Tools/Toolroom

From OER in Education

ICT tools – what achieves your objectives?

Think about what you want your students to get out of ICT.

Just a few years back, software tools were stored on your computer but today you can find similar tools online. The tools offer the added value of giving your work an audience, getting feedback, sharing and improving it. Somewhere in the process, you can imagine that learning does happen. There is surely a resource in this list that will help you achieve your objectives. Several will chime with some teachers and not others.

We've provided a little guidance on how you might use some tools, or tagged them with ideas on how they may work. ICT is often not about what the tool can do, but what you do with the tool. For example, Google Drive enables you to share files but you could get students using it to engage in shared real time research. It then becomes a sophisticated tool to collaborate with. Weigh up a focused use, besides a 'hope for the best' use. Don't weigh up quality with hardware and features. At times you might let students choose their own tools.

Of all the words we’ve available to describe these tools, you ought notice that some are entirely absent. The words are enjoyable, cool, innovative and new way to learn. The key words are to do with what achieves teaching objectives. So do experiment, and even return here to share a use that enhances what we aim to do.

Pedagogy and ICT - A Review of the Literature

The Pedagogy and ICT a Review of the Literature article (Loveless, 2009; published by BECTA) covers the relationship between pedagogy and ICT use. This review attempts to offer frameworks for thinking about the ‘What?’, ‘How?' and 'Why?’ questions of teaching with information and communications technologies (ICT), offering a range of tools to help us to understand our teaching in local and global contexts, to help us, as Freire urged, to ‘read the world’ of our practice (Freire and Macedo, 1987). It covers a range of approaches to pedagogy, relating these to ICT and some particular issues raised in the literature (Adapted from Pedagogy and ICT a Review of the Literature, section Introduction).

ICT tools to gain feedback

Polls and surveys and assessment

Relevant resources


Blogs Questions and discussion around a blog
 
Blogs offer a great space for collaborative(ta) writing and language(ta) development. Urtak adds to this by encouraging questioning(ta) on blogs, to engage pupils in reasoning(ta) together and collaborative dialogue(ta). Urtak.com provides a way to solicit comments on blogs(tool). The comment, described as ‘collaborative(tool) polling(tool)’ takes the form of questions which visitors rank as important or not. URTAK is said to offer a way to gain better information from your community, and to typically engage people more than a simple comment box underneath a blog post. You may choose to use such a tool to poll opinion on a science issue. But by allowing questions to be asked in response to questions, Urtak offers an approach to explore.
Chat Talk with your students in an online chatroom
 
Chat rooms afford opportunity for collaboration(ta), group work(ta), and group talk(ta). They can offer opportunities for dialogic teaching(ta) through the use of group based effective questioning(ta). Many chat tools also integrate with other Tools. You can set up a chat(tool)room at “chatzy.com”. Then publish the link to the room, and perhaps a meeting time, to allow an out of class discussion(ta). You could use this tool to have an out-of-class discussion (perhaps someone is unwell). Can an online chat make dialogue more effective? Can it make group discussions more inclusive?
Questionnaire Get feedback and involve the audience
 
A way to facilitate checking the students' response (known as traffic lighting) as well as peer assessment(ta)/questioning(ta) during presentation sessions, either by the teacher or students. The back-channel is a term to describe what the class might be saying or thinking during a lesson. “backchan.nl” offers a way let the audience of presentations(ta) comment or ask questions(ta)/polls(tool). They could also be voting(tool) on the importance each other's questions - which is a great opportunity if you've ever wished a question and answer session to end. The voting then allows the presenter to prioritise questions that merit answering. As well as know what is going on in the 'back channel', this tool is claimed to make better use of that Q & A time. You might use it while showing a video, or dare to use it while talking at length to the class. But here you also have a means to encourage pupils to actually ask questions, and furthermore, have them think about each other's questions.
Questionnaire Ask a question and measure the response
 
Poll(tool) tools can be used for quick assessment(ta) or questioning(ta) in and outside of the classroom. They can also be used to allow pupils to give feedback. Using online polls can be useful for assessment outside of class. Within the classroom it can sometimes be useful to allow voting if you have access to ICT to support online methods for: 1) capturing data; 2) many quick questions; 3) private feedback if it's a sensitive topic, or some pupils are reluctant to respond normally; 4) the ability to return to questions, either at a later date, or as discussion points to discuss the answers given. If you need to ask a question(tool) to get feedback “kwiqpoll.com” lets you write a poll question and circulate it as a link to a class. It is so quick to use, there's plenty of opportunity to do so.
 
Encourage students to chat in class - TodaysMeet
Tool details
Title Encourage students to chat in class
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool, ready for use

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 
Get feedback and involve the audience - backchan.nl
Tool details
Title Get feedback and involve the audience
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

This web tool is an Open Source(tool) project at MIT.

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 
Talk with your students online - Chatzy
Tool details
Title Talk with your students in an online chatroom
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Online Tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 



 
Ask a question and measure the response - Kwiqpoll
Tool details
Title Ask a question and measure the response
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web Tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


   

 
Comments powered by questions - Urtak
Tool details
Title Questions and discussion around a blog
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool, available as a feature plugin(tool) for the blog tool WordPress(tool)

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 


Find out who understands as you teach - UNDERSTOODIT.COM or POLLEVERYWHERE

 
Measure students' understanding in real-time - UnderStoodIt.com
Tool details
Title Measure students' understanding in real-time
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Free for students, $3 a month for educators. Students use a web browser link or an app to respond.

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.understoodit.com


 

 
Get feedback from the class during a lesson - PollEverywhere
Tool details
Title Get feedback from the class during a lesson
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool, free for small groups to use then rising in cost

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.polleverywhere.com


    

Write apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android at BUZZTOUCH

 
Write an app for any mobile device - Buzztouch
Tool details
Title Write an app for any mobile device
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Create iphone, ipad and android apps

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.buzztouch.com


 

make an online questionnaire at GOOGLE DRIVE

 
Make a questionnaire - Google Drive
Tool details
Title Make a questionnaire
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Online tool requires a Google account. The form tools are very flexible, it's free.

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

   

Make an online test TESTMOZ (testmoz.com)

 
Share a test with a link - Testmoz.com
Tool details
Title Share a test with a link
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Ready to use

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.testmoz.com/


   

Categorise blog entries - Enquiry(i)Blogger for Wordpress

 
Get students to categorise their blogs - Enquiry Blogger
Tool details
Title Get students to categorise their blogs
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool that runs as a Template:Plugin within the WordPress(tool) blogging platform

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


   

to collaborate on the web:

Document sharing

Collaboration

 
Video conference and message using text - Hall.com
Tool details
Title Video conference and message using text
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool or desktop application

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.hall.com


 


Collaboration

 
Use an online study area to support students remotely - Study Hall
Tool details
Title Use an online study area to support students
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

A web tool supporting use of facebook apps(tool) on Apple IOS and Android mobile devices

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


A snapshot of the web introducing Study Hall:

 

Collaboration

 
Share knowledge; share the load of sharing it = Wikispaces
Tool details
Title Share knowledge; share the load of sharing it
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.wikispaces.com

     

Sharing documents

 
Share and keep files online - Dropbox
Tool details
Title Share and keep files online
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool with an optional downloadable program to keep your files synchronised. Take care to 'move' rather than 'delete' files from a synchronised folder.

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.dropbox.com


 

Co-create documents at Google Drive

 
Make a questionnaire - Google Drive
Tool details
Title Make a questionnaire
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Online tool requires a Google account. The form tools are very flexible, it's free.

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

   

to communicate

Word processor

 
Typing, collaboration(tool) and communication(tool)- Word Processor
Tool details
Title Typing, collaboration and communication
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

A web-based tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


  ]

Presentation tools

Add information to school displays with QR codes

 
Label objects with notes and knowledge - QR code generator
Tool details
Title Label objects with notes and knowledge
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool allows you to create a code. A phone or webcam app is needed to scan the pattern

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


   

to communicate using media

Keep an online notebook at PENZU

 
Keep a personal notebook online - Penzu
Tool details
Title Keep a personal notebook online
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

A web-based tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.penzu.com


 

Make an activity for a whiteboard at TRIPTICO

 
Sort objects with an interactive whiteboard - Triptico
Tool details
Title Sort objects with an interactive whiteboard
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

This is a desktop application to install on a PC or Mac. See the author's video for a demonstrations of new features at: http://www.screenr.com/user/david_triptico

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.triptico.co.uk


 

Make a class website at WEEBLY.COM

 
A multimedia website project report - Weebly
Tool details
Title A multimedia website project report
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

A web site building tool that works in an Internet browser window.

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

education.weebly.com


 

Add a voice to an animated character at VOKI.COM

 
Make animated characters talk - Voki
Tool details
Title Make animated characters talk
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web based tool, partly free and advertising supported. A none-too costly classroom subscription option is available.

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

voki.com


 

Set up a class group in FACEBOOK

 
Exploit social networking for education - Facebook
Tool details
Title Exploit social networking for education
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

A web-based communication tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.facebook.com


Broadcast your science project at USTREAM

 
Broadcast live video from school - UStream
Tool details
Title Broadcast live video from school
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web based tool, needing a web camera

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

www.ustream.tv


 

Writing – Blogs

Share this week’s science news on a blog

 
Write for an online audience - blogs
Tool details
Title Write for an online audience
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

A web tool that is easily available, usually just for the price of registering

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 

to present

Make a panoramic presentation at VUVOX

 
A panoramic presentation with hot-spots - Vuvox
Tool details
Title A panoramic presentation with hot-spots
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web-based tool with some immediate use

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


Brainstorm at WALLWISHER

 
A multimedia 'wall' for creative, collaborative(tool) interaction - Wallwisher

Teaching Approach. Tools/Toolroom/teaching approach (edit)(appears above table)

Tool details
Title A multimedia 'wall' for creative, collaborative interaction
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

webtool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 

Make a timeline animation at KERPOOF

 
Tell a story using timeline animation - Kerpoof
Tool details
Title Tell a story using timeline animation
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool from Disney

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 

Make a safety campaign poster at GLOGSTER

 
Make a multimedia poster - Glogster
Tool details
Title Make a multimedia poster
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool with premium teacher option

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 

Brainstorm at CONCEPTBOARD

 
Brainstorm ideas and documents - Conceptboard
Tool details
Title Brainstorm ideas and documents
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

A multi-featured web tool. Some free use for individuals.

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 

Record a conversation between animated characters at XTRANORMAL

Tools/Xtranormal

Presentations with pans and zooms - Prezi - prezi.com

 
Make a multimedia presentation that can pan and zoom - Prezi
Tool details
Title Make a multimedia presentation that can pan and zoom
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool with a premium downloadable version

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


   

Draw diagrams, collaborate and share - Cacoo - cacoo.com

 
Draw diagrams and collaborate - Cacoo
Tool details
Title Draw diagrams and collaborate
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


 

to collect data and measure

 
Use sensors to measure and investigate - Data logging
Tool details
Title Use sensors to measure and investigate
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Needs equipment

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


Investigating a way to keep your house warm and a graph from an investigation comparing ways to make coffee

   

A curriculum

The following table is a guide to the way pupils might progress with their use of sensors and control technology.


Progression in measuring and controlling things What the pupils do in science (or technology)  
Recognise that everyday devices respond to signals and commands and they can make them respond in different ways. Talk about how to use a video recorder. 1
Control devices purposefully and describe the effects of their actions. Technology: introduce robots. 2
Understand how to control equipment to achieve specific outcomes by giving a series of instructions. Technology: control a robot. 3
Use IT to control events in a predetermined manner, to collect physical data and display it. Technology: control a robot and make it perform a set routine. Use sensors to make measurements and display readings. 4
Create sets of instructions to control events, and become sensitive to the need for precision in framing and sequencing instructions. Technology: control a robot and make it perform a set routine. 5
Develop, trial and refine sets of instructions to control events, demonstrating an awareness of the notions of efficiency and economy in framing these instructions. Understand how IT devices can be used to monitor and measure external events, using sensors. Technology: control a robot, make it perform a set routine and not be content with just getting it to work. Use sensors to make measurements, for example, use digital sensors to measure their reaction time. 6
Use IT equipment and software to measure and record physical variables. Use sensors to make measurements in experiments. Use a data logger to record the room temperature and light level over a weekend. Display readings  as time graphs. 7
Select the appropriate IT facilities for specific tasks, taking into account ease of use and suitability for purpose. Design successful means of capturing and preparing information for computer processing. When assembling devices that respond to data from sensors, they describe how feedback might improve the performance of the system. Use sensors to make measurements in experiments. Select appropriate sensors and recording parameters. Use the data in the data logging program or export it to a spreadsheet or word processor. Develop a control system to run a biofermenter, an aquarium or fire alarm. Discuss and document the work to a high standard. 8

Learning to use sensors

Progression is no less important in using computers and sensors than any other part of the curriculum. How then might pupil's skills develop as they move through school? This list is one answer.

Age 5-7

Use sensors to show whose hands are hottest. Show, using graphical or bar displays, which things are hot or which sound is loudest or which place is darkest? For a primer on control, they might learn to use video recorders, programmable toys or robots.

Age 8-11

Use temperature sensors instead of thermometers to investigate the cooling of a drink. Use other sensors as opportunities arise.  Consider the advantages of sensors over human sensors and suggest some uses for them around the home. Use control technology to power models (juston/off to start with) and develop this further (move left/right, fast/slow). Do a control project that combines the use of sensors with control.

Age 11-13

Develop the use of sensors - starting with some initial demonstrations - moving onto investigations. Introduce different sensors, show what they measure and how they are used at home. Pupils might also learn to use a data logger to say, compare indoor and outdoor temperatures over the day.  Use digital sensors for measuring their reaction time or things sliding down a slope. Build a control system such as an air conditioning system or a baby incubator.

Age 14-16

By this age, pupils should be using sensors as scientific tools in investigations and projects. They should develop the skill to use two different sensors at once and plot one value say, pressure against temperature. They should examine data critically and if the data logging software is rather limited, they might learn to put the data into a spreadsheet. Combining data, graphs and text in a word processor report is another important skill. For control work pupils might develop a control system using sensors (push switches or light sensors) and output devices (heaters, buzzers, lamps). In some courses, they would be expected to plan, design, make, test, evaluate and document their project.

Age 18-

Pupil's skills should be put to full use at this age, although sooner would be much more useful. They should be able to choose their measuring tools, analyse data, criticise and document their work on the computer.

See especially Roger Frost's Data_Logging_and_Control

This resource was created by Roger Frost, and is under the ORBIT's CC licence.


Data logging

Data Logging and Control

to handle and analyse data

Handle data with a spreadsheet

 
Numbers, graphs and maths - spreadsheet
Tool details
Title Numbers, graphs and maths
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform
Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

Handle data with other software

Spreadsheets(i) have an astonishing range of functions that help with maths or modelling. They appear to turn any mathematical trick so there may be an assumption that spreadsheets are the tool to handle all calculations and graphs.

However, there are other tools. Furthermore, they may be designed for tasks we need to do in school and actually do things that a spreadsheet does not do. For example, there are data handling packages designed for use with data collected from sensors(i). These packages can take reading at points on a graph(i); calculate(i) net changes; calculate graph areas; plot a rate of change against time and these things can often be done with less IT training and more efficiency.

to model an idea and visualise

 
Explain ideas using animation
Tool details
Title Explain ideas using animation
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform
Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

SCRATCH; POWERPOINT; TOOLS IN THIS SECTION


Further notes:

  • Visualising Ideas: Mind maps and similar ideas, see e.g. http://www.tessafrica.net/files/tessafrica/kr_brainstorming.pdf
  • Visualising Data: Undertanding the relationship between data (numbers or words) and how they can be visualised - e.g. how changes in numbers impact on the mean, and thus on the graph.
  • Visualising Processes and Simple Ideas: Diagrams in science, Drawing shapes

Model geometry with GEOGEBRA

 
Modelling geometry - Geogebra
Tool details
Title Modelling geometry
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool or download

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links

Use Geogebra for visualisation and modelling

Link


   

Map your mind’s ideas at MINDMEISTER

 
Plan and make a mindmap - Mindmeister
Tool details
Title Plan and make a mindmap
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

Web tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link


   

Create word and tag ‘clouds’ at TAGCLOUD

 
Illustrate content as a word cloud - using Wordle +
Tool details
Title Illustrate content as a word cloud
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform

web tool

Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link



to present

Describe your experiment on video

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Watch video - Youtube - Others - Khan Academy
Tool details
Title Watch video
Topic
Licence / Cost / Platform
Subject / Categories
Teaching Ideas / Links
Link

to find information

Internet

<-- Tools/GoogleDrive -->>

Research from within a document

The keen-eyed will have noted that a right-click on text in Microsoft Word can launch a side-panel containing definitions; Wiki pages and information. The feature appears in Google Drive (formerly Google Docs),

A right-click on a word in a Google document show this in much the same way:

 

 


Tools/edusearch

searching for somewhere to search, try the tools on www.scoop.it/edu-search

Teachers may also find this document https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KdxyaC9_7T5zXYhij2CK3s5EyRT-Sq3NbbaWrwSCXzk/edit on conducting research on the internet useful; it offers advice on task design, some websites for lesson ideas, and some ideas for embedding research into high quality pedagogy.

To teach/work with coding

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NY1s-s5S3BGnVgGnwA18hTyMIYk4ZkkpVioFiewWFQE/

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