Voil...!, Na Klar!, AAs!!

Nelson Thornes ICT resources to support the National Framework.

The price depends on the number of pupils in the school: 1,000+ pupils Pounds 400, 501-1,000 pupils pound;360, fewer than 500 pupils pound;320.

All plus VAT Tel: 01242 267284

The new Framework courses by Nelson Thornes, Voil...!, Na Klar! and AAs!! now have an ICT resource to complement them, which is similar for all three languages. The CD can be networked and many of the activities are suitable for whole class teaching with a data projector or interactive whiteboard, as well as individual use by the pupils on a suite of PCs with headsets.

The claim by the company is that the electronic interactions are not just bolted on as an afterthought (as has sometimes been the case with older courses) but that they are integral to the course. PowerPoint presentations are good quality with clear images and sound, and for teachers who use these courses, the same images and characters that are used in the coursebook can be seen on the screen - particularly helpful to embed the learning. These can also be made available on the school network for pupils to access later to help them revise, and a glossary is also included for this purpose. Pupils are given a username and password and all activities can be assigned to individuals or to whole classes, thus saving time locating resources and giving opportunities for differentiation. Video clips are particularly useful as the moving image and the ability to make cultural observations through this medium is very powerful. There are interactive activities such as drag-and-drop, matching words or phrases to images, and text manipulation which can be used with an interactive whiteboard. The text size of these can be quite small making them more suitable for individual PCs rather than whole classes.

To help navigation there are a number of useful features. A searchable database, the Resource Finder, allows the teacher to search the 400 activities by key words. There is a Book Page icon whereby all resources are matched to lessons in the pupil book and by typing in the book page you can find which activities are linked.

Teachers can also use the Lesson Manager feature to launch ready-made sequences of resources or create their own customised sequences. As well as the resources for classroom use there are planning documents such as editable schemes of work and lesson plans. All these features will save teachers time in planning and preparing. This resource is also reasonably priced and can be purchased with e-learning credits.

* Nelson Thornes is on Stand PZ-L30 at the Education Show www.nelsonthornes.comsecondary modern_langmfljcwalkthrough.index.htm