"This is a fantastic example of the public sector doing much more with less" - Minister Quinn
Every school in the country will now have free access to high quality digital Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) maps, world maps and aerial photographs.
The New Scoilnet Website will provide all schools on the Schools Broadband Network with access to these extremely useful learning tools, and at a much reduced cost to the Department of Education and Skills and ultimately the taxpayer.
Up until last year, only second level schools could log onto a website to view OSi maps. Now all of the more than 4,000 primary and second level schools will be able to use these tools to assist in subjects like Geography, History and Maths.
The website is highly interactive, visually engaging and is aimed at bringing maps to life in the classroom. It is easy to use with a simple interface that is suitable for students of all ages.
Scoilnet Maps has been developed as a collaboration between Scoilnet, the Professional Development Service for Teachers and the Forward Planning Unit of the Department of Education and Skills.
Welcoming the new website, the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., said, "This is an excellent example of the public sector doing much more with less and working together across sectors to deliver more for taxpayer’s money.
"Scoilnet Maps will cost a total of €35,000 this year, compared to a price of €236,000 when it was last tendered in 2007."
"But most importantly, this website will mean that children of all ages will be able to access this brilliant resource to see maps dating back to 1829, satellite images, layers of geographical information, aerial photos and a whole host of other interactive tools which should be fun and assist learning."
Minister Quinn concluded by thanking the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government who have permitted access to hosted public sector data, HEAnet and OSi.
Scoilnet Maps is available at
http://maps.scoilnet.ie
ENDS
For more information contact Deirdre Grant 01 889 2417 or Sarah Miley 01 889 2322
Notes for Editors:
Scoilnet Maps
Fast, responsive and simple interface that is suitable for students of all ages
Contains a suite of tools for use with the maps that support a wide variety of subjects, including Geography, History and Maths
Historical mapping from 1829 through to 2010 offers plenty of opportunities to look at change over time
Brings together a subset of curriculum-relevant, public sector data in a manner that is appropriate for teaching and learning
Post Primary
Features the highly detailed, 1:50,000 OSi Discovery mapping and aerial photography, both of which are directly relevant to the Junior and Leaving Certificate Geography curricula
Directly supports the teaching and application of geographical skills as specified in the curriculum, i.e., map and aerial photograph interpretation, the use of satellite imagery in the examination of large areas of the physical and cultural landscape, census of population data and GIS
Offers opportunities to help students undertaking GIS investigations, for example, the use of aerial photographs, census material and maps in the study of urban sprawl, or the use of maps, aerial photographs, and the record of monuments and places in the study of the destruction of archaeological sites.
Has the potential to allow students and teachers to create and display their own GIS data maps
Primary Relevance
Facilitates cross-curricular teaching and learning within the primary classroom
Supports students’ skills development in terms of a sense of place and space, the use of maps and geographical investigation skills (Geography), change and continuity, time and chronology (History) and the use of draw and measure tools to support mathematical activities with regard to area, length, shape and space
Map screenshots
There are three screenshots attached, showing samples from the website:
1. Aerial map
2. Merged map, showing both an aerial view and more traditional map view of a particular location
3. The spotlight tool allows students to highlight a particular spot in a map. In this case, they can see the detail in an aerial map format