(Press release) This month, the team of Educational software offers you three interesting columns related to technological aid tools to support students in writing, digital tablets as learning tools and LÉ's assessment and eligibility criteria.

Choose a technological aid tool to support the student in his writing process: an example of experimentation in action.

There are several writing aids on the market that are based on the word prediction feature. Some are chargeable; others, free. Among the most famous, let us note WordQ, Medialexy, Kurzweil and Wody.

If, like us, you have to recommend and provide a writing aid to a student and you would like to know how to find the most appropriate tool, this column may interest you.

From one of his productions, you will have the opportunity to consider the choice of the tool to offer him according to the type of mistakes (phonological, lexical or grammatical). We believe this is a good way to ensure that the targeted tool will prove to be relevant and useful for their needs.

It's your turn!

Richard Ayotte, ICT pedagogical advisor, local service of RÉCIT, CS des Samares and evaluator for Educational software and Ms. Mijanou Gravel M.Ed., pedagogical advisor Complementary services, CS des Samares.

Integration of the iPad in the classroom

Nowadays, ICTs are everywhere around us. We use them for information, entertainment, discussion, collaboration, etc. They are certainly a source of entertainment, but also a tool that improves our productivity. Indeed, in many learning situations related to the field of communication, they offer added value, whether in terms of creation, production or presentation. By the same token, the iPad is a winning tool in the classroom by its speed of action and its ease of use, in my opinion.

In this column, I offer you some new features related to the iPad class project that we set up here at the CSSMI in September 2011 in a class of 29 at-risk students in Secondary 1.

For those who would like to know more about it, here is the link to the A little guide to getting the project off to a good start.

Johanne Beaulieu, teacher and pedagogical advisor in APO for the CSSMI and evaluator for Educational software.

Evaluation criteria for educational software and complementary resources to teaching materials

Educational software (LÉ) is an online directory of educational software and complementary resources to teaching materials for preschool, elementary and secondary education, vocational training and adult education. In order to facilitate research on the site, the configuration of the home page offers quick access to online applications and to free, open-source and commercial software, classified by school clientele.

Mélissa Bricault, responsible for the educational software evaluation file.