• Kids causing a Waterford Hullabaloo

  Hullabaloo, Waterford's first international festival for children, kicks off its four-day extravaganza of theatre, film, music, dance, visual arts, literature and design on May 2nd. p
  

• From Kilburn High Road to Maynooth

  Playwright Jimmy Murphy has been appointed writer in residence at NUI Maynooth. Born in l962 and brought up in Inchicore, Dublin, Murphy's successes have included plays such as Brothers of the Brush (best new Irish play at the Dublin Theatre Festival in l993), A Picture of Paradise, The Muesli Belt and The Kings of the Kilburn High Road, which is currently playing to acclaim in London. He has also won a BAFTA award. p
  

• Young authors lap up writing opportunity

  Almost 20,000 young authors took part in the annual Write-a-Book project for primary schools, which has just ended. p
  

• Opportunity for artists to blossom

  The Easter Art Camp beginning today in the Botanic Art School promises fun along with tuition. Organised and taught by artist Alwyn Gillespie, the course is aimed at children between seven and 12 years. It takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily and goes on until Friday. Class sizes are kept small - numbers never exceed 12 - and all art materials are provided. p
  

• Brain-stirring sessions

  Listening to particular pieces of music can enhance learning and improve performance in exams. Called the "Mozart effect", the link between listening and spatial ability is controversial, but worth pursuing, writes Professor John Jenkins, in the April Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. p
  

• Listening is essential to communication

  Listening is the first act of communication. Many people that I help to overcome social phobias express fears of not being able to start and maintain a conversation. I explain that what most people need in company is someone to listen, to understand, empathise and show interest in their presence and in their lives. p
  

• How to bring out the gifts of young females

  Identify gifted girls early, before they have developed ingrained patterns of hiding. The best age for testing them is between the ages of three-and-a-half and seven. By eight or nine, their favourite response to test questions is "I don't know." p
  

• Why girls hide their talents

  Many more boys than girls are recognised as "gifted" by their teachers, and, as parents, we're more likely to recognise that we have a "gifted" son than a "gifted" daughter. Boys usually let their peers and classmates know of their gifts, even at the risk of social isolation, while gifted girls tend to become chameleons, blending in with the other girls. They hide their talents at the cost of inhibiting the development of their abilities, says Dr Linda Kreger Silverman, of the Gifted Development Centre in Denver, Colorado. p
  

• Your web questions answered

  Send your WebWorld queries to pcollins@irishtimes.com p
  

• Site of the week: www.ucd.ie/newstudent/

  I have recently been praising the websites of foreign universities - particularly those in the US - for their good use of a Frequently Asked Questions section. I also said that it was not something that Irish college sites made enough of. p
  

• Access to Internet up by 400% since 1998

  Irish households with web access increased by over 400 per cent between 1998 and 2000, according to the latest survey on Internet and computer penetration in Ireland carried out by the Central Statistics Office. While this is still relatively low compared to some of our European neighbours, the surge from 61,100 homes having a computer connected to the Internet in 1998 to 262,700 by the end of 2000 is still substantial. p
  

• More sites to see: Our web critic looks at environmental sites

  www.epa.ie p
  

• Firm resolution needed to find silver lining

  For all the bitter arguments generated by the ASTI pay dispute, there is one thing at least on which everyone can agree. The campaign has been a disaster. For those who were gung-ho for 30 per cent or nothing, the disaster lies in the rather pitiful facesaving formula that is to be put to ballot. For those who always thought that the tactics being used were bound to fail, there can be no pleasure in seeing a vital profession so alienated, embittered and, at times, bewildered. p
  

• Forget popularity, it's principle that counts

  Teachers have - for the third year in a row - pay at the top of their convention agenda. Instead of celebrating a conclusion, we have a package before us which is an insult to ordinary teachers, especially given last week's Labour Court recommendation to Aer Lingus workers. Then, a SIPTU spokesperson was able to claim that the court had given workers 90 per cent of what they were looking for. p
  

• Course profile: MA in European Social Policy Analysis

  Institution: NUI Maynooth. p
  

• Caution on e-learning

  Forget about ebusiness - the new buzzword is e-learning and the likelihood is that most of us are going to be involved with it at some time or other. Thanks to the Internet and the development of interactive multimedia programmes, the delivery of education is being revolutionised. Indeed, some experts believe that education - much of it delivered via the Web - is set to become the biggest industry in the world. It is estimated that the worldwide spend on education is currently $1.5 trillion and will double in the next five years, according to a report in the Guardian. p
  

• Celtic Tiger lecture series

  The celtic Tiger may have boosted our economy but at a very high price. Its downside is it has taught us to measure success in terms of economic growth and thereby created social unrest. There are many who have not been as lucky or successful and as a result feel excluded from society. p
  

• On mature reflection

  Most people, when they think of St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin, think teacher education. They're only partly right. Nowadays, along with masters' in children's literature, theatre studies, French, history and modern Irish, St Pat's offers an undergraduate humanities degree. p
  

• Old timers in adult education

  Pearse College in Crumlin is one of Dublins oldest colleges of adult education. It has been running courses for mature students since the 1970s and it currently has 560 full-time students and roughly 150 people on its part-time programmes. p
  

• Master of all he surveys

  Imagine a little thatched cottage hidden high up in the hills of Donegal. Now picture a family of four little boys who come with their parents to refurbish the ruined structure. It was an awfully big adventure. p
  

• Buoyant market for building surveyors

  The building surveyor is a relatively new arrival on the construction and surveying scene in this State. Traditionally their job was done by architects or engineers, and building surveying was a largely UK-based profession. However, a market has grown for these very specialised professionals as Krystyna Rawicz, chairwoman of the building surveying division of the Society of Chartered Surveyors explains. p
  

• Factfile - Surveyor

  Chartered building surveyor is one of seven professional surveyors recognised by the Society of Chartered Surveyors. p
  

Most popular stories