Business 2000 is welcomed as a valuable teaching tool

The sixth edition of The Irish Times Business 2000 initiative was welcomed yesterday as a valuable teaching tool at a breakfast forum in the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin.

The Business 2000 pack, which was developed by Woodgrange Technologies, is a multimedia resource for students of business and their teachers.

It is distributed to more than 800 schools and third-level colleges throughout Ireland.

This year, for the first time, the pack is being distributed in Northern Ireland, where about 350 schools and third-level colleges will receive a copy.

A survey carried out by Woodgrange Technologies showed that more than 90 per cent of teachers rated the last edition of Business 2000 in the "good" to "excellent" category, while 76 per cent of those students assessed described the pack as "very useful".

One teacher surveyed described it as "an excellent teaching device, which enables both students and teachers alike to analyse and interpret information verbally, in writing and online".

Mr Frank McKenna, of the Business Studies Teachers Association of Ireland, said the resource was a valuable asset for students and teachers of business studies and economics.

At a forum of business teachers throughout Europe during which Mr McKenna presented the pack, many had expressed admiration at its quality, he said.

The resource pack, which is being distributed to schools next week, comprises a CD-ROM and a series of information sheets that examine everyday business issues.

These information sheets feature "real life" business stories from a wide variety of Irish organisations.

Several of the organisations featured in the pack were represented at the forum, including the Department of Finance, the Pensions Board and the National Treasury Management Agency.

The representatives all expressed their satisfaction with the pack.

The Business 2000 column, which features every Friday in The Irish Times's Business This Week supplement, complements the pack by providing information for business students on the current business climate.