resources update issue 61

• Cambridge-Hitachi - Primary Maths Toolbox (Mult-e-Maths)
• i-city learning centre - The-I Language Zone
• TextMine - TextMine School SMS
• TQ Education & Training Ltd/Direct-Ed -
  Active Life GCSE PE

• Businessteacher.co.uk Ltd - The ExamsTutor Website
• Breme - Breme Right Write
• Software Production Associates Ltd - Story Maker
• Resource Education - Century Box

This CD-ROM is aimed at teachers who wish to deliver personally tailored maths lessons using an interactive whiteboard or a data projector.

There is a range of tools including: number grids and lines, background grids, 2D and 3D shapes, drawing tools, protractors, fraction and place value tools, clocks and other measuring tools. There is also a bank of images, which are colourful and clear and will appeal to pupils.

The Fraction Toolbox, for example, allows the teacher to deliver interactive lessons on equivalent fractions for Years 4, 5 and 6 with appropriate outcomes for the National
Numeracy Strategy Framework. This includes an equivalent fraction ‘wall’ with optional labels, an equivalent fraction machine, visuals for fractions of quantities using Multilink
cubes, or a variety of objects, which can be divided as required

This website provides a well indexed, and fully searchable selection of resources for AS/A2 students preparing for biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and business studies examinations. Only the exam papers are specific to a particular syllabus. The audio feature helps schools and colleges provide online learning resources suitable for students who are dyslexic, sight impaired and for whom
English is a second language. The articles are concise and very well written with colourful illustrations where appropriate and each subject is divided into specific topics.

What impresses us most about the site is the accuracy of the text and the precision of the links between the summary notes and the related exam questions. The questions are rigorous and demand a thorough understanding of the topics covered. The database retains the scores for individual users.

This product provides a comprehensive French course suitable for KS1, 2 and early KS3 students. There are detailed schemes of work with individual lesson plans, as well as all the resources and material needed to put them
into use. The text is easily read and graphics are colourful and attractive.

There are worksheets and ideas for games which give a fresh slant to language learning. The activities allow structured participation by the students which will engage their interest and enable progression through the various
National Curriculum levels. There is a facility for both students and teachers to evaluate, record and report progress. Schools following the “Building Learning Power” and “Teaching and Learning” guidelines will find much to
support them in this course.

Breme Write Right is a word processor/spellchecker specifically designed for people with dyslexia and general poor spelling and can be tweaked to suit individual users. The key to this product is the way that the built in spellchecker operates. Words are checked against the database in a phonetic way. Thus typing “dubl” into Write Right brings up a list of possible words, which has “double” on it.

To further aid weak spellers some of the listed words will have illustrations to help with identification of the correct word. Users can also listen to the words on the list which
is an obvious boon to dyslexics. Additionally the program automatically detects similar sounding words like ‘their’ and ‘there’ as they are typed and immediately brings up a window illustrating alternative spellings and meanings.

TextMine School SMS

TextMine

This software provides a brilliant service for staff to contact parents or each other about school related issues. As all teachers are aware, time constraints often mean that they
are unable to contact parents within school hours, but this service allows short messages to be delivered immediately to their mobile phone in the form of a text message.

It is a very flexible service as it allows groups of parents to know about school functions or notices (for example, a deadline for coursework) or it can be used to contact individuals (for example, to pass a positive comment onto a parent about their child). With technology becoming an increasingly important part of our lives, this service helps
to keep staff and parents informed quickly and cheaply.

Story Maker enables animated talking stories to be created encouraging creativity and learning in students of all ages. It can be used to create links across different subjects and provides the facility to enable the user to watch stories that
have been created for them and also to write the ending of the story. The user also has the opportunity to write their own story linked to a topic of their/your choice. The program
allows the user to choose different voices and characters and the stories can also be read out in English or French to help with learning the different languages.

Story Maker encourages pupils to improve their story writing skills and knowledge about language in a fun and motivating way.

Active GCSE PE is a managed online learning environment aimed at both students and teachers of GCSE PE. The site is interactive and contains a mixture of information sheets, tasks and tests. It also makes full use of a fun animated graphic. The course is an excellent revision resource and also ideal as a way of introducing some topics in a different and challenging way. The course contains four chapters covering healthy living, safe exercise and sports injuries, planning a training programme and applied anatomy and physiology.

There are a number of online tests and the software marks all these straight away. The teacher can also set up, view and mark tasks and assignments that they submit themselves.

Century Box is a very good teaching aid for both mental maths and main activities of the numeracy lesson. The software package enables children to interact with a flexible
number square, which has an adjustable grid using the interactive whiteboard, in small groups or individually.

The nature of the number square can be changed in order to investigate a range of concepts such as, negative numbers, large numbers and decimals. Its flexibility supports teaching children with different abilities. A fairly simple grid is ideal for KS1 and Early Years, who can use it for simple number manipulation when learning number order or simple addition and subtraction. Whereas a larger grid could be used to investigate number patterns and reinforce concepts such as multiplication and equal addition.

Making an informed decision
• Do some research with teachers, your LEA and advice organisations. Network meetings, INSET, evaluations and education shows all offer great opportunities to get other people’s feedback about resources and suppliers.
• To get a real feel for how a resource works, see if you can get a demo version or a free trial.
• Shop around on Curriculum Online. Look out for independent evaluations and teacher reviews.