Teacher's log: the virtual reality of training online

Dearbhla O'Sullivan has found her vocation. The UL graduate is training to be a primary school teacher with Hibernia College.

Hibernia College's H Dip in primary education offers working teachers a chance to complete their qualification over the internet without having to give up their post, and students like me an opportunity to continue earning while studying on the side.

After graduating from the University of Limerick, where I did a four-year degree in history, politics and social studies, I spent time in Washington, DC interning for a congressman before pursuing a career as a radio producer with UTV and later Radio New Zealand, where I presented the odd show as well. I gradually realised that teaching was my true vocation, but the idea of going back to being a full-time student gave me pause for thought. Scraping around for pot noodles and a clean fork is not appealing when you've led a comfortable existence since graduating all those years ago.

I'm based in Dublin now and the flexibility of studying online meant that the odd trip home to Kerry would be possible. All I needed was my laptop and an internet connection. Hibernia ticked all the boxes for me, so I went ahead and applied.

The course requirements are a primary degree and a certain level of Irish. Many of those applying to Hibernia left secondary school years, even decades ago, so their Irish wouldn't be rolling off the top of their tongues. Luckily, I went to Coláiste Íde in Dingle and my primary education was all as Gaeilge as well, so I can hold a conversation, although I wouldn't exactly be An Seabhac when it comes to the written word.

I was the last person on the final day to be interviewed and when I closed Hibernia's blue door on Clare St, I suddenly realised how much I wanted to be part of this "unique learning experience".

As soon as I was accepted on to the February 2007 course, the wheels were in motion. The next step was an induction in Maynooth, where I was surrounded by the other 249 teaching hopefuls. When asked who was already teaching, more than 200 hands shot up. I suddenly felt very out of the educational loop.

Sitting in that lecture hall was a lot different than my induction to UL at the tender age of 17. Then I was surrounded by other young people out for the university lifestyle, searching for the Stables student bar on the campus maps. This time I was in a room full of people with plenty of life experience, who had travelled, worked in different occupations, some married, some parents. All of them had presumably tasted enough of life to know what they truly wanted out of it, which in our case is a career in teaching. Can a 17-year-old filling out the CAO form to apply for teaching honestly say the same? Are they also prepared to handle the commitments required for this important occupation?

Shortly after our induction day, we had our first onsite tutorial. This is when our virtual student existence sees some reality. We are all in different groups according to where we live and although I'm in Dublin B, there are people in my class from Co Wexford, Co Mayo, Co Galway and Co Kerry. Our lecturers on the course are all experienced teachers and university professors who have been involved in Hibernia since its inception in 2003.

During the week we get a plethora of e-mails alerting us to updates taking place on "HELMS". That's our education nerve centre, the website we log in and out of to pick up lecture notes, download them to our iPods (if we are so inclined), check the calendar for the forthcoming semester, chat or gripe on the student forum, load up any assignments we have due, find grades and feedback and where we "go" to attend our online tutorials.

I despised tutorials in university, the intimate setting, the questions, the theorising about the lectures we had just had. These tutorials are different; with my secretarial earphones and microphone I can snuggle under a duvet with a cup of tea and attend class without a scrap of make-up on and my hair in a makeshift bun. There's technical support online every evening as well, in case anyone experiences problems.

If you want to participate you click a button, which alerts the tutor to a virtual hand being raised. The dinging in the headphones means they're quick to respond!

I decided to go home to Tralee for my first TP (teaching practice). TP really opens your eyes to what the whole business is about, and I used to collapse on the couch wrecked with a sore throat in the evening.

Because I'm used to working until six, I would start my lesson plans for the following day straight after the closing bell and made sure they were done by 6pm so I could spend the rest of the evening crepe-papering my fingers together, or rummaging around the house for props and resources with which to engage the children.

I have my busiest year ahead with two more TPs in the pipeline, but - fingers crossed - this time next year I will be qualified and officially Miss O'Sullivan.

From an article by Dearlhla O'Sullivan in the Irish Times, 18/09/2007.