MANAGING ICT MANAGING ICT
Share and share alike
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that members of the class can test themselves on the
whiteboard. I think most schools have the whiteboards
Teachable offers
sitting in their classrooms now, but making good use of
the “touchscreen” functions is actually quite complex,
and this particular PowerPoint allows that to happen.
teachers across
I am sure some teachers will have a problem paying
for amateur content, but the alternatives really do not
the country a
work for most of us. Free-for-all sites are too hit-and-
miss to provide a reliable source of material, while big
way to share ICT materials.
packages of interactive content from a publisher are
expensive and often do not get re-used.
I am all in favour of teachers creating their own
Teacher Henry Cordy-
material if they have the time, but Teachable provides a
way they can realistically
McKenna explains how it
source material
without wasting whole
works for him
evenings searching the
internet. I also like the
fact that gathering
‘
URELY SOMEONE has made this contributions from
S
before”. It is a thought that has crossed many different experts
many teachers’ minds as they spend covers topics from
ages pulling together images, diagrams many different angles.
and links to enliven a dull part of the Currently the
syllabus. site definitely has a
I teach science at a science-specialist files are downloaded, and charge downloaders small way to make a quiz science slant – from
school, so there is a constant drive to try and improve amounts to cover these payments and running the site. or Q&A plenary a An Inconvenient Truth
the quality of our whiteboard materials; and it is always I got involved because I wanted to share my files, but lot more fun, pupils to “name the elements”
challenging to find material for GCSE science that is I feel it is only fair that I get a small reward if they are come to the front bingo – but I am sure
both engaging and on-topic. highly appreciated by other teachers. and splat one of the other subjects will
The problem with existing teacher web resources A key part of the system is actually checking each cartoon characters grow as teachers find
is that by the time you have finished searching for file as it gets contributed; Teachable makes sure its in a bubble to reveal how many points the out about this idea.
downloadable resources that are up to standard and catalogue is not clogged up by lots of half-baked ideas. question is worth. The teacher then asks a question and Try it out for yourself, there is plenty there for
cover the topic sufficiently, you feel you might as When teachers download a file they are sure of getting the team gets the points if they get it right. While it everyone to experiment with. SecEd
well have made them from scratch. Plus the CDs something that works, does not have typos, and can be could be adapted for use in any key stage 3 or 4 class,
lying around the department often have only a limited adapted for their own class. The files cost around £1 per it is actually quite difficult to make in PowerPoint; one • Henry Cordy-McKenna is a science teacher at The
selection, or the style is not quite right for my classes. download (which can be saved and used any number of download probably saves another teacher a few hours Honywood Community Science School in Essex.
As a result, I have ended up spending a lot of my times). I am not going to make a fortune from my share of preparation time.
evenings creating PowerPoints that are just right for of that, but it does give me some kind of recognition for Another example is an interactive cells quiz that I
Further information
me, and probably for some other teachers as well. the extra effort I put into compiling my collection. developed to help pupils learn the names of parts of A Teachable trial account gets you two free downloads,
Teachable, which started up last year, seems to A good example of what you can find on the site the cell. The images and labels are all straightforward, and further packs of download credits start from £15.
solve these problems with a new approach – they pay is my Bubblesplat PowerPoint, which is available as and could be adapted by anyone using the PowerPoint School accounts allow up to 10 teachers to download
contributing teachers (like myself) every time my a template under the “Freebies” section. An instant template. The tricky bit is to make it interactive so and share material online. Visit www.teachable.net
10 SecEd • June 18 2009
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