Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Weally Wonderful Websites – V5.4
Author: Gerry Kennedy © September 2011
Numerous web sites that accommodate students who have different learning styles and needs exist and are used daily in
classrooms throughout Australia. It is often difficult to locate and remember the links for useful education based sites, as well as for
access, communication, use with Interactive Whiteboards, switches and other devices. Remembering and storing favourites and
keeping track of them are also difficult if educators move from one classroom to another or from one location (e.g. home) to school.
Programs such as Delicious (http://www.delicious.com/) provide opportunities for users to store and keep favourite and important
web URLs (an abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator). Delicious uses a non-hierarchical classification system in which users
can tag each of their bookmarks with freely chosen index terms. A combined view of everyone's bookmarks with a given tag is
available; for instance, the URL "http://delicious.com/tag/maths" displays all of the most recent links tagged "maths". Its collective
nature makes it possible to view bookmarks added by other users.
Delicious has a "hotlist" on its home page and "popular" and "recent" pages, which help to make the website a barometer of
Internet trends. Users can access it on any internet connected PC or Notebook so that users can reference their own links, and
that of thousands of others who have stored and tagged similar content. It is a free service and is protected by password access.
Design Principles Employed in this Document
1.
To make it easier and faster to locate sites, especially when working with students for greater autonomy and independence, I have
chosen to record URLs in an MS Word Document, with the data arranged in a table format.
2. The document can then be stored on school servers or classroom computers or saved to external hard or USB thumb drives for quick
and easy access at school or at home. No need to remember a specific web address!
3. The MS Word file format can also be converted to a PDF, or to Large Print, or it can be converted into MP3 format (using free TTS
and text-to-audio software such as Balabolka (http://balabolka.download.hdttp.com/) or Wordtalk (see below). Reversioning into
alternate formats, as well as to hard copy, caters to different learning/access needs.
4. Each web site has a thumbnail representation to CRTL-Left click on (i.e. hyperlinked to the corresponding web home page or relevant
start page of a site). This provides a visual cue for students who are very young and also caters to non-readers, the print handicapped
or those with dyslexia or other learning difficulties or people who are ‘visual learners’.
5. To navigate to the site required, simply CTRL-Left click onto the graphic representation of the site in the left hand column.
6. The sites are grouped according to KLA (Key Learning Areas) and a brief description and blurb is provided so that teachers, support
staff, parents and students can quickly identify sites that might cater to their needs more quickly before randomly navigating to them. It
saves efforts to try to type the correct URL, some of which are quite challenging.
7. To assist students who require Text-to-Speech technology so that they can listen to the text being voiced as they read, download and
install a free copy of Wordtalk V4.2 (http://www.wordtalk.org.uk/Home/). It will appear as an ‘add-in’ in MS Word 2007/2010 or as a
new toolbar in MS Word 2003.
8. Another handy free program is Orato (http://www.fxc.btinternet.co.uk/oratosetup.exe). It will voice any text that is copied to the
clipboard (i.e. the user highlights or selects text in any application, website or CD and then presses Ctrl-C keys).
9. Sections are separated with corresponding page numbers and the headings are coloured for easier referencing.
10. Categories are all listed for easy location and navigation throughout the document. To navigate quickly to a page, press Ctrl-G and
type in the desired page number and then press Enter or click on the Go To button.
11. A NEW feature: Sites added from a previous version are now marked in a yellow highlight with NEW added to suitability.
Please email or contact me and share other sites that you have discovered or use in your classrooms with students so that this document can
become an ongoing resource, to be updated every month or so and then republished and shared. This is Version 5.4 and I hope to expand it to
many more pages in 2011. Please also report lost, missing or dead links to me at: specmelb@bigpond.net.au. Please feel free to
distribute/republish this document and post this document to other sites “as is”.
Note: Up-to-date copies of Weally Wonderful Websites, and other articles are available at: http://ndco.cds.org.au/index.php/at/60-gerrykennedy-at-articles and at http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/blog/web-links/weally-wonderful-websites/.
These are resources are all available as downloads in MS Word format and on other sites in PDF format.
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826
Page 1
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Category
Research and Data Collection
Dictionary and Thesaurus
eBooks & Free Books Online - Updated
Talking Books
Literacy Activities & Games - Updated
Spelling and Phonics
Brainstorming & Mind Mapping
Organisation & Planning - Updated
Mathematics - Updated
Science - Updated
Cause and Effect and Switch Activities
Pages
3
4
5-7
8-10
11-13
14-15
16
17-18
19-24
25-27
28-30
(many activities also suitable for Touch Window and IWB)
Music - Updated
Problem Solving - Updated
Teaching Resources for Educators - Updated
Disability Related Resources - Updated
Freeware & Open Source - Updated
Web Browsers - Updated
Geography and History - Updated
Art & Design - Updated
iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch Resources - Updated
Typing and Keyboarding - New
Blogging and Online Communities - New
31-34
35
36-42
43-44
45-46
47-48
49
50-53
54-56
57
58
 Remember: Press CTRL-G and then the page number (e.g. 23) to move directly to that page.
 To decrease and enlarge the document view, hold down the CTRL key and roll the mouse wheel forwards (to increase) and
backwards (to decrease) the page magnification.
Some advice to parents and educators about using online resources:
Websites content sometimes changes in design, appearance and location and even functionality over time.
Some sites update daily (e.g. news services) whilst others may look slightly or completely different over time.
The URL (or web address) or web links can sometimes change, be redirected or fail (as there may be some short or long term
maintenance on the site).
Some sites are closed, shut down or taken over by other companies or individuals and redirection notices posted.
Add favourite or useful sites to the Bookmark’s or Favourites in logical sections/folders on a school or home computer
Use online sites such as http://www.diigo.com/, http://www.delicious.com/ and http://livebinders.com/ to store web links (with
annotations and tags) so that they can be located and referenced on any computer/location that has internet access
If you discover sites that are appropriate and meet your needs, use a text highlight colour and ‘paint’ or highlight the section(s)
in this document for easy referral for yourself, students or other colleagues. Blue highlights mean that they are newly added.
Be aware that some sites download large amounts of data (especially video, music and rich multimedia content) so be sure not
to over extend your internet usage allowance, particularly at home.
Some programs require certain privileges to download and/or to install them. If in doubt, ask for IT support or advice.
Some programs are very large in size so be sure to check available disk space or download usage/time so that the file can be
safely and securely acquired.
In addition:
Always have up-to-date firewall and virus protection software installed and active.
Make sure security, content and privacy settings are active and set to appropriate levels.
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Research & Data Collection
Description and Suitability
http://www.parkfieldict.co.uk/infant/ : A picture based interface encyclopedia for students in
primary of for students who have different learning needs. Navigation is easy and the topics
cater to younger students. An ideal resource to be used online in classrooms as content is
relevant and safe.
Suitable for: Very young children and those with different abilities.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/ : Encyclopedia.com is an online library and research Web site.
Encyclopedia.com puts millions of articles from some of the world’s most authoritative and
highly respected publications at a student’s fingertips. It is a free online encyclopedia and
features premier titles like The Columbia Encyclopedia, Oxford’s World Encyclopedia, and the
Encyclopedia of World Biography.
Suitable for: Upper primary and secondary students.
http://kids.britannica.com/ : Britannica Online For Kids is an essential online homework helper
for children aged 6-14 years. It covers core subjects - Mathematics, English and Science as well
as History, Geography, the Arts and many more subject areas. Britannica Online For Kids
provides access to curriculum relevant encyclopedia articles, learning activities, games and
videos for Years 3 through 10 in Australia and New Zealand.
Suitable for: Lower and upper primary and junior secondary students
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children's_Encyclop%C3%A6dia: The Children's Encyclopedia
was an encyclopedia originated by Arthur Mee and published by the Educational Book
Company, a subsidiary of Amalgamated Press of London.
It was published from 1908 to 1964. Walter M. Jackson's company Grolier acquired the rights to
publish it in the U.S. under the name ‘The Book of Knowledge’ (1910). Each search will also
generate appropriate images, photographs, drawings, maps and other pertinent illustrations.
Suitable for: Lower and upper primary and junior secondary students
http://www.factmonster.com/ : The Fact Monster provides students with an Encyclopedia
Search that has access to more than 57,000 articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. It offers an inviting uncluttered interface and the information is appropriate for most
students in primary and secondary schools.
Suitable for: Lower and upper primary and junior secondary students
http://www.rudimentsofwisdom.com/ : An interesting concept, with the rudimentary topics of an
encyclopedia represented in cartoon descriptors. This will appeal to students who enjoy
cartoons and require simplified content for research in an amendable format.
Suitable for: Lower and upper primary and junior secondary students
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Info:Main_Page The New World Encyclopedia
organizes human knowledge in a way that allows a reader to learn information, not just for its
own sake, but for its value to the world as a whole. The underlying goal of the encyclopedia is to
promote knowledge that leads to happiness, well-being and world peace. The New World
Encyclopedia is an ever-expanding body of knowledge that currently contains thousands of
carefully selected articles.
Suitable for: Lower and upper primary and junior secondary students
http://www.freepedia.co.uk/ : Freepedia is a series of free encyclopaedias. They currently specialise in the
historical research of writers and period properties but they also intend to branch out into other areas.
Entries usually include a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The text within each entry is linked to
other relevant pages in the encyclopaedia and on the web.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Dictionary and Thesaurus
Description and Suitability
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx : This is a very clear and
uncluttered web site. The word definitions appear quickly and in a large clear font. All dictionary
words and definitions are sourced from Encarta ® World English Dictionary and 2009 Microsoft
Corporation. The site content was developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Suitable for: Lower and upper primary and junior secondary students.
http://dictionary.reference.com/ : Provides meaning and definitions for millions of words. It also
has a Flash Card game across word puzzles and links to other sites for thesaurus and word
game activities. A free app for iPhones, iPads, Androids and other mobile devices is freely
downloadable for portable access to this very flexible dictionary.
Suitable for: Upper primary, secondary and tertiary students.
http://dictionary.babylon.com/ : Babylon online dictionary provides meanings for words in
numerous categories. More than 1400 dictionaries and 75 languages are available. Users can
search myriads of terms, expressions and phrases and it covers a wide range of fields such as
Law, Science, Medicine, Music, Business and many more.
Suitable for: Upper primary, secondary and tertiary students.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ : An extremely comprehensive and powerful online resource.
It is ‘busy’ and quite cluttered in design but it offers a great deal of flexibility with many options. It
provides some online activities such as a Spelling Bee, Hangman game and word of the day.
Multiple language support caters to LOTE students and those who wish to work in languages
other than English. Note: A free toolbar add-in is available for Mozilla Firefox browsers and has
a great deal to offer more capable students.
Suitable for: Upper primary, secondary and tertiary students.
http://www.dicts.info/ : Dicts.info is an extensive free Dictionary Project. It represents an
extremely comprehensive resource site that lists every conceivable resource to do with
meanings, derivations and contexts of words as well as free downloadable dictionaries, portable
apps and other related resources.
Suitable for: Upper primary, secondary and tertiary students.
http://www.lingoes.net/ : Lingoes is an easy and intuitive dictionary and text translation
software, It offers lookup dictionaries, full text translation, capture word on screen, translate
selected text and pronunciation of words in over 80 languages. These languages are English,
French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Greek, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Polish, Arabic, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Thai and more...
Suitable: Upper Primary and Secondary through Tertiary and ESL students
http://www.sequencepublishing.com/thesage.html : The Sage's English Dictionary and
Thesaurus is a professional software package that integrates a complete dictionary and
multifaceted thesaurus of the English language into a single and powerful language reference
system. The Sage can look up words directly from almost any program (Internet Explorer, MS
Word, Mozilla Firefox, MS Outlook) and is also 100% portable. Due to popular demand, The
Sage's dictionary is online.
Note: Only the definition database is consulted.
Suitable for: More capable Upper Primary and all Secondary and Tertiary students
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
eBooks & Free Books
Online
Description and Suitability
http://www.bartleby.com/ : Bartleby is an internet publisher of literature, reference and verse providing
students, researchers and curious readers with unlimited access to books and information on the web at
no cost.
Suitable for: Upper primary and junior secondary students.
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page : Gutenberg.org is one of the most useful web sites for locating
and obtaining free eBooks that are out of copyright (i.e. published over 50 years). Texts can be acquired in
a number of text, HTML and PDF formats as well as in popular eBook formats including ePub and Plucker.
Students can download over 33,000 free eBooks to read on a PC, iPad, Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader,
iPhone, iPod Touch, Android or other mobile phone. They provide high quality books. Their free books
were previously published by bona fide publishers and digitized with the help of thousands of volunteers.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary and Tertiary students as well as all educators.
http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/ : ‘All Books Should Be Free’ is a source of free audio books. Books
Should Be Free hosts hundreds of free audio books in a wide range of categories and offers titles for
readers of all ages. The audio books can be downloaded from Books Should Be Free website and or via
iTunes software. All of the audio books in the collection are either public domain or Creative Commons
works. Books are illustrated with a cover page for easier identification. Suitable: Readers of all ages.
:
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/index.html : The Online Books Page is a website that facilitates
access to books that are freely readable over the Internet and aims to encourage the development of
online books, for the benefit and edification of all. Major parts of the site include:
An index of hundreds of thousands of online books freely readable on the Internet ; Pointers to significant
directories and archives of online texts ; Special exhibits of particularly interesting classes of online books ;
Information on how readers can help support their growth
Suitable: Readers of all ages
http://www.e-book.com.au/freebooks.htm: A listing of sites that provide access to eBooks in the public
domain that may be freely accessed, as well as some other books under specified conditions. This website
lists links to free digital libraries in Australia and New Zealand as well as free eBook websites.
Suitable: For readers of all ages
http://www.bookshare.org/ : Bookshare offers accessible books to people all over the world with qualifying
print disabilities. Thousands of accessible books are available for download to International Members,
based on copyright permissions granted by publishers and authors. Currently Bookshare has over 90,000
books available to their members in over 30 countries.
Suitable: For readers of all ages
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/50-places-free-books-online.htm: Gizmo’s Free Listings: This is a
listing of 260 sites that legally offer free books (eBooks) for download or for online viewing. The author
discovered these sites, all or most of which should offer free eBooks as a reference. They should be
authentic but some have not been thoroughly checked.
Suitable for: Readers of all ages
http://worldlibrary.net/: World Public Library is a subscriber service. The World Public Library Association
Collection boasts more than 500,000 eBooks all published in the PDF format and are available in over 90
languages.
Suitable for: Upper Primary through to adults. Subscription required.
http://bookbuilder.cast.org/ - UDL Book Reader Share publish and read books online or offline
Students can use Book Builder site to create, share, publish, and read digital books that engage and
support diverse learners according to their individual needs, interests, and skills.
Suitable for: Readers of all ages.
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/meta/titles/A.html - University of Adelaide - The purpose of this site is to
provide access to the “classic” works of civilisation and to promote reading of the same. There are many
sites offering classic works in one form or another. Putting them into a format which readers might actually
enjoy using them is their aim. Suitable for: Readers of all ages.
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
eBooks & Free Books
Online
Description and Suitability
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ : These are not talking books but a treasure trove of stories from all genres,
catering to younger children and those that require illustrated texts. The books can be read online. This
site is very suitable for children using Interactive Whiteboards in classrooms and equally at home with
mouse or trackball or touch window/screen.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary.
http://www.mape.org.uk/activities/BigBooks/index.htm : NAACE Primary - Big books. These do not have
speech but are designed to be used online (or offline) as Big Books. Thirteen books are listed. Each book
has text on the left hand side and photographs on the right.
Suitable for: P – Year 3 and children with different abilities.
http://www.auburn.edu/~murrag1/bookindex.html:
‘GenieBooks in PowerPoint’ are decodable books for beginning readers Books in PowerPoint format. All
are listed with brief descriptions next to them. They do not have speech but are colourful and well
designed. (Note: Some are in HTML format).
Suitable for: P – Year 3 and children with different abilities.
http://www.planetebook.com/ : Planet eBook is the home of free classic literature. All of their novels and
books are entirely free for readers to download and share with their friends, classmates or educator’s
students. There are about a hundred of titles including most of the classics. They are in PDF format and
can be downloaded as 1 page or as 2-page eBooks.
Suitable for: P – Year 12
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/ Free poetry. The Poetry Foundation offers news, articles, media links,
poetry events, videos, audio casts, podcasts and more! A very comprehensive site.
Suitable for: Years 2 – Year 12
http://www.inklesstales.com/stories/index.shtml Inkless Tales. Collections of stories, poems and colouringin activities, as well as a download section and games. Downloads are available as PDF files. The DOLCH
collection is wonderful.
Suitable for: K-Year 2
http://literactive.com/Home/index.asp: This site offers a number of different resources – all to do with
reading. There are eBooks, ePoetry, learning activities and blackline masters, with a very useful download
section. “Literactive was devised and developed by a professional team of educators and technical
developers. The program is designed to help early learners develop their reading and comprehension skills
through a carefully balanced and progressive reading program.” There are a good range of Flash formatted
activities to download and use, once users are registered (this is all free).
Suitable for: K-Year 8
http://reading.ecb.org/ : Into the Book is a reading comprehension resource for K-4 students and teachers.
They focus on eight research-based strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning,
Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing. Online interactive activities, with
engaging 15-minute video programs. ‘Behind the Lesson’ provides information and teaching resources for
each strategy.
Suitable for: Years P- 4
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
eBooks & Free Books
Online
Description and Suitability
http://www.jacketflap.com/?utm_source=Read+Print+Newsletter&utm_campaign=23d81f0af9Online_Resources1_5_2011&utm_medium=email JacketFlap - This is another site targeted at younger
students. It is a very comprehensive site for Children's Literature. They have a database of over 900,000
children's books, blogs, publishers as well as member bookshelves. JacketFlap connects students to the
work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and
Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher
in the children's / young adult book industry.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary NEW
http://www.sparknotes.com/sparknotes/?utm_source=Read+Print+Newsletter&utm_campaign=23d81f0af9Online_Resources1_5_2011&utm_medium=email SparkNotes - One of the handy resources that students
can use is SparkNotes, which is a modern version of the old Cliff's Notes, with many new features. So, if
you are a student or know any who need homework help for English or Literature classes, be sure to check
this site out.
Suitable for: Secondary and Tertiary students and adults NEW
http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/?utm_source=Read+Print+Newsletter&utm_campaign=23d81f0af9Online_Resources1_5_2011&utm_medium=email Flashlight Worth Books - A curated list of book
recommendations. The site currently features 427 lists of books ranging from "Tween Romances to Love"
to "10 Great Books for Mother-Daughter Book Clubs" to "Malcolm Gladwell's Favourite Books" helpfully
categorized into areas like Award Winners, Health & Medicine, and Sea Stories.
Suitable for: Secondary and Tertiary students and adults NEW
http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/ E-Books Directory is a daily growing list of freely downloadable eBooks,
documents and lecture notes found on the internet. Users can elect to submit and promote their own
eBooks, add comments on posted books or just browse through the directory below and download
anything that they need.
Suitable for: Secondary and Tertiary students and adults NEW
http://www.learnoutloud.com/ We want to promote the use of audio and video educational material for
personal and professional development. What does this mean? It means that we want to help you to see
how you can turn 'dead time' (time spent commuting, exercising, doing chores, etc.) into 'learning time.'
Most of us have at least a couple of hours each day where we could be learning a foreign language,
deepening our spiritual or philosophical interests or learning about any of hundreds of different subjects.
We want to help you find material that is both entertaining and educational.
Suitable for: Secondary and Tertiary students and adults NEW
http://www.hip-books.com/index.php - These books are not free but cater to disengaged readers
(predominantly boys) and are at an appropriate reading level. All eight titles in the HIP Edge series, ideal
for students in secondary school who are reading at a grade 3-4 level but with topics and stories that are of
interest to teenagers. All eight novels are set at Edgemont High, with some characters appearing in three
or four different books. Special price for the set: US $79.95
Suitable for: Secondary and Tertiary students and adults NEW
http://marvel.com/digital_comics/ Marvel Comics will appeal to those students who may be reluctant
readers but who would enjoy reading and researching the vast array of Marvel Comics. It offers news,
games, videos, links, discussion boards and has downloads and extras for students to explore. A
comprehensive site with some great resources and with high interest content that may appeal to boys who
struggle with other genres.
Suitable for: Secondary students NEW
http://www.shelfari.com/ Shelfari is a community-powered encyclopaedia for book lovers. Students can
create a virtual bookshelf, discover new books, connect with friends and learn more about their favourite
books – all for free. An excellent resource for teachers and students alike.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Talking Books
Description and Suitability
http://www.priorywoods.middlesbrough.sch.uk/page_viewer.asp?page=Talking+Story+Books&pid=75
These are the very popular talking books from Priory Woods in the UK. Simple talking storybooks
can be created with commonly available presentation software such as MS PowerPoint enabling and
motivating children with poor literacy skills to produce meaningful, high quality work. All of the stories
featured on this site were created together with pupils from as young as Year 1. They give educators
and students some ideas for talking story books and what can be achieved.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students with special learning and/or reading needs.
http://www.speakaboos.com/corporate/about : Speakaboos provides a range of stories online for
retelling of a wide range of books including fairy tales, fables, folk tales, nursery rhymes and songs.
Most of the content is free. The high quality production provides animation, music and books retold
using actor’s voices.
Suitable: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary and especially children with different abilities.
http://www.aesopfables.com/aesop1.html : Online collection of Aesop’s Fables includes a total of 638
Fables, indexed in table format, with the associated morals listed. Many of the books are narrated
using children's voices. It is a very austere site with few tricks and graphics. It caters to students who
are familiar and comfortable with reading text, or listening to text.
Suitable for: All students who are studying or enjoy Fables.
http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/: Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audio book)
format. You can Download the files to your Mp3 player and listen on the go; listen to the Mp3 files on your computer
or view the text on a webpage and read along as you listen or print out the stories and poems to
make your own book.
Suitable for: Primary through Secondary
http://www.magickeys.com/books/ : Illustrated children's stories for children of all ages. The titles are
categorized for very young, young and older students. Each title has an associated graphic
representing the story. There are also links to games, colouring-in books and other relevant activities.
Suitable for: Readers of all ages who require illustrated books.
http://tarheelreader.org/ : Tar Heel Reader is a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books
on a wide range of topics. The books may be downloaded as slide shows in PowerPoint, Impress
(i.e. Open Office Org – www.openoffice.org ) or in Flash format. Each book can be speech enabled
(online) and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, IntelliKeys with custom
overlays, and 1 to 3 switches. Books can be read in PowerPoint on a PC using PowerTalk freeware
(http://fullmeasure.co.uk/powertalk/). PowerTalk will voice any MS Windows PowerPoint file.
Suitable: Junior Primary through Secondary, especially reluctant readers.
http://librivox.org/ : LibriVox provides free audio books all taken from the public domain. There are
several options for listening. The first step is to get the MP3 or Ogg Vorbis (i.e. a sound/music
format) files into your own computer. There are over 4000 projects available.
Suitable for: Upper Primary and Secondary students
http://staff.prairiesouth.ca/~cassidy.kathy/browserbooks/index.htm: This website was created to allow
beginning readers to read books on their web browser. Readers can click on the triangle in the lower
right-hand corner of each page to turn the pages. If they are unsure of a word, they can click on it to
hear a child's voice read the word to them. The books have been sorted by level and by subject
according to the curriculum.
Suitable for: Upper Primary and junior Secondary students
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/junieb/letter/letter.html This website features Junie B. Jones, the
character from the chapter book series. It is a creative resource for further reading about this popular
character and has activities and games. There are a variety of spelling games to learn new words.
Suitable For: Year 2 through 4
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Talking Books
Description and Suitability
http://www.esl-storybooks.com - ESL Storybooks: Appropriate storybooks for beginner students,
interest level 6 to 12 years. Storybooks and ESL Textbooks for English as a Second Language. This
website is for ESL Teachers who need ESL Instructional material for ESL Kids. Their storybooks
feature exciting adventure stories to encourage children reading and comprehension of English as a
second language.
Suitable for: Year 6 - 12
http://www.riverdeep.net/language_arts/edmark_lang_arts/MakeAStory/MakeAStory.html - Make a
Story - from Edmark. Use of simple yet effective animation with words closed out. Children click on
objects to complete simple questions. Engaging graphics and clear use of a child actor’s voice.
Suitable for: P – 2 and children with different abilities.
http://www.storylineonline.net/ - Storyline Online provides children with a number of books that are
read aloud by actors. Well known actors’ voices are used. The animation and colour is very engaging
and there are a number of stories from which to choose. There are follow-up activities online as well
as downloadable activities for each story. All of the stories are captioned.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary.
http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal : Children can type their own
sentence or short story and an online avatar (or character) will voice it back immediately. It lists a
very large range of text-to-speech voices and is ideal for ‘testing’ TTS voices with children, before
buying other programs. In addition, it’s just fun.
Suitable for: P – Year 2 and children with different abilities.
http://readingeggs.com.au/: A free 14 day trial is available to Reading Eggs, an ABC site. “ABC
Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading
games and activities. Children love the games, songs, golden eggs and other rewards which, along
with feeling proud of their reading, really motivate children to keep exploring and learning.” There are
plans for schools, classes and parents at home.
Suitable for: P – Year 2 and children with different abilities.
http://www.signedstories.com/index.cfm Signed Stories is a wonderful web site with animated
storybooks and stories with narration, music and sound effects, most particularly with signed English
(UK sign language). There are many stories in different genres – adventure, fairy tales and folk tales,
ones for toddlers, families and fun ones! A great resource for both students and people wishing to
use/learn/model sign language and practise skills.
Suitable for: P – Year 9 and children with different abilities, especially Deaf or staff dealing with
signing (UK based)
http://www.onlineaudiostories.com/ : Online Audio Stories – is a collection of children’s stories.
Online Audio Stories is the sister site of Tales of Time. The www.talesoftime.co.uk site produces
great quality audio stories and each story is layered in hundreds of sound effects and accompanying
music for a better and more enhanced audio experience. Both sites were created by Abigail Rice and
Dalibor Kozak in 2007.
Suitable for: P – Year 6 students and those who require audio
http://www.talesoftime.co.uk/ : Another site with story books targeted at children. Tales of Time
are high quality Audio Stories for Children with sound effects and music. There are some that are
free to download and use, with the text sent to the user. Others are at cost in UK pounds. A wide
range of titles are available.
Suitable for: P – Year 6 students and those who require audio
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Talking Books
Description and Suitability
http://www.shuifeng.net/Dic/LittleFox/LittleFoxShow.asp?id=702285481: Grandpa’s Farm has pages
of a story spoken in a female human sounding voice. There is also a movie as well from which to
choose. At the end of the story, young children can move the animals onto the farm page using a
mouse, touch window or IWB.
Suitable For: Prep – Year 1
www.simplyaudiobooks.com : Simply Audio Books allows users to download free digital audio books
and listen on a favorite MP3 player, computer, or simply burn the audio books to a CD. There are
over 6,000 audio books, lectures, radio shows. There is a 15 day free trial then paid subscription.
Suitable for : All ages
www.childrenstory.com : There are several types of children's books. The main categories are
picture books, fairy tales and folktales, traditional literature, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, and
poetry. Some in audio format is available as well. ‘All books written specifically for children would be
considered a children's story. Children's books are specifically for children up to the age of twelve.
Most of these books are illustrated, but as the reader gets older, the illustrations are less and less.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 4
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Literacy Activities/Games
Description and Suitability
http://www.starfall.com : Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to
motivate children to read with phonics. Their systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with
phonemic awareness practice is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first year, second year,
special education, home school, and English language development (i.e. ESL). Starfall is an
educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.
Suitable for: Junior Primary and especially children with different abilities
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/literacy.shtml : This website has many
different games for children to develop literacy skills. There are multiple games under each
category to keep children interested. Each game is challenging in multiple ways. A number of
different sites are provided to cater to different needs.
Suitable for: For Junior Primary through to Junior Secondary
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bll/ : The Scholastic Language and Literacy site has
some wonderful activities. This website focuses on rhyming, naming, and letters. Three
different animals encourage students to work with them to build vocabulary, identify letters, and
match rhyming words.
Suitable for: Junior Primary through Year 1 and children with different abilities.
http://pages.cms.k12.nc.us/tiffanyclarke/onlineliteracyactivities.html : Mrs. Clarke’s Welcome to
Year 1: A comprehensive list of online interactive websites. Students can practice correct
sentence structure using keyboard and mouse with this vast assortment of sites. Many are ideal
for use with an Interactive Whiteboard in the classroom with one or more students in pairs or in
small groups.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 2 or students with different abilities.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/lions/activities/view-read-do.html : A useful website, full of viewread-do activities that connect to children and their imagination with clever use of video, online
books and other learning activities. It is based on the PBS show ‘Between the Lions’. There are
games, stories and video clips to watch.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 4.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/lions/activities/view-read-do.html : This website features the Junie
B. Jones, the character from the Chapter Book series. It is a creative resource for further
reading about this popular character and has activities and games. There are a variety of
spelling games to learn new words.
Suitable for: Year 2 to Year 5
http://www.funbrain.com : This website offers games from different subject areas. These
games will help strengthen writing, reading skills and acquisition of vocabulary. The website
has multiple activities to encourage students to read and includes web books, word games,
grammar and spelling activities and word confusion. Navigate by selecting a year level or by
using the "reading" link.
Note: Incorporates some sign language.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 7
http://www.learningplanet.com/index.asp : This is an interactive website that allows students to
play online learning games. It lists categories by Year level. The website extends activities up to
Year 8. It also offers other curriculum content (including Maths activities).
Suitable for: Junior Primary to past Year 8
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Literacy Activities/Games
Description and Suitability
http://www.tooter4kids.com/classroom/just4kids.htm : Tooter4Kids - This website offers
numerous links that take the user to other websites. Each link is for a different interactive
activity. Each activity focuses on improving literacy skills.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 3
http://www.literacycenter.net/ : Literacy Centre.net - This is an interactive website for student
use. It has activities to assist children in learning the alphabet, write letters and words, as well
as learn colors, shapes and numbers. It also provides activities for keyboard practice and
developing skills.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 1
http://pbskids.org/games/index.html : PBS Kids: PBS Kids is a website where children can play
interactive games online. They concentrate on some of the popular shows that they watch on
television, such as "Arthur." It is bright and colorful and very interactive. A great deal of content
is offered. There are video channels as well.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 3
http://www.nickjr.com : Nick Junior: Noggin is part of Nick Jr. The website allows children to
play a variety of games featuring characters from television shows. Children learn literacy skills
as they play. There are printable pages of suitable activities for the children to complete after
they have finished the online games.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 2
http://www.readwritethink.org : Read Write Think: This website has many games that have
multiple difficulty levels. It allows students to progress in their literacy development through the
interactive games. It guides students in the learning of the alphabet, rhyming, singular and
plural words, phonemes and capital letters.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 8
http://pbskids.org/superwhy/# : PBS SuperWhy: This is an exciting website for children with
wonderful use of colour and animation. In Story Book Village, you can play games, read,
complete activities and explore the environment. Words pop up as the content in the site talks to
the students. This site offers Letter Bingo and the Super Readers' Challenge.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 2
http://pbskids.org/wordworld/index_flash.html : PBS WonderWorld: This site offers many
educational games as well as activities to do. All of the animals and objects on this site are
made up of their written letters. For example, the Bear visual has the letters: b e a r. This
reinforces the print component of reading, as well as the sounds that are heard in the words.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 2
http://pbskids.org/sesame/ : This website has many ABC and letter games, rhyming and
bilingual games, videos and activities that enhance children's literacy development. Children
learn with their favorite Sesame Street characters (Rhyme with Grover, Abby's Adventure,
Rosita's Fiesta, and Cookie Monster's Alphabet Soup). Learning with the Sesame Street
Muppets is engaging and motivating for younger students.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 2
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Literacy Activities/Games
Description and Suitability
www.gigglepoetry.com : Giggle Poetry provides 100’s of funny poems for students of all ages to
to read and explore. It has poetry to appeal to all tastes and ages. It also provides poetry
workshops – how to write poems, limericks, fill-in-the-blanks activities and locate different styles
of poetry writing. It lists author and comments by famous poets. Extremely comprehensive and
makes poetry come alive!
Suitable for: Primary to Junior Secondary
www.indianchild.com/tongue_twisters.htm : This Indian Child site offers a number of great
tongue twisters for kids. ‘A Tongue Twister is a phrase or sentence which is hard to speak
quickly, usually because of alliteration or a sequence of nearly similar sounds. It helps develop
speech skills & helps in speech therapy. To get the full effect of a tongue twister you should try
to repeat it several times, as quickly as possible, without stumbling or mispronouncing.’
Suitable for: Primary aged students
http://www.roythezebra.com/reading-games-sentence-level.html : The interactive reading games
are ideal for developing the reading skills of students of all abilities. Educators can use the
reading games on their interactive whiteboard, or computer, at school or the activities can be
used at home. Users register if they intend to use these games. The games are listed by word
level and sentence level activities. To find a game quickly simply use the 'quick game finder'.
Suitable for: Primary aged students
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/ : The Magic School Bus: This website has a wide
variety of things to do. There are learning games (I SPY, bingo and puzzles). There are games,
various activities, stories, printables and videos. There are science connections in many of the
stories.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 4
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-and-games Learn English online with the
help of this free website from the British Council with games, stories, listening activities
and grammar exercises. Students can search for their favourites, or have a look at the
site map to find out where everything is. Students will find many new listening activities
and video content in Listen & Watch. They also have a new Grammar section and new
IELTS exam practice materials. There are new sections about the upcoming Olympic
Games in Britain as well. Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://www.shmoop.com/ Guides to about 200 classic school novels . Includes an Intro
Summary (Why Should I Care section), Themes, , Characters, Analysis, Quotes,
Questions, Photos, Quizzes, Best of the Web, Write Essay and a very useful and
practical Teaching section for educators. Also offers a wonderful step-by-step essay
writing tool. Includes ads, as the only downside.
Suitable for: Upper Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://www.60secondrecap.com/resource/ This site has ads but is worth investigating. It
has some really practical tips on reading and writing. ‘60second Recap® wants to make
the great works of literature accessible, relevant and irresistible to today’s teenagers.
Through their video albums, they seek to help teens engage with the best books, not
only to help them get better grades, but to help them build better lives.’
Suitable for: Upper Primary and Secondary students NEW
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Spelling and Phonics
Description and Suitability
www.kidsspell.com : Kid’s Spell is an interactive website that teaches young children spelling
words. There are games to play that help them learn new words to increase their vocabulary as
well as spelling. There are different games such as letter drop and ‘spelloons’. Over 6,600
words are provided in an assortment of activities.
Suitable for Junior Primary to Year 3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/clusters/blender/index.shtml : This is a good
website for learning phonics, especially blending sounds. It is interactive. The ‘blender’ provides
the word and asks the child for the beginning sound, and then the ending sound. It offers
phonics, CVC words, consonant clusters, long vowel sounds and high frequency words.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 1
http://www.progressivephonics.com/ : This website offers many different things to learn about
phonics and reading. There are different levels from beginner to advanced level. In each level
there are many different types of books to read and things to learn. It is easy to navigate and
find what students need. It is appropriate great for children to use alone, or with a teacher,
parent, or tutor.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 4
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html : The Literacy Zone; Interactive
The English Games and Activities site is a vast collection of spelling activities and exercises. It
is extremely comprehensive and offers hundreds of games and activities, all represented
graphically.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary
http://www.efdlrs.com/~sunrise/parentsreading1/ : This website is a course that provides
participants with an overview of phonological awareness. There are handy and useful tips for
helping children to participate in their own learning. It is very austere but has some good advice
and activities.
Suitable for: Kindergarten to Year 3 and a great resource for parents
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Games/educational/literacy.html : This Woodland’s
School site offers a great range of literacy activities for students, including Word Work (26
activities), Sentence Work (8) and Text Work (12). It is a colourful and engaging site that is
comprehensive in its approach.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Grade 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bitesize/ : BBC Bitesize: Offers Reading, Writing Spelling and
grammar with games and activities and an area for teachers. Another comprehensive site that
offers numerous activities across different genres.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/home_flash.shtml : This site requires Flash software. It is a
thoroughly engaging online resource that will motivate students to practice their spelling skills.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary
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Spelling and Phonics
Description and Suitability
http://newserver.iboard.co.uk/phonics.htm# : Some excellent activities to support the teaching
and learning of phonics. A dozen games are available. TESiboard resources are primarily openended tools that enable teachers to engage their pupils in a learning dialogue around the
resource. The resources are designed for use by the teacher on an interactive whiteboard but
many are also suitable for student use, usually responding to a task or challenge set by the
teacher.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary
http://www.spellingcity.com/ : Vocabulary and SpellingCity.com has:
 Over 42,000 spelling words with customizable sentences and definitions
 A real person’s voice that says each word and sentence
 Free home pages for teachers and parents to save lists
 Teacher training videos to show teachers/parents how to use Vocabulary and the site
 Customizable sentences and definitions for words with multiple meanings (e.g., a scale for
weighing, to scale a mountain, the scale on a map)
 Free printable handwriting worksheets for handwriting practice with your saved lists
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary
http://www.abcfastphonics.com/ : ‘ABC Fast Phonics is a free tutorial that uses cartoons and
sounds with audio narration and clickable words to teach phonics. This method teaches just
basic phonics concepts without struggle or frustration and includes rules for vowels, consonants,
and blends along with practice pages.’
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Junior Secondary
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Brainstorming/Mind Mapping
Description and Suitability
https://bubbl.us/ : A very simple yet powerful online mind-mapping tool. Users can work online,
print their work and/or save the image as a JPG or PNG file as an HTML outline. Easy to master
and learn and has useful online Help files.
Suitable for: Years 2 to Secondary
http://www.mapul.com/ : MAPMYself is a free Web-based online mind mapping tool.
MAPMYself is unique web based software that allows users to create completely organic
looking mind maps. Use your own ideas to accelerate learning, improve memory, increase
productivity and save time. The intuitive interface is easy to learn and use.
Suitable for: Years 2 to Secondary
https://www.mindmeister.com/users/signup : Users can sign up freely (with limited numbers of
maps). It will also import other mind mapping files from Freemind and Mindjet Mindmanager
software.
Suitable for: Years 4 to Secondary to adults
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/ : Freemind is a free app that can be downloaded onto a
Windows computer or downloaded as a portable App. It is predominantly a text based mind
mapping program and less ‘visual’ than Inspiration or Xmind. It appeals to people using it with
text-to-speech support and especially screen reading software.
Suitable for: Years 4 to Secondary to adults
http://www.edrawsoft.com/freemind.php : A free download for EDraw mind mapping software.
Users can create mind maps (graphical representations of thought processes) for brainstorming, problem solving, rational analysis, and decision making. EDraw Mind Map is a
freeware vector-based application with rich examples and templates. Mind Map makes it easy to
create basic flow charts, mind maps, brain-storming diagrams and sketch maps.
Suitable for: Years 4 to Secondary
www.xmind.net/ : Xmind is an intuitive and powerful mind mapping program that can be
downloaded freely and installed onto a computer. It has numerous functions and features and is
very visual. It offers versions for MS Windows. MAC OS, Ubuntu and has a free portable
version.
Suitable for: Years 4 to Secondary to adults
http://www.thinkgraph.com/ - ThinkGraph is a program for drawing 2D, oriented towards the
production of Concept Maps. A mind map is a diagram intended to represent ideas (each idea
being represented by a basic shape such as rectangle, ellipse or image) This diagram becomes
a concept map when relations are established between these ideas and as Hypertext Links
associated with these ideas in order to navigate to other ideas (i.e. a definition, a diagram or
another concept map).
Suitable for: Years 7 to Secondary to adults
http://keepnote.org/keepnote/ KeepNote is a note taking application that works on MS Windows,
Linux, and Mac OS X. Users can store their class notes, To-Do lists, research notes, journal
entries, and paper outline in a simple notebook hierarchy with rich-text formatting, images.
Using full-text search, they can retrieve any note for later reference. It has a notebook hierarchy
with rich-text formatting, images, and more. Using full-text search, users can retrieve any note
for later reference.
Suitable for: Years 9 to Secondary to adults
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Organisation/Planning
Description and Suitability
www.evernote.com : Capture, store, save and retrieve any facts and data from any source and
access them anywhere at any time on a computer, iPhone or PDA. Data is kept safe and
secure. Users can search by keyword, tag or even printed and handwritten text inside images.
Download and install and it is free. Students are able to save their ideas, things they like, things
they hear, and things they see.
Suitable: Year 6-12 and adults
www.dropbox.com : Dropbox is an online storage service that’s free to use. Users can save files
on their computers and retrieve it from any other computer, once logged in. It saves using USB
devices and is safe and secure. Data can also be made ‘public’ and shared between users,
colleagues and friends. It’s a great way to keep your favourite or important files stored for
flexible access.
Suitable: Year 8-12 and adults
http://www.google.com/intl/en-GB/googlecalendar/about.html : Google calendar is a free online
calendar. Students and educators can organize their schedules quickly and easily and access
them anywhere online, at home, work or school. With Google Calendar, it's easy to keep track
of important events as they are all stored and accessible from all one place.
Suitable: Year 7-12 and adults
http://www.instapaper.com/ : Instapaper
Similar to Delicious, but with a focus on articles. Using a’ bookmarklet’, Instapaper allows you to
build up a queue of documents to read when you have the time to do so. It is an ideal method
for saving web pages, data and material. Educators and students might wish to investigate,
ready, study or extract information from this data at a later time, when more convenient. Users
need to set up an account, which is free.
Suitable: Year 7-12 and adults
http://www.posterous.com/ Posterous: Possibly the next big thing for collaborative projects.
Posterous is a blogging system that aims to eliminate the middle man. Instead of forcing
students to log into a back-end admin, Posterous works off 'post by email' and 'post by
bookmark' systems. Different Posterous blogs can have different users, allowing for unique
collaboration and group research. Useful for people who travel and then at a workplace or
classroom. It is a useful collaboration blog.
http://www.diigo.com/ Diigo is similar to Delicious but has more features and is more flexible
and powerful. Users can collect and annotate anything, including web notes, highlights,
documents, audio, bookmarks, photos, graphics and any required text. Students’ data can be
accessed on a PC or MAC, in any browser and on iPads, Android devices and iPhones.
Suitable: Year 7-12 and adults
http://www.delicious.com/ Delicious It allows users to bookmark their favourite websites and
then access them anywhere. It is a free service, engineered by Yahoo. Each user can opt to
share their bookmarks with anyone else. Each reference can be annotated and tagged for quick
and easy referencing. It boasts that it offers the largest number of bookmarks in the Universe!
Suitable: Year 7-12 and adults
http://livebinders.com/ Livebinders: A very flexible web online resource that allows users to
achieve many different things. It is a series of tagged binders that can contain PDF, graphics,
images and video. The 3-ring type binder provides easy and elegant access to all manner of
electronic data. It is free to join and there are many existing binders available for students to
explore (many involving iPads and new digital technologies).
Suitable: Year 7-12 and adults
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Organisation/Planning
Description and Suitability
http://www.myalltop.com/ MyAlltop: A RSS Feed aggregator that presents the five most recent
articles from various blogs. Students can curate their own content (check
http://my.alltop.com/robhanly for an example) so that they can keep up to date with topics/blogs
that interest them.
http://www.rescuetime.com/tour RescueTime: Caters to a very specific area of need, where
students or workers who need to concentrate, or be encouraged to remain on task whilst
working at a PC. A free version is available where the software tracks performance and provides
diagnostic feedback as to usage of sites. RescueTime is a web-based time management and
analytics tool for knowledge workers who want to be more efficient and productive. Ideal for
ADD/ADHD senior students who need to be more self-disciplined when online.
Suitable: Year 9, Tertiary and for adults
http://www.doodle.com/ Doodle: Designed for easily scheduling meetings and appointments
between multiple users. Ideal for organising small groups – e.g. students in study groups or coworkers across one or more sites or campuses.
Suitable: Year 9, Tertiary and for adults
https://spideroak.com/ SpiderOak provides an easy, secure and consolidated free online
backup, sync, sharing, access & storage solution for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux)
Configurable multi-platform synchronization; Preserve all historical versions & deleted files
Share folders instantly in web ShareRooms ; Retrieve files from any internet-connected device
Comprehensive 'zero-knowledge' data encryption; 2 GBs Free
Suitable: Secondary, Tertiary and for adults
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Mathematics
Description and Suitability
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/ : BBS Skill wise – Numbers: Whole
Numbers. Sections include the Time Tables, addition and subtraction, multiplication, division,
negative numbers, and comparing numbers as well as multiples and factors, learning about
place value (10s, 100s and 1000s), writing big numbers, rounding and estimating, ratio and
proportion and a video guide.
Suitable for: Pre-school to Secondary
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/measuring/ : BBC Skill wise: Numbers – Measures,
shape and space. Sections include 2D shapes, money (in pounds and pence, though), reading
times and dates, calculation of time, temperature, volume, perimeter, area of rectangles,
distances, timetables, length, weight and capacity and a video guide discussing weighing
ingredients in metric.
Suitable for: Pre-school to Secondary
http://www.coolmath-games.com/ An extremely comprehensive site for maths activities including
lessons, games, puzzles, word games, jigsaw puzzles and quizzes. The games section
includes: Strategy, skill, numbers, shape/colours, pictures, logic, memory, and board games. If
offers arithmetic, pre-algebra, algebra, pre-calculus and other math lessons for older students.
Suitable for: Pre-school to Secondary
www.funbrain.com : Funbrain was created for students aged preschool through to Year 8. It
offers more than 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading, and literacy.
Teachers and librarians can confidently encourage students to use Funbrain during their free
time in class, assured that students will enjoy an educational, safe online learning experience.
Funbrain's games help students build on what they have learned in class and acquire new skills
in reading, math, and problem solving. This is the maths section.
Suitable for: Pre-school to Year 8
www.mathplayground.com : ‘The primary goals of Math Playground are to help students feel
more confident about their math skills and to help them form more positive attitudes toward the
subject of math. I try to accomplish these goals by providing engaging games and activities that
students find meaningful and fun.’ Colleen King created Math Playground in 2002 for students in
her class who needed a fun way to practice math facts. Since then, Math Playground has grown
to include a wide variety of math topics, from problem solving and mathematical art to real world
math. Suitable for: Pre-school to Upper Primary levels.
http://www.dreambox.com/kindergarten-math-lessons : Aimed at teaching maths from K-3.
Online activities and games include high quality spoken instructions and directions and
engaging graphics. The differentiated learning content caters to all ability levels and the
activities are clearly labeled and described.
Suitable for: K to Year 3
http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/ : Maths Dictionary for Kids. A useful resource for
students to investigate the terms used in mathematics. A Maths Dictionary for Kids is an
animated, interactive online math dictionary for students, which explains over 600 common
mathematical terms and math words in simple language with animated and interactive
definitions, examples, activities, practice and calculators.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to older students.
http://www.easymaths.com/ Easy Maths. The aim of Easymaths is to reveal the secrets of
maths in a way that is easy to understand and to make maths a challenge rather than a chore. It
offers tutorials, an exam bank, a list of useful books and resources, a practise room and a
section devoted to curious maths games and puzzles. It caters to students up to 16 years of age
and includes areas of number, shape, space and measures, algebra and handling data.
Suitable for: Primary and especially secondary students to age 16.
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Mathematics
Description and Suitability
www.mathisfun.com : This site started in 2000. It was originally aimed at assisting students (and
their parents) with their maths homework. The idea behind the site was to offer mathematics as
well as some fun bits, and to combine the two wherever possible. MathsIsFun.com is developed
and maintained by Rod Pierce, who loves mathematics and fun. The main content of the site is
aimed at Kinder to Year 12. However you will find some more complex activities. Sections range
from data to geometry, measure, algebra, numbers, money and offers games and puzzles.
Suitable for: K through to Year 12
www.mathscats.com : An extremely comprehensive, award winning site with ‘cats’ as the
theme. The site map shows the breadth and depth of this wonderful maths site. It offers a great
deal of content. The author, Wendy Petti, wants to help students to thrive on the joys of math.
She is a parent of three children and a teacher for over 20 years. She created Math Cats for
children to promote open-ended and playful explorations of important math concepts.
Suitable for: Primary through to Secondary (ideal for problem solving and extension activities)
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/numeracy.htm : The Ambleside School Numeracy Hour provides many online activities for maths. Very comprehensive support with a
wide range of topics and activities covered.
Suitable for: K through to Year 6
http://www.mathletics.com.au/ : Subscription based site (per student). It is very popular in many
schools and comprehensively covers the maths curriculum. It is used in all states and territories
in Australia and is popular overseas as well. The cost is approximately $2 per week per student.
It covers maths topics from Kindergarten through to Year 12 maths.
Suitable for: K through to Year 12
www.rainforestmaths.com : The Rainforest Maths activities are available as part of a Mathletics
subscription. Using Rainforest Maths is a way to begin integrating ICT into your Maths
curriculum. To explore all the possibilities, you can organise a free trial of Mathletics in your
school by contacting customerservice@3plearning.com.
Suitable for: K through to Year 6
http://www.studyladder.com.au/about/mathematics : Study Ladder (formerly known as Smart
Kiddies) his is a subscription based site with user access via an $88 yearly subscription. There
are different membership types and associated costs. It boasts over 4000 activities.
Suitable for: K through to Year 12
http://www.agrademath.com/math_games.htm : A series of online maths games. The site also
offers worksheets and printable lesson plans. If offers flash card games, the four operations,
speed math challenges and other maths activities.
Suitable for: K through to Year 8
http://mathematics.hellam.net/ : Links to hundreds of other websites, all dealing with numeracy
and maths.
Suitable for: K through to Year 8
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Mathematics
Description and Suitability
www.cut-the-knot.org/index.shtml : A vast array of activities with up to 800 maths puzzles and
games exploring maths logic, fractals, chaos, fallacies, visual illusions, calculus and other varied
maths topics.
Suitable for: Upper primary to secondary and ideal for extension work.
http://illuminations.nctm.org : Early years to VCE maths resources featuring 106 online activities
as well as 600 lessons for maths educators ranging from K-Year 12. There are web links to
hundreds of exemplary online resources.
Suitable for: K through to Year 12
www.mathforum.org/alejandre : A series of NCTM lessons and examples for secondary aged
students. The site is dated but the maths principles are still useful and pertinent. Covers a range
of topics for secondary maths. Topics covered include: measure, number and operations,
algebra, data analysis and probability, geometry and links to other related maths resources.
Suitable for: Years 6-12
www.shodor.org/interactive : This site caters to middle year students and offers maths and
science lesson plans, activities, tools, a dictionary and a useful teachers’ forum.
Suitable for: Middle Years students
http://mathworld.wolfram.com: MathWorld™ is the web's most extensive mathematical resource,
provided as a free service to the world's mathematics and internet communities as part of a
commitment to education and educational outreach by Wolfram Research, makers of
Mathematica. Since its contents first appeared online in 1995, MathWorld has emerged as a
nexus of mathematical information in both the mathematics and educational communities. Its
entries are extensively referenced in journals and books spanning all educational levels,
including those read by researchers, elementary school students and teachers, engineers, and
hobbyists.
Suitable: Secondary to Tertiary
www.conceptuamath.com: Conceptua™ Fractions helps math teachers and students work
together to master fractions. By combining interactive tools with scaffolded activities, students
use visual models to build conceptual understanding and procedural fluency.
Suitable for: Years 3 - 8
www.subtangent.com/maths/index.php: This site offers quite a number of different activities,
games and resources. It has teacher resources and links and maths investigations. The
graphics are a bit dated as the site was created about 4 years ago in 2007.
Suitable for: Years 1 - Year 3
http://www.dositey.com/2008/index-page-home.php Dositey – Online activities and printable
worksheets for years K-8. Some products are available for purchase with a number of activities
freely available to explore and play.
Suitable for: K - Year 8
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 21
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Mathematics
Description and Suitability
www.primarygames.com : This site was created by Susan Shuey Beasley. Prior to working for
PrimaryGames.com full time, she was a Technology Support Specialist at Thomas Jefferson
High School for Science and Technology. She graduated from Virginia Tech in 1995 with a B.S.
in Family and Child Development and in 1997 with an M.A.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction. She
originally designed the educational games in this site for her own students. However, once she
saw their growing popularity among children around the world, she decided to expand this site
and create games for students everywhere.
Suitable for: K through to Year 7
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/maths : Topics include algebra, data handling, number,
shape, space and measure, and printable ‘mock’ exams. There are also links to other maths
sites as well as to KS3 Maths: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/maths/.
Suitable for: P-Year 6
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html : The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM)
is an NSF supported project that began in 1999 at Utah State University to develop a library of
uniquely interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives or concept tutorials, mostly in the form of
Java applets, for mathematics instruction (K-12 emphasis). The project includes dissemination
and extensive internal and external evaluation.
Suitable for : K- Year 12
www.abc.net.au/countusin : A site to help students with basic number concepts. It is graphically
appealing and easy to navigate. It is an Australian ABC resource site. The activities and games
can be played online or all 14 games can be downloaded freely for Windows or MAC OS
computers - http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/download.htm.
Suitable for: K through to Year 2 or students with different abilities
www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/gameswheel.html : This site caters to younger students to
Year 3. It includes a series of links to activities, Number Time (P-Year 2), Little Animals Activity
Centre (P-Year 3 with magic letters and number game), Learning Zone Broadband - Maths,
School Radio – Maths, KS1 Bitesize Mathematics, Starship (Year 2 activities), Dynamo
Numeracy (designed for home use with parents), Digger and The Gang – Numeracy (number
work for Years 1-2), Ks2 Bitesize Maths (number, shape, space, measure and data handling
Years 2-3)
Suitable for: Early Years P-Year 3
www.playkidsgames.com/mathgames.htm : Play Kids Games.com is a site designed by parents
of young kids. It is their intention is to provide a web site that parents and students can use to
learn basic skills while having fun. It is their goal to provide a safe place to learn computer skills,
math skills, reading skills and problem solving skills in a context that is fun to use. A variety of
different activities and games are available.
Suitable for: P-Year 3
http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/calculator/index.html : Online large, talking calculator.
Great for working with four operations. Caters to younger students or to those who just need a
simplified, large print calculator.
Suitable for: P-Year 3
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Mathematics
Description and Suitability
http://www.math-aids.com/ Math-Aids.Com is a free resource for teachers, parents, students,
and homeschoolers. Users can make an unlimited number of printable math worksheets for
children, the classroom or homework practice. The flexibility and text book quality of the math
worksheets makes Math-Aids.Com a unique resource for educators wanting to create and use
math worksheets.
Suitable for: Year 1-9
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/15.cfm Birmingham Grid for Learning – excellent maths activities
designed for use with IWBs. Links for Primary and Secondary maths. Hundreds of links to a vast
range of maths activities on external websites as well as its own. Easy to access and navigate.
Suitable for: Years 1 - 10
http://numbergym.co.uk Number Gym – 14 day free trial of all activities with 2 free activities in
each section. Covers P-10 curriculum (UK). “NumberGym Software has been creating specialist
maths software since 2004. Many of the ideas for activities have been provided by Ian
Sugarman, teacher, maths advisor and Primary maths lecturer. These ideas are often based
around physical resources which Ian designed and used successfully throughout his career.”
Suitable for: Years 1 – 10
www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/M/mathszone: Maths Zone is an interactive role-play
adventure game. Ben and Mai have been kidnapped by two bank robbers and taken to a castle
on an island while the robbers plan the final stage of their getaway. Students can help Ben and
Mai to escape and reach the local police station in time to stop the robbers. It will take about 10
minutes to complete all four challenges. It's not easy but there are clues as the story unfolds.
Suitable for: Years 3 – 6
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/dogbone/gamebone.html: Numbers 1-100. A game
that involves counting up to 100, problem solving and competing against a clock. A fun activity
exploring a 10x10 grid and locating ‘bones’ within the grid. Use of mouse or especially touch
window/IWB.
Suitable for: Years 1 – 3
http://www.gamequarium.org/dir/Gamequarium/Math/ GameQuarium -Hundreds of links to a
wide variety of maths activities. Very comprehensive site and has a great deal to offer.
Suitable for: Years 1 – 10
http://www.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#newliteracy-topic1 Numeracy activities from Early Years
up to Year 6 with hundreds of activities all linked via graphical icons. Easy to use and navigate
with a great deal to offer students and educators. Ideal for home use, too.
Suitable for: P - Year 6
http://www.copacabanap.schools.nsw.edu.au/Get_Smart_Pages/Get_Smart_Maths_s1_Space&Measure.html Another
resource from this wonderful school. It involves Key Stage 1 learning support for maths involving
space and measurement. There are over a hundred activities and valuable links to other maths
web resources. Extremely comprehensive!
Suitable for: Year 1-2 and students with different learning styles
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Mathematics
Description and Suitability
http://www.mathsonline.com.au/ ‘Maths Online is a high quality, independent online maths
tutoring program based on Australian state curricula for Years 7 - 12. Maths Online was
developed by experienced Australian teachers. The program features hundreds of fully
animated and narrated maths lessons with over 15,000 exam-style questions to test a student’s
mastery of maths. Free to every secondary student, sponsored by McDonalds.
Suitable for: Junior Secondary to Year 12
http://www.mathematics.com.au/ The program is a support to in-class instruction by providing *
Video/Audio lesson demonstrationsof a large number of concepts, with examples of each. Every
lesson is accompanied by a bank of questions for students to practice their newly learned skill.
Students submit their answers online, and the work is immediately marked and their score
given, as well as their result being recorded for both theirs and the teachers access. A wealth of
information with detailed reports showing the student's grade for every lesson; summary reports
showing the student's progress by topic. Registration is required and a cost. A trial is available.
Suitable for: All ages NEW
http://www.efofex.com/ Thirty day trials of different maths and sciences packs and software
programs for generating and drawing maths problems. These onscreen programs might support
students with physical disabilities as they can use a mouse, keyboard or preferred pointing
device to generate graphs and maths/science tools and editing functions.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students. NEW
http://au.ixl.com/math/standards/ IXL's maths skills are aligned to the 2010 Australian
Curriculum, providing comprehensive coverage of maths concepts and applications. With IXL's
national curriculum alignments, you can easily find unlimited practice problems specifically
tailored to each learning objective.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary aged students NEW
http://www.sumdog.com/teacher Sumdog's maths games are always free to play, either at home
or at school. They cover 100 numeracy topics, split into 10 levels. Most are multiplayer, so you
can play against thousands of students worldwide. Because the games are so engaging,
students can finally enjoy developing their numeracy skills.
Suitable for: Upper Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/math-trainer-multiply.html Math trainer is similar in some
respects to Mathletics.It offers some serious multiplication table training. It responds to students’
answers - so it will help support their weaknesses. They suggest using three sessions of 5
minutes each, per day for the best results. Students can train themselves to remember and not
just to calculate.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students for multiplication skills NEW
http://www.compare4kids.co.uk/maths.php An extremely comprehensive list of maths related
web sites for Primary aged students or those with special needs who require differentiated
content in secondary classrooms. Hundreds of links are available all sorted into maths related
categories. An excellent resource.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students with special learning needs NEW
http://maths.nayland.school.nz/Year_12/AS_29_Trig_eqn/6_mixed_equations.htm A handy site
for Years 9-12 maths students and educators as it provides areas of number, statistics,
measurement, algebra, probability and geometry at each level. A very handy resource for
students who need online or electronic drills and content rather than paper based or printed
subject matter.
Suitable for: Years 9-12 Secondary students NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 24
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Science
Description and Suitability
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/scidex.html : The Woodlands School in the
UK has teaching and learning resources to help primary aged children. The links on the left are
interactive science games and activities. The links lead to pages with information and facts on to
help with homework topics.
Suitable for: Years 1 - Year 6
http://games.pppst.com/index.html - Greta's Game Station:
Hundreds of useful PowerPoint files based on game formats and activities. All science topics
are covered. The resources would be particularly useful in early and middle years.
Suitable for: Early primary and junior secondary students.
http://sciencezine.net/ : ScienceZine is a concise Illustrated Encyclopedia dealing with science
terms, themes and topics. It has high quality photos and illustrations with brief but interesting
facts and figures.
Suitable for: Upper primary and junior secondary students.
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/ : A New Zealand site for science activities for children. Science
Kids is the home of science & technology on the Internet for children around the world. Students
can learn more about the world of science by enjoying their fun science experiments, cool facts,
online games, free activities, ideas, lesson plans, photos, quizzes, videos & science fair
projects.
Suitable for: Primary and junior secondary students.
http://www.erl.vic.gov.au/kids/science.htm : The science section of the Victorian Government
web site for kids. Contains many activities and links to other sites relating to science education.
Suitable for: Primary and junior secondary students.
http://bodybrowser.googlelabs.com/ Google Body – The detail would satisfy any senior student
studying human anatomy. It peels back the layers of the body to help visualise muscle structure,
organs, nervous system and skeleton. Fly-throughs, zoom in/out/3D rotation are all provided. It
is a great educational tool and caters to primary levels as well as to more senior students and
will generate interest, fascination and excitement. Note: GOOGLE Chrome browser will be
required as it uses Web GL technology.
Suitable for: Primary and junior secondary students.
http://www.educationusingpowerpoint.org.uk/ : “This site aims to make high quality PowerPoint
slideshows, presentations and other resources available for the teaching of Physics, Chemistry
and Biology according to the new GCSE courses. It also contains animations and other
resources. All of these resources can be used on interactive whiteboards.”
Suitable for: Secondary students.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/index_flash.shtml: BBC Science Clips. These flash movies
cater to younger students. There are numerous links for appropriate science topics for children
aged 5-6 and up to 10-11 years old. Topics such as growing plants, light and dark, pushes and
pulls and sight and hearing are provided.
Suitable for: Year 1- Year 6 and students with different learning needs.
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Science
Description and Suitability
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html : The home page of NASA. Information about NASA’s
missions with high quality photographs and videos, dealing with space exploration, the planets,
the moon and surviving and living in outer space. Also offers the history of NASA, the
technology developed and how it impacts on daily life.
Suitable for: Years 1 -8
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html : NASA’s kid’s club. Online
activities and games relating to space travel, exploration, living in outer space and more.
Students can link to images and photographs and view current space travel footage and images
of expeditions. There are also four online animated games to play, with five levels of difficulty.
Suitable for: Years 1 -4
ACS Science for Kids: Activities are offered for Chemical and Physical Change; Characteristics
of Materials; Solids, Liquids and Gas; Motion and Energy; Planet Earth; Your Body; Art and
Toys and What Chemists Do.
Suitable for: Years 4 -9
http://www.questacon.edu.au/#canberra : Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre –
this site provides information about science in general with links to events, resources, research
and national science initiatives.
Suitable for: Years 4 -12
http://newserver.iboard.co.uk/player/ TES iBoard - A wonderful website with numerous activities
for all curriculum areas – most especially the science page.
http://www.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#science-year1sci_yearyear1 Another wonderful section
in the TES iBoard site for science, accommodating Year 1 and Year 2 students with topics
including All About Ourselves, Animals, Health and Growth, Variation, Forces and Movement as
well as Electricity. Simply to use and navigate and ideal for students with ID.
Suitable for: Years 1 and 2
http://www.copacabana-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/Get_Smart_Pages/Get_Smart_Science1.htm Get
Smart - Science - Stage 1 : These pages contain a collection of links to suitable activities to
support and enhance classroom teaching and learning. They are kindly provided by teachers
and authors who freely share their classroom practice, ideas and strategies from the school.
Suitable for: Years 1 and 2
http://www.twofoods.com/ : Two foods is a site where you enter the name of one food and then
compare it with another food (e.g. bread – eggs). Then press Compare. It provides the calories,
carbs, protein and fat content in each food.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ The Exploratorium isn’t just a museum, it’s an ongoing
exploration of science, art, and human perception—a vast collection of online interactives, web
features, activities, programs and events that feed your curiosity.
Suitable for: All ages NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 26
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Science
Description and Suitability
http://www.abc.net.au/science/ An expansive and comprehensive resource with audio and video
content on all aspects of science. It lists archival footage, provides podcasts and delivers on a
range of science topics, themes and current projects. An excellent resource.
Suitable for: Students of all ages NEW
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/podsmission Aimed at younger students in Primary, this BBC resource
offers content on solids, liquids, bones and electricity. Suitable for students with different
learning styles and needs as well.
Suitable for: Primary Students NEW
www.vssec.vic.edu.au The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) is one of three
Specialist Science Centres established by the Victorian State Government. It was officially
opened in 2006 and joined Ecolinc and GTAC in offering high quality science programs. VSSEC
uses the context of space to engage teachers and students in the teaching and learning of
science and is situated in the grounds of Strathmore Secondary College and offers a stimulating
environment for hands-on learning. All areas within the Centre are supported by an integrated
technology system which supports a rich learning environment.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary Students NEW
www.re-science.org.au Re-science.org.au is an initiative of the National Science Week Victorian
Coordinating Committee, an Australian Government program supported through the Department
of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research at Questacon. It has detailed lists of science
resources and related events. Archival media and information about previous science events
are also available.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary Students NEW
www.compare4kids.co.uk/science.php An extremely comprehensive resource with links to
numerous science based web resources. It is ideal for Primary schools and caters from P-Year
6. One of the better science web resources as it offers so much in a condensed and easily
accessible table of contents
Suitable for: Primary (and Junior Secondary Students with special needs) NEW
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/index.html Another wonderful
resource on the Woodlands junior school site for science revision content. Every topic is
included in a table with easy to locate and access links. Very comprehensive.
Suitable: Primary students NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 27
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Cause and Effect
Description and Suitability
www.shinylearning.co.uk : A selection of online switch games to play with switch, mouse,
spacebar, return key, touch window or other pointing devices. Each game has a menu with
choice of foreground and background colour, speeds and response times. The games are
presented clearly and are uncluttered. Ideal for introducing a switch device or for practice. They
can also be downloaded freely. There are numerous other playable demos of different games as
well.
Suitable for: Pre-School to older students who use a switch/touch window
www.sarahgreenland.com : Inspirational games and multimedia for different abilities education
■ Designed for those with complex combinations of disabilities - physical, visual and learning
■ A wide age range of skills are covered
■ Includes both single switch access and two switch access
A number of free games can be downloaded
Note: Online games require Java software on your computer.
Suitable for: Pre-School to older students who use a switch/touch window
http://www.northerngrid.org/ngflwebsite/sen/NetSwitch/index.htm: SENSwitcher is a suite of
programs designed to help teach early ICT skills to people with profound and multiple learning
difficulties, those who need to develop skills with assistive input devices and very young children
new to computers. Offers cause and effect, switch building, timed activation, targeting and row
scanning. Very elementary graphics are used. The program can be run directly from this web
site or downloaded for use on stand-alone PC or Macintosh computers. Programmed by
Inclusive Technology, it uses the latest Macromedia Flash technology to deliver 132 high quality
animated activities which can be operated by a wide range of input devices.
Suitable for: Pre-School to older students who use a switch/touch window
http://www.switchmusic.org.uk/ : Switch accessible video and music clips, arranged in a 6 x 6
matrix. Users can independently access and listen to popular groups and artists and navigate
forward and back using one or two switches.
Note: Uses links to YouTube. If YouTube is blocked, try alternate site – http://www.rscnorthwest.ac.uk/acl/eMagArchive/RSCeMag0910/May10menu/switch_music.html
Suitable for: Primary and particularly older students and adults who use a switch/touch window
www.helpkidzlearn.com : It has some very elementary but engaging activities for students - this
page caters to early years but there are other activities for older/more capable students on other
links to stories, puzzles and games as well as creative tasks including jigsaws. The activities are
very well designed and vary in topic and theme. Games are accessed by mouse, keyboard,
touch window, IWB or switch. This free site was created by Inclusive Technologies in the UK.
Suitable for: Pre-School to older students who use a switch/touch window
www.oneswitch.org.uk/2/switch-downloads.htm : A resource site in the UK with fun ideas and
'assistive technology' aimed at moderate to severely learning/physically disabled people. The
OneSwitch games include games and activities that have been modified for people with limited
access. Genres include Arcade; Shoot ‘Em Up; Race Games; Adventure; Puzzle & Skill Games;
Platformers and Sport. All are free to download. Approximately 100 games are available.
Suitable for: Primary and particularly older students and adults who use a switch/touch window
http://studentswithdifference.wikispaces.com/Priory+Woods+Videos+Revamped Priory Woods
has developed a range of motivating programs to help students develop the skills needed to use
these devices in a meaningful way. Switch 'videos' are simple slideshows animations set to
music which can be operated by switch or touch-screen. They feature sounds and images from
popular music and TV shows and can be used with pupils of all ages. These resources have
been modified by Lynne Ryan (Tasmania) and are wonderful activities for many students.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to older students.
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 28
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Cause and Effect
Description and Suitability
http://www.redbackdesign.com.au/switchmusic1/index.htm : Switch music from Redbackdesign
includes video clips from YouTube that feature Australian artists. It is fully switch accessible via
scanning (users can also press the Space Bar) to select a scanned selection choice.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to most particularly senior students who use a switch.
http://www.setbc.org/curriculumset/default.aspx : CurriculumSET is a collection of resources that
facilitate the sharing of customized technology-based content among educators working with
students who use assistive technology. This searchable database enables educators to find,
download, and customize activities, templates and public domain accessible books based on
the ten areas of the curriculum as set out by the Ministry of Education. curriculumSET resources
are created and updated by dedicated professionals working with students in British Columbia.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to senior students and a useful site for all educators.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/eng/vtc-home/vtc-als-home/vtc-als-switch_users : A range of
switch activities from this very comprehensive Welsh site in the UK. The activities are simple in
design yet effective with some students. Ideal for cause and effect.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to senior students and a useful site for all educators.
http://www.bltt.org/switch/activities.htm : Better Living through technology site provides a useful
selection of Switch Activities & Accessible Software. Also lists information about Switches and
their use at http://www.bltt.org/switch/index.htm. Has a comprehensive overview of Assistive
Technologies and represents a practical, easy to read about students with various disabilities,
including dyslexia and LD strategies.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to senior students and a useful site for all educators.
http://www.mousetrial.com/ : For students with Autism - Fun animated online exercises to help
kids with autism. It is also very suitable for other learners. MouseTrial is easy to use. If students
click on the correct item when asked to, they get rewarded with a short, funny animation about
the chosen object. If they click on the wrong item then MouseTrial flashes the correct image to
give them a hint. It's easy to change the number of objects shown, and students can control
which objects are available to make up the random array.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to students who need practise with a mouse.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/games/switch/
A selection of games that provide switch options as well as keyboard controls or access via an
IntelliSwitch, Don Johnston or Crick USB interface or using IntelliKeys from Online BBC . Five
engaging games, suitable for more capable or older students who use a switch. Games can also
be accessed via keyboard, touch window or IWB.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and especially catering to senior students.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/ : CBeebie Shows - some of these are ideal for use with
students in the early years and also with older students who require this genre of software.
There are 16 activities from which to choose. The bright engaging graphics, music and sound
appeal to many students.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to students who need practise with a mouse.
http://www.switchintime.com/page2/page11/page11.html : MAC OS titles - Most of these
programs were originally developed to meet the needs of specific students and classes and
were never meant to be commercial applications. Certainly for these programs (by author Jon
Adams), many short cuts were taken in order to reduce development time. Still, they have found
all of these programs to be very useful and they are making them available in the hopes that
others will as well.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 4
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Cause and Effect
Description and Suitability
www.levelgames.net/ : Simple arcade games that contain control panels for adjusting the
parameters of the game to match the ability of the players. Can be accessed via switch,
keyboard, Touch Window or IWB.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to most particularly senior students who use a switch.
http://hiyah.net : A very large collection of PowerPoint files that contain delightful colour photos
and animated gifs, with music, sound effects and narration by Sara, a mother who designed and
created these wonderful files for her two boys. They cover many different topics and themes
from everyday experiences. Ideal for children with autism/ASD.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to most particularly senior students who use a switch or keyboard
http://www.breakspeare.herts.sch.uk/Resources/parentspage.html:
On this site you will find various links, many directly linked to switch activities. Some are
duplicated in this document but the hyperlinks are handy and located on one site in a grid
layout.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to most particularly senior students who use a switch.
http://www.sesamestreet.org/videos A collection of videos, games and activities from the
popular TV show - Sesame Street. There are muppets to interact with and a channel for young
children. My Street is a free logon area where favourites can be stored and accessed easily.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary
http://www.tvokids.com/games : A colourful engaging and expansive website for children from
Toronto Canada, and caters to children under age 11, predominantly aged 2-5 years. Many
activities are offered. There are games, a video channel, and covers early learning and concept
development. There are free songs and wallpapers to download.
Suitable: K-Year 4 and students with difference
http://papunet.net/games/ : Papunet game pages. Games and exercises for adults, children and
everybody in between for learning, rehabilitation and fun.
http://www.gamebase.info/magazine/read/proteus_591.html The SpecialEffect Charity, which
runs the GameBase, began as a result of an award winning Ace Centre Project. SpecialEffect is
dedicated to helping ALL young people with disabilities to enjoy computer games. They proved
that games have an effect on motivation, inclusion and quality of life. They wanted a place
where they could use the knowledge and experience they have gained, to reach a wider
audience. Games for switch users, cause and effect, ones for IWB and more!
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.switchclimber.com/ SwitchClimber is an interactive website that teaches switch users
to access the computer through small sequential steps and data-based feedback. There is a
free trial version to try before educators or parents commit to this software. SwitchClimber.com
is full of activities to teach switch users skills like cause-effect, using two switches together, and
two switch step scanning. The activities are set up hierarchically, starting with cause-effect and
working up to two switch step scanning. Data is taken automatically and switch users are
advanced to subsequent levels based on criteria set by their teams. Switch users can access
their accounts from multiple locations, working on the same goals across settings e.g., home,
school, or therapy.
Suitable for: All students who use a switch – particularly younger students NEW
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Music
Description and Suitability
http://www.sfskids.org/templates/home.asp?pageid=1 : SFS Kids – San Francisco Symphony
Kids’ Site. A rich and diverse site of all things musical, with information and activities about the
orchestra, musical instruments and a wonderfully exciting Music Lab.
Suitable for: Primary and to Junior Secondary
http://podcast.fredflare.com/boombox/flare_player.html - Fred Flare’s Jukebox/Boombox. MP3
tracks will play at no cost with an option to purchase. It has a simple yet effective interface.
Suitable for : All ages
http://studentswithdifference.wikispaces.com/Priory+Woods+Videos+Revamped – Priory Woods
flash movies ‘revamped’ in Tasmania. All the popular music and theme based videos are
available from this terrific website. Some new ones with Australian themes and artists are also
available (over and above ones created by the inimitable Ian Bean).
Suitable for : All ages
http://freeplaymusic.com/search/ A search engine and database where users can locate music
across all genres. 7208 tracks are available and the search criteria includes by CD Volume, key
word search, style or feel.
Suitable for : All ages
http://access.mwjt.co.uk/youtube/index.php : A wonderful, simply yet extremely functional
resource for locating YouTube video or music clips. The clean intuitive interface provides
opportunities for students with physical or cognitive disabilities to easily access YouTube
favourites and search with an uncluttered screen.
Suitable for: All ages
http://urthots.com/ : ‘Music & Social Discovery Great music. Sharing stuff with friends. Talking
about whatever is happening in your life right now. Some things should never be more than a
click away.’ A site devoted to people haring their music. Users elect to create an account and
conform to Policies set by this Dallas based site.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students
http://mydoodlesongs.com/ MyDoodleSongs is a free to use website that features a virtual
guitar visitors can play. The guitar can be played either by strumming the strings through your
mouse or by pressing the keyboard keys. Site visitors can also create their tunes and share
them with the world by typing the keyboard key combination of their tune. Visitors to the site can
then view your tunes, play it through the key combinations, and rate it out of 5 stars.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.tubemystuff.com/ : TubeMyStaff is an application that enables users to listen, using
their iPhone or iPod, to all of their music wherever they go by putting them on the Cincopa cloud
– no need to upload music in advance. Users need to create an account and login.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students
http://www.songsprite.com/channel/MPZw4Ia4kk : SongSprite lets you to listen to YouTube
videos as if they were just songs. Add as many tracks as you like, or invite friends to join you in
building up a legendary playlist. Locate and copy the required YouTube URL and paste it into
this window.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Music
Description and Suitability
www.jamendo.com/ All the music available on Jamendo is released under the Creative
Commons license. This means that it can be freely listened to and used and redistributed under
the same license. The artists then get rewarded via user donations and revenues from the
Jamendo’s commercial programs and partnerships. Users can browse through over 150,000
tracks by artist, album and genre, or they can use the tags for quick navigation.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
www.amiestreet.com Amie Street is an online marketplace for music by independent artists.
Only the ‘yet to be’ undiscovered ones are free, though. Initially, about all of the music that
appears on Amie Street gets released without a price. Users can then download it without
paying anything. However, as the popularity of the piece increases, the price goes up. The trick
is to browse the new releases, and find the musical pearls between them. Note that signing up
is required to download an album. Another great feature is that users can earn credits by
recommending songs to friends – up to 98 cents per song – which users can use to buy some of
the premium songs. The retail price of these premium songs never goes over 98 cents apiece.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
www.last.fm Last.fm is a streaming media service that also has a built-in social network. As
people use the service, it learns what they like and fine-tunes its recommendations. Users can
create their own radio station, make and share playlists and build a free media library. Last.fm
serves as a portal to purchase music tracks from the iTunes Store and 7digital music services.
As a music discovery tool, Last.fm is an excellent service that provides a wealth of content.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
http://www.appappeal.com/apps/music/?gclid=CLK5tdKbraoCFeNMpgod_E6hWw This handy
site lists a number of useful websites where users can obtain free MP3 and music tracks. It has
logos and links ready for quick and easy access.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
www.ccmixter.org ccMixter is a community music site featuring remixes licensed under Creative
Commons where students and educators can listen to, sample, mash-up, or interact with music
in whatever way they wish. If students are into sampling, remixing and mash-ups, they can grab
the sample packs and A Capellas for download and they can also upload their finished version
back into ccMixter, for others to enjoy and re-sample.
Suitable for: Secondary students NEW
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/ Just like flash games and movies, lots of royalty-free songs
are released daily on Newgrounds by aspiring musicians. The author must be credited upon
redistribution, and the music can only be used for non-commercial purposes. If students just
want to play it on their computer though, there’s even less they need to worry about. The major
part of the songs consist of house and trance music, but pop, rock and even classical music is
represented. Though a lot of the songs are only good to use in flash games and movies, there
are also many songs that would be on rotation on radio stations.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
www.mtvmusicmeter.com/ The MTV Music Meter ranks over a million artists and allows
students and educators to discover what is hot in the music scene. The ranking is not only
based on album sales, but also on how many times they are mentioned on the social networks,
in blog posts, news articles, and streams. Users need only to click on the little pull-down button
to expand more information for the respective artist. An excellent resource.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
http://www.tunecrank.com/ TuneCrank finds, ranks and streams the best independent music
out there for the whole world to hear. Touring bands, buskers and basement dreamers alike can
simply upload a tune and scale the CrankRank side by side. It is very democratic and allows
unsigned artists to share their work and creative exploits. Some students might wish to vote on
their favourites, too?
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Music
Description and Suitability
http://artsalive.ca/en/mus/activitiesgames/ ArtsAlive.ca is a performing arts educational website
produced by the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The goals of ArtsAlive.ca are
to engage younger generations of Canadians in information, multimedia resources and activities
pertaining to the performing arts, and to provide free performing arts-related primary and
secondary resources to students, parents and teachers to aid them in learning about and
teaching the topics presented. ArtsAlive.ca is managed by the National Arts Centre New Media
department. The site has a great deal to offer with games, quizzes and activities.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://thepuredrop.com.au/about/default.htm The Pure Drop is an exploration and celebration of
traditional and World Music. This website gathers together musical performances from all over
the global village, and explores the stories behind the music of multicultural Australia. The
stories are presented in eleven episodes that combine short video documentary with
interactivity. Each episode focuses on one artist and one aspect of the music such as the vocal
style and technique, instrumentation, lyrics, the tune or the passing down of musical traditions.
The Pure Drop also explores the cultural context of the music, and issues arising from
globalisation and the impact of digital technology.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs A site for enjoyment of listening to songs in
English. Singing songs is an ideal way to improving skills in speaking English. They offer
numerous great songs for students of all abilities to enjoy. The site also offers games, listen
and watch activities, read and write activities and making songs with lyrics. It has Nursery
Rhymes and Songs playlists on YouTube for videos of their most popular songs for younger
students.
Suitable for: Primary students NEW
http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Music+Tools A comprehensive list of Web 2.0 tools
for music in schools and classrooms. It includes tools and programs for searching for songs by
lyrics, composer and song title. It also lists exercises and useful music tools. An excellent
resource.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://www.musicplayforlife.org/ The creators of this proud Australian site believe more
Australians should be making music: in schools, communities, in fact - everywhere. Being
musically-active is good for individuals and for our society. As Australia’s only grassroots music
advocacy program, they provide information, inspiration and advice to help students start or
continue their musical journey. If they're already musically-active, they can provide appropriate
support to help them convert others to the cause. A positive way of providing opportunities for
Australians to enjoy and make music.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/08/demystifying-sound-design/ Composer, musician and
sound designer W. Brent Latta knows something about sound design, currently working
professionally on sound for games. As an enthusiast of what it takes to craft sound, he’s put
together a list of where to go to learn more and hone students' abilities, from fundamentals to
the specifics required by film/video and games. Sound design is a fundamental aspect of nearly
every form of digital media, from music production to games to commercial radio. Sometimes
seen as a ‘dark art’, sound design can also be viewed as difficult and mysterious, often deterring
would-be creators. There are 15 sound design resources to help rookies and veterans listed.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm This offers a virtual music mixing desk. Students
can create music by choosing from different pre recorded chord progressions, and can alter the
tempo and loop sequences. Users of all abilities can easily and intuitively mix different
instruments (including drums, piano, guitars, bass). The music tracks composed can be saved
or even emailed to other students or to home for sharing and further collaboration. An excellent
online music resource.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
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Music
Description and Suitability
http://www.musipedia.org/ This site is inspired by, but not affiliated with Wikipedia. They are
building a searchable, editable and expandable collection of tunes, melodies, and musical
themes. Every entry can be edited by anybody. An entry can contain a bit of sheet music, a
MIDI file, textual information about the work and the composer, and last but not least the
Parsons Code, a rough description of the melodic contour. Searching for music includes: Name
that Tune; Music Search; Melody Search and Rhythm-based Search. Users can elect to use the
SOAP interface, which makes it possible to search based on melody, contour, or rhythm.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/songsmith/ Songsmith generates
musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. Just choose a musical style, sing into your
PC’s microphone and Songsmith will create backing music. Then share the songs with friends
and family, post students' songs online, or create their own music videos. The video on the
Home page demonstrates Songsmith at work in the classroom; Songsmith is free for teachers to
use in their classrooms. Songsmith is great for anyone who wants to create music at home.
Samples are included and users can adjust tempo, styles and mood.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://music.shanemcdonald.org/ An interesting and quite diverse and eclectic mix of resources,
all offered by Shane McDonald on his own Blog. It includes chords and tabs, keyboard and
chord shapes, guitar chords and information pertaining to music. Students can learn about
manipulating music, how to read notation and has a useful music reference section.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/ This is an online
virtual keyboard. It takes a while to load - so patience is required. The fully functional keyboard
is an excellent resource and ideal with the use of a touch screen or IWB/Smart TV. It has drum
tracks, chord arrangements and all manner of buttons to press! It can play back music as a
piano, flute, organ, saxophone, pan pipes, strings, guitar or even steel drums!
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://www.thetabworld.com/ This is a very useful and comprehensive site with numerous guitar
tabs resources. Users will discover everything from guitar tabs, chords and song lyrics to
lessons, music gear reviews and the latest music news.
Users can elect to register a free TTW account and upload their own guitar tabs, song lyrics,
lessons and reviews for others to read and comment.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
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Problem Solving
Description and Suitability
www.theJigsawPuzzles.com This is an ever-growing collection of free online jigsaw puzzles. It
offers albums on the left side of the home page (all graphically illustrated) and has hundreds of
free jigsaw puzzles that students can explore and play. There are numerous categories from
which to choose. They also provide a Puzzle of the Day.
Suitable for: Year 1- Year 3 and students with different abilities
http://www.jigzone.com/ : Free online jigsaw puzzles. JigZone is an online Jigsaw Puzzle where
users choose the level of difficulty from a simple 6-piece cut to a challenging 247-piece cut.
Daily entertainment with a new puzzle-of-the-day every day is offered. Users can use their own
photos as puzzles by uploading photos and making them into jigsaw puzzles that can be shared
with others. Students can put a puzzle in their blog or embed jigsaw puzzles into their own web
pages.
Suitable for: Year 1- Year 4 and students with different abilities
http://www.dltk-kids.com/puzzle.htm: Hundreds of jigsaw puzzles all arranged by theme, with
sub-categories. A very comprehensive list of puzzles with links to other websites suitable for
young children. Colouring activities and downloaded puzzles are also available.
Suitable for: Year 1- Year 4 and students with different abilities
http://www.coloring.ws/free_puzzles.htm: Another site with a good selection of current and
archived jigsaw puzzles. Jigsaws range from 6 to 247 pieces. This site also offers colouring-in
activities. There are eight online games to play with some free games to download.
Suitable for: Year 1- Year 4 and students with different abilities
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/main.html The goal of Mission: Critical is to create a
"virtual lab," capable of familiarizing users with the basic concepts of critical thinking in a selfpaced, interactive environment. Critical thinking is part of the transfer core curriculum
recognized at all state-supported institutions of higher education in California. Approaches to
teaching critical thinking are as varied as the disciplines in which qualifying courses are taught.
An interesting site and one to challenge students who are at the other end of the 'special needs
spectrum'. Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
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Teaching Resources
Description and Suitability
http://www.inclusive.co.uk/downloads : Useful educational programs that are free to download.
All have been designed and created by Inclusive Technologies. Includes free resources,
communication board overlays for ‘Let’s talk On The Farm’ and software. Upgrades to some
popular Inclusive Technology programs and are also available. A very useful program worth
downloading is the “Interactive Visual Timetable.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to older students.
http://www.senteacher.org/Files/ : A good selection of suitable software for students with special
learning and/or access needs. All of these programs are free to download and use. There are a
number of categories and include favourites such as TuxMath. TuxPaint, TuxType, Photo Story
3, Childsplay, Zac Browser and the GCompris Suite. The site also provides resources for maths,
literacy and classroom practise.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to older students.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/eng/vtc-home.htm : A wide range of teaching and learning
materials can be accessed from this very useful teaching resources area of NGfL Cymru. By
selecting a Key Stage (age range) and then a subject you will be able to browse through the
available resources and select those that are of interest. It is a Welsh site and ranges right up to
Post 16 and Vocational student needs.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to older students.
http://www.kidsites.com/ : The Kidsites.com includes topics such as animals, art, dinosaurs,
history, math, music, science and space. In 'Fun Stuff', there are activities, colouring-in sections,
comics, craft, TV, and video games. A section for parents and teachers is also included. This
section includes links to other sites for lesson plans and teaching notes and resources for
educators.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to older students.
http://studentswithdifference.wikispaces.com/ : This site has been created by Lynne Ryan to
share activities, tutorials and useful web sites. It includes a wide range of resources, articles,
links to sites, links to free software and other teaching tools and resources for students with
ASD and special learning/access needs. Lynne has also ‘revamped’ some popular Priory
Woods flash videos as well has made her own and modified others.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to older students.
http://www.setbc.org/curriculumset/ : curriculumSET is a collection of resources that facilitate
the sharing of customized technology-based content among educators working with students
who use assistive technology. This searchable database enables educators to find, download,
and customize activities, templates and public domain accessible books based on the ten areas
of the curriculum as set out by the BC Ministry of Education. curriculumSET resources are
created and updated by dedicated professionals working with students in British Columbia.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to senior students with special learning/access needs.
www.symbolworld.org : A very comprehensive and resource rich site in the UK with regard to
the use of symbols and graphics in communication systems, AAC and in teaching and acquiring
language skills.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to senior students with special learning/access needs.
www.boardmakershare.com : BoardmakerShare is an extremely useful community for finding
thousands of Boardmaker activities on hundreds of topics. The use of PCS symbols is targeted
at a range of student needs and is a fantastic resource for educators and speech pathologists.
Suitable for: Pre-Primary and to senior students with special learning/access needs.
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Teaching Resources
Description and Suitability
http://www1.teachertube.com/ : An alternative to YouTube and has more relevant videos and
teaching materials for educators. Also safer for students to access and use at home.
Suitable for: P - Year 12
http://www1.teachertube.com/teachervision.php : TeacherVision content is organized by subject,
grade and theme. Theme pages feature cross-curricular lessons for every area of focus,
making it simple for teachers to create a study unit that is inclusive and varied. Printable books
are compilations of the best materials within every topic studied in today's classrooms. The
content is drawn from trusted educational associations and the world's best children's
publishers, including the Council for Exceptional Children, Educators for Social Responsibility,
Houghton Mifflin Company, the National Association for Music Education, Penguin Group,
Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Suitable for: P- Year 12
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/eng/1-0-0-0_good_practice/gp-free-web-resources/gp-freesen.htm : A list of useful educational programs is also available from this site. Some are
mentioned elsewhere in this document but a few are especially useful at school and at home. All
are free to download and install on MS Windows computers.
Suitable for: P - Year 8
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Games/Index.html : Over a hundred games to use with
children of all abilities. It is part of the magnificent Woodlands school web resource at
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/.
Suitable for: P - Year 8
www.tinsnips.org/index.html : Tinsnips is a special education resource that strives to share a
variety of specialized teaching tools, techniques, worksheets, and activities with teachers of
students who have autistic spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities. Many of
these activities may be appropriate for Pre-K and Kindergarten children.
Suitable for: Pre-K and Early Years students
www.usevisualstrategies.com/welcome.aspx : This site was designed for Speech Pathologists,
educators, parents, therapists and others who work to support the learning of students with
Autism Spectrum Disorders and related learning needs. Students with Autism Spectrum
Disorders and many other students with behavior or communication challenges tend to be visual
learners. They understand what they see more effectively than what they hear. Therefore, they
benefit significantly from the use of Visual Strategies.
Suitable for: P- Year 12
http://www.wordle.net/ - Wordle is a resource for generating “word clouds” from text. The clouds
give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. Users can
tweak their clouds with different fonts, layouts, and colour schemes. The images that are
created with Wordle can be used in many different and innovative ways. They can be printed out
or saved to the Wordle gallery to share with other students, users and friends.
Suitable for: Year 3 - Year 12
http://www.copacabana-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/Get_Quick_Smart/QS_writing.html Copacabana Public School: This school shares a really useful collection of web links for key
learning areas – these are the ‘Quick Smart Writing’ links.
Suitable for: Year 1 – Year 8
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Teaching Resources
Description and Suitability
http://www.techmatrix.org/ TECHmatrix – From the National Centre for Technology Innovation.
This is a very useful resource for locating & researching ICT technologies, particularly Inclusive
Technologies. Offers links to all major areas of the curriculum with support ideas, strategies and
documentation.
Suitable for: P-12 support for students with different abilities.
http://www.voki.com
Voki Avatars - Select a character from one of our many styles: Classic, Animals, Oddballs and
more! Change the look, clothing and accessories. Add your own voice via phone, microphone,
and text to speech or upload a file.
Suitable for: P-12 support for students with different abilities.
http://www.pppst.com/ - Pete's PowerPoint Station:
Offers numerous free MS PowerPoint presentations and resources for students of all ages and
abilities and thousands are available. The topics, themes and curriculum are extensively
covered. Some useful presentations for teachers are available from other countries on every
conceivable topic. Free activities and links to other resources.
Suitable for: P- Year 12
http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/powerpoint.htm : Lee’s PowerPoint Resources
This is a very comprehensive site with a great deal of information, Professional Learning,
templates and activities for PowerPoint use in education. Includes links to other sites for maths,
biology and language sites. Also offers links to templates, backgrounds and other examples.
Excellent resource for educators.
Suitable for: Year 6 - Year 12
http://www.clickspecialednz.com/links05.html Click Special Ed –- a wonderful New Zealand
website with many useful links. The Click SpecialEDnz online learning community is a dynamic
space for professionals in education to work collaboratively to improve the teaching and learning
opportunities for all students with special educational needs. It has links to many resources,
some being in New Zealand. Others are generic and appeal n design and nature. An excellent
resource.
Suitable for: P- Year 12
http://www.tizmos.com/teechkidz - Tizmos: quick links to early years and special education
sites. Great for teachers to have displayed on IWB for students to independently navigate to
their favourite sites and activities. Suitable for cause and effect, IWB and single switch activities.
Suitable for: P- Year 3 and students with different abilities.
www.animoto.com : Animoto - Turn photos, video clips, and music into masterpieces to share
with everyone. Fast, free, and very easy. A free option gives you 30 seconds of video, with extra
costs for more extensive productions and membership on a subscription per month/year basis
(and with extra effects and sound clips). Similar to Photo Story 3, but online. All you need are
some good photos.
Suitable for: P- Year 12
http://www.gamequarium.com/powerpoint.html: GameQuarium: Links to other sites for hints on
how to use PowerPoint, create resources, plan and design multimedia presentations and also
links to templates and online resources and tutorials.
Suitable for: Y6- Year 12
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 38
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Teaching Resources
Description and Suitability
www.eduapps.org : A range of portable open source software and freeware programs are
available for download. EduApps (AccessApps, LearnApps and TeachApps that all run on USB
drives), MyStudyBar V3, MyVisBar, MyAccess and Convert&Create resources are all free for
educators and students. The site offers support with FAQs, videos, forums and case studies.
Resources were developed at the RSC Scotland, N&E by Craig Mill and his innovative team.
Suitable for: P- Year 12
http://www.mnemosyne-proj.org/ Mnemosyne (Windows or Linux) - A 'build your own' flash card
program for learning just about anything. It is based on a system of repetition, similar to the
Pimsleur method. From the site: "The Mnemosyne software resembles a traditional flash-card
program to help you memorise question/answer pairs, but with an important twist: it uses a
sophisticated algorithm to schedule the best time for a card to come up for review. Difficult cards
that you tend to forget quickly will be scheduled more often, while Mnemosyne won't waste your
time on things you remember well."
Suitable for: Years 4 - 12
http://www.intrepica.com.au/index.html - Intrepica is a great early learning literacy tool with
plenty of visual feedback. Many schools in Tasmania have been using this at minimal expense,
but any State Library of Tasmania, a card holder can use the full program for free. It can be
used at school or at home with the same log in details. Parents can sign up the whole family at
no cost. (Thanks to Steven Jurgeit, Tasmania)
Suitable for: Early and Middle Levels or students with additional needs.
http://www.curetogether.com/ CureTogether - This website is extremely interesting. It covers
topics from inadequate sleep to memory, hacking, reading to improving knowledge formulating,
to illness and disability awareness. The author, Piotr A. Wozniak, is unique. Cure Together is
crowd-sourced information regarding symptoms, treatments and causes of different disabilities
and diseases. (Thanks to Rob Hanly, NSW)
Suitable for: Years 11- Educators trainers
http://www.echalk.co.uk/science/biology/eyecolour/inheritance.swf : e-Chalk Subscription - A
site where educators or parents can elect to subscribe to online educational activities, games,
quizzes, simulations and puzzles. Some samples are available on the Home page.
Suitable for: Year 1 - Year 10
http://www.schooltube.com/videos : A collection of videos that cater to educators and students,
showing videos appropriate to classroom practise.
Suitable for: Year 1 - Year 10
www.learningalive.co.uk/primary.aspx : Learning Alive is especially designed for primary &
secondary school pupils and teachers. It is here for educators to have fun and assist in
providing useful and interesting information. Three sections make up Learning Alive: Primary,
Secondary and Teachers'. These sections help users find the information that is most relevant
to them. By selecting the top right hand corner button, users can choose to automatically go
back to that section whenever they visit the website. Suitable for: Year 1 - Year 8
http://www.mylearningtube.com/c/19/Classroom_Management/ : Learning Tube: Educational
videos aimed at teachers. Caters predominantly to Secondary aged students and topics.
Suitable for: Year 6 - Year 10
http://www.tpet.co.uk/#/home This site offers displays, games, activities, resources and hard
copy printables. It is an engaging and colourful site with a great deal to offer. It was only recently
launched in April 2010 and users may need to install Flash for it to be accessed.
Suitable for: Year 1 - Year 7
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 39
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Teaching Resources
Description and Suitability
www.helpingchildrenwithdyslexia.com An extremely useful site that offers advice and support for
parents and educators in understanding dyslexia with students of all ages. This website has
been created by Liz and Andrew Dunoon with the sole intention of providing information,
resources and services to teachers and parents of children and adults who are struggling at
school and may have dyslexia.
Suitable: Students with learning disabilities, most particularly dyslexia
www.dyslexia.wordpress.com Dyslexia Tutor: News, resources, an array of web links to do with
phonics, reading, writing, spelling, autism, and other matters all relating to dyslexia.
Suitable: Students with learning disabilities
http://www.dyslexia.org/index.shtml A site advertising a program called “Reading from Scratch”.
It does have some very useful information about dyslexia and some worthwhile links to other
resources and sites.
Suitable: Students with learning disabilities, most particularly dyslexia
http://teacheffectively.com/ Teach Effectively is a source for current news and opinion about
effective teaching. Teach Effectively emphasizes evidence-based instruction and educational
practice. Although the majority of the content on Teach Effectively focuses on instruction for
students in special education (especially those with Learning Disabilities or Emotional and
Behavioural Disorders), the entries also address other disabilities (e.g., autism, ADHD) and are
applicable to students at risk for school problems.
Suitable: Students with learning disabilities
http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/ : One of the most comprehensive and
resource-rich blogs on the net for valuable resources and ideas for teachers of learners with
severe, profound, intensive, significant, complex or multiple special needs. The author is Kate
Ahern. She is a teacher of learners with multiple or significant special needs. She has been
working with youngsters who have developmental disabilities since she had her first job when
she was 14 years old. Throughout high school she volunteered and then worked in special
needs classrooms and summer programs. Tens of terrific links to useful sites.
Suitable: Students with mild to complex physical and intellectual disabilities
http://newserver.iboard.co.uk/ : TESiboard resources are primarily open-ended tools that enable
teachers to engage their pupils in a learning dialogue around the resource. The resources are
designed for use by the teacher on their interactive whiteboard but many are also suitable for
pupil use, usually responding to a task or challenge set by the teacher. The TESiboard materials
were acquired by TSL Education Limited at the end of November 2009 and as a result of TSL's
current and planned future investment, all these popular resources are available for free.
http://www.dyslexikit.co.uk/ “Dyslexikit is a complete system of literacy materials for teachers
and parents who want to transform the progress of children who do not acquire the skills of
reading, spelling and handwriting in the same way, or at the same rate that most other children
seem to. Through Dyslexikit, adults will discover how to teach dozens of literacy skills and
strategies in a logical, step-by-step way using lively activities and games that readily engage the
interest of struggling learners.” Note: Packages are from the UK and are in Pounds
Suitable: Students with Learning Disabilities
http://www.adducation.com.au/ Rob Hanly works with individuals in NSW with clients who have
ADHD. “Finding out about all the facets of ADHD can be difficult, especially without the basic
foundations of understanding. To make the search for information on ADHD easier, I’ve put
together the following articles on ADHD. Before writing each article was researched using both
online and offline resources to ensure accuracy, and was then written in simple and easy to
understand terms. There are five videos as well that cater to the ‘YouTube’ generation.
Suitable: Students with ADHD
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Teaching Resources
Description and Suitability
http://www.doasone.com/ A site devoted to meditation and breathing and feeling calm. A
wonderful site for children who need to learn to relax and calm themselves. It has a number of
'rooms' - including Breathing, Laughter, Om and Full Spectrum Breathing. The site is devoted to
meditation and techniques to relax and soothe. Ideal for students with challenging behaviours.
Suitable for: All students
http://www.easilearn.com/au/ A resource site for schools using the EasiTeach suite of programs.
RM Easilearn is an online space that teachers can regularly visit to download resources, get
latest product updates, chat and share ideas with other users, and feedback on the functionality
and features within their software products.
Suitable: All students – with classrooms using IWBs with EasiTeach software
http://sites.google.com/site/huntedweb/ A very useful website that will help locate useful
websites for literacy, maths and free software programs. Each website has a thumbnail image
(similar to this document). A very useful resource for educators and particularly for parents.
Hundreds of useful and relevant websites are listed. An excellent resource to share with parents
and publish in your school newsletter or on your school web site.
Suitable for: Primary aged students
http://www.copacabana-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/Web2/web2_index.html This is one of the most
expansive and resource rich Australian school-focussed web sites. It has numerous pages and
links. This page is concerned with Web 2.0 tools. It is not exhaustive but is indicative of useful
Web 2.0 tools for Primary schools.
Suitable for: Primary aged students
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators : Common Sense Media is dedicated to
improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and
independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology. They exist because
children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families or in
school, which profoundly impacts their social, emotional, and physical development. As a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization, they provide information and tools, as well as an
independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they
consume. Suitable: Students of all ages.
http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix.php: The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how
teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five
interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal
directed (i.e., reflective), authentic, and collaborative The TIM associates five levels of
technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each
of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. Together, the five levels of
technology integration and the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments create a
matrix of 25 cells. Suitable: Students of all ages.
www.gosh.camden.sch.uk/page/?title=Games&pid=129 : Children's Hospital School at Great
Ormond Street. Activities for Early Years, Primary and Secondary aged students. Hundreds of
activities, games and animated sequences are available. An excellent site with numerous links
to other resources and web sites for students of all ages.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary
http://www.blake.com.au/Free-to-Download-Primary-Resources-s/1899.htm A selection of
Primary School related teaching resources – all in PDF format.
Suitable for: Primary students NEW
http://www.primarygames.com/arcade/upbeat/index.htm A series of entertaining games for
younger students. They all involve animated effects with music and there a few from which to
choose.
Suitable for: Primary students NEW
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Teaching Resources
Description and Suitability
http://www.e-learningforkids.org/courses.html#compskills A wonderful collection of games and
activities on many curriculum based topics.
Suitable for: Primary students NEW
http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/the-best-of This site publishes information on a wide range of
topics dealing with ICT. This page has links to over 50 free articles and booklets, all in PDF
format, and also cover a range of important and interesting ICT areas of interest and need in
education. The ‘Best of” series is very handy as a guide to some of the leading programs and
Apps on iPads, MS Windows and MAC OS computers.
Suitable for: All students NEW
http://www.bayswaterps.vic.edu.au/lote/interactive.html A very comprehensive list of useful
LOTE resources for education, with Bayswater Primary School as the host. The sites have been
chosen as ones that work well with Interactive Whiteboards.
Suitable for: All students NEW
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/ A very diverse and comprehensive list of resources from
RM in the UK. It covers practically all curriculum topics and has numerous areas of interest for
both educators and students. A wonderful online resource with practical and useful content. It
caters predominantly to primary aged students but resources could be easily adapted to suit
older students who require differentiated content.
Suitable for: All students NEW
http://search.spacetime.com/ Fantastic visual search engine for locating graphics, Wikipedia
articles and especially for YouTube content. Visually exciting and easy to use. Ideal for IWB and
easy access for students. Caters directly to students with ID or who prefer visual information.
An exciting and engaging interface where links are launched in new tabs.
Suitable for: All students NEW
http://www.21stcenturyschoolteacher.com/cool-websites.html On this site you will find a variety
of resources including cool websites and tip sheets that support 21st century teaching
strategies. Also check out Nicole's blog, an ongoing resource of new ideas and applications for
the classroom, as well as conversation about current events in education. It has links to all
number of resources, most particularly some great Web 2.0 tools.
Suitable for: All students NEW
http://c4lpt.co.uk/top-tools/top-100-tools-for-learning-2011/ C4LPT stands for 'Centre for
Learning & Performance Technologies'. This is their 5th annual survey of learning tools that
they have built based on the contributions of learning professionals worldwide. An excellent
resource as it reflects what educators consider to be the most useful tools for classroom
practise. There are 229 favourites listed before the top 100 are selected for 2011.
Suitable for: All students NEW
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Disability Related Sites
Description and Suitability
http://www.disabilityfilms.co.uk/ Disabilityfilms.co.uk is providing films and information about
disabled. They make it easy for users to understand and take part of their films. UK based but
has global appeal and application. This is a new site so hopefully it will be populated by content
soon (as at April 2011)
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/?pageId=34/ This is the Centre for Disability Information and
Referral (CeDIR). Users can browse through their library of over 8,000 disability-related books,
videos and kits. The links at left of the home page will help users navigate through the site.
Users may not be able to borrow the resources but can at least identify them and source locally
in Australia.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/cedir/kidsweb/ ‘Have you ever wondered what it's like to have a
disability? How does a person who can't see read? Can a person with a physical disability play
sports? If you couldn't hear, how would you talk with your friends? Do people with disabilities get
frustrated, or have friends or like ice cream?’
This web site can help users begin to answer their questions about disabilities.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2004/02/03/ Human Rights Advocacy – ‘One tenth of the world's
population live with some kind of disability. Human rights violations against disabled people are
widespread, and often acutely dehumanising. Across the globe, disabled people are routinely
subjected to horrifying denials of their basic human rights, suffering inhumane and degrading
treatment, discrimination and violations of rights to life, education, privacy, family life, education. In
addition to being disabled by institutions, social policies and attitudes, often the very laws intended to
protect and uphold our human dignity, undermine the enjoyment of disabled people's rights.
Critically, people with disabilities seldom enjoy equal access to justice and the ability to assert their
most basic rights through legal processes.’
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/ndco/what-is-a-disability.html - The University of Newcastle
has an excellent reputation for promoting issues relating to empowering students (and people in
general) with disabilities. It is well worth investigating the many aspects and links on this very
comprehensive site. Also refer to: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/ndco/useful-links.html
for a list of links to relevant peak bodies.
Suitable for: All ages most particularly University and higher learning
http://www.aacandautism.com/ ‘The Centre for AAC & Autism believes that every child has the
desire and the ability to communicate despite physical and neurological challenges. By
providing specialized clinical training to health care professionals, teachers, and parents...
empowering clients and families with education, resources, and information... and supporting
clinical research, our aim is to give all children the ability to speak their mind and heart and
become engaged in their world.’
Suitable for: All ages most particularly students with ASD.
http://www.yooralla.com.au/eci.php - Yooralla Early Intervention services. ‘The first few years of
life for a family with a child who has developmental delay or disability can be challenging. It is a
time when parents and care-givers discover new strengths and abilities to make a lasting,
positive impact on their family and child's lifelong development.’
Suitable for: Pre School and Kindergarten
http://www.scopevic.org.au/index.php/site/resources#Disability_awareness – SCOPE: Links to
disability services and many different areas of need, catering predominantly to people with
physical disabilities.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=629 ‘Vision Australia produces a range of
materials and resources that will benefit a variety of people such as those working with people
who are blind or have low vision, architects, school students, and business and government
wanting information about accessibility.’
Suitable for: All ages
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Disability Related Sites
Description and Suitability
http://www.svrc.vic.edu.au/ATdistributors.shtml An excellent and very useful resource
from the Statewide Vision Resource Centre in Victoria. Suppliers and sources of
equipment and other resources for students with vision impairments are listed
alphabetically. The necessary and relevant contact details and a brief description of
products and services are included. Where available, suppliers and sites in Victoria,
Australia are provided.
Suitable for: All ages and adults with vision loss/impairment/needs NEW
http://www.lazeetek.com/html/links.html#Keyboards Listed in clearly defined categories are an
extensive list of freeware and shareware programs along with a few of the more modestly priced
ones. These programs are designed to make interacting with a computer easier. They include
mice, keyboards, cursors, magnification and other navigation tools. The site creators do not
support, recommend, or sponsor any of these products or sites as they are provided only as a
courtesy. An extremely useful resource!
Suitable for: All ages and abilities/disabilities NEW
http://mspilcare.com/Default.aspx This site provides a training course for school teachers who
are developing their ICT skills. "ICT Accessibility" focuses on the use of the PC for children with
disabilities, and describes how an MS Windows computer, Notebook or Netbook can work for
them and support their disabilities. Extremely engaging with high quality graphics, animation and
voiced instructions and feedback.
Suitable for: All ages and abilities/disabilities NEW
http://newsok.com/blind-iphone-users-discover-a-wealth-of-useful-apps/article/3586744 A news
item and video of how the iPhone can accommodate those users who are vision impaired or
blind. It demonstrated the power of using the inbuilt camera with the use of ‘Voiceover’ to
identify and denote the value of American money. Hopefully the start of a trend for all
currencies?
Suitable for: All ages and abilities/disabilities NEW
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Freeware & Open Source
Description and Suitability
http://www.collegedegree.com/library/college-life/100_web_tools_for_learning_with_disability This
site lists 100 freeware and Open Source programs that cater to students and people who have
disabilities.
Note: This list was published in 2008 so some software has finished, some links are no longer
active and others have listed programs that have been made commercially and are no longer
available. It is still a useful list, nonetheless.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.oatsoft.org/ OATSoft is dedicated to improving Assistive Technology and computer
accessibility through the power of Open Source development techniques. OATSoft makes the
best Open Source Assistive Technology Software (OATS) easy to find. Users and developers
meet at OATSoft to create better software. An excellent resource.
Suitable for: All ages
http://resources.imvc.com.au/broadenhorizons/index_new.asp?MainNavID=9&NavID=71&a=9&b
=0 This is a Victorian based website accommodating students 16+ with information about post
school options. It is hosted by the Inner Melbourne Vet Cluster with NDCO support. It is a list of
software programs that I compiled in 2009 and is frequently checked and updated. If you link to
‘Home’ it will provide users with an overview of the site. It is an excellent resource for educators
and for parents and students themselves to locate services for students after they leave school.
Suitable for: All Ages (Software) and particularly suited to Secondary (especially 16+ students)
http://www.ebility.com/links/software.php ‘The software links have been compiled as an
information resource and inclusion does not indicate endorsement by e-bility’. Another useful list
of software including about 40 programs explicitly for disability.
Note: Some programs may not be available any more.
Suitable for: All ages
http://fullmeasure.co.uk/ This site lists some of my favourite programs including PowerTalk (for
PowerPoint users), Touch CD and ClipTalk. ‘Full Measure helps users get the most from
computers and IT with free open source accessibility and assistive technology software.’ It is part
of the OATS initiative and has some useful links to other sites and resources.
Suitable for: All ages
http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/2009/07/kates-list-of-free-software-forsevere.html Kate Ahern’s web site/Blog caters to ‘Teaching Learners with Multiple Special
Needs’. It has numerous links to many useful resources and ideas for teachers of learners with
severe, profound, intensive, significant, complex or multiple special needs. It is one of THE best
sites for disability. It is very comprehensive and has practical ideas, videos and articles as well as
hundreds of links to other resources. Suitable for: All ages
http://tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/ Tux4Kids develops high-quality software with the goal of
combining fun and learning into an irresistible package. Their software is free: uses can download
it for use at home or onto hundreds of computers in a school. They support all major platforms,
including Windows, MAC OS and Linux/Unix. The programs have been translated into dozens of
different languages. As open-source software, the programs can be freely extended or
customized, and they are supported by active communities of volunteer developers (Tux
Paint/Maths/Typing)
Suitable for: Primary to Junior Secondary and to students with ID
http://www.theopendisc.com/ Open Disk (from Open Schools project) promotes freeware, more
particularly Open Source software aimed and targeted at schools. The latest Open Disk Project
V10.12 was released in 2010 on 7th December and is still current. It offers a range of some of the
most popular programs and utilities.
Suitable for: All ages
www.tucows.com and http://www.butterscotch.com//top-100-free-software.html TUCOWS has
always been one of the more comprehensive sites for locating and acquiring Shareware (try
before you buy) and Freeware (completely free or free to trial or demos) programs
Suitable for: All ages
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Freeware & Open Source
Description and Suitability
http://web.mac.com/simon_elliott/simon_elliott@mac.com/Software.html : This site offers a
complete range of MAC OS freeware and open source software. There are over 100 programs
included in the Education and Science section. The software is all arranged by icon and
descriptor. The links navigate to sites where the MAC software can be downloaded and then
installed. Be sure to check the Operating System that caters to your MAC computer. One of the
better freeware sites.
Suitable for: All Ages
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_source/ : This is a list of freeware that is
either Unix or Open Source based that will operate on a MAC computer. By clicking on the ‘Home
and Learning Tab’ users will discover a range of free programs that are available for download.
Widgets are also available from this site. Programs for maths, science, productivity, imaging and
3D, art and design as well as calendars, icons and screensavers are listed.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.freemacware.com/ : FreeMacWare lists Apple MAC OS and iPod/iPhone and iPad
apps. It highlights a program every day. It offers a worthwhile list of education focussed programs
as well as all other genres. There are 110 programs listed as educational software, each with a
descriptor. Users can request RRS feeds or email contact to locate software automatically. ‘We
only review freeware for Mac OS X, and we aren’t trying to find all the freeware out — just the
best. We review freeware that both we and our readers have found, and we post everyday’.
Suitable for: All Ages
http://www.schoolfreeware.com/Downloads.html : A list of suitable free software that
accommodates students with varying degrees of difference. The software is either Freeware or
Open Source. Most of it will install and work on Windows XP-Windows Vista versions. Note:
Some may not work with Windows 7 or 64-bit versions of MS Windows.
Suitable: Students of all ages. Some specific to disability groups/needs.
http://www.serif.com/free-graphic-design-software/?mc=SETWj100 : A free drawing program,
DrawPlus design is easy to use, is ideal for designing web graphics and creative print projects
where students can draw, paint & sketch. They can design professional-quality logos and
graphics. The software has web support with ‘How To’ guides and a comprehensive help system.
The software is free to download, install and use.
Suitable for: Upper primary and Secondary
http://mediaaccess.org.au/latest_news/general/a-comparison-of-free-and-low-c
ost-screen-magnifiers. This site lists the free screen magnifiers that are available for download
and use on computers. Media Access Australia’s web accessibility team has reviewed several
free and low cost screen magnifiers and their common features
Suitable for: Upper primary and Secondary students and for adults NEW
http://www.microsoft.com/australia/education/teachers/teachertools/free-tools.aspx There are
free, captivating, digital tools from Microsoft including AutoCollage - create an artful photo poster
using this fun collage-making tool; Microsoft Photosynth - explore famous places with cinematic
quality using these virtual, visual 3-D tours; Windows Live Movie Maker - the fast, easy way to
turn photos and video clips into great-looking movies and slideshows to share in class or on the
Web. Educators/parents can download the Teacher's Guide and learn about 12 free tools.
Suitable for: Upper primary and Secondary students and for adults NEW
http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/royalty-free / The MakeUseOf team lists the most tagged (or
labelled) royalty free resources that can be accessed on the web at no cost to educators and
students. It features resources such as music, photos, sound effects and graphics. Links are live
and the most popular 'viewed' are rated according to popularity.
Suitable for: All students NEW
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Freeware & Open Source
Description and Suitability
http://www.appappeal.com/apps/education/ This site lists 40 useful applications for free download
and use for education. It has links to many other applications as well. Every entry is rated and has
a well written review and also mentions comparable applications.
Suitable for: All students NEW
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Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Web Browsers
Description and Suitability
http://tweensbrowser.com/ Tween Online: For students 7-12, a series of browsers that are safe to
use and link to Key Learning Areas. Predominantly graphical in design, they are intuitive, safe and
easy to navigate. Download the free program, install and use straight away. No advertising, pop
ups or security issues and it’s safe to use at home or at school. Only educational and leisure
based sites are listed, all catering to student needs.
Suitable for: 3- Year 7 and students with different abilities
http://www.clubpenguin.com/parents/club_penguin_guide.htm - Club Penguin is free to access
and use club online for junior students. Theme based, it provides many activities that are suitable
for early years and students with different abilities. Ideal for home access. It is free but there is a
cost for advanced and extra features.
Suitable for: 1- Year 3 and students with different abilities
www.zacbrowser.com : Zac Browser is a totally free software package. It is the first Internet
browser developed specifically for children living with variants of autism spectrum disorders (ASD),
Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, PDD not otherwise
specified and PDD-NOS, also called atypical autism. Zac Browser was designed to offer a
pleasant, rewarding and secure experience. Children sing, play and discover the best that the
Internet has to offer with only a few clicks of the mouse
http://www.mykidsbrowser.com/ - Kid-safe Internet browser made just for kids! Designed to be
simple for parents to install and to use. It is actually ready for children to use right after the
installation finishes! Protects children from pornography and Internet predators. There are NEVER
any subscription fees! Uses a white-list technology so parents can decide what is suitable for their
children and what isn't. There is a cost involved.
Suitable for: 1- Year 3 and students with different abilities
http://www.webbie.org.uk/ : WebbIE is a web browser for blind and visually-impaired people,
especially those using screen readers, used since 2001 all over the world. It comes with the
Accessible programs, letting people of all ages access news and audio on the Internet in a simple
and accessible way, also allowing them to use podcasts, listen to the radio and read RSS and
news with a screen reader program or other access solution. Together they provide a way to
access websites and other great things online - and they are all free.
Suitable for: P-Adults
www.mozilla.com : Firefox has hundreds of add-ons and plug-ins that are free. It supports
students with different needs and is more flexible than Internet Explorer. It is safe to use and less
likely to be compromised as well. There is also a portable version (that is included on EduApps
USB menus in AccessApps.
Suitable for: P-Adults
http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu/wa.php : WebAnywhere is a non-visual interface to the
web that requires no new software to be downloaded or installed. It works right in the browser,
which means students with vision impairments or reading disabilities can access it from any
computer, even locked-down public computer terminals. WebAnywhere enables anyone to interact
with the web in a similar way to how they may have used other screen readers, such as JAWS or
Window-Eyes, at no cost or set up for the user.
Suitable for: P-Adults
http://www.readonweb.com/ : Read on Web - CleanPage™ strips all advertisements and other
junk from a webpage, and extracts the main text-based content: This main body text is then fit on
the screen, spoken aloud, imported for speed reading or editing, emailed, printed, zoomed in, and
zoomed out All the features can be easily accessed by one click on the toolbar or through a
keyboard shortcut.
Suitable for: All students who require uncluttered web pages.
** Links to multiple browsers for children - http://kids-browser.software.informer.com/
http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/atk/start?atk_url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/mydisplay/#sldforum MyDisplay is a new tool from the BBC which allows people to get BBC Online in a way
which better suits their needs and preferences. This trial release allows users to change the way
the whole BBC Online site looks by choosing a theme for how the site should look on a user’s
computer.
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 48
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Web Browsers
Description and Suitability
http://www.kidzui.com/ - Kidzui is a free web browser for children. It has links to suitable YouTube
content and is curated by hundreds of teachers and parents. It is a free download. KidZui gives
kids the freedom to explore the Internet safely with millions of kid-friendly YouTube videos, online
games, and websites. These are all pre-screened and approved by editorial staff, teachers, and
parents. Weekly activity reports keep educators and parents in touch with children’s' evolving
interests.
Suitable for: Primary, middle years and students with special access or learning needs NEW
http://www.buddybrowser.com/Buddy-Browser-Selection.cfm This browser caters to parents,
educators and students and is available for MS Windows and MAC OS computers. Children can
safely explore the web, chat with friends, play games and access appropriate YouTube content all
in the one safe interface.
Suitable for: Primary, middle years and students with special access or learning needs NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 49
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Geography and History
Description and Suitability
http://www.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#geography-year1geog_yearyear1 Elementary activities
for Years 1 (15 activities including Around Our School and Where is Barnaby Bear?) and Year 2
(9 activities) dealing with geography. It is UK based. Content is quite generic in content though.
Suitable for: Years 1 and 2
http://www.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#history-year1history_yearyear1 Elementary activities for
Years 1 (7 activities – Toys from the Past) and Year 2 – (9 activities dealing with Transport), all
dealing with history. It is UK based. Content is quite generic in content though.
Suitable for: Years 1 and 2
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ : A very interesting, if a tad disorganised website that lists
hundreds of links pertaining to history – in all of its aspects. Not easy to navigate easily as the
main page is many screens long with lists of links, interspersed with ads. Useful, nonetheless
and will appeal to anyone researching articles, books, authors, Wars and major world events.
Suitable for: Secondary to Tertiary students
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ One of the most highly regarded and useful resources. The
National Geographic Society has been inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888. It is
one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests
include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and
historical conservation.
Suitable for: Primary through Secondary and to Tertiary students NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 50
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Art & Design
Description and Suitability
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REVart.htm : This is a comprehensive web site with lists
of art and design web site resources. Created by an author of numerous books, John Simkin
has created a very comprehensive body of work that allows students to locate artists and their
works.
Suitable for: Secondary and Tertiary students
http://cooltext.com/ Users of all abilities can quickly create logos, buttons, signs and printed text
for banners, MS Word and MS PowerPoint files. Cool Text is a free graphics generator for web
pages and anywhere else students need an impressive logo without a great deal of time or
complex design work. Users simply choose what kind of image they would like. Then they fill out
a screen with colour, size and dimensions with their desired text and they’ll have their own
custom image created on the fly.’ Users can download the new image, obtain the HTML code or
email it. Suitable for: Junior Primary to Secondary
www.office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx Useful and appropriate clipart that
provides all genres and types of graphics, photos, animations and sounds that will be
downloaded right into a user’s clipart library. A great web site resource that is often forgotten.
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Secondary
http://www.dreamstime.com/ You can subscribe to this online stock photo service and/or
download high quality images at no cost. Dreamstime is a distinguished leader in stock
photography and a major supplier of high quality digital images. All stock images available are
provided by Dreamstime community's photographers, shot on film or digitally captured.
Structured on categories and subcategories, the database is renewed with thousands of fresh
images and titles on a daily basis. As of December 2007, Dreamstime numbers 500,000
registered members, more than 26,000 contributing photographers and over 2,000,000 images
online. Suitable for: All ages NEW
http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/ Public Domain Pictures.net is a repository for free public
domain images. Users can download high quality photos or upload their own pictures. If schools
or students intend to use an image they find on this site for commercial use (i.e. selling a
product outside of school), be aware that some photos do require a model or property release.
Pictures featuring products should be used with care. The pictures are free for schools to use
and people should feel good about doing so.
Suitable for: All ages NEW
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Wikimedia Commons is a database of
10,634,831 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute. If people are browsing
Commons for the first time, they may want to start with 'Featured' pictures, Quality images or
Valued images. Students can also see some work created by some highly skilled contributors in
'Meet ' photographers' and 'Meet ' illustrators'.
Suitable for: All ages NEW
http://www.imageafter.com/ Image After is a large online free photo collection. Students and
educators can download and use any image or texture from their site and use it in their own
work, either personal or commercial. It offers thousands of resources and also has website
templates and a large range of stock photography.
Suitable for: Secondary students NEW
http://vintagejs.com/ VintageJS is where students can add some interesting retro-look to their
images. VintageJS is a tool where users can upload their images and apply a custom retro,
vintage look to them for free. Teachers and students can simply upload their photo, apply the
vintage effect and share the retro image it with their classmates or friends via social media tools
such as MySpace, Flickr, Facebook or Twitter.
Suitable for: Secondary students NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 51
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Art & Design
Description and Suitability
http://www.sxc.hu/ Users can browse through the categories of this huge gallery containing over
350,000 quality stock photos by more than 30,000 photographers. It has wallpapers for desktop
or illustrations for users' blogs and pictures and photos for Nings or website design. Users can
your photos with fellow designers. SXC is a friendly community of photography addicts who
generously offer their works to those who need them free of charge. Not only it feels great to
share, users will also get a huge exposure for their work.
Suitable for: Secondary students NEW
http://www.public-domain-photos.com/ The 5,000 photos and 8,000 free clip arts on this page
can be used for any purpose, including commercial. The photos are typically provided in a single
high resolution. They are tagged and sorted into categories, offering educators and students two
ways to easily locate and find them.
Suitable for: Secondary students NEW
www.flickr.com - Flickr is an obvious resource, yet it is often neglected. Using the advanced
search feature, users can search only photos with a Creative Commons license that allows them
to use the content commercially and/or modify, adapt, or build upon the content. These two
licenses in combination essentially make the image ‘public domain’ in that students can use it
for anything. However, the license restriction is that students have to credit the original creator.
Suitable for: Secondary students NEW
http://www.aviary.com/tools/vector-editor Users can gainfully employ Raven to create fully
scalable vector art appropriate for logos, art work and design creation or tee shirt designs.
There’s no real comparable site or similar tool on the web.
Suitable for: Secondary students NEW
http://www.picnik.com/ Picnik is an American based company that allows users to edit and
manipulate their photos online, for free. Students can elect to upload photos from their hard
drive and edit them using a multitude of powerful photo editing tools. It is also possible to draw
photos directly from an account at other online photo sites, such as Google Picasa or Flickr.
This allows users to edit their photos without the need for expensive computer-based graphic
manipulation software.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
http://www.splashup.com/ Splashup is an online image editor that looks and feels like working
directly in Photoshop. Splashup (formerly Fauxto) is used to both modify and create images on
the fly. With a similar setup to Photoshop or Gimp, Splashup provides an interface that makes it
quick and simple to modify any image from a computer or the web. In addition to simply
uploading images, Splashup allows free-transformation of the image, layer effects with multiple
brushes. With the ability to share and download images when complete, it could replace a
desktop image editing program very quickly.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
www.sumopaint.com Sumo Paint serves as a full-fledged online image creating and editing
gear that has all the ingredients to lure budding imaging buffs. The website incorporates
proficient support that guides users to utilize its full range of features. After creating images,
Sumo Paint lets its users assemble them in attention-grabbing Cool Iris 3D gallery. In addition to
creating and editing images, users can also enjoy viewing stunning images featured in the
category of top-rated images.
Suitable for: Upper Primary, Secondary and tertiary students NEW
www.pixlr.com Pixlr is a user-friendly online image editing application that is essentially
designed for non-professional users. It allows students to effortlessly edit images. Pixlr comes
across as an effective application for editing images if one needs to use them in their blogs,
image galleries, and social networking sites. However it not suitable for editing large images.
Pixlr also offers its users with a good collection of filters and adjustment options that may bring
more polished results at their end and enables them to create appealing effects with minimum
effort. Pixlr is a Flash based imaged editing tool and users must have installed a Flash plug-in to
use this service. Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 52
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Art & Design
Description and Suitability
http://discover.odai.yale.edu/ydc/ Students can search on 1.5 million records and choose from
over 250,000 assets all freely from the Yale Digital Commons. Collections include art, natural
history, books and maps as well as photos, audio and video content. An excellent and very
comprehensive resource.
Suitable for: Secondary and tertiary students NEW
http://www.cartoonize.net/index.php A site for converting a photo to a cartoon image. Students
can elect to take a photo using a digital camera, select an image from the web or scan a photo
and use it to create some fascinating and interesting new images. These can be the catalyst for
a piece of writing, a mind mapping web or PowerPoint/Photo story file. A fun and engaging
online resource. Students can also add effects to images as well.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/cambridge/projects/autocollage/ Photo collages
celebrate important events and themes in our lives. Pick a folder, press a button, and in a few
minutes AutoCollage presents you with a unique memento to print or email to your family and
friends. Note: Already installed on MS Windows 7 computers and embedded in the EduStar
image in Vic Government schools.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 53
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
iPad Resources
Description and Suitability
http://www.autismqld.com.au/userfiles/Autism%20Applications.pdf : A PDF file that is available
from this link. It was written as a resource for people with ASD to access suitable apps on
iPhones, iPods and iPads.
Suitable: Students with Autism – and many others
http://www.ipadineducation.co.uk/iPad_in_Education/Welcome.html : ‘Although the vast majority
of iPod Touch & iPhone apps will scale up to fit the iPad, or can be used in their original format,
I am mainly focusing on educational apps which have been written to take advantage of the
larger screen size and processing power of the iPad.’. This is a well organised and
comprehensive site with a great deal of useful information about iPads and their place in
Education.
Suitable: Students of all ages and abilities
http://a4cwsn.com/ An excellent resource. ‘a4cwsn is committed to helping the families and
carers of children with special needs and the wider community of educators and therapists who
support them, by producing videos that demonstrate how products designed to educate children
and build their life skills really work from a user perspective. Our aim is that these videos, along
with relevant information and advice from an independent source you can trust, provides
valuable insight into whether a product is suitable for its intended purpose or not, enabling
sensible buying decisions to be made.’
Suitable for: Junior Primary to Year 4
http://www.appolicious.com/curated-apps/3167-top-apps-for-nonverbalautisticspecial-educationstudents Hillary Brumer lists Apps for students with ASD and communication needs. She
constantly reviews Apps and writes about them so it’s worth revisiting from time to time.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.appolicious.com/: Reviews and lists of iApps from various writers and contributors.
General in nature but some reviews are centred on students with different abilities. A handy
source of new ideas and perspectives of emerging/new Apps.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.bookroomreviews.com/2010/08/16/best-ipad-apps-for-autism-and-aspergerssyndrome/ : Best Apps for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Aspergers. It is written
by a mother in the USA. The site offers a range of book reviews and other resources as well.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.abiq.org/autism_apps/iPhone_iPad_iPod-touch_Apps_AUS.pdf : this links directly to
an PDF file, written by Eric Sailors. It contains 24 pages and is a useful resource for educators
and parents. Clearly presented with brief descriptors, icons of each App and direct links to the
Apps.
Suitable for: All ages – especially students with different abilities/needs
http://www.timobrienphotos.com/large-print-ideas/iphone-access/ : An excellent review of the
accessibility and functions of an iPhone. There are many interesting links and topics to review
and read. Excellent resource to cater to people with different vision, access and cognitive
needs.
Suitable for: All ages
http://www.ipadcurriculum.com/ : Some interesting Apps are reviewed in some detail. A whole
range of Apps for education – particularly science.
Suitable for: Secondary aged students.
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 54
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
iPad Resources
Description and Suitability
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/iPads-in-SE_Handout.pdf is a
very recent and up-to-date article published on Jane Farrell’s Blog on the Spectronic’s website.
It is a useful and practical resource for students of all ages and abilities as it lists the significant
resources that are now promoting iPad use in schools.
Suitable for: All ages
https://sites.google.com/site/bloomsapps/home : ‘Using Blooms Taxonomy in education is a
highly effective way to scaffold learning for the students. With the recent popularity and
pervasive nature of iOS devices in school regions it is essential for educators to understand how
to implement Blooms in the classroom using the Apps that are available. It will assist educators
in getting started when implementing iOS devices in the classroom. This site will change almost
daily as it will be updated with new and exciting apps.’
Suitable for: All ages
http://learningwithipads.blogspot.com/2011/02/apps-for-dyslexia.html A very useful and dynamic
site that has reviews, comments and discussions about the efficacy and use of iPads in
Education. The aim of the iPad Pilot Program is to evaluate the role of the iPad in supporting
learning and teaching in today's world. The pilot program is being coordinated by Learning
Exchange, Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta. It has some great resources and trial
history, comments and useful feedback.
Suitable for: All ages NEW
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-20002462-243.html?tag=mncol Lists 5 iPad books for
children with handy and useful reviews on each with video support. A good resource and worth
reading/watching if teachers are interested in using iPads for literacy and reading.
Suitable for: Primary aged students and those with different abilities NEW
http://www.multi-sensory-room.co.uk/page76/apps/files/Recomended%20Apps.pdf A wonderful
PDF file that can be downloaded freely. It lists some fantastic multisensory Apps for students
with special access, communication, sensory and learning needs. It is comprehensive with
graphics of each app and a short concise synopsis and description. A must have resource for
special educators and parents! Worth downloading and sharing.
Suitable for: Primary aged students and those with different abilities NEW
http://www.technologybitsbytesnibbles.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/IPAds-for-LearningGetting-Started.pdf A very useful publication, downloaded as a free PDF resource from the
DEECD site in Victoria. The PDF was published in January 2011 and contains 41 x A4 pages. It
is still a useful resource although out of date as there have been so many other Apps created
since early 2011.
Suitable for: All ages NEW
http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/best-ipad-apps On this page, educators and student alike will
find the best 102 iPad apps for general iPad use. They’ve taken the effort to categorize the apps
and choose only those they believe to be the best ones and which will most likely be useful to
the majority of users.
Suitable for: All ages NEW
http://appshopper.com/utilities/creative-book-builder-create-edit-publish-your-ebooks This is an
individual App but has huge potential for educators and students to create their own eBook. The
reasonable cost of $4.49 is ideal as the capabilities and features and expansive. An excellent
App and one that is strongly recommended.
Suitable for: All ages, particularly upper and primary and middle years NEW
http://appshopper.com/bestsellers/education/paid/?device=ipad The Appshopper lists the most
popular Apps that have been downloaded with prices and ratings. Useful for quick reference to
see what others are purchasing.
Suitable for: All ages, particularly upper and primary and middle years NEW
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iPad Resources
Description and Suitability
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-ipad-apps.htm A list of free iPad apps. In an iPad's
browser, tap a program title on this site to go the App Store, tap the "free" button and then the
"Install App" button. Or in a PC's browser, click a program title to go to the iTunes Preview and
click "View in iTunes", and then download the program within iTunes and sync to a classroom or
student's iPad.
Suitable for: All ages, particularly upper and primary and middle years NEW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sOXct_Qy44&feature=related One of the MANY useful and
interesting YouTube videos that discuss the efficacy and use of the iPad and iPad2 in classroom
practise. Recently at Critical Agenda’s “Boys and Technology” conference conducted in
Melbourne in late August 2011, a great deal of information and a focus on portable learning
tools was discussed and presented by a range of speakers.
http://www.criticalagendas.com.au/National/boys-a-technology.html
Suitable for: All ages, particularly upper and primary and middle years NEW
http://learninginhand.com/mmm A list of Apps to use for taking movies on the go. A useful link
as it details how to make video content and provides some practical and useful video content
with children creating and making movies.
Suitable for: All ages, particularly upper and primary and middle years NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 56
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Typing & Keyboarding
Description and Suitability
http://www.typingweb.com/ TypingWeb is designed to assist typists of all skill levels. Users can
learn how to type from the very basics using the site’s free comprehensive keyboarding lessons.
Learning games are also available to help users improve their skills while having fun.
Experienced typists can prove their abilities by taking speed and accuracy tests to earn printable
typing certificates offered by the site. Educators can use TypingWeb to enhance their student’s
experience. Teachers can grade, manage and report student’s abilities.
Suitable for: All students of all ages NEW
http://www.powertyping.com/ PowerTyping is an online free typing tutor for Qwerty - US
standard 101 keyboard and Dvorak keyboard - the US alternative ANSI standard keyboard.
Learn to type with PowerTyping - online free typing tutor includes:
» How to learn typing
» Learn to type Qwerty - US standard 101 keyboard
» Free educational games
» Typing test
Suitable for: All students of all ages NEW
http://www.goodtyping.com/ Another online typing tutor is Good Typing. Students or users of
any age can learn how to type correctly in just a few hours using all of their correct fingers.
Users will soon be typing faster than they ever imagined using 27 guided lessons to learn stepby-step from the beginning. Students can choose between 20 different keyboard layouts and all
content is in a Web-based course.
Suitable for: All students of all ages NEW
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ Dance Mat Typing is an introduction to touch typing for
children aged 7 - 11 years. Each of the 4 levels is divided into 3 stages. Begin at Level 1 and
build up students' skills gradually through to Level 4.
Suitable for: Students up to 11 years NEW
http://kids.learn2type.com/ Typing Test & Typing tutor at Learn 2 Type for Kids – a useful free
Web site that helps kids master the skills of touch typing. The interactive exercises in this Kids
Typing Tutor automatically adjust to a child's skill level. The more skilled and proficient they
become, the more challenging the Typing exercises become. Students can come and go as
they please and pick up the Typing lesson where they left off.
Suitable for: All students of all ages NEW
http://www.freetypinggame.net/ FreeTypingGame.Net is the premiere site to play free typing
games, lessons and tests. Our Typing Tutor is the best way to learn to type. No downloads,
installations or registration required. It offers free games, lessons, drills and is very motivating
and entertaining. Ideal for younger or 'less enthusiastic' students!
Suitable for: All students of all ages NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 57
Weally Wonderful Websites V5.4 2011
Blogging & Online Sites
Description and Suitability
www.edmodo.com Edmodo.com is a private online social platform for teachers and students to
share ideas, files, events and assignments. Built on a micro-blogging model, the site allows
teachers the ability to handle their class activity online. Teachers can send out assignments,
receive completed assignments and assign grades using the online platform. They can maintain
a class calendar, store and share files, have a public (RSS) stream, and conduct polls and send
text (SMS) alerts to students. Users have a home page where they can see a summary of
recent activity for their class. The home page allows the teacher to make new assignments,
assign an event to the calendar, send out an alert, and write a note to an individual or a group of
students, and share links or files with students. An excellent resource.
Suitable for: Upper Primary and Secondary students/classes NEW
www.busuu.com Busuu.com is an online community for learning languages in a social
networking setting. Users can learn English, Spanish, German or French using the site. It uses
social networking to enhance the learning experience. Courses are organized into units that
contain more than 100 different topics. Each topic has a section for vocabulary, dialogue (i.e.
reading exercises), writing exercises, ‘Busuu talk’ (allows users to video chat with native
speakers of the language they are studying) and review. The Busuu talk feature provides an
experience similar to visiting a foreign country to learn the language. Most importantly, all of the
course material is audiovisual. Suitable for: Secondary students/classes NEW
http://sclipo.com/ Sclipo is designed to help educators improve upon their work flow. The site
provides valuable resources that provide information and tips on teaching online and offline.
Educators can publish, manage and teach online courses in a face to face environment. They
can store and share vital educational content in their own online resource library. Sclipo groups
are available to allow users to connect and obtain information and suggestions from one
another. Users can also lead live classes, meetings and webinars intended for an audience of
one hundred or more. Sclipo provides educators with ways to improve their abilities, reach out to
more students, and make helpful learning resources more accessible through the internet.
Suitable for: Secondary students/classes NEW
www.sophia.org Sophia.org is a social learning application that allows users to share their
knowledge and expertise while expanding their minds with information provided by other users.
To keep the data manageable, Sophia.org organized each item into a learning packet. A
learning packet is a small tutorial that covers a specific objective. A packet consists of a
question and answer conversation that allows users to learn from both content and
supplementary discussions. The site also utilizes a five star rating system. Each learning packet
can be rated by users to help others decide which are worthwhile. Self-declared “subject matter
experts” are also found within the Sophia.org community and spend some of their time rating
packets. An interesting and useful resource.
Suitable for: Secondary students/classes NEW
http://www.wikispaces.com/ If a classroom wiki is intended to e used exclusively for primary and
secondary education, then educators can apply for the K-12 plan. These wikis are free and adfree, and teachers can make them private for extra security for their students. K-12 wikis also
come with a User Creator tool that lets teachers and their students open student accounts in
bulk — without the need for student email addresses. One of my all time favourites is Jim
Sprialis’ Clicker 5 and resources Wiki at http://clickerpedia.wikispaces.com/ .
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students/classes NEW
http://www.wikidot.com/learnmore:education Thousands of users found Wikidot a great tool to:
•discuss research topics and collaborate with co-workers,
•publish lesson / lecture notes and materials, including any PDF files or PowerPoint slides,
•inform students about upcoming topics and events, also using RSS feeds inform them
•publish homework tasks,
•create forums to discuss topics,
•organize whole classes and create separate wikis for groups or for each student.
Suitable for: Primary and Secondary students/classes NEW
Author: Gerry Kennedy (c) September 2011 V5.4 - Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy E: specmelb@bigpond.net.au M: 0411 569 840 P: 03 9894 4826 Page 58