another digital leader with his school, St Colmcille's in Claudy, spoke of the importance of his role.

“As a digital leader we have to help other children in the school with the electronics. Coding is very important because it allows you to program lots of different mechanical things. I really enjoy it and hope today to learn lots of new things about coding and apps on the iPad,” said the primary seven pupil.

John McWilliams, Principal of St John's PS, Dernaflaw, praised the children involved in the event.

“The children are so capable and you can really see that today in how knowledgeable they are when it comes to coding and all things digital. It's also great to be able to come together with other staff from other schools as it is an excellent opportunity to get new ideas,” he said.

“I would always have been so hesitant to do something so complex with my class but they are all so competent.”

Mr McWilliams says digital leaders in his school must apply for the post when they are in primary five.

“Between primary five and primary seven they are able to build up their skills and by the time they reach primary seven they are very competent in the use of apps and it allows them to broaden their horizons," he said.

"Looking around the room here today it seems it's the same in every school here. It's just brilliant and another sign that we are moving towards being able to do valuable things in terms of collaboration.”

Due to Covid, schools were forced to move their learning online, and Mr McWilliams says his pupils embraced the new way of learning.

“Five years ago pupils could have used the excuse that they had left their homework book in school but that's not the case now," he added.

"Our school uses Google Drive and a lot of the homework is done digitally so every pupil can see their homework by clicking a link. It had been happening at a low level before but Covid has accelerated that and it has made our pupils more confident in all digital platforms."

The schools who attended were: St. Colmcille’s Primary School & Nursery Unit Claudy,

Listress Primary School, Good Shepherd Primary School Derry, St. Mary’s Primary School Altinure, St. John’s Primary School Dernaflaw, Termoncanice Primary School Limavady, St. Matthew’s Primary School Drumsurn, St. Aidan’s Primary School Magilligan, St. Canice’s Primary School Feeny, St. Columba’s Primary School Ballerin, St. Mary’s Primary School Gortnaghey, St. Canice’s Primary School Dungiven and St. Patrick’s & St. Joseph’s Primary School Glenullin.

For more pictures, pick up a copy of this week's County Derry Post.

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