This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Using a template, this site helps you easily create beautiful looking quizzes that can contain short answers, multiple choice, word matching, or fill in the blank questions. Once saved, the quizzes can be reloaded and modified at a later date. An added bonus is that an answer sheet for the teacher is automatically generated with each quiz created. Quizzes can be printed to paper.
How can it be used in the classroom: The “EasyTestMaker” website (www.easytestmaker.com) is designed to help you easily create quizzes that are nicely formatted and easy to modify. No more wrestling with formatting in Microsoft Word or tediously creating quizzes with a pen and paper. Each quiz is saved on the EasyTestMaker website for later re-use. Teachers can accumulate a bank of quizzes and go back at a later date to change the answers or further modify the questions. An account is required to create quizzes, however it only takes a few moments to setup. Virtually all the features you’ll need to create quizzes are available with the free account.
What the final quizzes look like: Here are links to download a sample quiz and accompanying answer sheet that I created in the below video tutorial in PDF format. If you’d like to know how I exported the quiz to a PDF with only the free account, please contact me for more information.
Video Tutorial: I’ve created a step-by-step tutorial on how to setup and account and use the EasyTestMaker website. Pease click the large play button below to watch the video:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Millions of paper books and magazines that have been scanned and placed on the Google Books website.
How does it work: Google Books (books.google.com) has been dutifully scanning paper books and magazines since 2004. Like a virtual library, students can read through books featuring short stories, classic literature, math, physics, poetry, science fiction, biology, linguistics, and so on. However, due to copyright laws, some books are only a few pages (limited preview) while others are complete (full view) and can be read from cover to cover.
How can it be used in the classroom: I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the “Advanced Book Search” capability which allows you or your students to search for full view books by subject, author, title, publisher, language, publication date, ISBN or ISSN. While I admit that reading an entire book on a computer screen can be tedious, students can use Google Books to search for a specific topic and then read the relevant chapters in relation to their research topic. Sources could be quoted the same as they would with a traditional book.
Copyright information: If you’d like more information on copyrights and what has been placed on Google Books, I suggest you read the agreement that Google has reached with authors and publishers.
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 and use images from Flickr and Google Images without breaking any copyright laws, please click the large play button below:
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:
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.
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:
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 largeplay button below:
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:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: The Quizlet site contains self guided vocabulary exercises (called Quizlets) touching on all subjects from English, French, Math, History, Biology, Science, and so on.. The Quizlet website (http://www.quizlet.com) can be a good resource for multi-level classrooms or for students who are weak in one area and need extra curricular study aids.
What does it do? Each “Quizlet” always follows the same formula by starting with a thematic vocabulary warm up (familiarize) exercise. After the vocabulary warm up, the students are then free to test their knowledge with flash cards, multiple choice, and word games. To see an demonstration of how this works, please see my video tutorial below.
How can it be used in the classroom? The Quizlet can be used to help your students learn autonomously. If desired, students can even create and submit their own “quizlets” activities to the Quizlet site. However, if a “quizlet” is submitted to the site, it is first subject to review by the Quizlet website staff (before it goes on-line) to maintain a certain level of quality control. (Source: Wendy Dawson, Hopetown Adult Education Centre, Eastern Shores School Board)
Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video overview of how the Quizlet site works, click the large play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Free software that will allow you to create digital audio recordings of your own voice to share with your students. Great for teachers who have started creating their own SMARTBoard presentations or for those Podcasting.
What does it do? Audacity is a powerful, yet easy to use audio recording and editing software application. You can use it to record your own voice or the voice of your student. All you need is a microphone and a PC.
How can it be used in the classroom: If you are a teacher who uses a SMARTBoard, you can use Audacity to record your own voice and then insert it into your own SMARTBoard presentations. More specifically, you could place a variety of written words (or whole sentences) into your SMARTBoard presentation and then link each word or sentence to a unique recording of your own voice. When the student taps on the words, they will hear your voice read aloud! In particular, this technique works great for language teachers teaching proper pronunciation to their students. If you’d like to learn how to do this, please click here to read my other ICT Blog posting.
Tech Tips: Inexpensive computer microphones can be used to record your voice with Audacity. If you need tips on setting up (or buying) a PC microphone, please contact the support person in your school or contact me by e-mail for suggestions.
Special note: While Audacity is pretty straightforward and easy to use, getting it installed for the first time can be a little tricky. To help you install and use the software, I’ve included a step-by-step video tutorial.
Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video overview of how to install Audacity, click the large play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Do you often encounter YouTube videos that you’d love to show your class but the YouTube site is blocked by your school board’s IT department? The Zamzar website (http://www.zamzar.com) can help! Zamzar will grab any YouTube video and convert it into a offline video file. An offline video file resides on your computer and therefore does not require YouTube or an Internet connection to play.
How can this be used in the classroom: The Zamzar site will allow you to show pedagogically relevant YouTube videos in your classroom. No more worries about blocked sites or insufficient bandwidth! Zamzar enables you to convert an online YouTube video into an offline video file that you can copy onto a USB drive to bring into your classroom. Want to know how to use the Zamzar website? I’ve included a detailed 6 minute video tutorial that will step you through the process.
Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video tutorial of how to use the Zamzar site, click the large play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: A website that allows your students to manipulate their digital photos in a fun and easy way.
What does it do? Picnik (http://www.picnik.com) will allow your students to take photos from their digital cameras and then easily enhance them with all sorts of exciting effects. Once they are finished adding effects, your students can download the photos back into their computers.
How can it be used in the classroom? OK, so what’s the pedagogical use? Well, as a former Photoshop teacher I found that my students became much more motivated when manipulating their OWN photos and using them in a project. Perhaps this ICT tool could be used in your classroom to supplement a project. For example, your students may want to enhance their digital photos and then insert them into a PowerPoint, Word, or Photostory presentation… Here’s an example of one photo manipulated with Picnik in only about 5 minutes:
Extra information: I should note that the Picnik site is free to use except for a few extra fancy features where a subscription must be purchased. However, the core functionality of the site (the important stuff) is always free. Be sure to check it out!
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: An easy to learn tip to help you or your students narrow down searches with Google.
What does it do? Many teachers have already discovered that Google (http://www.google.com) is a great resource for finding class materials. But did you know that there are a few EASY tricks to help narrow down your searches? Keep reading for a good one..
How can it be used in the classroom? Let’s say you were doing a project with your students on birds, with a focus on Blue Jays. The problem you may encounter is that you’ll likely find more material on the Blue Jays baseball team instead of Blue Jay birds since they share the same name. So how do you tell Google to search ONLY for Blue Jay birds? In order to tell Google exclude certain content from a search, you could use a minus symbol in front of words you don’t want to search for. It’s important to have a space between the words you enter and the minus sign (see below) or Google will think that the two words are hyphenated.
For example, to tell Google that you want to search for bluejays (but not baseball!) you would type:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Websites similar in style and function to YouTube but for educational videos.
What does it do? MyLearningTube (www.mylearningtube.com) and TeacherTube (www.teachertube.com) are two sites that are very similar to YouTube but were created in response to teachers who wanted video websites that only contained educational videos. While YouTube may contain some pedagogically relevant material, it is often blocked by school board filters. On the other hand, MyLearningTube and TeacherTube are often NOT blocked by schoolboard filters. MyLearningTube and TeacherTube are not affiliated to one another and are run by different individuals. This means that each site will contain different pedagogical video materials.
How can it be used in the classroom? MyLearningTube and TeacherTube are searchable. This means if you are looking for a particular topic to cover in your class, why not search for it on one of these websites? If you find something valuable, you can provide the web address link of a particular video for your students to view on their home computers or in class. Please click here if you wish to see instructions how to copy and share a video link with your students. Alternatively, if you have a computer projector in your classroom or lab, you can show a video through here instead of being limited to what is available on tape or DVD in your school’s library. Last but not least, I’ve often found that streaming video sites can be slow in some schools. Make sure you have adequate bandwidth (i.e – Internet speed) in your school before using either one of theses sites. A good suggestion would be to try playing a video from your classroom before using it in front of your whole class!
his ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: A website (www.slideshare.com) that allows you to easily put your PowerPoint or PDF presentations on-line for your students to view. Free! (Note: If you’re not quite sure what PowerPoint is, please refer to the ICT Tip at the bottom of this blog entry.)
What does it do? If you use PowerPoint presentations in your classroom, Slideshare is a great way to share them with your students on-line without having to maintain a class website, Wiki, or Blog. In plain English, this means that you can put your presentations on-line and then simply provide a link for your students. That’s it!
How can it be used in the classroom? You could use this site to put materials on-line (PowerPoint or PDF) that you may have already presented to your students in your classroom as study guides. From my experience, my own students were often more likely to use study materials when they were accessible on-line. Please click on the sample image below to bring you to an actual Slideshare presentation. Once you are there you can use the “arrows” to navigate through the slides and the “full” button to make the sideshow full screen:
Extra information: What I really like about this site is that you don’t even need to create an account to view or even upload PowerPoint presentations. However, if you plan on using this site on a regular basis, it would be advisable to sign up for a free account so that you can keep track of previous slide shows that you uploaded.
ICT Tip: If you’d like to know more about PowerPoint, first view this video tutorial link for a brief overview by Don Shecter at about.com. If you’d like to know more about using PowerPoint in your classroom, then check out Robert More’s (ACCESS Adult Education Centre, Riverside School Board) RECIT project entitled “PowerPoint: Technology for the Non-Technical Teacher” at this link.
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Encyclopedia like websites that contain detailed articles or how-to-tutorials on a variety of different subjects.
What does the HowStuffWorks website do? HowStuffWorks (http://www.howstuffworks.com) delivers information on practically every topic imaginable. Unlike Wikipedia, the articles on the HowStuffWorks are written professionally and usually contain illustrations and diagrams.
What does the Instructables website do? The Instructables website (http://www.instructables.com) is a site that focuses more on step-by-step tutorials of how to do things. For example, are your students looking to learn how to make a “Pedal Powered Tennis Ball Launcher” or create a “LED light matrix” or even “How to cook pasta?” It’s all here with pictures and video!
How can it be used in the classroom? Either site could be used a research tool for your students. They’ll find topics ranging from Art, Food, Technology, Politics, History, and so on. Be sure to visit both sites as they are not affiliated to one another and contain very different materials. (Source: Vince Jansen (LEARN) Cool Tools Duel workshop)
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: A website that easily allows you to share large or small files on-line.
What does it do? Senduit (http://www.senduit.com) allows you to put very large files on the Internet and share the link. That’s it. Nothing else. Nada. No registration or anything complicated. With Senduit, documents can be placed on-line (max 100MB per file, about the equivalent of 80 floppy disks) and then shared with a private link.
How can it be used in the classroom? Do you ever give out electronic assignments? Instead of photocopying something 30 times on paper, why not place the electronic version of a document on Senduit and then provide the same link to all the students in your class? It’s great for transferring files too.. Do your students ever need to send large files to you or to each other?
Why should I use it? Sharing files like this is more environmentally friendly that burning a CD or less risky than lending out an expensive USB memory stick to a student. This site can also work great if you want your students to hand in large files without cluttering your personal e-mail.
Important note: By default the link to file is set to “expire” in 30 minutes unless you set it otherwise. Don’t forget to change the expiration of the link when you upload a file to share with students. You can set link to last up to one week in duration. (Source: Vince Jansen (LEARN) Cool Tools Duel workshop)
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: The TinyURL (http://www.tinyurl.com) website allows you to transform long and complicated web addresses into really short ones that are easy to type or jot down on a piece of paper.
How can it be used in the classroom? I cannot emphasize enough how GREAT this website has been for me as a teacher and as a pedagogical consultant with the RECIT FGA. Whenever I give out a long and complicated web address (URL) there’s always the chance of someone unintentionally copying down a spelling mistake. If there’s even ONE single spelling mistake in a web address, the webpage will simply not come up! TinyURL addresses this problem (no pun intended!) by taking long and complicated web addresses and shortening them into something easy and simple to type.
How does it work? The “short” address is stored permanently on the TinyURL website and automatically redirects web users to the more complicated web address whenever someone types it in.
For example, you can turn this long and complicated (URL) web address:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: A video tutorial that explains how you can record and embed your voice into a Microsoft Word document. Relatively easy to do, all you need is a computer microphone and access to Microsoft Word.
What does it do? As the title implies, this ICT tip allows you to create a Microsoft Word document with both spoken and written instructions for your students. The document can then be distributed to your students with the audio embedded in it.
How can it be used in the classroom? This is a great ICT tip for teachers who need a way for their students to practice the oral comprehension of certain key phrases (i.e – language courses) by providing written and spoken cues in an electronic document. The students can read your words and replay the associated sound clip over and over again. The best part is that it’s pretty easy to do, even if you aren’t too comfortable with ICT. Works great for non-language classes if you wish to create documents with oral instructions.
Video Tutorial: In order to best explain how to this is accomplished, I created an on-line video tutorial which can be viewed below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
What does it do? Google Docs (http://docs.google.com) is a website application that works pretty much the same as the Microsoft Office applications that you are likely familiar with, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Although that’s not all it does, keep reading..
How can it be used in the classroom? Unlike Microsoft Office, the real strength of Google Docs is that multiple students can work collaboratively on one single document, whether it be a word processing document, spreadsheet, or presentation. With only one centralized document to work from, there are no conflicting revisions when working on a group project. Students also don’t have to physically be in the same place to work together. To clarify things further, here’s an easy to understand “Common Craft” video explaining the many advantages of Google Docs:
Note: If the above video does not play, then please click on this link.
Advacned ICT Tip: Google Docs allows you to export documents as Word (.DOC) PowerPoint file (.PPT) or Excel (.XLS) so that the end result can be opened up in a Microsoft Office application.
Important Note: A Gmail account (free) is required to use the Google Docs service. The address to sign up for gmail is http://www.gmail.com
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What is this site?
This blog aims to bring Quebec General Adult Education (FGA) teachers together from across Quebec to share ICT tips and suggestions in a friendly and informal environment.
This Blog is moderated by Avi Spector, a pedagogical Consultant for the Integration of Technology with the
RÉCIT Regional Service.
Video Tutorial: I’ve created a step-by-step tutorial on how to setup and account and use the EasyTestMaker website. Pease click the large play button below to watch the video:
Posted by avispector 
Quick overview: Free software that will allow you to create digital audio recordings of your own voice to share with your students. Great for teachers who have started creating their own SMARTBoard presentations or for those Podcasting.
Quick overview: Websites similar in style and function to YouTube but for educational videos.
Quick overview: Encyclopedia like websites that contain detailed articles or how-to-tutorials on a variety of different subjects.
