Week+5

= ** Creating Materials Online with Free Teacher Tools ** = **by María Isabel Pérez Torres**
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According to the reading, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has been cheaper and easier to develop through the years. Therefore, it has also been cheaper and easier to run because of its real possibilities for authentic interaction. As a result, several instrumental tools on internet have been developed for language teachers.

There are some sites where teachers can design specific activities such as quizzes, tests, puzzles, surveys, among others. It is important to know that the teachers tools can be carried out either online or offline depending on technical resources and student's needs. Furthermore, the teacher tools are divided into three types: a) educational environments or platforms (e.g., Nicenet); b) authoring software packages (e.g., Hot Potatoes); and c) online authoring templates and designing tools.

This article concentrates on online authoring tools. The sites that offer them share certain characteristics: a) there is normally more than one type of template available for puzzles, quizzes, worksheets, lesson plans, etc.; b) they allow the teacher to create online activities; c) they usually guide the teachers by giving clear and specific instructions.

If a teacher wants to use one of these tools, he or she needs to consider four aspects: a) the format of the activity; b) the place where the activity would be stored either on the web site where it has been created or on the user's computer or on removable storage devices and run locally; c) the type of activities and exercises the teachers create (e.g., filling the gap exercises, memory games, lesson plans, worksheets, surveys, etc); and d) the conditions of access and use of the sites.

This article offers some of the sites for fee web-based authoring tools. They are: ClozeMaker [] Trackstar [|http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/index.jsp] Headline Makers [|http://lang.swarthmore.edu/makers/index.htm] Discovery Channel [] Zoomerang [|http://www.zoomerang.com/]

In general terms, this article gives an overview of free teachers tools available on the Web. As a result, teachers around the world may use them to create more interactive and dynamic activities for their students.

= ** My visit to the Puzzlemaker at Discovery Channel ** = This puzzle was created to reinforce specific vocabulary in my health classes.

= = = Your Teeth =

code Across 5. is a plan to follow to improve your health 6. is a substance that helps make teeth strong and less likely to have cavities Down 1. is sticky material that forms on teeth 2. a hole in a tooth caused by the germs in plaque 3. is a device that protects your teeth 4. is the pink tissue around a tooth

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