Portráidí don Oideachas - update

28 September 2020

We are pleased to acknowledge the continuous development of the Portráidí project through the continuous work on Stage 3 of the project: Portráidí don Oideachas.

In conjunction with our project partners Foras na Gaeilge, and with An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) and two other participants, COMHAR intends to attract as many readers and users as possible to the website so that they can make use of the digital material and so that the story of the writers and their writings can be made available to as many Irish speakers as possible. Younger users play a central role in this objective.

Therefore, this year the team of Portráidí na Scríbhneoirí Gaeilge, in conjunction with three educational advisors, have put the finishing touches to the pilot stage of Stage 3. It is intended that customised educational materials will be designed and created and these will then be made available to teachers and students/pupils by accessing the Portráidí website. This will expand knowledge of writers and their sample writings throughout the education system.

Three educational sectors are involved in this: a) Primary schools; b) Post-primary schools; c) Higher Education. Some of the elements that will be included are: lesson plans and class materials for 5th and 6th class of primary school (T1 and T2); materials that align with the Framework for Junior Cycle and, in the future, with the Senior Cycle Framework; along with a timeline and biographical university materials to add to what is being taught on different Modern Irish courses in universities across the country. Work is underway to redesign a certain percentage of the website itself for the younger reader, focusing on the writers who have written for younger audiences and/or who are linked with the educational teaching curriculum.

This work began last year when a small selection of sample material was created and used in three specific educational websites, as a pilot stage. A complete plan has now been drawn up for Stage 3, based on the results of this pilot, and we hope to launch a website connected to the Portráidí website at the end of 2021.