FOLLOWING a successful pilot with Little Angles School, Letterkenny, a local business will launch an initiative to prepare schools for the future of artificial intelligence (AI) by giving students and teachers the skills and confidence to use AI in a positive way.
The programme that began through a pilot project with special educational needs school Little Angels will now be rolled out as a nationwide initiative.
Led by the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Letterkenny AI Centre of Excellence, the programme was created to prepare schools as AI changes how students learn, how teachers work, and how workplaces operate.
The initiative will help to build practical AI literacy in classrooms and promote the safe, responsible and purposeful adoption of AI within education.
The 90-minute group sessions provide teachers with practical training to build confidence in using AI responsibly, reduce administrative workload, create and adapt educational resources efficiently.
Teachers will also learn how AI can support differentiated learning approaches, understand the opportunities and limitations of AI and apply AI in line with educational best practice.
Little Angels School principal, Ailbhe Dunne said working with TCS has been a very positive experience for the entire school community and the skills they have learned have gave teachers more time to focus on the children.
“The team took the time to understand our pupils and the needs of our staff, and the support we received with lesson planning, resource creation and communicating with parents has made a real difference to our workload,” Ailbhe said.
“We are proud to have been part of the pilot, and we are delighted that other schools across Donegal and beyond will now benefit from it.”
Head of AI at TCS Global Delivery Centre, Letterkenny, Deepanand Saha Roy, said as AI continues to develop, education now has a responsibility to help young people understand the future.
“Our AI for Education initiative is about helping teachers and students explore AI in a practical, accessible and responsible way,” said Deepanand Saha Roy.
“We are delighted to start here in Donegal, working with our local school community to shape the programme before bringing it to schools across Ireland.”
