A Term of Technology

KCS lived up to their Microsoft Showcase School status once again this term, not only using technology and Microsoft applications to support our student's learning within the classroom, but also during the nationally celebrated subject weeks.

During science week, students used Microsoft's Flipgrid app to participate in a scavenger hunt or otherwise called a 'Fliphunt'. This was a fun way of getting students out of their seats to demonstrate their understanding and application of science related topics. Students had to record short videos in response to challenges set by teachers. Some of the challenges included, How to create a better future, Describe how we achieved our Green flag, Describe a solar eclipse using suitable props and How we encourage the use of reusable water bottles. Students produced some very entertaining videos and had lots of fun while learning about sustainability.

First year geography students participated in an online quiz for Geography week. This quiz was created using Microsoft Forms. The students had a great time using technology to test what they knew. Microsoft Forms then instantly scored the students and a winning team was chosen. During maths week this year, students participated in another online quiz, this time through the medium of Kahoot. This interactive quiz included a race to submit the correct answer as Kahoot awards points to students based on their answers and the speed at which they are worked out. It’s certainly safe to say that both competitions went down a treat.

For international Human Rights day at Kinsale Community School, CSPE students used Microsoft's Trello app to create a shared board of resources and activities that explored the different aspects of the 2021 theme 'Rebuilding fairer, better, greener'.

Finally, as part of international languages week this year, Transition Year students took part in a variety of online workshops provided by ThinkLanguages. The students engaged with tutorials and found themselves learning skills from Arabic belly dancing, Spanish and flamenco dancing to Irish sign language. A survey was created and completed a survey through Microsoft Teams and we discovered that there are at least 14 languages spoken among the students in this year group! The students loved dedicating the time to celebrate these languages, with plenty of fun, games and prizes to be won.