Solidworks Licence Number - Update

A number of students and teachers have been waiting patiently on the new serial number for the existing SW student kit.  After some delay we can announce that we now have a number that works!  Please click here to access the instructions. 

Microcontroller course.

There is a possibility (depending on demand) of a 2 day course in the use of microcontrollers. This course would be delivered from Parallax America with the venue to be decided (not America!). The Technology team at Clounagh have been contacted by the organiser to raise awareness and gain interest. If you are interested or know someone from another school in another board who may be interested in this proposal, please e-mail patjamison@hotmail.com for more details.

STEM funding

A sum of money has been made available to Post Primary schools with a direct remit to continue to build the professional capacity of STEM teaching staff by developing and promoting the sharing of effective practice at Key Stages 3 and 4. Post Primary schools are invited to bid for funding in support of this remit through either: collaboration in relation to the promotion, learning and teaching of an identified STEM subject between a minimum of 2 schools within an Area Learning Community (up to £5000); or collaboration between a minimum of 2 STEM Areas of Learning within a school (up to £2000). The majority of the funding should be used for sub cover and a case may be made to use a small amount of the money acquired to purchase additional resources to support the initiative. For full details click here.

Important Message for Yacapaca users.

Quite a number of departments already use Yacapaca for testing and assignments. They have however introduced a subscription fee for medium to heavy users. You can use up to 100 quizzes for free each month, however a number of schools may exceed this usage as examination time looms. Please log onto Yacapaca for further details of pricing.

Technology and Design Substitute Teachers

A number of schools have recently been enquiring about substitute teachers for Technology and Design.  If you are aware of any qualified Technology teacher out there who does not have work or is available to sub, could you ask them to direct their details towards any member of the Technology team at Clounagh. Thanks.

U ICT accreditation scheme - level 4?

I recently picked this up from a school in the SELB, not sure if it was a level 4 or above.
Only joking! Just watch.

HEPA Vacuum cleaners

The Department of Education Circular 2010/23 details that 'Workshops and wood working machinery shall be cleaned using an industrial vacuum cleaner fitted with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration system'.  The Department of Education have now approved funding for these cleaners.  It is hoped that these will be distributed to schools in the coming weeks.

Bandsaw Dust Extraction Survey

We are currently carrying out on-site surveys with regards to the placement of the extraction unit and where required the relocation of existing equipment. To complete the survey a member of the Technology Team will need access to all manufacturing rooms within a department.  This task should not take very long and we aim to carry this out with minimum disruption.  Please note that we may need to take photographs of the bandsaw and surrounding area to allow us to complete our report.

For further information on this please refer to the DENI circular linked below.

http://www.deni.gov.uk/final_-_bandsaw_usage_and_stopping_systems_2010_23__english_version_.pdf

 If you have any further queries please feel free to contact any member of the Technology Team at Clounagh.

Technology Conference.

The Technology team at the Clounagh Centre are pleased to announce a conference for Hods/ co-ordinators of Technology. The theme of this year’s conference is 'Developing the STEM agenda through Technology'.
 
The aims of the day are:

To disseminate materials and experiences developed as a result of recent STEM funding
To identify opportunities for innovation using ICT and CAD/CAM in the Technology curriculum
To develop an understanding of careers in Engineering

The Conference will be held on Friday the 8th June at the Clounagh Centre.
If you are interested in attending this course please e-mail jacquie.uprichard@selb.org

Metal cutting facility - now open!

Most schools in the Southern board having been making good use of the CNC facilities that are available to them, either on a loan basis or accessing the use of a machine based at Clounagh.  The Technology team are very proud and excited to announce the launch of a new facility - the Techsoft Plasmacut.  The procedure for machining is much the same as any TechSoft machine, either by producing a Techsoft 2D design file or importing a DXF from Solidworks or similar programme.  Now you can slice your way through mild steel, up to 6mm thick, with no more hassle than it took to slice through card on a vinyl cutter!
For more info and to see a demo of the machine in action click here

Felder Circular saw/bandsaw refresher course

The Clounagh Centre have confirmed a number of dates for those teachers and technicians requiring refresher training in the use of a Felder Circular saw.  Letters of invite have already been sent out to everyone concerned.  If however you have not received a letter of invite and require training, then please contact jacquie.uprichard@selb.org

NEW Solidworks Student Design Kit 2011

As some of you may already be aware the student design kit license has already expired and judging by the number of ever increasing phone calls requesting a fix for the solution i think its pretty safe to say that there is still a demand for this software in homes, soooooooooooooooooooo we are pleased to announce that the new disc is now available from the Clounagh Centre, please feel free to contact us for further details.

Exciting new Technology Resources

Still labouring from Turkey overdose? Finding the weather a bit of a downer? Or just don't like January?
Well, we can't really help, although we do have something that might just cheer you up. Some very professional and comprehensive Technology resources have recently been uploaded onto clounagh.org (and more to follow).  If you are thinking of introducing a new project at KS3 then you might want to look here first.  A big thanks to Donogh McLaverty and the rest of the Technology team at St Paul's JHS Lurgan for sharing these resources.  Log into clounagh.org and go to http://clounagh.org/course/view.php?id=323  to view these resources.

PS Happy new year!