http://j.mp/ictmagic
March 2013
Download the PDF at http://j.mp/ictmagicmar13
Welcome to this edition of ICTmagic Show. Inside you will find an eclectic mix of the best free educational links, tools and resource for your class from across the web. It’s been a busy few months. It was great meeting many of you at BETT. I’m popping up at TeachMeets across England in the next few weeks. Hope you will come to say hello! Enjoy the resources. Martin Burrett
Get Connected... http://twitter.com/ICTmagic
Get the ICTmagic index widget for your site or blog to access ICTmagic resources quickly.
http://j.mp/ICTwidget
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com http://ictmagic.wordpress.com
Hot Tip Go Digital Digital Leaders are a group of children and interested teachers in a school who show enthusiasm, skill and vision for promoting ICT and digital learning in a school. These Digital Leaders help teachers and other students succeed at using ICT, innovate and collaborate and solve problems in their school. The Digital Leader network is a there to support new Digital Leaders and so Digital Leaders can collaborate across the country and spread good digital practice. There is a Twitter #DLchat at 9pm (UK) on Thursdays, where teachers of Digital Leaders can swap news and ideas. Find out more at http://digitalleadernetwork.co.uk
ICTmagic Podcast http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/%2AICTmagic+Podcasts Listen to the ICTmagic podcast. Stream it online or download the archive of podcasts to your MP3 player.
ICTmagic Twitter Map http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/PLN+Map Browse educational tweeps from the UK and Ireland to build your network. Add yourself by going to http://j.mp/Ya5JCC.
Learn Maths with Beluga http://www.belugalearning.com This is a 'must try' maths iPad app. Play fun, useful and beautifully designed games for every numeracy topic, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, ratio, algebra and more The more your children play, the more levels that get unlocked and rewards they earn. As the app begins you must choose a user name and a pass code. This allows more than one person to save their progress of the same device. Each game uses the kinaesthetic benefits of the iPad well and players draw answers, blocks and numbers around the screen to solve the calculations.
Sci Show
http://www.youtube.com/user/scishow
This is a superb science YouTube Channel brimming with amazing facts and insight into the workings of our world. Every science idea is explored and explained in a friendly and engaging way. The topics range from near Earth Asteroid to dung beetles. The videos often cover science stories that are currently in the news.
TablesTest
http://tablestest.com
This is a simple multiplication practise site where learners can choose from 6 difficulty levels and answer all the questions as quickly as they can. Players answer the questions using changing buttons, which means no typing is needed, making it idea to use on interactive whiteboards. Because it is designed using html the site also works on most tablets and smart phones.
Sound Around You http://soundaroundyou.com This is a wonderful site from the University of Salford in the UK. Listen to soundscapes which have been recorded all over the world. Navigate on the map to find a place of interest, listen to the recording and read the information about the location. Upload your own soundscapes using the site or download the iPhone and iPad app. It's a useful geography resource and should get your students thinking about the sounds around them.
Bomb Sight
http://bombsight.org
This is an amazing historical resource which plots each bomb dropped in the London Blitz during the Second World War. Click on the point on the map to view information and photos. Each bomb has a human story to tell.
Fotor
http://fotor.com This is one of the most comprehensive image editing sites I've seen. There are lots of effects to select and you can even make photo collages. It's easy to use and great for all sorts of projects. Just upload your photos, drag them into place and download or post the results.
Nitro Type http://nitrotype.com This is a fast, action packed typing game where you can race your car against other typists in real time online. Use your WPM to increase your MPH! Earn cash to buy upgrades.
Time Maps
http://classcharts.com This is a superb classroom management tool where you can track the behaviour of your class and keep them motivated. Simply click on the child and assign them a positive or negative behaviour point. You can also track their reading and spelling ages and make your own customised data set. Use this information to help you arrange the children within your class. You can have multiple classes on your teacher's account and you can share data with colleagues using different accounts. The data is encrypted to ensure data security. The system works on the majority of web enabled devices.
News in Levels
http://www.newsinlevels.com
This is a useful news site which provides the same news story written at three different levels of English, making it a wonderful tool for ESL classes and differentiating for different age groups in reading comprehensions. All of the stories are suitable for children and most are ‘human interest’ stories. There is a sizable archive of past stories to browse and a new post is made every day.
Skoolbo
http://skoolbo.com This is a must try site which provides an amazing 3D world which teaches English and maths core skills. Players race against two other randomly chosen online players of a similar level. The questions start out very easy and adapt to the performance of the player. The questions are read out and some are displayed on the screen. The player just clicks on the correct multiple choice answer to increase their speed. There is a download for PCs and Macs as well as apps for iPad and Android. There are teacher accounts which allow you to make logins for lots of children quickly. When there log in students will be asked to design an avatar. Because the resource requires a sizeable download it takes a little time to set up, but because it runs on your local device game play is very smooth and quick.
Instinct
http://getinstinct.com
Learn to play guitar with this beautifully designed site. Work through the lessons using your own guitar along with your computer's microphone so the site can interact with you as you play in real time. The site will even help you tune it. If you haven't got a guitar to hand, you can use the on-screen virtual guitar. The course is designed for beginners, but lessons progress quickly. The site seems to work best on Google Chrome.
Textivate
http://textivate.com This is a great site for creating all sorts of online cloze text of missing words and sentence ordering activities. It's great for sentence and grammar work, as well as using text about topics from across the curriculum. Register for free to create text activities to share and embed.
CargoBot http://twolivesleft.com/CargoBot/ This is a fun programme and control iPad app where players must programme the crane to move the boxes into the correct configuration. It's a great way to introduce the basics of programming to your class.
Maths Champs http://mathschamps.co.uk This site has a great set of maths games that are sorted into different primary age groups. Practise multiplication, more/less than, decimals and much more. No sign in or registration needed to access the games.
RealTimeBoard
http://realtimeboard.com This is an amazing collaborative whiteboard where multiple users can edit a multimedia board in real time. The site allows you to signup and sign in using a Google account and you can access and add your files and media on your Google Docs/Drive area making this a fabulous companion to schools using Google Apps for education. You can write by typing or you can write in 'freehand' so you can use your interactive whiteboard to write and archive the lesson to use or refer to later.
Calculation Nation
http://calculationnation.nctm.org This is a superb maths site with flash games on perimeter, area, factors, fraction, multiples and many more. Play against the computer or challenge your friends. A free sign up is required.
Build with Chrome
http://www.buildwithchrome.com This wonderful site allows you to design 3D houses, or anything else, with virtual Lego on a virtual plot in Australia or New Zealand. It's like a simplified version of SketchUp, great for younger children.
Dreambox Teacher Tools http://dreambox.com/teachertools This is a fabulous video site where students from MIT in the US teach science for Primary and Secondary children on videos. View videos on a range of topics including engineering, biology, physics, astronomy and more. The student-made videos are zany and should entertain and delight young minds.
The Biosphere
http://oneocean.cbc.ca/biosphere/game An amazing set of resources to explore the world's oceans in a 3D virtual environment. Swim with killer whales or drift along and watch sea turtles cruise by. You can even complete missions, including exploring the deepest place in the oceans.
Featured Blog
http://teachertoolkit.me
Ross Morrison McGill’s blog is a wonderful place to find a variety ideas and resources. Ross is a prolific blogger and he is a regular columnist for the UK’s Guardian newspaper and website. He also founded the SLTchat on Twitter to discuss educational matters from the senior leadership team’s point of view. Be sure to check out his ’5 minute lesson plan’ resources. Ross is also organising a number of TeachMeets across the London area. Go to his blog for more details on all of the above. http://twitter.com/ teachertoolkit for a constant flow of great ideas.
TeachMeet Essex http:// teachmeet.pbworks.com/TeachMeet+Essex Get your free tickets for TeachMeet Essex on 18th March 2013 for a night of fun, useful teaching tips and ideas from some inspirational educators. Chelmsford is just a stone’s throw from London and the event is catered. See videos from the previous TMEssex at http://teachmeetessex.co.uk and get tickets at http:// tmessex.eventbrite.co.uk Follow the #TMEssex hashtag for updates. Join Inspirational Educators
ICTmagic will be at
Every Thursday 8 - 9pm for
TeachMeet Milton Keynes
Details at
&
1st March 2013
TeachMeet Pedagoo London 2nd March 2013
http://ukedchat.com
View the feed at http://j.mp/ukedchatfall
Virtually presenting at TeachMeet Brum
TeachMeet London
20th Mar
27th Feb
For more links like these, an archive of ICTmagic Show Magazines and much more go to http://j.mp/ictmagic