c. Selecting ICT Resources

The teacher in the case study is completely at home with the skills behind most of the options we have looked at above, though she does not know of any dedicated CD-ROM material for the topics. She has used grammar books and videos, she already has some word-processed materials, she has seen some good grammar sites on the World Wide Web, and she knows how to use a CD-ROM.

You may not be in the same position as she is, so we shall look at the options in the context of your school and your experience. Think about the following points as they apply to you:

Using discussion only, and not using any ICT (or other technology) at all.
I have a bit of a problem with this (I would say that, wouldn't I?) in as much as my own experience of teaching grammar through discussion, is that it is often seen by learners as boring and very often learners have very little knowledge of the grammar in their own language.

Using a word processor package to create worksheets for the topics, placing some images into the worksheets.
Here the question is one of how much the pupils will develop their skills if the teacher spends her time on creating stimulus material using a word processor, and how much they would have done so anyway. My own view is that the use of well organised stimulus material will help learners focus on the topic in hand, as well as giving them examples of how information can be found and managed. It also seems likely that the time spent on creating high quality resources of the sort the teacher wants is likely to be returned in the adaptability and re-usability of the resources.

Use some video or print material, perhaps showing different perspectives on the range of topics.
This isn't strictly an ICT option, but it would be if it was done in conjunction with the word processed worksheets or some work on the World Wide Web. The best thing about it is that looking at video or print material provides a range of stimuli to the learner so that any information deficits that exist for reasons beyond the scope of the GCSE teacher can be neutralised.

Use the World Wide Web to gather resources, especially on background and more up to date relevant information and to gather information from a variety of points of view.
The following web addresses provide interesting background resources:

www2.sp.utexas.edu/fr/student.qry
french.about.com/education/french/library/begin/bl_begin.htm
www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Union/7230

In this case study, you are also concerned with finding the sources themselves, and the following search engines can provide a useful starting point:

Have pupils present their arguments using PowerPoint or another presentation package.
However students have gathered information, they can store it in a word processor and create their own presentation notes from this. They can also store it in a file in PowerPoint, and create a presentation on-screen or for display.

Now that you've looked at my ideas about the options available, you need to make your own choices. The teacher in the case study has decided to use all options and to combine two or more in particular sessions over a three-four week period. You need to plan to do something of this sort. On the next page, make copy and fill out the summary to help you get focus on what you will do. I've put in some suggestions - you can use these as you like. Think of some uses of your own, and make a short note on what you will have to do to make it work, what you expect the benefit to be to your pupils, and what difficulties you expect to encounter when you do it in the classroom.

Resources Selected for Work on the Present Tense