------------------------------------------------------------ An Online Educational Community A newsletter that educates parents, teachers, and students. August 2000 Issue #13 Zigmond Snook, Editor, mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to the thirteenth 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 If you think a friend might be interested in reading this newsletter, pass it along in whole or in part. You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, fill out the form at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/newsletr.html Each month we will focus on a different educational theme and base our feature article and learning tips around that particular theme. ------------------------------------------------------------ IN THIS ISSUE ------------------------------------------------------------ => What's New at INNOVA => Feature => Contest - Win a Whale => This Month's Free Lesson Plans => More Great Education Web Sites => Whale Links for Whale Lovers => What's Hot - Our Latest Software Reviews => Feedback ------------------------------------------------------------ What's New at INNOVA ------------------------------------------------------------ INNOVA's Site Getting Substantial International Traffic! In the last few months our site has been visited by people from all over the world. LessonBuilder http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lbuilder11.htm has been very popular. The last 2 winners of our "Win a Whale" contest have been from Brazil and New Zealand. New e-Commerce Infrastructure We will be switching our e-commerce infrastructure within the next few weeks. This will help us supply you with a more efficient site. Math 1 to be Part of CLRN Pilot Project! The California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) will be using our Math 1 as part of a pilot project to train their reviewers in their new review process. CLRN recently picked 4 of our titles as "desirable"; Language 1; Language 3; Science 1; and Science 3. Science 3 was showcased at the May CUE (Computer Using Educators) Conference in Palm Springs. This is further proof that our software is world class and among the best in its field! ------------------------------------------------------------ FEATURE ------------------------------------------------------------ School's In! The school year being just slightly around the corner, it is perhaps a good time for parents to pause for a moment, take stock of all the joys and fiascos of your child's previous year, and plunge contemplative, resolute, and utterly prepared into the next. Because of course, a child's scholastic performance is as much an extention of his or her parent's participation as it is some abstract, unproved concept like "intelligence". The fact is that a child doing poorly in school can be helped significantly by a parent's involvement. So pledge at this very moment to take an hour or two every day of the upcoming year to throw aside the business papers, the mop and broom, the tennis rackets and hockey sticks, the martini after work with collegues, and spend some time thinking with your child! And let's not hear you say, "But I don't know where to even start!". For those naysayers among us, here is a ready-made list of tried and tested ideas: - chose a regular time each night, perhaps after supper or when you come home from work, to do something school related with your child. There's no need to draw overt attention to the fact that you're doing this by, for instance, referring to "school hour". After a week or two your child will come to expect and enjoy this sort of quality time. - ask your child questions every day about what he or she learned at school. Don't be satisfied with a quick response but look for ways to elicit detail. Not only will you become more informed of your child's learning experience, but relating this information will help reinforce your child's understanding of the material. Offer to help your child with his or her homework every night. - read a book to your child every night. It doesn't have to be James Joyce's Ulysses to turn the gears in your child's mind. Rather, choose a book that your child will enjoy and be interested in. Take turns reading to each other if your child is willing. - do something drastic about the television. Get rid of it, or unsubscribe from cable service, or limit the hours that both you and your child can watch. Definitely do not have it running all hours in the background. It is easy to make the rationalization that there are good programs worth watching, but the reality is that television is no substitution for reading and conversation. And set the example yourself; do not retire into the den to watch television after a long day. Instead play some music on the stereo and begin talking again to the other members of your family. You will be amazed at what a difference you will see in your mental and verbal processes after just a week when not exposed to endless fluff and advertisements. Try it - if even for just a month! - take regular walks with your child to quiet areas like parks and hiking trails, where you can slow the pace of life down a little, get some exercise, and talk to each other about anything on your minds. - schedule at least one day a week where you visit a museum, exhibit, the library, the bookstore, a play, or anything else that might stimulate your child intellectually. Do it as a family and talk about what you've just seen afterwards. - begin eating family meals together at the dining room table again. Make a rule that dinner time is not the place to hash out family arguments, but to talk about your day or topics of interest. Set the tone yourself by discussing what you accomplished that particular day, what mistakes you might have made, and what you learned from those mistakes. These are just a few of the possible activities that you can pledge to undertake in the upcoming school year. The exact form of these will certainly vary from family to family, but what is important is that you resolve to set apart time for your child and maintain that commitment throughout the year. ------------------------------------------------------------ Contest - Win a Whale ------------------------------------------------------------ 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! "Congratulations to our July winner - Marcia Maciel" ------------------------------------------------------------ This Month's Free Lesson Plans ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 - "Using a variety of Sentences" at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lang2d.html encourages children to name and use three types of sentences as well as use the correct punctuation mark. Dive into Math 2 - "Maintaining a Healthy Environment" at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/sci1e.html encourages children to identify ways in which individuals can maintain a healthy environment for themselves and other living things. ------------------------------------------------------------ More Great Education Web Sites ------------------------------------------------------------ Check out some of these INNOVA recommended resource sites: Kids Web http://www.kidsvista.com Kid's Web's goal is to present students with a subset of the Web that is very simple to navigate, and contains information targeted at the K-12 level. Each subject section, contains a list of links to information that is understandable and interesting to school kids. There are also links to external lists of material on each subject which more advanced students can browse for further information. English: Story Arts Online http://www.storyarts.org/ Use the summer to improve your storytelling talents. Story Arts Online not only tells you why storytelling is so important, but also gives you tips and advice on how you and your students can become better storytellers. Also included are lesson plans and activities, a curriculum ideas exchange, related links, and more. Creative Communication http://www.youngpoets.org The site promotes contests for young writers and offers a newsletter that promotes the use of poetry in the classroom. Student Science Enrichment Program http://www.shodor.org/ssep/ The Student Science Enrichment Program provides creative science enrichment activities for students in the 6th through 12th grades. Students who participate in these hands-on projects experience authentic science such as studying the ocean aboard a 45-foot research vessel or working alongside physicians at UNC-Chapel Hill. Word Dragon http://www.worddragon.org/ Do you like word games? Do you want to practice your language skills? On this site you will find lots of puzzles: word scramble, sentence scramble, and word match. You can even create your own puzzles and add to the collection. A java enabled browser is required for these puzzles. Let's Find Out! http://www.education.com/letsfindout/ Great resource base! Glossary of Poetic Terms http://shoga.wwa.com/%7Ergs/glossary.html The Glossary of Poetic Terms provides a unique guide for the study of poetry and features phonetic pronunciation, cross references, definitions, examples, hyper-linked keywords & cross references, poetic quotations and writers' guidelines. An Online Guide to Writing Poetry http://www.thispoetry.com/ This poetry is an ongoing monthly ezine that provides a practical guide to writing poetry. This is a free course in all the key aspects: how to stimulate creativity, develop a theme, shape your poem from various aspects, publish your work, and get yourself known. A special feature is self publishing, and the new opportunities offered by multimedia and the Internet. The Albany Poetry Workshop http://www.sonic.net/poetry/albany/ The Albany Poetry Workshop offers an online poetry class lasting 8 weeks and includes reading and writing assignments, a live discussion board, and weekly online live critiques of the poems you have written. Pokemon Crafts http://makingfriends.com/pikachucrafts.htm What more do we have to say! Crafts for your children of their favorite characters! ------------------------------------------------------------ Whale Links for Whale Lovers ------------------------------------------------------------ Check out these INNOVA recommended whale sites! All About Whales!: http://www.zoomwhales.com/subjects/whales/allabout/ Here we find out about the many different species of whales as well as their different swimming and water activities. They also discuss the social behavior, reproduction, and whale songs, and what these songs are used for. Blue Whale: http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/bluewhl.htm Here we find out about the Blue Whale. Everything from it's feeding habits and, length and weight to it's distribution and migration. ------------------------------------------------------------ Whale Trivia: ------------------------------------------------------------ The sounds that whales make, sometimes called cries, are caused by transferring of air through the passages of the body. These sounds can be heard above the surface of the water as well as travel many kilometres underneath the surface. The cries can range from high pitch squeaks to very low growls, some of which being at such a low frequency that the human ear cannot pick it up. These sounds or cries are often arranged into long sequences which are called songs. The longest and most varied of these songs are produced by the male humpback whales, and most often during their breeding season. Each song will usually last 10 - 15 minutes and can be repeated steadily for hours, and is known to have lasted for as long as 10 hours. ------------------------------------------------------------ What's Hot - Our Latest Software Reviews ------------------------------------------------------------ SuperKids recently reviewed Leap into Language 1 and rated it 4.5 (5 is their highest rating) for educational value! Check out the detailed review at: http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/reading/8/leap/merge.shtml (You may have to cut and paste this URL to view the site) ------------------------------------------------------------ Feedback ------------------------------------------------------------ If you have comments or suggestions concerning our online newsletter or website, please direct them to mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com Your comments and suggestions will be published in the feedback section of future issues. Past Online issues can be found at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/archive.html ------------------------------------------------------------ PROMOTE SMARTER: Free weekly e-zine dedicated to helping you build, promote and excel on-line. No hype, just solid tips, links and articles you can use! 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