ICT Newspages published in BATOD Magazines
during 2007
The articles, written by Sharon Pointeer, generally provide
information about resources – including websites – which either
add value to the focus of that Magazine or cover issues which
could be of use to ToDs.
They are collected together in this booklet in reverse order
(November back to January) so that the latest information is
available at first glance.
Each month includes websites to visit
November: making text accessible
September: social networking
May:
IT/electronic pets
March:
Visit to BETT – IT roundup
January:
replacing your TV system?
BATOD_47,48.qxp
22/10/07
12:16
Page 1
ICT News
Trying to make text more accessible to pupils is a battle all
teachers face but it is especially important for children with
additional needs. Sharon Pointeer has discovered some useful
resources and websites
As schools are continually bombarded with new
initiatives and resources we can lose sight of what
things help or hinder accessibility to text-based
materials for our pupils, especially those with greater
linguistic needs. At secondary level this is particularly
relevant as pupils are presented with a range of
subject-based textbooks, worksheets, web-based
materials and software. I recently revisited the work
of Rhona Stainthorp who is Director of Postgraduate
Professional Development at the University of
Reading Institute of Education. Her paper entitled
‘Questions to ask when evaluating textbooks and
worksheets’, although written some years ago, really
makes you think about how we can make text more
accessible to our pupils. She asks you to look at the
physical structure of the text, the grammar and
vocabulary used, the presentation and the use of
illustrations. Some of the questions she poses seem
very obvious, such as, ‘Are the sentences on the
same theme grouped together in paragraphs?’ and,
‘Are passives kept to a minimum?’, but it can be
surprising how many books break these rules. She
also looks at other factors such as length of sentences
and word order, use of negatives and interrupting
clauses and clarity and size of typeface. When I
used her checklist on one of the new breed of highly
attractive, brightly coloured revision guides I was
not at all surprised to find that it did not do well on
assisting the reader to access the text.
underestimated by as much as eight years, so
objective measures will be needed, especially if a
case for differentiation needs to be made (source:
timetabler.com, see below)
There are a number of readability measures, such
as the FOG Index, SMOG (simplified measure of
gobbledygook!) Fry and Flesch-Kincaid. These can all
be completed manually with a bit of counting and use
of a calculator. The formulae can be found easily with
a quick search on the Internet. However, it is also
possible to get the computer to do the work for you.
One simple way is to type the text you wish to assess
into Microsoft Word. Go to the Tools menu, Spelling &
Grammar and choose Options. Then click the check
box for Show Readability Statistics, then click OK.
After it has done the spelling and grammar check it
will show you the Flesch Reading Ease score and the
Flesch-Kincaid grade level (USA grades which are,
I think, one below our National Curriculum years, ie
USA grade 6 = NC Year 7)
If you don’t use Word, then you can buy a stand-alone
application which will do SMOG and FOG for
Windows for about £20 from a supplier such as
Inclusive Technology (www.inclusive.co.uk – search for
FOG).
If you want more detail or a greater range of measures
then Readability plus, for Mac or PC, from Micro
Power and Light looks good. Unfortunately, it would
Another fairly quick way of deciding whether a child
will be able to understand what is presented to them is have to be bought from America, as it would appear
that the company only sells it directly. It does accept
to look at how the reading age of the pupil relates to
international orders, however, and there are details on
the readability measure of the text. Rhona Stainthorp
suggests that there are three levels of comprehension its website of how to order. The company also sells a
vocabulary assessor which will provide an alphabetical
for any child. First, there is the independent level,
where they are able to work with and comprehend the listing of every word in a document or just those words
considered potentially difficult for the intended user –
text without help. For this to occur the reading age of
www.micropowerandlight.com/
the text needs to be lower than that of the child.
Secondly, there is the instructional level, where they
There are also a number of online tools available:
will be able to understand the text if they are given
www.online-thesaurus.net/search/tools/easy-reader –
structured support. For this to occur the reading age
type in or copy and paste the text you want analysed
of the text needs to be the same as that of the child.
to get FOG, Flesch and Flesch-Kincaid.
Finally, there is the frustration level, where the child
cannot engage with the text even if given a great deal
of support. In this case the reading age of the text will www.wordscount.info – has a SMOG calculator and
be higher than that of the child. This is food for thought syllable counter. Type or copy and paste the text you
when you discover that a textbook a child is expected want analysed.
to use for homework has a readability score of 13
www.juicystudio.com/services/readability.php – this is
years and the child only has a reading age of 11
really aimed at website designers who want to check
years! Interestingly, subjective assessment of the
the accessibility of their web pages. You type in a web
reading age of science texts by teachers can be
©BATOD Magazine Nov 07
47
BATOD_47,48.qxp
22/10/07
12:16
Page 2
page address and are given a number of statistics,
including average number of words per sentence, as
well as the usual FOG, Flesch and Flesch-Kincaid.
Quite useful if you are evaluating web-based
resources.
Results from any of these tools, manual or ICT based,
should only be used as a guide and are only accurate
to within +/- one year.
Resources
For materials produced in-house, use of a dyslexiafriendly font will help all pupils with reading difficulties,
not just those with dyslexia. Dyslexic.com provided by
iansyst Ltd has information about use of fonts which is
well worth reading. My school has standardised on
Sassoon, which was developed for reading and
handwriting education in schools and which caters for
National Literacy Guidelines. A pdf file entitled ‘Why
Sassoon?’ can be downloaded and is packed with
information about the development of the fonts,
examples and charts. The fonts can even be
purchased with e-learning credits –
www.dyslexic.com/fonts/
www.clubtype.co.uk – click on the Fonts link under
Sassoon® Products
Websites worth a visit
Searching for readability on the Internet will yield
millions of hits. Here are a couple of sites which may
be of interest.
Timetabling – this website is actually for school
timetablers, but it contains an interesting article, which
was aimed at science teachers, covering many of the
factors which help or hinder access to text –
www.timetabler.com/reading.html/
Skills for Access – this site is a comprehensive guide
to creating accessible multimedia for e-learning, so is
not just about readability. There are some interesting
case studies, including an article by a hard-of-hearing
student. He advocates that educational websites
should have a glossary, something Rhona Stainthorp
also advocates for all textbooks. Clicking on the
‘How to’ link will allow you to select the section on
‘Maximising text readability’ which could form the basis
of an evaluation of a website or other on-screen
material for use with your pupils. There are also links
to other related websites – www.skillsforaccess.org.uk/
If you would like to contribute to these pages, contact
Sharon Pointeer at [email protected].
48
©BATOD Magazine Nov 07
BATOD_44,45,46.qxp
20/7/07
13:10
Page 1
ICT News
Picking up on this issue’s theme of keeping children safe, Sharon
Pointeer takes a look at websites for social networking and
recommends some useful sources of further information
When the vast majority of Teachers of the Deaf
were teenagers, social networking meant school
discos, sports, church or youth groups, shopping
with friends and long hours on the telephone
until Dad complained about the bill! Nowadays,
since the advent of mobile phones and the
Internet, social networking has taken on a new
dimension. While not all pupils have a computer
and access to the Internet at home, it would
probably be true to say that those children are
increasingly in the minority. In many cases
children do not just have access to the family
computer, they have their own. Teenagers often
have this located in the bedroom and many
seem to have it connected to the Internet.
Their social network can be worldwide.
Users can set up and display their own profile –
a summary of information about themselves.
This usually has a photograph and headline
designed to encourage other members to view
their profile. It may contain information about,
and links to, their personal blog, music choices,
fashion likes and dislikes and other interests.
The sites also encourage interaction with other
members with similar interests through
comments left on a guestbook or via emails
sent through the site's internal email system.
According to Wikipedia, Myspace, which is
currently one of the most popular online social
networking services, has over 180 million users,
with Bebo running at a mere 34 million and Piczo
at a paltry 10 million. And according to the
Internet research company Comscore, more than
21 million of the MySpace users are under 18
years of age.
All the sites mentioned above have
comprehensive safety advice. All the safety
guides contain advice regarding age limits,
keeping personal details private, not regarding
the people met online as real friends, protecting
computer and password, ignoring phishing, and
how to report problems and concerns. However,
it is highly unlikely that anyone, especially a
teenager anxious to start their social networking
experience, will bother to read them. They are
also not especially child friendly once you
Generally, social networking websites'
regulations do not allow children under the age
of 13 to set up an account and will only show
partial profiles (gender, age and city) of 14- and
15-year-olds, unless the viewer is already on
their list of friends. Problems start to occur
For deaf children the ability to communicate
when people create fake identities; for example,
with their friends electronically is a great
some children claim to be older when registering
technological development, especially as the
so they can bypass restrictions imposed by the
motivation to read and write, albeit sometimes
using the shorthand of text speak, is higher than website, while adult predators can adopt the
identity of someone much younger. There are
it might be for traditional texts. Do we, as
few ways of checking, and proof of identity is not
adults, know enough about this new technology
required, so it is also relatively easy for one child
to make sure our children are safe?
to masquerade as another and set up a profile
MySpace, Bebo and Piczo are just three out of a which is entirely fake and potentially a tool for
hundred or more social networking websites, and bullying.
the majority of teenagers spend time on such
Terms and conditions displayed on the sites
sites exchanging messages and photos or
make it clear that people should not post
swapping gossip about fashion, music and the
like. Other social networking sites have specific offensive material, use the site for illegal or illicit
purposes, break copyright law with the material
purposes, such as the British site, Friends
they put up and send viruses through the email
Reunited, which was set up to allow people to
system and that people must generally behave
contact and keep in touch with their old school
themselves or risk having materials and/or their
friends. This site has been extended since it
identity removed. However, they also all absolve
was set up in 2000 to include universities, the
themselves of responsibility to monitor the
armed forces and workplaces and now boasts a
sister site called Genes Reunited which enables materials posted or a member's activity.
Consequently, unless a site is reported as
members to pool their family trees and identify
inappropriate, people can do as they wish.
common ancestors.
The secret of the popularity of these social
networking websites lies in the way they work.
44
©BATOD Magazine Sept 07
BATOD_44,45,46.qxp
20/7/07
13:10
Page 2
discount the cute cartoon character who is
supposed to be giving you all this good advice.
Out of interest I typed a few paragraphs into a
reading age analysis program. The FOG index
came out at 12.54 – an index of over 10 would
be difficult for many mainstream secondary
pupils to read! Other calculations on the text
gave me a requirement for the reader to
have a reading age of at least 13 – clearly
not accessible to a good proportion of
13–16-year-old deaf children.
Most teenagers using social networks have been
taught stranger-danger and do understand the
need to keep their profile restricted to people
they know. However, they seem to feel that once
they have communicated a few times with
someone who has contacted them online, then
this person becomes a 'friend' and therefore
stranger-danger no longer applies. This is
particularly pertinent to deaf children who may
be socially isolated at home and enjoy collecting
friends to add to their profile. Certainly there is
an element of competition between young people
about the number of friends they have. One of
the things displayed on the MySpace profile is
the number of friends the member has, and no
one wants to be Billy No Mates!
So how do we ensure that the pupils we teach
know how to make best use of these social
networking opportunities and do not put
themselves in danger? There are a number of
websites aimed at children to help them to learn
about the dangers of social networking and how
to protect themselves. These have advice
delivered in an engaging way with scenarios and
branching stories which promote discussion of
the issues and consideration of ‘what might
happen if?’ ThinkUKnow is one such site and
has advice such as ‘Only upload pictures that
you'd be happy for your Mum to see’ and ‘Don't
give too much away in a blog’. This site has
been set up by the Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre, which also has its own
website.
While schools and teachers need to educate
pupils on these matters, many local authorities
and schools block social networking sites so
pupils cannot access them on school computers.
It is therefore essential that parents are also
educated about how best to protect their child.
It would appear that many parents do not bother
or do not know how to set up firewalls and
parental controls on their child's computer. At
the simplest level this means that their child can
use and be exposed to 'bad language', but also
leaves their computer vulnerable to spyware and
viruses. Parents need to learn how to block
access to offensive websites. This can be done
in a limited way from within some browsers, and
some ISPs, such as AOL, have content-filtering
©BATOD Magazine Sept 07
options. In addition, it is possible to purchase
programs such as Cybersitter, Cyberpatrol or
NetNanny which allow greater control over Internet
use. However, all these systems have their
limitations. For example, a system which uses
keywords for blocking may not distinguish between
a site about breast cancer and a porn site.
Systems which deal with web browsing may not
block inappropriate content arriving by email or
instant messaging. Browser-based filtering can
easily be turned off if the user knows the
password, or the user could download and use
a different browser.
Resources
Look Both Ways by Linda Criddle is a guide for
parents who want to protect their family online.
The book covers topics such as online bullying,
sexual predators, mobile phone threats, spam,
scams and online fraud. It looks at the risks and
explains the technology and is also a how-to
manual for parents. Some of the links and
resources are US-centric (the author is American)
but the Internet is global and the challenges
universal. A full review of this book can be read by
typing the title of the book into the search box at
www.getsafeonlineblog.org/
MySpace: Safe online
networking for your kids by
Larry Magid and Anne Collier
is another book for parents.
This shows how teens use
MySpace and other social
networks and explains step
by step how parents can use
it to help their kids blog and
socialise safely. The idea of
the book is to remove the
fear and hype surrounding
social networking and take a clear-eyed look at
what is really going on in this very public world of
teen online socialising and blogging. Further
details about the authors and book can be found at
www.myspaceunraveled.com/
Internet safety websites for pupils
ThinkUKnow from the
Child Exploitation and
Online Protection (CEOP)
Centre contains loads of
information on Internet
safety and safe surfing for
young people. All hot
topics about online safety
are covered, including
mobiles, blogging and
gaming sites. There are sections on ‘How to have
fun’ and ‘How to stay in control’. Young people
can also use the site to report if they feel
uncomfortable or worried about someone they are
chatting to online. There is a page of links to other
sites about Internet safety: www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
45
BATOD_44,45,46.qxp
20/7/07
13:10
Page 3
Chatdanger has been created to inform young
people about the potential dangers and ways of
keeping safe in interactive areas online, such as
chatrooms, instant messenger, online games and
email, and also via mobile phones. The aim of
the site is to inform and empower users of these
services, so they can use them safely, and not
at all to discourage people from using these
services. The interactive teen-mag style of this
site is likely to appeal to secondary-aged pupils:
www.chatdanger.com/
Sorted was designed by young people for young
people and contains lots of useful information
about protecting your privacy online:
www.childnet-int.org/sorted/
CBBC has a section which gives safe surfing
tips. There are video clips and information about
mobile phone safety:
www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/help/safesurfing/
Internet safety websites for parents and/or
teachers
Get Safe Online is
sponsored by the
British Government and
businesses. It includes
information about
protecting your
computer and yourself.
There are sections
about viruses, hackers
and phishing, as well as
advice specifically about teens and social
networks. There is a ‘Just how safe are you?’
quiz, which is a good starting point for anyone
wishing to protect themselves and their child:
www.getsafeonline.org/
Child Exploitation and Online Protection
Centre works across the UK and maximises
international links to tackle child sex abuse
wherever and whenever it happens. A significant
part of its strategy for achieving this is by
providing Internet safety advice for parents and
carers and delivering a virtual police station for
reporting abuse on the Internet:
www.ceop.gov.uk/
Other websites worth a visit
Worried About is a section of the government
website Direct.gov, which has access to public
services all in one place. There is lots of advice
for parents about keeping their child safe. Topics
covered include crime, abuse, bullying, teenage
pregnancy, fire safety and education:
www.direct.gov.uk/en/parents/worriedabout/
Kidscape was established in 1985 and was the
first charity in the UK with the specific aim to
prevent bullying and child sexual abuse. It works
46
UK-wide to provide individuals and organisations
with practical skills and resources necessary to
keep children safe from harm. The website has
information for parents and teachers and the
charity publishes a range of resources:
www.kidscape.org.uk/
If you would like to contribute anything to these
pages, please contact Sharon Pointeer at
[email protected].
Glossary
Blog – contraction of the term 'web log', a
journal that is available on the Internet. Postings
on the blog are arranged with the most recently
added ones at the top.
Browser – software which allows you to look at
web pages. (eg Firefox, Safari or Internet
Explorer).
Chatroom – used for communicating with other
people in real-time. Users are all online at the
same time and can send and receive messages
conversation style.
Firewall – hardware or software which prevents
access to a computer from outside via a
network.
Guestbook – this allows viewers of a website to
leave a public comment.
Hacker – a person who seeks to gain access to
someone else's computer or data.
Instant messaging – real-time communication
with other people (see also chatroom).
ISP – Internet service provider, a company
which provides your access to the Internet, such
as BT, AOL, Virgin.
Phishing – an attempt to fraudulently gain
personal or sensitive information such as
passwords and credit card details, usually
through bogus emails, but can be by mobile
phone messages.
Spam – email which is sent to a large number of
people who did not ask for it (junk email).
Spyware – software which is secretly installed
on a user's computer to monitor use without the
user's knowledge or consent. It can collect
sensitive information such as passwords and
transmit this to a third party or it can interfere
with the control of the computer in some way.
Virus – a program which makes copies of itself
without human intervention. Some viruses can
delete files, display messages, etc. It usually
arrives on your computer as an email
attachment, but can be embedded in a
downloaded game or on an infected disk.
Wikipedia – online encyclopedia which can be
edited by the people reading it:
www.wikipedia.org/
©BATOD Magazine Sept 07
BATOD_48,49.qxp
18/4/07
08:43
Page 1
ICT News
Welcome to this edition of ICT News. If you would like to contribute
anything to these pages, please contact Sharon Pointeer at
[email protected]
As usual I went to Crufts this year. Advertised
as the biggest and best dog show in the world, it
was huge, occupying five of the NEC's enormous
halls. Now I know you are wondering what that
has to do with ICT, but even the doggie world
is embracing new technology in ways we would
not have imagined a few years ago. The
applications of ICT range from microchips
embedded under your dog's skin to aid
identification should he stray, through to virtual
dogs for those people who do not have the
time or environment for the real thing. The
vast majority of sales stands also urged their
customers to visit their website in order to make
further purchases after the show. The biggest
stands were for the dog food manufacturers, all
of whom claimed to have the healthiest product
for your canine companion's dinner. Many of
these companies have websites which not only
extol the virtues of their particular brand, but
also have educational content to encourage
responsible dog ownership.
All the main assistance dog charities were
present at the show and it was nice to see
Hearing Dog Molly win the 'Friends for Life'
prize. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is currently
researching into placing hearing dogs with
families which have deaf children. Initially
I imagined the chaos of having two or three
pupils in a class with their own hearing dog, but
these dogs do not go to school with their young
recipients, instead carrying out their duties in the
home. More details about the Team Hearing
Dogs scheme can be found on the Hearing Dog
website at www.hearingdogs.org.uk/
for pupils, at different levels – worth a look if you
are doing a project on animals. Also on the
website is a resources section which has a
downloadable pack showing how to get involved.
Visit www.worldanimalday.org.uk/
Resources
If you are not convinced about live animals
in your classroom, but would like pupils to
experience looking after a pet, what about
investing in a cyber pet? Cyber pets come in
a variety of types and styles, with a physical
‘creature’ or a virtual animal living on your
computer or games machine.
At Crufts, Nintendo was showcasing its
Nintendog, a video game for the handheld
Nintendo DS. The user can select from a variety
of dog breeds – I wanted the poodle – and has
to look after their chosen puppy to help it mature
into a well-trained, obedient pet. You can even
take up dog agility. The player accumulates
points as they progress successfully through the
game and can use these to purchase more
puppies. However, only three are allowed to live
in the house at one time, so no puppy farming.
Apparently, more than seven million copies of
this game have been sold worldwide and it has
won awards, including the PETA (People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals) Best AnimalFriendly Video Game. The game itself costs
about £30, but requires the games console which
costs about £100. See www.nintendogs.com/
Studies both here and abroad have shown that
dog ownership has a beneficial effect on both
adults and children. The World Animal Day
website has details on its teachers' pages of a
study done in the USA where dogs were used
with SEN pupils, improvements in behaviour and
attention being the main effects. This has also
been the case at a school in Derbyshire where a
dog has been working with disruptive pupils.
Information about ‘Henry, king of the classroom’
can be found by searching on the BBC news
website. World Animal Day this year is on
4 October 2007 and the website gives details of
how to get involved and shows activities from
previous years. The kids' zone has jokes,
interactive puzzles and a range of activity ideas
48
©BATOD Magazine May 07
BATOD_48,49.qxp
18/4/07
08:43
Page 2
Remote control robotic pets can be used to teach
pupils the elements of control programming,
rather than responsible pet ownership. Look
out for Robopet, a rather ant-like robot dog,
Roboraptor, a vicious looking robot dinosaur
and Roboreptile, an equally vicious dragon thing,
all from the makers of Robosapien. The rather
cuter i-Cybie does a similar range of tricks as
the Robopet, reacts to his environment and
the attentions of his owner. He uses voicerecognition technology, so can respond to
commands such as sit, down, and so on,
just like a real dog. See www.wowwee.com and
www.i-cybie.com/
Most of these electronic toys look like the robots
they are; however, if you want something more
realistic then the ultimate cyber pet has to be
Gupi, the electronic guinea pig. From a distance
he looks just like the real thing, being furry and
somewhat rotund. Gupi comes complete with
a charging station in the form of an electronic
carrot, which he will also follow. This cyber pet
can move around freely, has a number of sensors
to stop it bumping into things, uses its light
sensor to know when it is dark and responds to
being stroked. It is available in a number of
different versions, but if you want to buy one look
out for Gupi III, as this has a longer battery life, a
proper three-pin mains charger and more features
than the earlier versions. He (or she) makes 30
different sounds and will 'talk' to other Gupis if he
meets them. The more attention he gets the
happier he will be, much like a Tamagotchi, but
far more interesting and cuddly. If you don't want
to be cleaning out the classroom pet, this one
could be for you. Gupi III can be purchased
online for around £39, although if you search you
might find a special offer – I found one on the
paramountzone.com site with £10 discount.
3lib.ukonline.co.uk/gupi (note that there is no
www at the start of this website address).
Watch out nearer Christmas for Pleo, from the
inventor of the Furby, Ugobe's Caleb Chung.
Pre-release reviews claim that this cuddly baby
dinosaur is going to be the must-have toy of the
year. The price tag is, however, going to be
steep, with early estimates at around the £200
mark. The robot pet is modelled on a one-weekold Camarasaurus from the Jurassic period and
is going to be extremely realistic in both its
movements and in its ability to learn about and
interact with its environment and owner, due to
the number of sensors and processors embedded
within it. Ugobe is aiming this gismo at geeks,
parents who want to wow older children, and
teachers who want to demonstrate how dinosaurs
lived. While the final market may be rather
optimistic, it sounds like a great excuse to get
one for school! Go to www.ugobe.com/
©BATOD Magazine May 07
Websites worth a visit
Pet Health Council
If you are considering getting a pet or doing a
project on pets with pupils, this site contains lots
of useful information and leaflets which can be
downloaded as pdf files. While rather too wordy
for many hearing-impaired pupils, some of the
materials may be a good starting point:
www.pethealthcouncil.co.uk/
Cats Protection League
For those of you who are feeling rather left out
because you are a cat person rather than a dog
person, this website is for you. The learning
resources available have been revamped to more
effectively support teaching of English, maths,
PSHE, science and citizenship, while educating
pupils about responsible cat ownership. There are
primary and secondary packs, as well as a Primary
Science CD-ROM and Business Challenge
CD-ROM for secondary schools. Any of these
resources can be ordered by email or telephone
or the primary and secondary packs can be
downloaded as pdf files from the website. There is
a kids' zone with games, quizzes and information
about cats and their care: www.cats.org.uk/
Countryside Access
This is a great website, especially as it has an
Aardman Animations Creature Comforts movie in
the Countryside Code section, complete with
script. There is a comprehensive learning
resource centre containing activities related to
the countryside code for primary, secondary and
voluntary groups. These can be downloaded or
ordered on CD-ROM. There are grids showing
how the activities relate to the National Curriculum
for Key Stages 2 and 3, as well as a risk
assessment sheet for a trip to a country park,
paper-based activities such as word searches,
and some excellent photo packs:
www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk/
49
BATOD_44,45,46.qxp
15/2/07
09:02
Page 1
ICT News
Welcome to this edition of ICT News. If you would like to contribute
anything to these pages, please contact Sharon Pointeer at
[email protected]
BETT 2007
This year's BETT exhibition seemed to lack some
of the excitement and buzz of previous years.
Whether this was because shortly after I arrived
I was called by my school which had just received
the Ofsted telephone call I'm not sure, but this
year it was dominated by current government
initiatives and so there was an emphasis on
learning platforms, virtual learning environments
and interactive whiteboard materials. One supplier
proudly told me that his previously paper-based
material would now ‘run’ on interactive whiteboards,
as the files are available on CD as pdf files. Not a
lot of interactivity there then!
The Special Needs Village seemed rather small
compared to previous years, with a number of
familiar old faces missing, possibly because many
smaller software houses have either disappeared
or are unable to afford the prices of the stands.
I purchased some interesting, ergonomically
designed Easyriter pencils from IdeaSun and a
plastic Wordwiza which is designed to help
children phonically decode words. The pencils
have already been tried with one pupil who has
difficulty with holding and using writing tools and
it does look as if they are going to be helpful to
her: www.ideasun.com/
As usual I called in at the Kudlian, Logotron and
Sherston stands, three long-established software
houses whose products are of high quality and
sensibly priced.
Sherston appears to have diversified its product
range and now has more hardware and
peripherals in its catalogue. For introducing
control programming to younger learners
programmable robots cannot be bettered and
the Bee-Bot, a cute bumble bee, aimed at the
under-7s, moves in 15cm steps at a time and
turns 90 degrees. For Key Stage 2 pupils the
Pro-Bot has an attractive car design which can be
programmed independently using the key pad on
the top or using the Pro-Bot software. It also has
a pen mechanism for drawing routes and a light
sensor and bumper sensor. Both control toys are
affordably priced and can also be purchased from
other suppliers. Sherston's range of software is
continually expanding, and on a life skills theme,
Type with Tizzy is a highly interactive program
designed to help children develop keyboard
familiarity and competence, currently still a key
skill for interacting with ICT: www2.sherston.com/
My most exciting find was a company which
makes lockers with virtually indestructible woodeffect doors. I thoroughly dislike metal locker
doors which can be scratched, chipped, dented
and bent by accident very easily and I am looking
forward to replacing our lockers as soon as
possible: www.helmsman.co.uk/
Other companies represented at BETT which may
be worth checking out include:
Software
• www.advisory-unit.org.uk – concept keyboards
and associated resources.
• www.jvsoft.co.uk – picture-based software to
create topic pages and story books with and for
young children.
• www.clicsoft.co.uk – support packs for MyWorld
and Textease.
• www.cricksoft.com – award-winning Clicker
software and the new Clicker Paint.
• www.semerc.com – large range of software
and hardware for SEN pupils, including Think
Logotron was demonstrating its range of Widgit
About! to encourage the development of memory,
software, including Let's Sign and Write BSL
attention, listening and specific literacy skills.
graphics. It has a mind-mapping tool called
• www.softease.com – Textease Studio CT –
Thinking with Pictures, which, if my reading of the
ultimate integrated classroom tools, IdeasMap,
catalogue is correct, can be used with the BSL
Timeline and Easiteach.
graphics files. Logotron also has a comprehensive • www.spark-space.com – idea-mapping software
range of software for Foundation to Key Stage 3/4:
for PC, Mac and Linux.
www.logo.com/
The Kudlian suite of programs is now available for
Macs, as well as for PCs. The suite includes
data-handling programs, a painting program, logo,
a word processor and the very good Banner
program, for producing headings and banners for
noticeboards. It is an excellent piece of software
and I would hate to have to produce a wall
display without it! Kudlian also had a range of
video/animation and presentation software on
display: www.kudlian.net/
44
©BATOD Magazine March 07
BATOD_44,45,46.qxp
15/2/07
09:02
Page 2
Assessment
• www.bsquaredsen.co.uk – SEN workbooks and
workbooks on CD, including thinking skills and
a range of PSHE topics; also assessment
software with small steps breakdown from
P levels to level 5.
DVDs
• www.childseyemedia.com – DVDs with
accompanying resources for early years about
festivals and people who help us, all featuring
young children. Words to the songs are
provided. I did not manage to ask whether the
DVDs have subtitles, but still worth checking out.
caught my eye was Freemind, a mind-mapping tool.
I have not, as yet, had a chance to try it out, but
noticed that it is available for PC, Mac and Linux. As
there is nothing specifically related to deaf people,
Ability Net has told us that it would be very
interested to receive recommendations for free
solutions in this area. You can send your ideas
directly to Ability Net or to us at BATOD for
forwarding: www.abilitynet.org.uk/ (Type ‘software’
into the search box.)
Shoecake Games is a small independent game
development company based in Liverpool. Originally
an Amiga game developer, it now produces puzzletype games for PC, Mac and pocket PC. All the
games can be tried before purchase and each game
costs £11.25. Two games which particularly caught
my eye are WordOMatic and DaisyWords which, as
their names suggest, require the user to make words
in order to gain points. All the other games will aid
the development of logical thinking skills.
Good Morning Children is the brain child of two
teachers with over 50 years’ experience between
them. They produce short, easy-to-manage yet
mentally stimulating activities for children that can
be used as early morning work during registration
(or during those odd moments you need to fill,
before the next lesson or home-time). Some of
the resources may even be useful as lesson starters.
Many of the resources have been designed to
develop thinking skills by using observation,
questioning, reasoning, making links and capitalising
on what pupils already know. Paid members have
access to a comprehensive range of early morning
activities which are updated every week and, to
• www.earlyvision.co.uk – DVDs with
accompanying resources for early years about
real-life places designed to stimulate role play
by providing appropriate role models rather than
those more commonly seen in the media.
• www.186media.com – the WriteKit Creative
Writing Masterclass on DVD. This is aimed at
Key Stage 3 but may be appropriate to older
learners with writing difficulties. I noted that the
complete shooting scripts are included as part of
the package and the website indicates that
subtitles are also used.
Resources and websites worth a visit
Ability Net has launched a new website which has
a number of new sections, including one giving
details of freeware/shareware software suitable for
people with special educational needs. A quick
look through the list shows that at present, visual
impairment has the highest representation, but
there are programs for those with literacy
difficulties as well. One free program which
©BATOD Magazine March 07
45
BATOD_44,45.qxp
18/12/06
12:26
Page 1
ICT News
Welcome to this edition of ICT News. If you would like to contribute
anything to these pages, please contact Sharon Pointeer at
[email protected]
Is the television in your classroom getting past its
best? Would you like to be able to record subtitles,
but the video recorder you used to use no longer
works and you cannot find a replacement?
We have recently been considering purchasing a
new HD-ready TV for home and have been amazed
at the low resolution of many of the LCD TVs
available in the shops. Given that we are now all
used to computer monitors with ever-increasing
numbers of pixels, it was a surprise to find that
many of the LCD and plasma TVs have a maximum
resolution of 1,366 x 768, less than that of my 17"
monitor. Yet they can be as big as 46", twice or
nearly three times the size of my monitor.
The result, of course, is a picture which looks grainy
and pixilated unless you are a long way away. So
what is the alternative? We discovered gadgets
produced by a number of companies which allow
you to turn your computer into a TV. These tiny
boxes, when plugged into the USB port of your
computer, act as a digital TV receiver and give you
access to all the digital Freeview channels. They
come with a remote control and small aerial,
although to get the best reception it is necessary to
plug into your normal roof-top TV aerial.
The software which comes with them will allow you
to pause and rewind live TV, display subtitles and
record and subsequently view programmes with
their subtitles on the hard drive of your computer –
all this, and prices which start at around £40.
The one I purchased interfaces seamlessly with my
CD- and DVD-burning software and it is possible to
record a programme, burn it to DVD and then show
it on a normal DVD player, although not with the
subtitles. It would also be possible to export the
programmes to an iPod video, if I had one.
There are also gadgets for connecting up your video
recorder, tape player and record deck as well and,
should you wish to do it, for sending the recordings
back to analogue TV sets around your home.
Buy a new TV? Not us – when we do replace our
TV it will be with a system based around a
computer, with a high resolution monitor, large hard
drive and set of hi-fi speakers, doing away with the
current separate units of television, DVD player,
video recorder, record player, CD and tape players.
44
Think of the space we are going to save! A fairly
modest system for your classroom based perhaps
around a Mac Mini or laptop computer might prove
to be a very useful way of accessing subtitled TV
programmes easily and cheaply. Makes to look out
for include Miglia, Elegato, TVstick and Hauppauge,
with versions available for Macs and PCs.
Resources
The DfES has produced a number of publications
related to inclusion and the Primary National
Strategy. Of particular relevance to this Magazine is
the National Numeracy Strategy publication
Guidance to support pupils with hearing impairments
- the daily mathematics lesson. This publication
dates back to 2001, so it is possible that not all
teachers or teaching assistants who come into
contact with hearing-impaired pupils in their maths
classes are familiar with it. While it does not go into
a great deal of detail, it would be a useful starting
point for discussion and further work. Put ‘hearing
impairment’ into the 'Search this area' box to find
this and other potentially useful publications at
www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/
mathematics/
If you have ever read an advert or received a flyer
about a new piece of software or the latest
interactive resource and wondered what it was really
like and if it would be suitable for your class, then
the Schoolzone evaluation service may well help
you out. The evaluations are written by teachers
who have used the resources in their classrooms.
You can also sign up to receive details of updates,
access to user-only areas of the website and
opportunities to be involved in educational polls.
The website also gives details of how to become an
evaluator. Visit www.schoolzone.co.uk/resources/
evaluations/
Press releases
Teletec International produces a number of products
which help deaf people to use the telephone. It
supplies minicoms and, up until recently, a captioned
telephone and meeting service via its Remote
Communication Support Service. These have
recently been replaced by its new IP-Based Remote
Communication Support. Using this system the
caller logs on to the website and enters their phone
number and the number they want to call. The
WebCapTel Service connects to the caller's phone
and then dials the other party. When the other party
©BATOD Magazine Jan 07
BATOD_44,45.qxp
18/12/06
12:26
Page 2
answers, word-for-word, real-time captions of the
conversation can be viewed in a window on the
caller's Internet browser.
birthplace or university. There is also a Mathematician
of the Day. Click on the MacTutor History link on
www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk (note the hyphen
following www).
There is a similar system for face-to-face
conversation, lectures or meetings. The system is
designed to work with any phone and any Internet
access device, so special equipment is not needed.
Support is still provided for the Remote
Communication Support Service for current
subscribers, but new users are not being taken on.
The new service is commercially available from
January 2007. For more information look at the
Teletec International website at www.teletec.co.uk/
Websites worth a visit
Hearing Concern – this is a national charity
dedicated to improving the quality of life for people
who are deaf or hard of hearing. It has a
comprehensive website giving details about the
charity, the campaigns with which it is involved and
the events it runs regionally. It has an online version
of the Hear Now newsletter which always contains
interesting articles on a wide range of 'deaf interest'
topics. The information about research on listening
levels and damage due to MP3 players was of
particular interest, as was the information about the
development of speech skills in cochlear-implanted
children following meningitis.
www.hearingconcern.org.uk/
The National Centre for Excellence in the
Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) – this is an
initiative funded by the DfES to enhance
professional development for the mathematics
teacher. The website is designed to encourage
teachers to be involved in collaborative practice to
facilitate, enhance and provide leadership for
continuing professional development of maths
teachers from primary school to college level. The
aim is to make maths lessons more stimulating,
encourage more pupils to take A-level maths and
widen the pool of highly qualified maths teachers.
There are links to articles of interest and other
mathematical sites, as well as discussion forums.
www.ncetm.org.uk/
The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive –
while the linguistic content may well be too difficult
for many of the pupils we teach, this website
provides a wealth of information about the history of
mathematics which anyone interested in maths will
find fascinating. The site is run by the School of
Mathematical and Computational Sciences at the
University of St Andrews in Scotland and contains
over 1,000 biographies and historical articles of a
mathematical nature. There are pictures of famous,
and not so famous, mathematicians and it is
possible to find people by name, gender, honours,
©BATOD Magazine Jan 07
Teaching Ideas – this website contains hundreds of
free ideas and resources for primary teachers. There
are lots of ideas for numeracy, as well as all the other
subjects. Many of the ideas are downloadable in pdf
format and, as with all free resources sites, you need
to evaluate the resources and ideas to see if they will
be of use to your setting. www.teachingideas.co.uk/
A quick search in Google or other search engine of
‘numeracy + resources’ will yield lots of websites
containing ideas, worksheets and interactive activities
suitable for busy teachers to use with their pupils.
Here are just a few you might like to have a look at:
• Numeracy World – free photocopiable maths
worksheets. www.numeracyworld.com/
• A+ Maths – a collection of java and non-java games,
interactive worksheets and printed worksheet
generators. www.aplusmaths.com/
• Joe The Dragon – Flash games and puzzles to
support maths learning. www.joethedragon.co.uk/
• Maths Is Fun – the idea behind this site is to offer
mathematics, as well as some fun bits, and to combine
the two wherever possible. Perhaps it is rather too
wordy in the explanations of how to do various
mathematical operations, but the games and
worksheets are fun and well presented.
www.mathsisfun.com/
45