------------------------------------------------------------ An Online Educational Community A newsletter that educates parents, teachers, and students. August 2001 Issue #25 Zigmond Snook, Editor, mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to the twenty-fifth issue of "An Online Educational Community". To read past issues of our newsletter, visit http://www.innovamultimedia.com/archive.htm 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.htm 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 => Feature => Contest - Win a Whale => This Month's Free Lesson Plans => More Great Education Web Sites => Whale Links for Whale Lovers => Webmaster's Wanderings => Feedback ------------------------------------------------------------ What's New ------------------------------------------------------------ Once again, the Canadian Children's Book Centre has selected an INNOVA title for its annual guide to Canada's best books and multimedia. For the 2001 edition of "Our Choice" INNOVA's Poetry in a Nutshell: Education Edition was selected as one of only two CD-ROM selections. For more information on Poetry in a Nutshell: Education Edition please visit http://www.innovamultimedia.com/poetnute.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ Feature ------------------------------------------------------------ The School Newsletter Alas summer break is over and September dawns the beginning of a new school year. School yards abound with the sights and sounds of enthusiastic children as they renew friendships with classmates and eagerly anticipate meeting their new teacher(s). As the school year begins, it is very important for each school to establish contact with parents regarding matters of general concern. The vehicle for achieving this is the school newletter. The first newsletter should coincide with the school's opening day; while, subsequent issues are published monthly. The first issue would cover the following topics: - Mission Statement of the School - Staff List and Subjects Taught - Principal's Welcome Message - Meet the Teacher Night - School Fees (textbooks, locker rental, general fees, ...) - Bus Schedule - September Calendar Subsequent issues would cover such topics as: - Staff Development Day Workshops - Field Trips - Homework Policy - PTA News - Parent Conferences - Photo Sessions - Testing Sessions (CTBS, SAT,...) - Fundraising - Grading/Evaluation Policy - Sports Events - Special Occasion Activities (School Spirit Day, Winter Carnival) Each newsletter should contain an article dealing with an educational issue. Sources for these articles might involve the guidance counsellor, school nurse, educational magazine, or the internet. Here are several topics and their internet offerings: 1. Study Tips for Children http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/studytips.shtml 2. Motivating Children to Learn http://www.smarterkids.com/rescenter/library/articles.asp?article=1020&redir=true 3. Anger Management for Children http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/issues/childsanger.html Finally, each newsletter should also include a monthly calendar containing: - upcoming school events (Parent Conferences, Field Trip, Staff Development Day, School Concert) - the day of the school cycle noted alongside the date (ie. if the school operates on a cycle; for example, a 7-day cycle) ------------------------------------------------------------ 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/lbuilder.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! ------------------------------------------------------------ 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/lp_index.htm Leap into Language 1 - "Fun with Mixed-up Words" at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lang1b.htm encourages children to use a variety of strategies to create meaning while reading and develop an understanding of the conventions of written language through interactive writing activities. Leap into Language 1 - "Fishing for Words" at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lang1c.htm encourages children to use knowledge of letter-sound relationships in reading and writing contexts and use beginning dictionaries and class theme lists as spelling resources. It also Demonstrates awareness of social conventions in cooperative group activities. ------------------------------------------------------------ More Great Education Web Sites ------------------------------------------------------------ Check out some of these INNOVA recommended resource sites: Education Technology: Selected Federal Information and Resources http://www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/STMResources/index.html Selected resources that can help your school or family use technology for learning. Only federally supported resources are included, with links to top-level pages. What Should Parents Know About Information Literacy? http://www.accesseric.org/resources/parent/infoltrcy.html You have probably noticed that the way students research and discover information has changed tremendously since you were a child. Students now have more ways than ever to find information for their schoolwork and their daily lives. With so many different resources available, students today need special skills - the skills of information literacy - to seek out information and to understand, evaluate, and apply what they find. Increasingly, it is more crucial - and more difficult - to be able to filter out information that is biased or unnecessary and weave together a vast amount of relevant information. TeachOntario.ca: Free Content For Your Web Site http://www.teachontario.ca/News/Syndication/teachontario's_syndication.htm Looking for fresh, fun, free content for your education-oriented Website? These online products are free! As a TeachOntario Affiliate you can choose from any or all of the following: Fact of the Day, Ontario Education News, Quote of the Day, Site of the Day, and/or U.S. Education News. Teach with Movies http://www.teachwithmovies.org/ Learning Guides to each recommended film describe the benefits of the movie, possible problems, and helpful background. Discussion questions, bridges to reading, projects and links to the internet are also provided. Model Rocketry for Educators http://home.earthlink.net/~voraze/toc.html Five...Four...Three...Two...One...Launch! Model rocketry is a hobby, a sport and an educational tool, but most of all it's fun. This web page will help you learn about model rocketry and how it can be used within the classroom. Secrets of the Ice http://www.secretsoftheice.org/ A group of scientists from around the country directed by The Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies at the University of Maine have embarked on a four year expedition to better understand how humans have affected Antarctica's environment and what the lasting effects on the world might be. Through this web site you can learn more about Antarctica's environment and the research being conducted there. They will be following their expedition to bring you some of the latest findings of global change research and invite you to join this expedition to the bottom of the world. CIA for Kids http://www.odci.gov/cia/ciakids/index.html Cool stuff for kids, disguises and spy information. Bugscope http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/ The Bugscope project is an educational outreach program for K-12 classrooms. The project provides a resource to classrooms so that they may remotely operate a scanning electron microscope to image "bugs" at high magnification. The microscope is remotely controlled in real time from a classroom computer over the Internet using a web browser. From a Distance http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/ltp/ This web site is a part of the NASA Learning Technologies Project. It contains lesson plans and useful information. History Firsthand http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/97/firsthand/main.html History Firsthand has been designed to provide elementary children with experiences which enable them to begin understanding primary sources. Students move from personal artifacts to the vast American Memory collections and learn how archival collections are organized, how to interpret artifacts and documents, how to use primary sources to tell a real story and how to do on-line research. History and Politics Out Loud http://www.hpol.org/ HPOL is a searchable multimedia database documenting and delivering authoritative audio relevant to American history and politics. This project is supported by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Teaching With Technology Program in collaboration with Michigan State University and the National Gallery of the Spoken Word. Other website support from Northwestern University Library, School of Speech, Office of the Provost, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Political Science. ------------------------------------------------------------ Whale Links for Whale Lovers ------------------------------------------------------------ Check out these INNOVA recommended whale sites! The Ecovolunteer Program http://www.ecovolunteer.org/ You could say that Ecovolunteer is a travel agent. But the trips we organize are not your average holidays. They bring you to places that are not accessible to tourists. Where you get the possibility to protect nature and its inhabitants. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) http://www.wdcs.org/ The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) is the leading international charity dedicated solely to the worldwide conservation and welfare of all whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) ------------------------------------------------------------ Whale Trivia: ------------------------------------------------------------ - The Blue Whale's whole body weight can weigh as much as a 747 jet full of people and baggage. - The Blue Whale is the fastest swimming whale, swimming at a cruising speed of 12 mph and an alarm speed of 30 mph. - The female Blue Whale has a baby every year. - The baby is called a calf, the mother is a cow, and the father is a bull. - The Blue Whale is an endangered species; there are only 15,000 left in the world. - The Blue Whale is a plankton feeder and its appetite is enormous. - The longest life span for a whale is about 90 years. ------------------------------------------------------------ Webmaster's Wanderings ------------------------------------------------------------ Homeschool Resources http://www.innovamultimedia.com/homeschl.htm Here homeschoolers and parents interested in homeschooling can find information. Each month we will feature a new article on homeschooling. Check out this month's article "There's no Place Like Home" by Marcy Krumbine. ------------------------------------------------------------ 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.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ "An Online Educational Community" may only be redistributed in whole or in part in its unedited form. Written permission from the editor must be obtained to reprint or cite the information contained within this newsletter.

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