ALL YOUR EDUCATION QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY BRIAN MOONEY

I am a transition year co-ordinator in a second level school in Dundalk. Recently, a colleague from Monaghan told me about a cross- border media project which gave his students access to state of the art media production facilities. Do you know anything about this programme?

This initiative, which has brought together students from both sides of the border, is one of the tangible benefits of growing cross-border co-operation, which I encountered on a recent visit to Monaghan Education Centre. The Cross-Border Digital Creativity Project (CBDCP) is a collaborative one, between the North Eastern Education Library Board (NEELB) and Monaghan Education Centre, and has been in operation for almost two years. It provides high-end multimedia training for students in TV, film, and music production. The project is funded by the European Union Interreg IIIA Programme Ireland/Northern Ireland, through the Irish Central Border Area Interreg IIIA Partnership (ICBAN).

Nine schools from counties Cavan and Monaghan are currently participating, along with nine schools from the NEELB region of Northern Ireland. This project offers 10 students from each participating school the opportunity to receive and experience professional multimedia training on industry standard equipment.

It initially involves on-site training in film production, with a moving image technician and support staff from NEELB. Stage two involves on-site training in the Digital Creativity Truck, based at Monaghan Education Centre, for up to three days at a time. The Truck, valued at more than €200,000, is essentially an outside broadcast unit, similar to those operated by RTÉ, BBC and UTV, and is unique in that it will be the first of its kind to be run entirely by school pupils.

It can cater for up to 20 students at one time, eight on board operating the editing and sound mixing equipment, and the rest outside the vehicle managing up to eight cameras and sound equipment. Outside broadcasts can be mounted back to schools and to the community, including live interviews, news items, concerts, seminars and drama productions.

The truck provides local students with a unique training experience, which will prepare many of them for careers in television, radio, film-making and music production etc. It also provides students with many key team skills, an important part of any work experience, and prepares students for other careers apart from media ones.

Jim McGee (ICT Advisor, Monaghan Education Centre) and Peter Simpson (Assistant ICT Advisor, NEELB), assisted by Shay Sweetnam (Moving Image Technician, NEELB), Cedric Beatty (Technician, NEELB) and Michael Farry (ICT Advisor, Navan Education Centre), co-ordinate the project.

The Digital Creativity Truck was also recently involved in Ireland's first-ever school internet broadcast from St Mary's Grammar careers convention in Magherafelt. The Truck co-ordinated the streaming of this event live over the internet, from the school's website.

The first two-year's work culminates in late May 2007, when the CBDCP hosts all 18 schools for a major awards ceremony in Monaghan. Each of the 18 schools will display five-minute news or film production, and the Truck will record the whole event.

You can get more information about the participating schools by visiting the Monaghan Education Centre ICT advisor's website at www.metc.ie/ictadvisor.htm (click on the "Projects" button and follow the CBDCP link).

Also, check out the Truck's website at www.thetruck.org.uk

E-mail questions to bmooney@irish-times.ie