Friday, 5 April 2013

April 5, 2013 - Un-'PAC' Some Ministry Software

 Hello Everyone,

This week I venture into the world of OSAPAC software to highlight some of the lesser used ministry licensed software available to us.  First, OSAPAC stands for the Ontario Software Acquisition Program Advisory Committee which is a committee composed of English and French representatives from across the province who advises the Ministry of Education on the acquisition of provincial licenses for publicly funded schools in Ontario. With over 153 licensed programs available there is likely a program which would fit into your curriculum and grade level.

By logging into the staff portal on the UGDSB website (ugdsb.on.ca) and clicking on the link to the ‘OSAPAC Software for Teachers’ page (https://www.ugdsb.on.ca/staff/it/article.aspx?id=35872), you will gain access to software downloads as well as registration and activation codes.  Here teachers can download software such as Clicker, Comic Life, Frames, Geometer Sketchpad and Pixie to their home computer for lesson planning and teacher education. 

Following are a couple of examples of the software available, however you can find all of the licensed titles and curriculum connections on the OSAPAC Software website at
http://www.osapac.org/db/software_search.php?lang=en .  Be sure to look for French language versions of the software as well. 

Math Trek 123 or Math Trek 456
This ministry licensed program is available on school computers and guides students through math concepts in a fun and easy to understand animated format.  Lively and entertaining videos illustrate math concepts and allow students to practice their skills with positive and encouraging feedback.  ‘Math Trek 123’ addresses math objectives typically found in kindergarten through grade 3 curriculums, while ‘Math Trek 456’ addresses concepts from grades 4 through 6.  Math Trek is available in the ‘Courseware’ folder on school computers and via CD from Terry James Resource Center for staff to take home for class preparation.

Smart Ideas 5.0 Concept Mapping
This mind mapping program is available on school computers to visually record concepts in a graphic display using colourful symbols, arrows, clip art and text.  This can be used by students to plot out food chains, organize ideas for a story line or even as an assessment tool to visually representing a concept or theory.  Available to students while at school computers in the ‘Courseware’ folder and for staff to take home for class preparation and by CD from Terry James Resource Center.

Just a reminder – if there is anything you would like more information about or you have a suggestion for a Tech Tidbit post, please feel free to contact me.

Cheers,
Stace

Stacey Manzerolle
Technology Resource Teacher
Hyland Heights Elementary School
Primary Planning Teacher
Princess Margaret Public School
stacey.manzerolle@ugdsb.on.ca

1 comment:

  1. Nice blogue Stacey. I just find out, that we're doing almost the same job :-).

    ReplyDelete