January 2001 Issue

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An Online Educational Community

A newsletter that educates parents, teachers, and
students.

January 2001 Issue #18
Zigmond Snook, Editor,
mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com
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Welcome to the eighteenth 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
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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
=> Whale Links for Whale Lovers
=> Webmaster’s Wanderings
=> Feedback

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What’s New at INNOVA
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New Location! New Look! New Focus!

We, INNOVA, have very recently moved our Head Office to
a new location. This new location, on the cutting-edge of
technology, is part of an on-going restructuring of our
company that will help us thrive in this new year and
many years to come. This move lends us to endless
possibilities on the technical side of things, as well as
opens the door to allow us to serve you, our
INNOVA community, for years to come.

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FEATURE
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Is your educational software ignoring you?

One of the obstacles to the integration of educational software
into the classroom is the widespread perception that it
consists of some combination of the following attributes:

a) an inflexible, rote-based approach to learning
b) games masquerading as a learning tools
c) a means for corporations to realize tremendous profit
d) a novelty item seized upon blindly by administrators
susceptible to the latest educational fad, and forced into
the school system without adequate preparation or support.

Let me be clear that these criticisms are not without merit.
It is glaringly obvious that the bulk of educational software
on the marketplace is not without serious deficiencies. This
is true in particular of products marketed by large companies,
whose claims of quality are always tempered by the bottom line.
It is also true of most older educational software products,
which were developed with fledgling technologies that have
since matured into much more sophisticated software design
tools.

But for those willing to take the time to carefully research
their purchases of educational software, there is a wealth of
material available that not only meets the expectations of a
classroom learning environment, but in fact supplements the
classroom experience in ways that a teacher alone cannot.
Look for educational software that exhibits some of these
characteristics:

- it is highly structured and based on curriculum objectives
that have been defined and put into practice by the schools.
In other words, there should be a direct connection between
what your child is learning from a teacher and what your
child is learning from a computer program.

- it should not only meet curriculum objectives, but surpass
or extend them in creative ways. Because computer programs
are not bound by the physical laws of the real world, they
can allow for the visualization of concepts that could not
be concretely delineated otherwise.

- it should be based on a "feedback" concept of software design,
in which actions of the user affect the actions of the program.
Any educational software should be able to respond to the
student through, for example, the click of a button or movement
of a joystick. It’s important that the response be somewhat
intelligent, in that the student can make good or bad choices
and is informed of the quality of his or her decision. It is
not enough that if your cursor moves over an object on the screen
it performs some meaningless action. If an educational software
program acts the same way every time you use it, then it is not
truly educating.

- in keeping with the previous criterion, educational software
should be both "modular" and "customizable". Modularity means
that the software should be divided in logical units, based
most suitably on curriculum objectives. These units can
consequently be arranged in various ways (i.e., customized)
by the teacher, who can for instance put together a subset
of units for students with weaknesses in certain areas.

- educational software should be "non-linear" or
"non-deterministic". Similar to the web-surfing experience of
clicking on hyperlinks, a student should be able to choose
different paths through a piece of software. This concedes to
the fact that there are a diversity of information-gathering
styles among students. To expect everyone to learn in exactly
the same manner is an unrealistic expectation for any
educational system.

- there should be a mechanism for testing the students progress
through the material. Although I would be the last person to
claim that testing is the ultimate measure of learning, testing
at the very least can be important in pinpointing where a student
may be having difficulties and where remediation is necessary.

Most importantly, make your voice as a consumer known. Refuse
to buy anything that does not meet a majority of the above
suggestions. Write letters or send e-mail to software
manufacturers, or submit reviews to educational journals and
web sites. Organize a software review group at your school whose
purpose it to gather information about good quality educational
software, and distribute that information to local schools and
over the internet. Practice good judgement on a consistent basis
and educational software will inevitably have no choice but to
meet these demands.

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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/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!

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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/lp_index.html

Surf into Science 1 - "The Four Basic Food Groups" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/sci1f.html encourages
children to describe a balanced diet using the four basic
food groups.

Dive into Math 3 - "Multiplication Table Patterns" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math3a.html encourages
children to use and recognize the patterns in a
multiplication table.

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

ParentSmart.com
http://www.parentsmart.com
Your guide to the best and most helpful information about how
to help your child succeed in school. The busy life you lead
requires that you make the most efficient use of your time
for the priorities in your life.

ALFY
http://www.alfy.com
The web portal for kids. Super great site for kids.

The Geo-Images Project Home Page
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu
The Geo-Images Project attempts to make images (mostly
photographs) that are useful in teaching geography more
widely available using computers and the internet.

Math Word Problems for Kids
http://www.mathstories.com
The goal of this web site is to help grade school children
improve their math problem-solving and critical thinking
skills. It has over 4000 math word problems for children
to enjoy!.

Egyptian Mummies
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmnh/mummies.htm
A Smithsonian Institution Web site, provides a brief peek
into the process of mummification, why it was practiced, the
kind of people who were mummified, and the study of mummies
today by present-day archaeologists. (EdGate)

Make a Splash with Color
http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/color/intro
When we think of color, we think of reds, yellows, greens,
blues, and many more. However, there are other ingredients in
a color. For example, how bright or dark a color is. You
might want a dark green shirt to go with your faded blue
jeans. This is what Talking about Color is all about.

Geography: World Surfari
http://www.supersurf.com
For more proof that kids dominate the Internet, this fabulous
site is brought to you from the mind of 13-year-old Brian
Giacoppo. Featuring virtual visits to locations around the
globe, this site gives students a glimpse into different
cultures, environments, and histories. The world destinations
change every month so make sure your students visit exotic
Gibraltar featured this month.

Anne Frank House
http://www.annefrank.nl
Is a multilingual site with images and information about brave
little Anne Frank and the house and annex in which her family
hid from 1942 to 1944. You can read the biographies of those
who lived with and helped the Frank family. You can also peek
into Anne’s diary and find out what it was like to flee the
Nazis, live in hiding, and be trapped in the concentration
camps. Educational material is also available. (EdGate)

Geography: The Virtual Field Trips Site
http://www.field-guides.com
As any teacher knows, acquiring funds for class field trips is
no easy task. Thankfully, this Web site allows your class to
take online field trips that take them to places that they
could only dream about and teach them lessons they might not
otherwise learn. The award-winning Virtual Field Trips Site
gives your class access to some of the world’s most diverse
environments at the click of a mouse. (EdGate)

Score Mathematics Lessons
http://www.kings.k12.ca.us/math/lessons
The SCORE Mathematics Lessons have been written by teachers
selected to participate in SCORE Mathematics workshops. This
page is designed especially for mathematics teachers and
students in California. Its contents and links reflect the
state’s Mathematics Framework and the NCTM Standards.

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

The Gray Whale:
http://www.cetacea.org/gray.htm
They discuss the different local names for the Gray Whale, as
well as its habitat, longevity, current population, and the
influence of man on its existence.

Orcinus Orca:
http://www.slip.net/~oyafuso/orcinusorca/orca.html
They discuss the belonging family of the Orca, as well as its
diet, society, vocalization, and its natural enemies.

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Whale Trivia:
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Whales are mammals. They are warm-blooded, breathe air, and give
birth to their young live. The calves feed on the mother’s milk
for the first months of their lives.

Whales are cetaceans, and are basically of two broad types:
the baleen whales and the toothed whales.
v
Baleen whales don’t have teeth, but a row of fibrous plates
called the baleen or whalebone that hang from the upper jaw.
Baleen, which is a living tissue that grows, filters from
the water krill, plankton and other food that these whales
feed on. Examples of baleen whales are the humpback, blue
and right whales.

Toothed cetaceans have teeth, and include whales and dolphins.
Examples of toothed whales are the killer, sperm and bottlenose
whales. Their diet is mainly fish and squid.

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Webmaster’s Wanderings
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Coloring Pages
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/coloring.html
Give a child a crayon and a piece of paper and the results
are endless. INNOVA has created coloring pages based on our
joyful characters. Just download these pages and watch the
joy on your child’s face as they color their favorite
"A Whale of a Tale" character.

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Feedback
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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

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