resources update issue 44

• Digital Resource Bank - GCSE
• NetSupport School Version 7
• Oxford Spanish Dictionary 3rd Edition on CD-ROM
  

• QuickAssess QCA English KS2
• Exploring Science 5
• Wolves

Authentik Digital Resource Bank is an interactive website for GCSE Foundation and Higher through to Advanced Level that gives the user the opportunity to immerse themselves in a variety of activities linked to the five main languages available - English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. These activities range from vocabulary learning exercises through to authentic photos and texts in the target language.

There are a selection of topics to choose from which are typical GCSE areas such as freetime, home and daily life, and school and education. You then choose an activity - pictures and numbers, cultural photos, sketches, vocabulary and phrases and real life languages. In all the activities the correct answers are given so that the student can assess his or her progress as they work.

QuickAssess QCA English KS2 allows teachers to choose papers and questions from 1997– 2002 that can be downloaded into a Microsoft Word document, providing scope for editing. The Test-paper generator allows you to either produce papers on specific areas to test the children, or use an entire paper. The permutations are endless and the speed that the questions are generated means you can produce a different paper within minutes.

There is a database of over 50 questions covering levels 3-6. The added facility to add your own questions to the data base provides an extensive assessment and evaluation resource. You can set your own mark scheme, insert your own questions and order the questions as you wish them to appear. This flexibility makes this title invaluable.

This is a general monitoring system that allows the teacher to monitor what is being carried out on each of the connected workstations; it also allows the teacher to display their screen on the students’ desktops. Therefore tasks can be demonstrated in real time. Teachers can communicate with a single student, the whole class or small groups to give additional guidance or suggest how a task can be developed.It is possible to only allow certain applications/websites to be used for a particular lesson and teachers can monitor student activity, as the application will register any applications open.

This is a very useful piece of software. For example, it allows file collection/ distribution meaning no more photocopied sheets and simplifying collection of work.

Heinemann Explore Science offers a website which works through all areas of the QCA units for KS2. The units are split into the three main areas and these are then split into various aspects such as investigations, scientific enquiry, quick facts, key ideas and so forth.It is extremely well set out and colourful and the children were particularly pleased with the quiz sections.

The simulations and explanations are very well presented with effective animations and the site is very professional. Besides the online activities given, there are a number of scientific investigations which the children can take away to the classroom to work through. Teachers will also find the site very useful as it sets out lessons and gives them the resources they need to consolidate and record, together with editable worksheets.

This dictionary is a bilingual English/Spanish and Spanish/English dictionary aimed at language learners and teachers of all ages, from KS3 to university. It is user-friendly, easy to install on a network or a single machine and is very accurate.

This electronic dictionary is aimed at users who are either online or working in Windows, translating one word from or into Spanish with clarity and great speed. The dictionary has an up-to-date and expansive list of vocabulary with additional features such as sample letters, emails, CVs, grammar, usage notes and verb tables but there is also the feature that allows the user to hear accurate pronunciation of Spanish from text. This feature certainly engages the students in particular and it brings the language to life...quite an achievement for a dictionary!

This CD provides a block of literacy lessons to cover a two week period. Aimed at all pupils in KS2 featuring; discussion for years 5 and 6; non-chronological report writing planned for individual year groups or combination of year groups, so particularly useful for mixed year classes. Lesson plans clearly identify sections of National Literacy Strategy and also offers versatile cross curricular resources such as spelling and other activities.

This product could be used on a network, individual machines and is ideal for use with an interactive whiteboard. There are great time saving activities to help with planning and delivery, particularly because of the great ease of differentiation through the
availability of the mixed age plans, enabling pupils to access the same content at different reading ability levels.

Make sure any new software will run on your current hardware - some software
may require particular hardware and vice versa
• Carry out an audit of your existing hardware and find out current plans for purchasing.
• Consult the school ICT policy
• Identify any further hardware or software requirements in the light of the above and ensure that these correlate
• Don’t forget, if it is an on-line product, to check you have enough band width