ICT Tip: How to use digital images from the Internet without breaking any copyright laws

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: Do you or your students use digital images from the Internet in class presentations or projects? If so, do you know if you are legally allowed to use these images in your classroom?

What is the problem? Most images found on the Internet are not copyright free, even for non-commercial educational use. In this blog posting, we’ll explore two methods of searching the Internet for digital images that ensure you or your students are not breaking any copyright laws.

How does it work? Flickr and Google Images are two popular websites that contain millions of digital images available for download. To address copyright concerns, Flickr allows the photographer (i.e. – original author) to assign a Creative Commons license to any photographic image they’ve placed on the Flickr website.

What is Creative Commons? Creative Commons is non-profit organization that has put a licensing system in place so that individuals, companies, and institutions have access to a straightforward and standardized method of attaching automatic copyright permissions to their creative works. Creative Commons is NOT only limited to images, but can also include works of text, sounds, and video. I recommend that you click on this link to read more about the different types of Creative Commons licenses.

Video Tutorial: For more information on how to search Flickr and Google Images without breaking any copyright laws, please click the large play button below:

SMARTBoard: How to install the SMART Notebook software on your computer at home

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: A step-by-step video tutorial on how to install the SMART Notebook software on your personal computer at home. A SMARTBoard at home is NOT required.

How can it be used in the classroom: A common question I hear is, “How am I supposed to prepare a SMARTBoard lesson at home without an actual SMARTboard?” Well, you can use the SMART Notebook software. This is the same software that runs on the SMARTBoard in your classroom, but it is also available for use on your home computer and doesn’t require a SMARTBoard to operate.

What is the advantage to doing this: SMARTBoard lessons prepared in advance using a combination of the text tool, images, and other interactive elements from the Notebook Gallery, tend to be more polished than those created “on the fly” in front of students. In addition, it also forces teachers to move away from relying only on using the SMARTBoard pens (similar to chalk on a regular blackboard) when presenting a lesson. The true strength of the SMARTBoard is evident when lessons are developed with functions that make them interactive and student driven. Remember, there is more to a SMARTBoard than simply using the pens like a fancy blackboard!

How do I get my lesson on the SMARTBoard at school: Once you’ve completed your lesson at home, you would save your SMART notebook file (.notebook) to a USB thumb drive. Next time you are at the school, you would load it up on your SMARTBoard connected computer in your classroom.

Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video of how to install the SMART Notebook software on your computer at home, please click the large play button below:

ICT Tip: How to create a “transparent hotspot” in a PowerPoint presentation

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: This technique could be used in a PowerPoint presentation to give the illusion that the user is zooming into an image (when clicked) for a close-up or to setup a navigation system between different PowerPoint slides.

How does it work: This technique creates a transparent hotspot in a PowerPoint presentation. A hotspot is an invisible graphic. Clicking on a hotspot can be setup to link to other slides in a PowerPoint presentation. This advanced ICT Tip requires previous experience with PowerPoint.  (Source: Marc-André Lalande, RECIT FGA)

Video Tutorial: Here’s a step-by-step video tutorial which shows how to setup and use transparent hotspots in a PowerPoint presentation:

ICT Tip: Etherpad allows instant collaborative document editing, no signup required, a great tool for brainstorming!

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: EhterPad allows multiple students to work simultaneously on one word processing document over the Internet.  As each student types, their edits appear INSTANTLY in the EtherPad document. To help a group keep track who is typing what, each student’s edits are represented by a unique text color.

How does it work: In many ways, EtherPad (www.etherpad.com) is similar to Google Docs which I’ve highlighted in an earlier ICT Blog posting. In a nutshell, both EtherPad and Google Docs allow multiple people to edit a single document at the same time over the Internet.

How is Etherpad different from Google Docs? When multiple people are working in Google Docs, it takes about five to fifteen seconds for any edits to appear. Edits in EtherPad are instant. Google Docs does NOT indicate which person is typing, so things can get confusing with multiple students working in a document at the same time. Lastly, Google Docs requires each user to sign-up and create an account to edit documents, EtherPad does NOT.  The benefit of not having to sign-up for an account is that you can start right away and do not have to worry about lost student passwords and logins.

How can it be used in the classroom: As it only takes a few seconds to start a new Public EtherPad document, this website could be used as a quick and dirty class brainstorming tool. For example, students could divide up and write down common ideas in one single Etherpad document.  Classmates could then refine their own ideas and even those of their classmates. Each student works on a different computer but everyone works in the same document.

How to collaborate: To collaborate on an EtherPad document with other classmates, students can log into the site with a guest account and start working.  They can then share a unique weblink that is automatically associated with each Etherpad document, called an “invite” link.  This link can be copy and pasted into an e-mail or even scribbled down on a piece of paper. However, be careful! The link is case sensitive which means your students need to make sure that they pay attention to all the capital and small letters when writing down the link to share with other classmates.

ICT Tip: The Biography website features over 25,000 on-line biographies

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: The Biography Channel website (www.biography.com/search) contains thousands of on-line biographies for your students to consult.

How can it be used in the classroom: Even though The Biography Channel is a commercial entity, it maintains a free-to-use website. Students can search for biographies by person’s name, alphabetically, keyword, or browse by category (i.e – inventors, athletes, physicists) in the search bios section. Certain biographies contain more information than others, depending on the celebrity level or historical importance of the individual being searched. In the bio’s best section, students can find special features dedicated to topics such as black history and notable women in history.

SMARTBoard: How to calibrate your SMARTBoard

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: How to ensure that the SMARTBoard accurately registers where you press with your finger or a pen. Beginner technique.

How can it be used in the classroom: As a rule of thumb, I highly recommend that you calibrate your SMARTboard before EACH class.  This quick and easy procedure (literally just a few seconds) will ensure that your SMARTBoard accurately registers where you press with your finger or pen during a presentation. An uncalibrated board will make it difficult for you to move around small objects or manipulate toolbars. A SMARTBoard will become uncalibrated if your digital projector or SMARTBoard is moved even a fraction of a inch!

Video Tutorial: To see a short on-line video of how to calibrate your board, please click the large play button below:

ICT Tip: Use the Survey Monkey website to create free on-line surverys

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: The Survey Monkey website (www.surveymonkey.com) allows your students to create on-line surveys in only a few minutes. Survey Monkey then collects and compiles the survey data into easy to read graphs with percentages. Survey recipients participate anonymously.

How can it be used in the classroom: This ICT resource can be a great asset for Learning Situations. Students can collect real life feedback from other classmates, community members, friends and family.

How does it work: A basic (free) account is required to start using Survey Monkey. The basic account features sufficient usability to use in an educational context. Once a basic account is setup, the author uses a template to create an on-line survey. The survey can contain multiple choice, yes/no answers, written questions, etc. Once finalized, the author receives a unique web link to send to participants. This web link can be copied and pasted into an e-mail or even written down on paper and post up around the school.  Recipients visit the web link on a computer to anonymously take part in the survey.

Video Tutorial: Here’s a video I prepared that demonstrates how to create a survey with Survey Monkey and provides a brief overview of how the website works:

ICT Tip: GoogleLitTrips allows your students to explore books in a whole new way!

This ICT tip could be applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: The Google Lit Trips (www.googlelittrips.org) website uses Google Earth mapping technology to explore and expand upon real-world places featured in books and classic literature.

How can it be used in the classroom: Using this website, you can download various “Google Lit Trips” that have been pre-prepared by other teachers.  The majority of Google Lit Trips contain a teacher’s guide and Google Earth “placemarks” that allow students to explore the far away places that are described in a book. For example, Jerome Burg, creator of the site and an English teacher from Livermore, California, has prepared a Google Lit Trip with various “placemarks” for locations that the character Amir visits in the book The Kite Runner. To describe how Jerome uses Google Lit Trips with The Kite Runner, I’ve quoted an article featured on the Edutopia website:

“.. By clicking on a placemark, students open a pop-up window embedded with supplementary information. One window shows a photo of a bazaar, accompanied by a passage from the novel describing a musty marketplace. Another explains the cultural history of the Pashtun people and has links to additional information about Shia and Sunni Muslims. Most pop-ups include photos, maps, drawings, or text but also have questions to encourage students to think about the story. Exploring the placemarks involves active engagement that Burg compares with using manipulatives for hands-on learning in math. It puts the kids right in the middle of the story,” Burg explains, “rather than at a desk as the teacher teaches the story at them. Students can also add their own placemarks, highlighting locations or links that add to their understanding.”

Video Tutorial: Here’s a video I prepared that demonstrates what’s possible with Google Lit Trips and an overview of how it works:

ICT Ttip: In order to use the Google Lit Trips site, you need to install Google Earth. For more information on using and installing Google Earth, refer to my blog posting at (www.tinyurl.com/ict-earth)  In addition, if you’re technically adventurous, the Google Lit Trips site provides a guide to create your own Google Lit Tips.

ICT Tip: Google Street view allows you to virtually walk around the streets of Canadian cities!

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: Google has finally brought their groundbreaking “Street View” technology to Canada! This amazing technology allows your students to virtually walk around the streets of Canadian cities and experience them as if they were really there.  It’s EASY to use, no special software required, and is free. Works even better on a Interactive Whiteboard, such as a SMARTBoard.

How can it be used in the classroom: Using a digital projector, this technology can be used to take your students on a virtual tour of famous Quebec landmarks that the class may not otherwise have been able to travel to in person. French second language students can use this site to verbally describe various landmarks or buildings found in their own neighborhoods. In addition, this technology can be used as a starting point to bring up a class debate regarding privacy in the Internet age.  Would your students be comfortable having others look up their home addresses?  What would the pictures show?  (i.e – Can you see what was in the garbage that day?  Who was parked in the driveway?)  Ultimately, do your students feel this technology is an invasion of our privacy or a beneficial technology?

Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video of Google Street view, please click the large play button below:

SMARTBoard: Common problems when preparing SMART Notebook lessons in advance and how to fix them!

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: Common problems encountered when preparing SMARTBoard lessons in advance and how to fix them. Intermediate to advanced techniques.

How can it be used in the classroom: In the 2008-2009 school year, I provided many hands-on SMARTboard workshops.  In these workshops, I began to see a pattern of common problems that frustrated many teachers when preparing lessons on their home or school computers (i.e – not on a SMARTBoard) in advance of their classes. As this is the case, I’ve prepared a small video tutorial to help you avoid the same frustrations. Topics include working with the text tool, layers, lock in place, allow move, and the text splitter tool.

Important notes: As the tips presented in the video are intermediate to advanced, it is primarily intended for teachers who would like to start preparing SMARTBoard lessons at home or for teachers already using the SMARTBoard on a regular basis. If you are not familiar with the SMART Notebook text tool, I would suggest you first consult my earlier ICT blog posting before watching the video below.

Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video of common problems that occur when preparing SMART Notebook presentations, click the large play button below:

ICT Tip: Ask your students to create digital slideshows quickly and easily with Photo Story!

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: A free application that allows your students to create a digital sideshow with copyright free music and their own digital photos.

What does it do? Photo Story allows you or your students to easily create a “digital slideshow” out of images taken with a digital camera or images from the Internet. Photo Story (www.tinyurl.com/4f869) can even generate copyright free music for the slideshow, no musical talent necessary! Due to popularity of this ICT application, I’ve created an updated video tutorial (September 2009) that explains how to use this software step-by-step, please see the video below.

How can it be used in the classroom? Nancy Peterson from the Pontiac Adult Education and Vocational Training Centre (WQSB) showed me how she used Photo Story in conjunction with a class field trip.  Her class took digital pictures during a “sugaring off” field trip and once they got back to the classroom, they pooled together all their digital images and imported them into Photo Story. The students then took turns adding their own vocal narration for each slide. Once complete, they exported the digital slide show as a PC movie file. Nancy was really impressed with the results and so was I!

Video Tutorial: In order to explain step-by-step how a Photostory is created, I’ve created an on-line video tutorial which can be viewed below:

Technical note: Photo Story is a desktop application. This means in order to use Photo Story, it must be downloaded and installed locally on a Windows computer.  If you do not know how (or have the rights) to install software in your computer lab, you can ask for help from your IT department. The digital slideshow files that Photostory 3.0 produces (.WMV files) can be played on any Windows computer, even if Photo Story is not installed.

SMARTBoard: Using the text tool with the SMART Notebook software

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: An overview of the SMART Notebook text tool. Basic technique.

How can it be used in the classroom: If you prepare SMART Notebook lessons on a home or school computer without a SMARTBoard connected to it, you should familiarize yourself with the text tool. The text tool is needed when you are preparing your lessons in advance and don’t have access to the physical SMARTBoard pens to create handwritten text in your lessons. The following video also contains some useful tips for math and science teachers using the text tool.

Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video of how to use the text tool, please click the large play button below:

ICT Tip: The Doodle website can help your students plan group projects

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: Doodle (www.doodle.com) can be used by a group of students (or a teacher) to create out a simple poll for classmates to vote on. Free, easy to use, and quick. No registration required.

How does it work: The way the Doodle website works is that one author (i.e – the group leader or teacher) creates a simple poll that others can vote on.  The author of the poll obtains a web link that he or she can paste into an e-mail to send to other students so that they can cast their vote.  For each e-mail recipient, it literally takes seconds to submit a vote. Doodle can be used by students to determine a majority vote for a project theme, most convenient time to work together, and so on.. The selection with the most votes wins. Votes are NOT anonymous. (Source: Claudine Turnbull, RECIT FGA)

Video Tutorial: To see a step-by-step video of how to create a poll in Doodle, please click the large play button below:

ICT Tip: Google News Timeline website – A new way to search the past!

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: A website that allows your students to search for specific keywords (i.e – people, places, events, quotes) in old newspapers and magazines. Think of searchable digital microfiche, updated for the web, and free!

How does it work? The Google News Timeline website (newstimeline.googlelabs.com) displays search results in a chronological, graphical timeline. The search history can be set to display days, weeks, months, years, or even decades. In fact, some archived newspapers go back as far as the early 1800’s!  For more recent decades, Google News Timeline will search through more contemporary news sources (web, wikipedia) but it can be disabled in your search preferences, if desired.  

How can it be used in the classroom: While many of our students tend to rely on Wikipedia for their historical research (not always a good thing) they could be instead encouraged to use Google Timeline to look through archived print media. Google News Timeline is like visiting the library all over again.. a truly fascinating site, definitely worth a look! (Source: Susan van Gelder, LEARN)

Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video overview of how the Google News Timeline site works, click the large play button below:

Note: If you are interested in a website that will allow your students to read through current newspapers, please consult my other ICT Blog posting featuring the Newseum website.

google news timeline is a web application that organizes search results chronologically. It allows users to view news and other data sources on a browsable, graphical timeline. Available data sources include recent and historical news, scanned newspapers and magazines, blog posts, sports scores, and information about various types of media, like music albums and movies.

ICT Tip: Comprehensive, ready-to-use EFL/ESL lesson plans based on current world events

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: Ready to use EFL/ESL lesson plans based on current world events. Each lesson contains reading and listening exercises. There is a new lesson added every three days.

How can it be used in the classroom? The Breaking News English website (www.breakingnewsenglish.com) offers your students an opportunity to read and listen to current news items on-line. Each comprehensive lesson plan contains a news article, pair work, discussion, communication activities, reading and vocabulary exercises.

Technical info: The lesson handouts are available in Word and PDF document formats.  You are encouraged to print and use the lessons with your students.  Podcasts (an audio recording of the lesson) in MP3 format are available on the site too. If you’d like to know more about PDFs, MP3s, or Podcasts, please consult my ICT Blog Terminology section.

Highlights:

• The lessons are free.
• There is a new lesson every three days.
• All lessons are based on stories currently in the news.
• As the world’s news breaks, teach it!
• All lessons are also downloadable in Word and PDF formats.
• Listening files can be downloaded as MP3 audio files.
• Listening files can also be subscribed to via a podcast.
• Classroom handouts are readily reproducible.
• There is a graded listening with each lesson.
• Teachers can copy/paste parts of the lessons they want to use.

(Source: Lise Demers, Place Cartier Adult Education Centre, Lester B. Pearson School Board. Certain parts of the “Quick Overview” description have been paraphrased from a description provided to me from Lise Demers. As well, certain parts of the “Highlights” description have been paraphrased from the Breaking News English about section.)

ICT Tip: Snapshots of over 700 newspaper front pages from around the world, updated daily!

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: The Newsuem site (www.tinyurl.com/newseum) allows your students to read the front page of different newspapers from all over the world. The newspapers are updated every morning.

How it can be used in the classroom: As a teacher, the Newseum website could be a great ICT resource to keep in your “back pocket” for a day when a worldwide news event happens. Using the Newsuem site, do your students find that newspaper headlines in one country minimize or emphasize this big news event? Is the news event positive in one country and negative in another? In addition, the content on this site is about as real life as it gets and could be a great way to incorporate ICT into a real life Learning Situation.

Other useful links on the site: There’s also an archive section on the Newsuem site (www.tinyurl.com/newseum-archive) that highlights recent events of historical significance. However, due to legal reasons, the Newseum site is not authorized to archive newspaper front pages from other prior dates. If ever you find the newspaper text hard to read, be sure to click on the “readable PDF” link found with each newspaper front page for a higher resolution image. Last but not least, teachers should keep in mind that only the front page of each newspaper is provided. However, a web site link is available for each newspaper so that students can visit their websites to read more.

Additional note for FSL teachers: While the Newseum website interface is in English, there are many French language newspapers available too. For FSL teachers who may want to compare different French language papers, you are best to use the following link (www.tinyurl.com/newseum-regionlist) and use the “sort papers by region” drop down box to locate French language newspapers from specific countries. (Source: Susan Van Gelder, LEARN)

SMARTBoard: An on-line bank of sound effects to use within your SMART Notebook presentations

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: The FreeSound website contains thousands of pre-recorded sound effect files that can be used within your SMART Notebook presentations. A free account signup is required to download files from the site.

How can it be used in the classroom? The FreeSound website (www.freesound.org) allows you to search for sound effects of animals, nature, household noises, ambiance, vehicles… pretty much whatever you can think of! These sounds can then be used with the SMART Notebook software so that if your student taps on an image or word, they will hear a specific sound effect played back. These sound effect files could also be used with other ICT applications too. Great for language classes!

Copyrights: Please note that the sounds on the site are freely available for download under a Creative Commons license, which you should quickly consult before you start using these sounds in your classroom. (Don’t worry, it’s not a long read!).

Important note: If you’d like to know how to insert these sounds into your SMART Notebook presentations, please refer to my earlier ICT Blog posting on “Inserting pre-recorded sounds into your SMART Notebook presentations“.

Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video overview of how to create a FreeSound account and get started with the website, click the large play button below:

ICT Tip: Information for students that clearly outlines their rights and responsibilities as Quebec citizens. Great for Learning Situations!

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: The Éducaloi website provides “hundreds of questions and answers” about the rights and responsibilities of Quebec citizens. The information on the website is presented in clear, concise, and easy to understand everyday language. Available in both English in French.

How can this be used in the classroom: The Éducaloi site contains a vast amount of on-line resources that Quebec adult learners may encounter in their everyday lives. There is a wealth of information regarding employment, consumer rights, renting, civil matters, government, and health – all specifically in relation to the province of Quebec! If you’re developing Learning Situations for your students that touch any of these topics, this site could help them learn pertinent and accurate information about their rights and responsibilities as a citizen in our province. The content on the site has been compiled and organized by a non-profit organization named Éducaloi. Highly recommended! (Source: Nancy Sher, CDC Vimont Adult Centre, SWLSB)

Links: The link to the French version of site is at (www.educaloi.qc.ca) and the link to the English version site is at (www.educaloi.qc.ca/en)

ICT Tip: Diary.com allows your students to create on-line public or private journals

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: Diary.com allows your students to record their thoughts in an on-line journal. In addition to writing text, students can also easily add relevant digital pictures, videos, and music to their on-line journal entries. Journals can be switched from private or public to share with other students too. A free account signup is required to use the site.

How can it be used in the classroom: If ever you’ve asked your students to record their thoughts in a journal, this website (www.diary.com) may be of interest to you. Even though this is an on-line “diary”, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your students’ content should be of a private or intimate nature. On the contrary, you could ask your students to write down their thoughts or findings in a pubic journal and keep it open to share with the other students in the class. Furthermore, public journals allow others to comment on existing journal entries. Journal entries can be added from the web, e-mail, or even a cell phone! This opens the possibility for your students to write in their journals while they out in the world and their experiences are fresh. This site could be a great way for ICT to compliment a real life Learning Situation or class assignment.

Video Tutorial: To see a quick on-line video overview of how to create an account and get started on writing a journal on the Diary.com website, click the large play button below:

ICT Tip: Quick access to images of various maps and flags of the world

This ICT tip could be applied to the following subjects:

Quick Overview: A website that showcases maps and flags from all over the world.

How can it be used in the classroom: Theodora’s Maps site can be used to showcase maps (links to maps) and flags (links to images of world flags) from all over the world. If you have ESL or Literacy students new to Canada, this site could be used as an icebreaker activity to enable these students to show the class their country of origin.  However, I should note that the maps on Theodora’s site fall more on the simple side.  They often cannot be “zoomed in” and are best used to simply situate the location of different countries across the world.  If you are looking for more detailed maps, please refer to the link provided below.

Additional Resources: For students looking for more comprehensive maps, you may want to visit the University of Texas Perry Castañeda Library Map Collection (www.lib.utexas.edu/maps) which offers categorized maps of the world that include historical maps, topographic maps, permafrost, etc.  (Source for Theodora’s Maps: Lise Demers, Place Cartier Adult Education Centre, Lester B. Pearson School Board)

ICT Tip: French and English Visual Dictionaries

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: An on-line “visual dictionary” that defines everyday objects with the aid of beautifully detailed pictures. Available both in English and French. Highly recommended!

How can it be used in the classroom: Students can look up words and see the actual objects. Visual Dictionary definitions can be also browsed by categories (i.e – house, animals, sports, etc.) An added bonus is that that images are often broken down into their related components. For example, if a student looks up a “tree” they will not only see an image of a tree but they will discover the images and vocabulary for bark, leaves, roots, etc. Great sites for visual learners! These sites be used by fluent mother tongue speakers or second language students alike. (Source: Tina La Rosa, Galileo Adult Centre, EMSB)

Links: Please note that this ICT Blog posting features two separate websites. The first visual dictionary website is in French (www.ledictionnairevisuel.com) and the other visual dictionary is in English (visual.merriam-webster.com).

SMARTBoard: How to group images or text in your SMART Notebook presentations

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: How to group (i.e – combine together) multiple objects in your SMART Notebook presentations.  Intermediate technique.

How can it be used in the classroom? Let’s say you insert a picture of a house and then write the word “house” underneath it on the SMARTBoard. By default, the SMART Notebook software considers the word “house” and the image of a house as two separate objects. Why could this be problematic? Well, if you or a student tries to tap and move the image of the house on the SMARTBoard, the word “house” underneath it will NOT follow along. By grouping multiple objects together, you can move, resize or rotate them as one single object. (Note: Grouping is a little tricky to explain without actually seeing it in action. If you’re still not still not sure why you’d want to group objects, please watch my video tutorial below!)

Video Tutorial: How do you group objects? To see an on-line video overview of how to group objects in your SMART Notebook presentations, click the large play button below:

ICT Tip: A huge collection of easy-to-follow interactive math and science examples

This ICT tip could be applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: A huge collection of visually interactive on-line math and physical science concepts. Concise and to the point, each example can be used to illustrate potentially complicated topics to your students in the classroom. The content on Daniel Mentrard’s website (http://tinyurl.com/6odcbl) is well organized, interactive, straightforward, and great for visual learners.

What does it do? Daniel Mentrard’s website contains over a thousand interactive math and physical science examples that he created with the Geogebra software and then placed on-line to share with others. However, this amazing web resource does not require you to install any special software to use with your students – it can be accessed just like any other web page! Most of the interactive examples on his site contain “sliders” that can be moved into different positions (representing different values) to dynamically change the equations on the computer screen. Below is an animated sample of a teacher demonstrating a “Slope and Intercepts” example using this type of technique:

How can it be used in the classroom: Instead of using a traditional blackboard to teach your students, you would use a computer connected to a digital projector (or Interactive White Board) in your classroom. Specific examples can also be shared with students who are weak in one area and need extra curricular study aids.

Important Notes: The math and science examples on this site were created by Daniel Mentrard, a teacher from France. As this is the case, all the examples on the site are written only in French. However, most of the math and science concepts can easily translate to an English language math or science classroom. On a technical note, if you happen to receive a “Java error” when opening examples on the site, please contact me by e-mail for assistance. The above animated sample image has been linked from the Math 247 PB Wiki site.

ICT Tip: A list of easily confused English words (i.e. – sea, see, incite, insight) spoken out loud and explained in context

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: A comprehensive list of easily confused English words. Students can click on a “confusing word pair” to obtain a definition, read an example of how both words can be used in the context of a sentence, and in certain cases – hear a recording of how each word is pronounced!

How can it be used in the classroom: This on-line resource (www.tinyurl.com/755ynn) can be used to help students improve their English writing skills. Good for beginner and intermediate English learners. If you intend to use the audio portion (i.e – the recordings of pronunciations) of this website in a class with multiple students, headphones are recommended. At the time this article was written, some word pairs on this site did not yet have sound recordings associated with them. (Source: Lise Demers, Place Cartier Adult Education Centre, Lester B. Pearson School Board)

SMARTBoard: Using Layers in your SMART Notebook presentations

This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:

Quick overview: How to work with “layers” on the SMARTBoard. Intermediate technique.

How can it be used in the classroom? When dragging images or words on the SMARTBoard, you may notice that they do not behave the way you would expect them to. For example, the object you’re dragging may appear “underneath” or “on top” of another object. This may cause your object to either be hidden or cover another important element of your presentation. How do you control the “layering” of objects? Watch my video tutorial to find out..

Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video overview of how to work with layers in your SMART Notebook presentations, click the large play button below.

Special note: In the video, I explain that you can “tap and hold” any object to make a context menu pop-up on the SMARTBoard to control your layering. However, if you are using a computer to prepare your SMART Notebook lessons, the same thing can be accomplished with a click of the “right mouse button” of your mouse.