TechTools
For educators who already have a wealth of computer tools in the classroom, Teacher Created Materials offers TechTools, a new series designed to help 
educators make the most of existing software. Each kit contains a number of tools to assist the educator in effectively using their software. Educators can expect to find 100 how-to cards that give illustrated step-by-step instructions, along with a resource notebook containing ideas on how to use the software as a teaching tool. The kit also contains detailed lesson plans for 60 projects, accompanied by management tips, suggestions for using related Web sites and guidelines for assessing students' work. Educators can also use the multimedia CD of project templates as is or modify them to meet specific needs. The CD also comes with photographs, clip art, and audio and video clips, which can be used to create colorful classroom presentations and student reports.
Teacher Created Materials offers several titles as full kits, covering Microsoft Word, Excel and Power-Point; Kid Pix Studio Deluxe; Inspiration 6; HyperStudio; and AppleWorks. Edu-cators can visit the Teacher Created Materials Web site to download sample lesson plan pages, how-to cards, clip art, and audio and video clips from the multimedia CD. Teacher Created Materials, Westminster, CA, (714) 891-2273, www.teachercreated.com.
This article originally appeared in the 12/01/2001 issue of THE Journal.