ABOUT STUDYBASE
STUDYBASE is an online Coláiste Gaeilge if not a Gaelcholáiste . It aims to harness the astonishing features of the MOODLE programmes to promote the Irish language by providing MOODLE services to students, teachers, schools, colleges and private individuals.
Universities and Colleges throughout the country use MOODLE to provide documents for their students to read and study but the most satisfactory aspect and extraordinary benefit to the language teacher is the ability to create self-assessment exercises and tests and maintain a record of progress for a large number of students.
There is also the fact that students get to practise the language together themselves with not a moment wasted. There are forums attached to each course and they are monitored. They also earn credits for the participants. In addition there are sound files and even videos that can be uploaded and used to demonstrate practical experiments or conversations such as a Scrúdú Cainte for the Leaving Cert. The only limitation on MOODLE seems to be the imagination of those using it.
STUDYBASE is a private educational / Irish revival venture whose revenue must cover its outgoings. It is not grant-aided and must pay tax and VAT. The project has been many months in preparation and has involved the collaboration of many people: the promoter of the idea, a retired teacher of Irish, now a translator and web site designer, is assisted by a team of willing workers including some expert technical writers and MOODLE experts.
In order to get the project off the ground we are offering two courses consisting of well-known but out of print texts which are given the MOODLE "treatment." Using web site design it is possible to present difficult material in a fresh and clear way and to create self-assessment exercises which are guaranteed to appeal to all and create a sense of achievement and progress in the students who follow them.
The period from March to the end of June will be very much a trial period and hopefully we will learn much about the MOODLE collection of programmes as we go along.
We hope students of Intermediate and Advanced levels of Irish will avail of the opportunities offered by Studybase which must be unique. Not only has the promoter an excellent knowledge of web site design but also an above average fluency in Irish. He also has the drive, dedication and experience to run these courses well and will ensure that students get good value for their fees and are supported in every way possible.
We hope other teachers of Irish will join with us in using our material in their classrooms. We also extend an invitation to them to prepare their own material for display on our web site. We will be delighted to discuss advantageous terms. We would especially welcome teachers from the Gaelscoileanna to prepare material in Irish for other subjects.
We have the skills and expertise to prepare web pages and exercises and the STUDYBASE platform is available on the Internet to carry such material and issue it to selected groups of students. We are sure teachers and schools will welcome the relief of having their material uploaded for them and published neatly online by people who know how and not having to spend months themselves learning HTML and PHP etc in order to be able to spend hours of their own free time uploading material to MOODLE and administering it. It is an excellent system and extremely effective but it requires constant care and updating. We hope to provide such a service.
From the point of view of students and pupils having self-assessment exercises online in Irish is bound to make the learning easier, more satisfying and more successful.