------------------------------------------------------------ An Online Educational Community A newsletter that educates parents, teachers, and students. June 2000 Issue #11 Zigmond Snook, Editor, mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to the eleventh 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 => Feedback ------------------------------------------------------------ What's New at INNOVA ------------------------------------------------------------ You are now able to sample "12" of the lessons from our critically acclaimed "A Whale of a Tale" series online. There is no download required. Sample these lessons at: http://www.innovamultimedia.com/NewMenuSystem/mainmenu.html Math 3, the third installment in the "A Whale of a Tale" series has been replicated. This product is now available for sale on our website. ------------------------------------------------------------ FEATURE ------------------------------------------------------------ Together Though Apart The wonder of our present age of communications is that we are ever more closely approaching the point where, as in the telephone commercial, it is possible to "just reach out and touch somebody". The touching has thus far happened only with our eyes and ears, but it is possible to imagine a point at which the other three senses become similarly connected to the electronic world - not in the darkly prophetic science fiction sense of being strapped slavishly to machines, but as a "global community" wherein instantaneous access to every other individual allows for a better, kinder sort of human society. Of course, the reality will probably fall somewhere between these two polarities. Power and money as it is, the likelihood is that even in a world where everybody could be connected sensorily to everybody else, only some will have access to the technology. And let's face it: even if access was universal, human nature is such that the best path is not always the path taken. But setting certain goals for whatever technological appendages appear in the not-too-distant future is imperative if we are to be prepared for making these innovations work for society in general. Think of the possibilities for education if, for instance, a student could experience not only the sights and sounds of a South American rainforest, but virtually reach out and touch or smell the flora and fauna! While this might seem like a faraway dream, remember that it was not too long ago that the word "internet" was nonexistent in our vocabularly. Smell cartridges are as we speak being developed and will soon be commonplace on the market. Virtual reality, once the stuff of pulp novels and movies, is beginning to make serious headway as computers become exponentially more poweful. It is therefore important that educators begin to speak seriously about the shape of learning in the world of the future. Old models that have served us well in the past may have to be radically changed - or discarded altogether - as the difference between "being there" in person or communicating electronically begins to dissolve. Just as the oral traditions of medieval society gave way to the much different, in some ways more self-aware, world of Gutenberg's moveable type, so too is technology reinventing what it means to be a human being surrounded by other human beings. The risk for educators is not that their sacred halls will be transformed. They most certainly will and there is little that one can do about it. It is that without foresight and a concentrated effort to inject in the new mix some serious substance and structure, the humanistic values that have formed the basis of much of what is good about civilization will become subordinate to economic opportunism. ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 June winner - Charlee McCullough" ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 - " Collection Stories" at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math2e.html encourages children to add two digit numbers with regrouping. Dive into Math 2 - "Sorting Fractions" at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math2f.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". ------------------------------------------------------------ More Great Education Web Sites ------------------------------------------------------------ Check out some of these INNOVA recommended resource sites: http://www.uptoten.com/ UpToTen - the number one portal for kids up to ten! Free games and play activities: mazes, puzzles, cards, races, coloring pages, guessing games, a fun story, singalong childrens music... In English and French. What good is Math? http://www.richmond.edu/~ed344/webunits/math/home.htm At one time, you may have asked yourself, "What good is math?" This page was created to answer that question. We realize that math will not give an answer to "the meaning of life", but it will help you out in more ways than one. We all use math every day, most of the time without even realizing it! Here are some situations that you may find yourself in on any given day. Each one involves the use of math skills. The Explorer http://explorer.scrtec.org/explorer/ The ExplorerTM is a collection of educational resources (instructional software, lab activities, lesson plans, student created materials ...) for K-12 mathematics and science education. You may browse through mathematics and science education curricula (we plan to expand to other curricula) or conduct searches that focus on specific interests. ENC Online http://www.enc.org/ ENC Online offers a collection of online K-12 mathematics and science resources. You'll find news, lesson plans, and ideas for using technology to teach science and math. KNC Software http://www1.kncsoftware.com/websites.htm KNC Software offers a collection of grade-appropriate Web sites that contain lesson plans, activities, contests, and other information for students and teachers. Learning Page http://www.learningpage.com/index.html Teachers, Parents, Homeschoolers… this is the place for free worksheets, lesson plans, activities and more. All resources are downloadable and printable. And best of all, they're free! The curriculum is written and designed for preschool, kindergarten, first grade and second grade students. StoryPlace: The Children's Digital Library http://www.storyplace.org The ultimate children's digital library. Explore pages full of stories and activities for children young and old. In English and Spanish ------------------------------------------------------------ Whale Links for Whale Lovers ------------------------------------------------------------ Check out these INNOVA recommended whale sites! Are you looking for the summer adventure of a lifetime? http://www.whalecamp.com/ The Whale Research Camp is located on Grand Manan Island between Maine and Nova Scotia. The magnificent landscape and environmental conditions provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for youth and adults to explore the natural sciences. If you have question about whales then this is the place: http://www.whaletimes.org/whaques.htm Ask Jake the SeaDog whatever you want to know about whales and other ocean creatures. Questions are usually answered within 7 days. ------------------------------------------------------------ Whale Trivia: ------------------------------------------------------------ Right whales are stout-bodied animals with enormous heads. Their upper jaws are strongly arched, and their lower lips curve upward along the sides, giving the lower jaw a scooplike form. Beaked whales are distributed throughout the world, although certain species are limited to one ocean. Ranging in size from 3.5 metres (12 feet) for Hector's beaked whale, to 12.8 m for the giant bottlenose whale, these whales weigh between 1,000 and 11,000 kilograms (1.1 and 12 tons). Evidence indicates that whales descended from a land animal, perhaps a primitive ungulate (hoofed mammal) that may also have given rise to modern ungulates. The earliest known whale fossils are 40 million years old, but many scientists estimate that whales date from 60 million years ago. ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------ FREE weekly for Win/MS Office users. High-quality tips delivered with a humorous touch. Certified expert 20+ yrs training exp. presents unusual sites and fun software, too! http://www.BasementNoises.com ------------------------------------------------------------ "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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