April 2000 Issue

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An Online Educational Community

A newsletter that educates parents, teachers, and
students.

April 2000 Issue #9
Zigmond Snook, Editor, mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com
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Welcome to the ninth issue of "An Online Educational
Community". To read past issues of our newsletter, visit
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/archive.html
or to learn
more about us, check out our website at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com

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Each month we will focus on a different educational theme
and base our feature article and learning tips around that
particular theme.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> What's New at INNOVA
=> Feature
=> Contest - Win a Whale
=> This Month's Free Lesson Plans
=> More Great Education Web Sites
=> New Releases From INNOVA
=> Products to Watch For
=> Whale Links for Whale Lovers
=> What's Hot - Our Latest Software Reviews

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What's New at INNOVA
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Visit us at ECOO and WEM for demonstrations of our
curriculum-specific educational software.

Booth #211
Educational Computing Organization of Ontario (ECOO)
May 4,5 and 6, 2000
Regal Constellation Hotel
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ecoo/e2000/

Booth N21 & O21 (Atlantic Canadian Pavilion)
World Education Market (WEM)
May 24, 25, 26 and 27, 2000
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

http://www.wemex.com/

Our Science 3 will be showcased at the CUE Conference in
Palm Springs on Friday 12 May 2000. It has been chosen by
the California Learning Research Network (CLRN) as one of
the best pieces of software in its field. Language 1,
Language 3, and Science 1 were also chosen as desirable
software in their subject areas by CLRN.

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FEATURE
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The Educational Possibilities of E-mail

Of the wealth of applications offered by computers, e-mail
has played a major role in revolutionizing the way we
communicate. E-mail has made communications around the globe
easy, inexpensive and almost instantaneous. It's probably
safe to assume that just about everyone with access to a
computer and an internet connection has used e-mail to send
messages, pictures, etc., to a friend or colleague.

This widespread acceptance of e-mail makes it a very useful
educational tool. My first encounter with this sort of
implementation came in a BEd university course titled "On
Becoming a Teacher". Our professor had a keen interest in
alternate teaching methods and had recently been wondering
how technology might be used to bring together groups of
learners who were separated by distance. He concluded that
e-mail offered one of the simplest, most accessible,
solutions to long-distance learning. It would allow a
"virtual" conversation to be held between teachers and
students, without the necessity of a physical classroom.

"On Becoming a Teacher" became a test case for his theory.
The approximately ten students enrolled in the class set
up e-mail distribution lists (a simple procedure done in
one's e-mail program) containing the e-mail addresses of
all involved. Any e-mail sent through this distribution
list would be received by everyone.

The course was structured to keep chaos to a minimum. The
moderator, our professor, would begin a discussion by
posing a question. Our first question was: "What metaphor
do you think best describes your approach to teaching?
Please elaborate".

Students gave such responses as sowing crops, fishing,
building a house, etc. As the responses poured into one's
e-mail program, conversations were sparked, ideas
generated, and of course consensus and disagreements arose.
Most students found the process productive and interesting.
Because the medium of communication was text-based rather
than verbal, debate tended to be more reasoned. Students
also got into the habit of supplementing their e-mails by
attaching documents and pictures.

Students were particularly attracted to the flexibility of
this virtual classroom, which wasn't bound by location and
could be fit neatly into their individual schedules.
Personally, the experience gave rise to a number of ideas
for implementing this sort of structure within the school
system. I'll share what I think is the best of those ideas
- the best because it taps into the truly global nature of
internet communications.

Implement an e-mail discussion group, similar to the one
described above, as one component of a course you teach.
However, extend the scope of the discussion by inviting
classes from elsewhere in the world to join in. Linking a
class from Canada to another class in Belgium, for instance,
will expose your students to a much broader range of ideas,
especially in such subjects as Social Studies, History,
Geography, and Language.

A few things to keep in mind:

- Structure the discussion around a core set of questions,
designed by the teachers at each location. Set time limits
for initial student responses to these questions (but no
time limits for subsequent discussion).

- Set well-defined rules of conduct that disallow character
attacks (also known as "flaming"), foul language, or e-mail
unrelated to the discussion at hand.

- Encourage good grammar.

- Disallow large e-mail attachments that may place a strain
on your e-mail resources.

- Assign several students to provide technical assistance for
those having problems setting up distribution lists.

There are certainly many other considerations to work through
such as how, if at all, to measure student performance and
how to ensure that students have access to computers. These,
however, can be solved on an individual basis as the teachers
see fit. The guiding principle should be that of extending
the class beyond the classroom and allowing students an
opportunity to grasp the intellectual and cultural
multiplicity of the world.

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Contest - Win a Whale
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INNOVA Multimedia Ltd. is giving away TEN of our "A Whale of
a Tale" educational software lessons and the latest version
of LessonBuilder, a custom course creation utility, as a
FREE DOWNLOAD on our website! Visit
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lbuilder11.htm
to download your free copy. When you download LessonBuilder
you are automatically entered in our contest to win a free CD-ROM
from our "A Whale of a Tale" series. Good Luck!

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This Month's Free Lesson Plans
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Teachers, check out free "A Whale of a Tale" lesson plans on
our website at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lesson1.html

Dive into Math 2 - "Folding Fractions" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math2a.html
encourages children to identify simple fractions (one-half, one-third,
one-fourth) using models and explore the concept of a fraction as
a "fair share".

Dive into Math 2 - "Snap Cube Collections" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math2b.html
encourages children to add two-digit numbers with regrouping.

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More Great Education Web Sites
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Check out some of these INNOVA recommended resource sites:

http://www.funbrain.com/index.html

FunBrain.com was founded in May, 1997 by associates of
PMpublishing, a Chicago based software company that
specializes in developing risk management and training
systems for banks and options traders. Applying this same
technology to kids learning games quickly produced the
number one education site for K-8 kids and teachers. In
early 1999, FunBrain became its own entity (FunBrain.com,
LLC) in order to focus solely on providing teachers,
parents, and kids with the tools they need to succeed.

http://www.kidsvista.com/index.html

Kid's Web is aimed specifically at K-12 students. A great
resource for homework help, this site guides kids straight
to interesting and useful information. Organized into
categories, the links each include one or two descriptive
lines.

http://www.familywonder.com/

At FamilyWonder.com you can choose from over 50,000 toys,
videos & and music titles, including your kid's favorites:
Pokemon, Blue's Clues, & more! Find unbiased Reviews,
ratings and advice at FamilyWonder.com.

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New Releases From INNOVA
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Math 2, the second installment of the Math section of our
critically acclaimed "A Whale of a Tale" series, is now
available, for sale, on our website. Check it out at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/divemath2.html

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Products to Watch For
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Math 3 is nearing completion. This will be the third
installment of our popular Dive into Math section of our
world acclaimed "A Whale of a Tale" series. Keep checking
our website for further information on its release.

The Spanish edition of Science 3 should be available for
download on our site within the next two weeks. Keep
checking our site for availability

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Whale Links for Whale Lovers
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Check out these INNOVA recommended whale sites!

Stop and enjoy some of the images at:
http://whales.magna.com.au/DISCOVER/gallery/index.html
Looking at pictures of whales must be one of the most
pleasing and relaxing things to do. Just click on the
thumbnails to get a larger view.

Visit the world's leading authority in satellite-monitored
radio tagging of large whales at:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/humpback/resc.html
The group was responsible for much of the tagging covered
on HUMPBACK WHALES.

Want to do something useful? Visit the "Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society" at:
http://www.seashepherd.org/
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-profit
non-governmental organization (NGO) involved with the
investigation and documentation of violations of
international laws, regulations and treaties protecting
marine wildlife species.

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Whale Trivia:
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Rhindodon typus (more commonly called a Whale Shark) are the
largest kind of fish, and, of course, the largest species of
shark. They are also one of the prettiest sharks. Their skin
is a slate gray (blue-gray) color. They have a unique
combination of have white spots and stripes.

Whales, dolphins and porpoises make up the classification
order Cetacea, which contains two suborders, Mysticeti and
Odontoceti. The baleen whales are members of the Mysticeti
suborder, while the toothed whales, dolphins and porpoises
make up the suborder Odontoceti. Altogether, the two
suborders contain eighty-one known species, separated into
thirteen different families.

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What's Hot - Our Latest Software Reviews
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The California Instructional Technology Clearinghouse has
selected Surf Into Science 3 as one of the best in its class
and will be demonstrating the product during their K-3
session which is scheduled for Friday, May 12, from 10-11 AM
at Courtyard Theatre 3, which is across the street from the
convention center. The presentation will be held at the CUE
educational conference in Palm Springs.

TEXT OF SCIENCE 3 DESCRIPTION

This CD-ROM presents basic science skills to students through
animated cartoon characters and a story line which is used to
deliver key curriculum concepts. Students a) search the
different layers of soil; b) study three types of animals that
make up the ecosystem in a seacoast and in a forest; c) examine
and predict the weather; d) investigate different types of
clouds; e) gain insight into magnets and what they do;
f) analyze different sources of energy; and g) test their
knowledge of concepts by using several content area quizzes,
reinforcement games, and activities. The material is
appropriate for English learners. This program supports the
Frameworks/Standards in grades 1-3 in the areas of life and
physical sciences.

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Feedback
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