DCU's Institute of Education launches Facebook Live series on learning from home

Dublin City University's Institute of Education is launching a new Facebook Live series aimed at parents of school-age children learning from home during the COVID-19 restrictions.

'From A Distance? How COVID 19 is changing how we think about education, schooling and learning' will start this week on DCU's Facebook page.

Ireland's students are among the 1.5 billion learners across the globe affected by school closures since February.

And as the kitchen table becomes the new learning hub in hundreds of thousands of homes across the country, the biggest live social and educational experiments in human history is beginning to generate some interesting debates about whether we will return to the same education when we return to the same schools.

It's hoped the 'From A Distance' series will provide advice and guidance on the many ways and means to enable school-going children and teenagers to continue to learn and remain engaged during this challenging time.

DCU's Institute of Education is the largest faculty of education in Ireland, and a number of their staff, specialising in specific areas of education, will feature in the Facebook Live series over the next couple of weeks.

With the closure of créches, primary and post-primary schools due to COVID-19, many parents and guardians are doing eveything they can in this unprecedented situation to ensure their children are learning and/or applying themselves to the arduous task of studying for state exams.

Over the coming weeks, we will look at topics such as the emotional well-being of children; maintaining motivation; using technology for teaching and learning and children with special educational needs.

Our first series kicks off on Tuesday (April 21st) with Prof Anne Looney, Dean of the Institute of Education taking your questions and queries.

Prof Looney will focus on the subject of "distance learning" and how since preschool and schools have shut, everything is now at a remove from the classroom, which poses myriad challenges.

Passionate about education for all ages, Prof Looney has been a post-primary teacher, a research fellow, CEO of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, and most recently, interim CEO of the Higher Education Authority.

She is a board member of Early Childhood Ireland, and the Ark Cultural Centre for Children, and the current president of the International Professional Development Association.

A proud Dubliner, and season ticket holder for Dublin GAA, she is a regular contributor to media on education and social issues and tweets at @annelooney

Tune in at 1.00pm on Tuesday, April 21st for more - and if you have any questions, DM us on Twitter and Facebook, or email us at socialmedia@dcu.ie