An overview of resources to supportliteracy can be found in The 1999 Guide to Literacy Resources from the National Literacy Association. As well as ICT, audio-visual materials and books are included.To order a copy, call 01202 484079.
Middlesex University is hosting a conference called Raising the Achievementof Secondary Pupils through Literacy and ICT in every curriculum subject on July 2 at its Trent Park campus in north London. Aimed at classroom teachers, advisers and teacher trainers, it includes practical workshops for teachers. Cost is pound;75. To register, call Shirley Franklin on 0171 700 4975. email: s.franklin@mdx.ac.uk www.mdx.ac.uk The Bolton Curriculum ICT Centre’s IT in Primary Literacy won a BETT award in January for the Best IT Support Publication. It is a practical document ideal for in-service training and classroom use from reception to Year 6. It costs pound;10 and can be ordered from www.tfict.org.ukpri or call 01204 366 497.
The Standards Site, part of the Department for Education’s website, has pages about the National Literacy Strategy (www.standards.dfee.gov.ukliteracy), while the Virtual Teachers Centre has a range of useful literacy resources and downloadable worksheets.
www.vtc.ngfl.gov.ukvtcclassclass.html The VTC also hosts Literacy Time, anactivity area with practical ideas to help teachers deliver the literacy hour. www.vtc.ngfl.gov.ukresourceliteracyindex.html For help with finding suitable software or to get more details about a particular title, see BECTA’s educational softwaredatabase on the VTC, which holds information about a large number of programs and is searchable.
www.vtc.ngfl.gov.ukresourceesr Developing Number, the software developed by the Association of Teachers of Mathematics, contains three programs:Complements, Numbers and Tables. They are featured in the National Numeracy Strategy training video and are suitable for both primary and secondary schools. It costs pound;49.95 for a single-user licence and pound;145 for an institute site licence. To order, call 01332 346599.
RM produces ICT Ideas, which shows how RM products can be used to support the teaching of literacy and numeracy. Call 01235 826 969.
www.rm.com Ray Barker and Glen Franklin’s address to last year’s United Kingdom Reading Association conference, about using ICT to raise literacy standards, can be found at www.argonet.co.ukusersnlaprojectslitit.htm Mirandanet has an extensive list of literacy and writing resources on the Net at www.mirandanet.comlitlinks.htm A literacy co-ordinator from Lepton Church of England school in Huddersfield has written Literacy Complete, a program to help teachers plan the literacy hour. See page 36 for a full review. The CD-Rom is marketed by Kirklees LEA and the Skills Factory. It costs pound;94 for a full school licence. To order call 01484 225793. www.skillsfactory.com
