Educational Applications

This tiltle includes useful applications we can find on the internet ready to be used with our pupils. Sometimes we can create our own activities by means of the application itself. Under this topic we include:

1. MUDS
At edu365.com, there are small didactic units (MUD) for different levels and differents areas, a set of precise tasks related to specific contents of that area or subject. (Clic on the picture to access to some Primary examples of MUDS)

2. JClic Aplications
The Jclic project is an upgraded evolution of the program Clic 3.0, a tool to create multimedia educational applications. All along this time many educators have used it in order to create interactive through which diverse skills are practised and which cover wide areas of the curriculum, ranging from kindergarten to secondary.
http://clic.xtec.net/ca/index.htm

3. Quaderns Virtuals ("Digital Notebooks")
They are digital learning environments that allow teachers to create and carry out multimedia activities in order to evaluate their students' progress.
A digital notebook has one or more "sheets" or "pages", each sheet containing one or more questions. There are different types of questions that can be created: Multiple choice, gap filling, ordering, click and drag ...
http://clic.xtec.net/qv_web/ca/index.htm

4. WebQuests
WebQuests are Internet-centered group projects based upon the idea of guided activities. Students are asked to search for information and data in the www in order to achieve a specific goal. Given a certain story or situation recreated in the WebQuest, each group of students takes up a specific role that is guided into some specific websites where they must find the information they need. The outcome of the search (or "quest") can be published, printed, drawn, or explained to the rest of the class. This is why WebQuests are so interesting to educators, they cover different areas of the learning process: Cooperative work, creative and communicative skills, and also reflective work.
http://www.xtec.es/recursos/webquests/htm/farmpets.htm
http://www.xtec.es/recursos/webquests/htm/insect.htm
You can find different WebQuests and templates to create your own at:
http://www.xtec.es/recursos/webquests/index.htm

5. Blogs
A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. A blog comprises hypertext, images and links to other web pages, video, audio and other filesBlogs use a conversational style of documentation. They allow the web readers to post their comments. Often blogs focus on a particular "area of interest", such as ESL, different educational areas, and other fields. Some blogs discuss personal experiences. They can be used as a very powerful educational tool, as they allow fluent communication between the author and the readers.

http://crle-le.blogspot.com/

http://formacioicelleida.blogspot.com/

Blogs can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services. This allows people to create their own blog and publish it in their own web space provided by the blog hosting service. Examples of this are Blogger and Word Press
Very recently xtec.cat, the Catalan teachers site has published its on blog hosting service:http://blogs.xtec.cat/

In it you'll find all the support you need to help you to publish your own blog. It's very easy!! Go on it's good fun and useful!!

Do you know any other resource that it is not listed above?