Co-labhairt foghlam Gàidhlig An t-Alltan a’ dol air-loidhne
Issued by Stòrlann
Tha a’ cho-labhairt bhliadhnail do luchd-obrach foghlam Gàidhlig air gluasad air-loidhne am-bliadhna, mar fhreagairt do bhacaidhean Covid agus cùisean eile a bha ga dhèanamh doirbh do dhaoine a bhith an làthair sna bliadhnachan mu dheireadh.
Tha An t-Alltan ga chumail mar as trice san Aghaidh Mhòir agus bidh riochdairean a’ dol ann bho air feadh na dùthcha. Am-bliadhna tha e ann an riochd thachartasan bhiortail le measgachadh de webinars, seiseanan Q&A beò agus bùthan-obrach fìor-àm. Bidh roghainnean ann coimhead a-rithist aig àm freagarrach, ach tha seiseanan beò ann airson leigeil le riochdairean conaltradh ri eòlaichean.
Tha an ceangal ri làrach-lìn an Alltain beò a-nis aig https://www.storlann.co.uk/an-t-alltan/ agus faodaidh luchd-obrach foghlam Gàidhlig gu lèir pàirt a ghabhail ann.
Tha an tachartas air a chur air dòigh le Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig, buidheann nan goireasan foghlaim Gàidhlig. Tha an riochd ùr mar fhreagairt do èiginn Covid-19. Am-bliadhna tha cuideam air slàinte agus sunnd agus air mothachas, mar thoradh air uallaichean a’ mhòr-ghalair, ach tha bun-bheachd na co-labhairt mar a bha e: cothrom air ionnsachadh dreuchdail a thoirt do luchd-foghlaim Gàidhlig, a’ coimhead air iomairtean ùra agus a’ leasachadh deagh-chleachdadh.
Tha e a’ frithealadh do luchd-foghlaim aig gach ìre, bho Thràth-bhliadhnachan gu bun-sgoil agus àrd-sgoil. Am measg nan tachartasan bhiortail am-bliadhna tha webinar do gach roinn còmhla ri Tim Armstrong, a bhios a’ bruidhinn air Iomairt Sgoil Dhùn Èideann agus air ceistean mòra mar fèin-aithne agus foghlam Gàidhlig.
Do na Tràth-bhliadhnachan, tha Jackie Mullen a’ tilleadh leis na seiseanan còrdte aice air Gàidhlig nan Òg, agus air togail cànain tro cheòl agus òrain.
Don bhun-sgoil, bidh webinars air ionnsachadh tro chluich le Katie Wight agus air na h-apps Ghàidhlig Dèan Matamataig, Air a’ Chloc agus Fios air Fuaimean le Chris Mitchell.
Am-bliadhna tha na seiseanan a tha a’ còmhdach bun-sgoil agus àrd-sgoil airson taic a chur ri slàinte agus sunnd inntinn, mar fhreagairt don strèan a tha an suidheachadh an-dràsta a’ cur air daoine òga agus luchd-foghlaim. Bidh trì webinars air an raon seo, rim faighinn aig àm sam bith. Bidh aon dhiubh air Mothachas, le Lorna Nic an t-Sagairt, agus a dhà air Slàinte agus Sunnd do thidsearan GME aig àm Covid-19, le Dr Raghnaid Fhriseal. San webinar air Mothachas bidh mothachas sa chlasrum, eacarsaichean anail, fois bodhaig, agus mothachas air a’ bhlàr a-muigh, le ceangalan. Bidh na webinars air Slàinte agus Sunnd do thidsearan aig àm Covid-19 a’ coimhead air dè tha mu choinneamh nan sgoilearan, mì-chinnt, ceistean air earbsa agus tuigse, agus tòrr a bharrachd.
Don àrd-sgoil tha webinars air quizlet air an lìbhrigeadh le Emma Burrows agus Ceitidh Chaimbeul.
Tarsainn air na roinnean bidh fòcas air innealan a chuidicheas ionnsachadh co-mheasgaichte.
Ged as ann à èiginn a thàinig e, tha An t-Alltan air-loidhne gu buannachd leis gum faigh a h-uile duine ann, agus tha e a’ togail air na co-labhairtean a bh’ ann roimhe o chaidh a’ chiad tè a chumail ann an 2008.
Bidh na buidhnean a chuir air dòigh An t-Alltan airson beachdan a thomhas, airson cur ri tuilleadh leasachaidh, agus le sin tha e air iarraidh gun dèan na compàirtichean am measadh air na seiseanan.
Chaidh seiseanan do roinn nan Tràth-bhliadhnachan a chumail mu thràth, is chaidh fios-air-ais deimhinneach fhaighinn.
Gu h-eachdraidheil, tha am fios-air-ais mun Alltan air a bhith deimhinneach an-còmhnaidh, is riochdairean ag ràdh gun do dh’ionnsaich iad tòrr mu na goireasan a bha ri fhaighinn agus dòighean air an cleachdadh. Chaidh a’ cho-labhairt a mholadh airson a bhith feumail, inntinneach agus brosnachail.
Bhiodh riochdairean a bha nan aonar ann an seagh sgìreil no roinneil a’ cur fàilte air cothrom coinneachadh ri co-obraichean bho dhiofar sgìrean. Tha Stòrlann an dòchas gum bi coimhearsnachd agus cothrom eòlas a cho-roinn nam pàirt den Alltan am-bliadhna, agus gum bi buannachd ùr ann le bhith ga fhosgladh gu barrachd dhaoine.
Thuirt Joanne McHale, Manaidsear Foghlaim aig Bòrd na Gàidhlig: “Tha sinn an comain Stòrlann airson an tachartas a tha seo a ghluasad air-loidhne gus taic a thoirt do luchd-obrach ann am foghlam Gàidhlig aig gach ìre.”
’S e Niall Mac a’ Ghobhainn an Ceannard air Seirbheisean Leasachaidh Stòrlann le dleastanas sònraichte airson Teicneòlas Fiosrachaidh agus Dealbhachadh.
Thuirt e: “Tha iomadach dùbhlan ron roinn an-dràsta ach tha sinn an dòchas gun toir sinn clàr ruigsinneach de thachartasan ionnsachaidh air-loidhne do luchd-obrach a bhios feumail dhaibh san t-suidheachadh a tha ann. Le measgachadh de thachartasan clàraichte agus beò, cuide ri cothrom ceanglaichean a dhèanamh agus deagh chleachdadh a cho-roinn, tha sinn airson togail air soirbheachadh nan Alltan a bha ann roimhe agus nan tachartasan a tha ri fhaotainn air-loidhne an-dràsta bho chompàirtichean mar e-Sgoil agus Foghlam Alba. Tha sinn an dòchas gun clàraich nas urrainn airson nan tachartasan; bidh sinn a’ cur tuilleadh riutha sna mìosan a tha ri thighinn.”
Thuirt Dòmhnall MacGilleMhoire, Ceannard Stòrlann, gun robh An t-Alltan seo gu mòr na fhreagairt do na dùbhlain mhòra a tha ann am foghlam an-dràsta.
Thuirt e: “Tha e doirbh dhomh cur an cèill cho mòr ’s a tha an t-atharrachadh agus am mòr-chaochladh a dh’adhbharaich Covid-19. Ge-tà tha dìcheall, dealas agus cùram luchd-foghlaim Gàidhlig, phàrantan agus sgoilearan mar sholas a tha a’ sìor dhealradh tro dhubhar nan caochlaidhean. Tha sgioba Stòrlann ag obair gu cruaidh airson taic a chur ris an roinn le goireasan, trèanadh agus àite-cruinneachaidh air-loidhne air a bheil fàilte mhòr fo bhratach ainmeil an Alltain. Nach tig sibh còmhla rinn!”
Gaelic educational conference An t-Alltan goes online
The annual conference for Gaelic education practitioners has moved online this year, in response to the Covid restrictions and other factors which were hindering attendance in previous years.
An t-Alltan, which is usually held in Aviemore and attended by delegates from all over the country, has been reformatted into a series of virtual events with a combination of webinars, live question and answer sessions and real-time tutorials. There will be options to watch again, at times that suit, but live sessions have been included to permit live engagement with experts.
The link to the An t-Alltan website is now live at https://www.storlann.co.uk/an-t-alltan/ and all Gaelic education practitioners are encouraged to participate.
The event has been reformatted by organisers Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig, the Gaelic educational resources agency, as a response to the Covid 19 crisis. It also features an emphasis this year on health and wellbeing and mindfulness, due to the pressures of the pandemic, but the concept of the conference remains the same: to provide a professional learning opportunity for Gaelic educationalists to look at new initiatives and develop their practice.
It caters for practitioners at all levels, from Early Years through to primary and secondary, and this year’s initial virtual events include a webinar for all sectors with Tim Armstrong, who will discuss the Edinburgh school campaign and big issues such as Gaelic identity and education.
For the Early Years, Jackie Mullen will be back with her popular tutorials on Gàidhlig nan Òg and the importance of music and song in language acquisition.
For primary school, there will be webinars on delivering learning through play and the Gaelic apps Dèan Matamataig, Air a’ Chloc and Fios air Fuaimean, delivered by Katie Wight and Chris Mitchell respectively.
The sessions that span primary and secondary schools are this year all about supporting mental health and wellbeing, in recognition of the stress put on young people and educators by current circumstances. There will be three webinars, accessible on-demand, in this area. One webinar on the subject of mindfulness will be delivered by Lorna Taggart and two on the subject of ‘health and wellbeing for GME teachers during Covid 19’ will be delivered by Dr Rachel Fraser.
The mindfulness webinar will include mindfulness in the classroom, breathing exercises, body relaxation and a sense of the outdoors, plus links. The webinars on health and wellbeing for teachers during Covid 19 will look at what pupils are facing, uncertainty, questions of trust and mentalisation, and more.
The provision aimed just at secondary will be webinars on quizlets, delivered by Emma Burrows and Ceitidh Campbell.
Across the board, there will be a focus on tools to support blended learning.
Although borne out of necessity, the An t-Alltan online event has the benefit of being accessible to all and builds on the An t-Alltans that have gone before, since the event was first held in 2008.
Organisers will be looking to gauge opinion, for the purposes of evaluation and informing further development, so participants are encouraged to leave feedback on sessions.
Sessions for the Early Years sector have already taken place, with positive feedback received.
Historically, feedback for An t-Alltan has always been positive, with delegates saying they learned a lot about the resources that were available and potential strategies to use. The conference has been praised for its usefulness, as well as being motivating, interesting and inspiring.
Although that element of bringing together practitioners who may be geographically isolated has always been a welcome feature of the event, Stòrlann hope this year’s An t-Alltan will still build on that sense of community and exchange of knowledge and experience, while also bringing new benefits such as broader accessibility.
Joanne McHale, Education Manager at Bòrd na Gàidhlig said : “We are indebted to Stòrlann for moving this event online and providing support for Gàidhlig education practitioners at all levels.”
Neil Smith is Head of Development Services for Stòrlann with particular responsibility for Information Technology and Design.
He said: “Sectoral challenges are numerous at the moment but we hope to provide an easily accessible menu of online learning events which practitioners will find useful in their present circumstances. By using a combination of pre-recorded and live events, together with an opportunity to network and exchange good practice, we hope to build on the success of previous ‘Alltan’ events and those currently available online from partners such as e-Sgoil and Education Scotland. We hope that as many as possible will register for the events as we add some more over the next few months.”
Donald W Morrison, Stòrlann Chief Executive, said this An t-Alltan was very much a response to the current and significant challenges in education.
He said: “I find it difficult to form words that express the magnitude of change and upheaval brought about by Covid-19. However, diligence, dedication and care, on the part of our Gaelic educators, parents and pupils, continues to shine through the current mists of change. The Stòrlann team is working hard to support the sector with resources, training and a much welcomed online gathering place under the well-known ‘Alltan’ banner. Do join us!”