Across classrooms nationwide, teachers are embracing powerful new tools designed to enhance student engagement and improve learning outcomes. World-class homegrown solutions, ranging from AI-powered personalized learning platforms to immersive digital content, are revolutionizing traditional teaching methods.
Homegrown EdTech Solutions
As the Irish edtech industry continues to grow, educators and developers find themselves at the vanguard of a digital revolution that is gaining international recognition and reshaping contemporary educational practices.
In this the second of several features which focus on the EdTech Ireland Network members, we look at the Irish-based edtech companies that are building innovative tech solutions for Primary and Second-Level education.
Bool Technologies
Bool Technologies specialises in providing IT solutions for education around attendance and school admin, focusing on seamless integration and development to enhance user experiences.
Bool’s Anseo suite of products has been designed and developed specifically for Irish secondary schools. Since 2000, through partnership with schools and colleges the system has continually evolved to ensure easy integration into school life and systems already deployed.
According to CEO, Joe Hayes, “We believe that trusting students to share responsibility for their own attendance recording will improve student's individual roll book records while preparing their mindset for college and later, their professional careers.”
How it Works
Record
Each Student registers their attendance on entry by scanning their ID card
Data instantly available in Anseo and synced to School MIS
Scan out with reason. e.g. Medical Appointment, Home Sick, School Activity
Collaborate
Set up accounts for Year Head, Tutor or Teachers
Automatically store attendance records on school's MIS
Communicate
Text Message to Parents. Automatic if required
Send messages to ancillary groups (Teaching Staff, Sports team, BOM etc.)
End of Term report card on attendance
Analyse
Top Attending, Top Absentees, Most Lates
Compare by Class, Year, Day of Week School MIS
Identify Students requiring intervention.
Set Policies for weekly, monthly or annual levels for attendance, absenteeism or punctuality
Recent enhancements include attendance recording via mobile App, allows students to be able to register their attendance with their mobile phones; Parent entry of absence notes and Permission to Leave Early provides parents with a text message with a link to enter either a reason for absence or input a request and reason for a student to leave school early. Mobile Card Readers ensures that attendance can be recorded through a mobile device freeing up school space for attendance recording and allowing the roll to be checked throughout the school.
Athena Analytics
Athena Analytics, used by over 400 schools, is an award-winning EdTech company offering academic tracking solutions to secondary schools in Ireland. Founded in Co. Kerry by data scientist Emily Brick, Athena Analytics was inspired by her experience in Australia's Department of Education, where schools analysed exam results to help students improve and reach their potential.
The Athena Tracker, uses machine learning to identify a student’s baseline potential for each subject, based on their own unique capabilities. The Athena Fitness Mark is an intelligent fitness tracking built specifically for students. Athena Reports provides schools with in-depth reports of their Junior and Leaving Certificate results.
According to Elaine Kelly, Deputy Principal, Mount Anville Secondary School, Dublin:
“Our subject teachers, guidance teachers and senior management team have found Athena’s evaluation and reporting concise and insightful, their analysis has informed many aspects of school planning and curriculum development.”
Flúirse Education Solutions
Flúirse, founded in Tralee in July 2005 by Kristian O’Donovan and Tomás Finneran, is an award-winning company specializing in learning and training for the education sector. They have training centres in Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Laois, Carlow, Wicklow, and Ennis, Clare.
Fluirse Education Solutions consists of several distinct divisions:
Firstly, the company operates a successful CPD eLearning division, providing online courses to over 20,000 unique users annually across the globe.
Fluirse is closely associated with the Irish education sector and is the largest provider of online training for primary school teachers.
Additionally, the company manages eight training centres that offer a variety of Pitman Training and professional courses to adults.
Flúirse’s vision is to become the name synonymous with Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education and training in Ireland, the UK and beyond.
Flúirse Education Solutions has consistently been recognised for its exceptional products and innovative training delivery methods. The company holds numerous accreditations and has received several awards, including Provider of Training Excellence accreditation from the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Standards Office.
Cleverbooks
Augmented Classroom by CleverBooks provides interactive learning in Geometry, Geography, and Space for students aged 5-12 using augmented reality. The platform supports multiple languages, aligns with First to Sixth Class curriculum, and collects no student data.
Nurture
Nurture is an innovative educational platform designed to support teachers and enhance student learning through personalized feedback. Founded by David Neville and Pádraic Hogan in 2021, Nurture aims to reduce teacher workload while improving student outcomes.
By integrating with tools like Microsoft Teams, Nurture provides fast and effective formative feedback, helping students from diverse backgrounds achieve their full potential. The platform has been recognized for its impact, winning the 2022 International e-Assessment award for "Best Formative Assessment Project."
Education DESTY
DESTY is a multi-award winning, educational platform focused on enhancing children's emotional resilience and well-being. Founded in 2015 by educational psychologist Stephanie O'Malley, DESTY offers the DESTY Island Emotional Resilience Programme, a unique, interactive world where children learn about their feelings and how to manage them.
The program involves one-to-one sessions with a trained DESTY Mentor, who could be a parent, carer, or educator. These sessions aim to build children's self-confidence, social skills, and emotional resilience through a combination of online and offline activities.
The program is evidence-based, with studies showing significant improvements in children's emotional well-being, with research undertaken in collaboration with Sheila Burton (National Emotional Literacy Support Assistant Network, UK) highlighting 80% of children who used the DESTY® Island Programme improved their emotional wellbeing.
Tyro
Founded in 2022 by Patrick Barry (who previously founded VSware) and Niall O’Reilly, Tyro is a student-first, mobile-first, student information system (MIS) and timetabling solution designed to streamline school management and enhance the educational experience. Being a mobile-first platform, schools can expect the same functionality and seamless experience across all devices and formats.
Some key features of Tyro:
Student Management: Provides tools for better managing student information, including priority notes, support plan recommendations, and student timelines.
Timetabling: Uses an AI-powered scheduler to generate timetables quickly and efficiently, accommodating various school needs like dual grids, split lunches, and more.
Parental Engagement: Offers intuitive mobile apps for iOS and Android, consolidating parental communication, payment processing, absence requests, and permission slips into one platform.
Security: Features Face ID and biometric authentication for added security and convenience.
Support: Provides dedicated support with rapid response times and effective solutions, ensuring smooth transitions and ongoing assistance.
Tyro aims to revolutionize student support and school management by integrating advanced technology and user-friendly features.
SchoolWise
SchoolWise is a comprehensive educational platform designed to streamline various aspects of school management and enhance the learning experience. It integrates assessment, academic tracking, learner support, and curriculum planning into one connected system. This platform helps schools manage their data efficiently, providing actionable insights to improve student outcomes and support every learner's educational journey.
Key features of SchoolWise include:
Assessment: Centralizes all assessment data, making it easier to spot trends and address concerns.
Academic Tracking: Identifies students who are not reaching their potential and helps take corrective actions.
Learner Support: Offers a holistic view of each learner to track their progress and provide necessary support.
Curriculum Planning: Provides a collaborative space for effective subject planning with built-in frameworks and specifications.
SchoolWise also integrates seamlessly with tools like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, ensuring that schools can use their existing systems without the need for multiple logins or data duplication.
Compass MIS
Compass is a comprehensive school management system designed to streamline various administrative and educational processes within schools. It is a web-based platform that integrates multiple functions to improve school administration, enhance parental engagement, and support student well-being.
Key Features of Compass:
Timetabling & Daily Organisation: Manage school schedules and daily operations efficiently with the Griddle timetabling solution.
Assessment Tracking & Reporting: Track student progress and performance using the Pulse data module, which generates insightful reports to inform teaching strategies.
Wellbeing Management: The Chronicle module supports mental health check-ins and personalized support plans to foster a nurturing environment for students.
Parental Engagement: The Parent App facilitates seamless communication between parents/guardians and educators, keeping them informed about student progress, events, and announcements in real-time.
Teacher Dashboard: Provides a comprehensive view of daily events, tasks, and reminders to help teachers monitor attendance and support learning.
Exams Management: Simplifies the exam process from scheduling and registration to grading and reporting.
Payments: Allows for convenient and secure online payments for school meals, extracurricular clubs, and educational trips.
Data Management: Centralizes data management, streamlines communication, and standardizes processes to optimize school governance and performance.
SimpleStudy
SimpleStudy, designed specifically for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate students is an exam preparation platform that promises to transform the way students approach their studies.
A comprehensive online platform offers a wide array of resources, with over 37 subjects covered, including Maths, English, Irish, Business, Physics. SimpleStudy provides curated notes, sample essays, quizzes, and questions based on past state exams.
Key Features:
H1 Revision Notes: Well organised and concise notes, reviewed by experts, are divided by topic and highlighted for easy recall during exams.
Exam-Focused Quizzes: The platform includes fun and engaging quizzes based on past exam questions. These quizzes help students track their progress and stay focused on their exam preparation.
Progress Tracking: SimpleStudy allows students to set goals, track their progress, and monitor the completion of notes, essays, and experiments.
User-Friendly Interface: The platform is designed to reduce stress and make studying more efficient.
Child Paths
Child Paths is a comprehensive management software designed for early years and primary schools. It aims to reduce the time spent on paperwork and enhance child development by offering a range of digital tools and features.
Founded by Ciaran Flynn, to bridge communication gaps between parents and educators and alleviate the workload for practitioners. The platform integrates the Irish educational frameworks like Aistear and Siolta and includes a unique development tracker called "Milestones" to monitor children's progress.
Key Features:
Digital Forms and Signatures: Manage paperwork digitally, including incident reports, permission slips, and more.
Financial Management: Online invoicing and in-app transactions to streamline financial processes.
Compliance: Automated compliance features such as attendance and activity logs, room ratios, and staff scheduling.
Classroom Management: Tools for online child registration, occupancy planning, observations, and sharing photos, videos, and audio.
Communication: Instant messaging and reporting features to keep parents and educators connected.
iClass
Founded by Frank O’Grady back in 2012, iClass is well-established, comprehensive website and mobile app platform designed specifically for schools. It aims to enhance student enrolment and improve communication between schools and parents.
Key features of iClass:
User-Friendly CMS: The platform offers an easy-to-use content management system (CMS) that allows schools to manage their websites efficiently, with most tasks being completed in under 60 seconds.
Integrated Mobile App: iClass includes a fully integrated mobile app for parents, which facilitates communication by allowing schools to send messages, files, absentee notes, consent forms, and more.
Cost Efficiency: The platform helps reduce costs associated with messaging and printing by providing digital-first solutions.
SEO and Google Ranking: iClass improves the school's online presence through better Google ranking and SEO.
Dual Language Support: The mobile app supports multiple languages, making it accessible for schools with diverse linguistic needs.
ALPACA
ALPACA, which stands for Assessing Letter knowledge & Phonemic Awareness Class Assistant, is an innovative early literacy assessment tool founded by Joe Fernandez and developed through a collaborative research project involving Trinity College Dublin and the Marino Institute of Education. Launched in February 2022, ALPACA was created with the research expertise of Dr. Jennifer O'Sullivan and has been co-developed with 70 teachers across 30 primary schools, involving 1,000 junior infant learners aged 4-6 from five different countries.
Key Features:
Early Assessment: ALPACA assesses junior infant learners at three points during the school year (September-October, January, and May) to identify gaps in foundational reading skills and inform necessary interventions.
Progress Monitoring: The tool provides evidence and capabilities to regularly monitor the progress of children receiving instruction in phonemic awareness and letter knowledge.
Data-Driven Insights: ALPACA helps teachers understand ability levels, informs groupings, and offers recommendations to involve parents in their child's learning journey.
ALPACA is designed to be used with digital devices like iPads and laptops, requiring good quality headphones for optimal use. This tool is a significant step forward in early literacy assessment, providing teachers with the resources they need to support young learners effectively.
ExamRevision
ExamRevision is an online learning platform designed to help Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate students for state exams. It offers a variety of resources to make studying more effective and engaging.
Key features:
Video Tutorials: Short, concise videos created by specialist teachers to help students understand difficult topics.
Expert Notes: Comprehensive notes designed to help students achieve high grades, such as Distinctions or H1’s.
Interactive Quizzes: Quizzes that test students' knowledge and help reinforce learning.
Live Courses: Courses that provide real-time instruction and support.
User-Friendly Interface: Easy to navigate, making it accessible for both students and teachers.
