TaskMagic - Reviews and feedback

Reviews & Feedback

This page contains quotes and feedback on TaskMagic, as well as links to pages where TaskMagic gets a review, recommendation etc.

Selected / recent quotes

"I introduced your software at my previous school and it was the first thing on my list when I took up my new post! I think it’s a great product and talk about it a lot when I speak in schools."
Paul Howard, Head of MFL and author of the C'est Possible! & ¡Es Posible! courses based on the Michel Thomas method.

"TaskMagic is probably my number one favourite resource. If I ever had to build up a MFL dept from scratch, this would be first on my order book."
Comment on TES MFL Staffroom forum

"TaskMagic is the best thing in MFL!"
Diana Kavanagh, St John the Baptist Language College, Surrey

Ofsted inspection report (May 2009), where the focus was on the use of ICT in Modern Foreign Languages, and where the teachers "used almost exclusively TaskMagic files" in the lessons observed:
"The faculty's use of ICT to support language learning is outstanding."
"In all lessons observed, teachers used IWBs to present new language and in almost all students used the boards interactively. Students talk with enthusiasm about how this new technology has helped them to enhance their learning of grammar and to enjoy their learning through the challenging language games played in class."
"Lessons with Year 8 and Year 12 groups were observed where students worked confidently and independently through a menu of activities in German to consolidate their learning. In both lessons, expert teachers had authored the lesson content, and then circulated during the lesson to ensure that students derived maximum benefit from the activities."
Bullers Wood Language College, Chislehurst, Kent

"Thanks so much for working so hard to make TaskMagic so fantastic."
Maria Hunt, Bullers Wood Language College, Chislehurst, Kent

Scroll down or click here for lots more TaskMagic quotes and reviews...

TaskMagic Reviews / Recommendations etc.

Please note that we are not connected in any way to any of the following sites, so we have no control over the content. If you encounter a problem with any of the following, please let us know and we will amend / remove the entry.

	In May 2010 TaskMagic was recommended by Joe Dale to a group of US teachers during a skype presentation / chat on using technology in the languages classroom to enhance language learning and engage pupils. See Joe's blog post, which contains audio of his presentation. Listen to audio - click the link to listen to an edited version of the section of the presentation / discussion which deals with TaskMagic. Selected quotes below: "There's a tool called TaskMagic, which is not a WEB 2.0 tool at all, it's an authoring tool. You have to pay for it; it's a commercial tool, but it allows you to input images and text, and audio if you want to, and then it generates many activities from these simple inputs." "So for teachers who are maybe a bit worried about using ICT in the classroom - language teachers in particular - then they can purchase TaskMagic (you can get a 30 day free trial, and you can have an individual licence or a licence for your whole school) and you just put in the information, like your images and your text - I used to use it all the time at my former school - and then it generates activities like a soccer game, or a matching game, or a noughts and crosses type game, and things like that. And that's a really good, easy, simple way to get started." "Definitely I would recommend, if you're looking for that sort of thing, I would say TaskMagic is a really good tool to start off with."
	TaskMagic is featured on the Quality Improvement Agency CPD website as part of the mini-toolkit on using authoring tools in MFL. Click here to read more.
	TaskMagic is a central feature of the video case study of the use of ICT in MFL at the Crofton School. Click here to see the case study.
	TaskMagic is listed on Quality Improvement Agency CPD website in its sections on matching exercises ; jumbled text activities ; cloze activities ; using images as inspiration
	TaskMagic was featured in the Education Guardian Evaluate Supplement in an article about using interactive whiteboards to enthuse all pupils in MFL learning. Click here to read the Guardian Evaluate article.
	TaskMagic is listed on the CILT website in its sections on Authoring Software and use of the Interactive Whiteboard
	TaskMagic is mentioned on the Languages ICT site in its section on developing your own resources.
	TaskMagic was featured in the TES Teacher MFL Curriculum Special in a review by Alison Thomas. Click here to read the TES Teacher review.
	TaskMagic features in a report (pdf) by Terry Cooper for ALL on resources for language teaching.
	TaskMagic is listed in 2 documents regarding the use of authoring tools in MFL (both pdfs): Focus on authoring software / What are authoring tools in MFL?
	TaskMagic was a central component of a training day arranged by the consejería de educación of the Spanish Embassy in London for UK teachers of Spanish. Click here for more info (pdf).
	TaskMagic features in a BECTA / CILT document (Word doc) on ICT entitlement in secondary MFL.
	TaskMagic is mentioned in 5 of the Languages ICT Action Research Projects carried out by teachers in secondary schools in England. Click here to go to the Action Research pages of the Languages ICT website.
	TaskMagic gets a mention by John Bald in the Guardian's official preview of BETT 2009, which recommends MFL resources to see at BETT. Click here to see the BETT preview.
	TaskMagic is listed on the Victoria (Australia) Department of Education website in its section about using interactive whiteboards. The image on the page shows a class playing the TaskMagic football game. TaskMagic is also listed on their page on using games in education.
	TaskMagic is mentioned in the CILT Languages ICT guide on using multimedia suites in MFL. Click here to see the document. (pdf)
	TaskMagic1 was featured in a Modern Languages ICT Special Resource Review on Teachers' TV. This was first aired in November 2006. Click here to see the video on the Teachers' TV website. TaskMagic3 has many more templates and additional features which were not present in the version featured in the review.
	TaskMagic was mentioned in two separate articles in the Guardian e-valuate publication on 18/10/05. One of the articles is about using software and games in the languages class, and the other is about teaching languages in Primary Schools.
	TaskMagic is mentioned in the CILT Languages ICT guide on key interactive resources for using ICT effectively at KS4. Click here to see the document. (pdf)
	Click here to read a review on the Teem website of the équipe nouvelle avec TaskMagic package, which is basically a version of TaskMagic1 with lots of ready-made content to match the équipe nouvelle course book. TaskMagic3 offers far more templates and features than TaskMagic1.
	"At the BETT Show, we liked the TaskMagic software, which enables teachers and (more importantly in my view) children, to create interactive word games." Click here to read more.
	TaskMagic is featured in a CILT publication on using digital language labs in MFL teaching. Click here to see the publication in PDF format (requires acrobat reader).
	TaskMagic was recommended several times on the ICT Advice site - Ask an Expert - MFL. We used to have links to the recommendations on the ICT Advice site, but the site has been decommissioned and the information can no longer be located:(
	Description / review of TaskMagic by Berwick Secondary College, a LOTE (Languages Other Than English) centre for language excellence in Victoria, Australia. Click here. "Our staff were first exposed to Task Magic while participating in Professional Leave to the UK. Upon their return it was one of the first things that we followed up, purchasing our own copy. It was an instant hit in our classrooms from then on." "Task Magic is an incredibly powerful program because it is so easy to use and creates visually impressive classroom activities with very little effort on behalf of the teacher."
	The Ashcombe School in Surrey is a Specialist Language College which has published reviews of a wide range of software titles used in their MFL department. Click here to read their (very old!) review of TaskMagic. The website also contains links to many useful Web resources for MFL teachers.
	TaskMagic (then called TaskMaster) was featured in the TES Online BETT Preview (02/01/04) and was listed as one of the TOP 3 products to see at BETT for teachers of Modern Languages. (Unfortunately the page is no longer available).
	The UK German Connection lists TaskMagic on its page which lists a handful of commercial resources that MFL teachers have found useful.
	Write-up by MFL teacher James Pearson on his Modern Languages blog.
	Write-up on the Software Central website in Ireland on the use of TaskMagic across the curriculum at Robertson National School, after initially buying it to teach Irish.
	TaskMagic was selected by Danny Nicholson of the Whiteboard Blog as one of the things that caught his eye at the BETT 2009 exhibition. Danny talks about TaskMagic in his BETT round-up podcast for TeachersConnecting. Click here to go to the podcast page.
	TaskMagic is discussed on Joe Dale's blog post on The Effectiveness of Interactive Whiteboards on his blog on Integrating ICT into the MFL Classroom: "For TaskMagic, I find there are certain games which work equally well as a whole class activity as in a computer suite whereas others work better 1:1." "For Multi-Match, I have one person up the front, being the teacher, reading out the three possible answers with the others having to answer from their seats by raising their hands." "For True or False, I play a lively tune and tell pupils they have to stand up when the picture and text matches and sit down when they don't. This works very well and caters particularly well for the kinaesthetic pupils." "For Type, one person enters the text at the board and the others write their answers on their mini whiteboards so I can immediately see if anyone has made any spelling mistakes."
	Glasgow City council HMI report mentions TaskMagic as being “particularly effective” in “generating different learning experiences across the curriculum”. (pdf) (Glasgow bought the TaskMagic software for all of its secondary and primary schools.)
	TaskMagic is listed on the ICT4LT website (Information and Communication Technology for Language Teachers) in the following sections: 1.1 - Introduction to new technologies 1.3 - Using word-processing and presentation software in the MFL classroom 1.4 - Introduction to CALL (Computer-assisted language learning) 2.1 - Integrating CALL into study programmes 2.5 - Introduction to CALL authoring programs 4.1 - Computer aided assessment
	TaskMagic is mentioned on a CPD PowerPoint by Medway Council as an effective tool for engaging SEN students across the curriculum.
	TaskMagic is listed in the ROUTES section (Resources for Open University Teachers and Students) of the OU website
	TaskMagic is a corporate member of ALL. Look out for special offers in the ALL bulletins.

TaskMagic Quotes

The following are genuine quotes from TaskMagic users or those who have seen it in action. Of course, you don't need to take their word for it. Try out the 30 day trial of TaskMagic for your self.

"An excellent product."
"TaskMagic is the best thing in MFL!"
"A wonderful product!"
"The games are brilliant!"
"It is a fantastic program to work with!"
"TaskMagic is probably my number one favourite resource. If I ever had to build up a MFL dept from scratch, this would be first on my order book."
"I introduced your software at my previous school and it was the first thing on my list when I took up my new post"
"The variety of activities within TaskMagic is huge"
"I have been so impressed by the resources available"
"TaskMagic is brilliant for starters and plenaries with a whiteboard."
"TaskMagic is FANTASTIC and there are masses of ready-made activities free from the site."
"My students really love TaskMagic"
"TaskMagic is a versatile software package offering MFL learners a wide range of word, sentence and text level practice activities"
"TaskMagic is great and affordable..."
"Thanks so much for working so hard to make TaskMagic so fantastic."
"TaskMagic is a great tool for teachers"
"TaskMagic provides a lot of exercises for your bucks plus easy to create worksheets."
"Particularly popular was the new version of TaskMagic which the school has recently bought having successfully used the original for the last few years."
"Very good value for money."
"I really enjoyed the variety of games."
"I have used TaskMagic, which is excellent"
"Really good for learning controlled coursework, and so quick too!"
"Generating worksheets with TaskMagic is a great timesaver"
"We've got it across the school - MFL bought it, but other depts are using it too!"
"Some Year 7 pupils I had last year spent their lunchtimes in the ICT club playing TaskMagic vocab games and now know all the Year 8 vocab already!"
"I have recently discovered TaskMagic, which has livened up my world no end!"
"My current favourite is TaskMagic"
"I love TaskMagic for lesson starters - and the new version of TM has even more than before!"
"I am a big fan of TaskMagic!"
"I think TaskMagic is a fantastic program, particularly for those who want to develop their VLEs"
"The template approach to creating your own interactive resources, as exemplified by TaskMagic, does not require a lot of ICT know-how."
"If you want to inject some life on minimum preparation, I can strongly recommend TaskMagic"
"TaskMagic is an excellent ICT resource. The kids love it and it's great for motivating reluctant learners. The best thing is that it's not language specific and it takes very little time to prepare. Great if you have an IWB."
"TaskMagic is fantastic. It didn't cost my department anything, because I persuaded my school to buy it as it really can be used by all departments. The SEN department uses it as much as MFL does."
"I'd definitely recommend TaskMagic. It's a real winner with everyone."
"TaskMagic is an incredibly powerful program because it is so easy to use and creates visually impressive classroom activities with very little effort on behalf of the teacher."
"I have always been extremely impressed with TaskMagic"
"It is extremely easy to learn how to create the files."
"I think it’s a great product and talk about it a lot when I speak in schools."
"We are very impressed with the program and have already been using it with great success. We are planning to link material for whole courses to the program.
"I think it is a brilliant piece of equipment!"
"Very easy to create tasks quickly, just before a lesson – including ease of inserting pictures and sound."
"Pupil response: Excellent, from boys and girls. They love the challenge and the feedback, and get very competitive."
"TaskMagic is easy to use and very useful in language teaching. The interactivity enables me to easily develop exercises for use with an electronic whiteboard."
"Pupils love playing the games, which test mouse control and speed of response as well as understanding!"
"Tasks are easy to create, making it a valuable teaching resource in our MFL lessons in the computer room."
"Lots of staff are keen to use TaskMagic and the only problem is students expect to see it as a starter all the time!"
"TaskMagic is going down very well indeed with students and I am using it very frequently also on the interactive whiteboard."
"All the teachers really love the program."
"We have no hesitation in recommending TaskMagic. Its professional layout and the variety of tasks on this excellent program are a fantastic motivational tool in language learning."
"Thanks for a highly motivating programme."
"An extremely satisfied user."
"TaskMagic is a reliable and extremely useful programme that everyone here loves to use."
"The only problem is keeping it from other subject teachers!"
"I appreciate the personal service and regular updates."
"Thanks for TaskMagic - it has certainly helped me keep pupils interested."
"I am looking forward to demonstrating this to my PGCE students. I think they will be very excited by it."
"Wow! I'm really impressed with this!"
"TaskMagic is fab!"
"My primary colleagues are absolutely delighted"
"I think it's brilliant, so versatile and easy to create fun activities for all ages and abilities of students."
"At my school languages teachers are very impressed with the software."
"I am thrilled with your program."
"I have heard great things about TaskMagic"
"As far as I'm concerned, it's the best value for money I've ever had. Just buy it - you won't regret it! Promise!"
"We would not survive if we didn't have TaskMagic!"
"Since receiving the CD yesterday, I have started to make my own German resources and it is delightfully easy."
"Pupils become very competitive to try and complete the exercise correctly and in the quickest time."
"Using a games package to teach Modern Foreign Languages has got the whole class enthused."
"Works for all years and abilities"
"I use TaskMagic now and think it's wonderful"
"Splitting texts up and putting them back together is good for AS."
"It really gets them thinking about the structure of sentences."
"It’s a way of turning something quite boring into something exciting."
"Even as the school day draws to a close, volunteers clamour to come up to the front."
"Well done. A very impressive piece of software."
"I have lots of departments now using TaskMagic - they think it's brilliant!!"
"TaskMagic is being used extensively throughout the school - and I am receiving lots of positive feedback - Thanks for creating a great resource!"
"Teams - boys against girls - become fiercely competitive, desperate to better a previous score."
"For boys, this competitive element can be particularly appealing."
"A great-value authoring package that works in any language."
"Another time-saving tool that takes the sting out of lesson preparation."
"I would like a trial CD of this software everybody is talking about at the moment!!"
"I just want to say thank you for saving my bacon on a daily basis!"