November 2000 Issue

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An Online Educational Community

A newsletter that educates parents, teachers, and
students.

November 2000 Issue #16
Zigmond Snook, Editor,
mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com
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Here we are only a few weeks away from 2001. This truly is a
season of joyous festivities! We see friends and family that
we have not seen for a while and make resolutions for the
year ahead. On behalf of your friends at INNOVA, we wish you
a safe and happy holiday and all the best in 2001.

Welcome to the sixteenth 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&rsquos New at INNOVA
=> Feature
=> Christmas Contest - Win a Whale
=> This Month&rsquos Free Lesson Plans
=> More Great Education Web Sites
=> Christmas Links
=> Whale Links for Whale Lovers
=> What&rsquos Hot - Our Latest Software Reviews
=> Webmaster&rsquos Wanderings
=> Feedback

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What&rsquos New at INNOVA
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We have updated two sections on our site. Learning Outcomes
and Lesson Plans have now been added. If you get a chance
visit these two interesting areas of our site!

INNOVA is working to improve our LessonBuilder download. We
will soon have a more download friendly version available
on our site!

This month, we launch a new section of our newsletter:
Webmaster&rsquos Wanderings! Each month we will review part of
our website.

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FEATURE
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With Christmas in the air, it&rsquos time once more to consult
your conscience and decide what to get for the kids in your
life. To brave the crowded stores and weed through the aisles
of glittering junk for something sensible is not an easy
task. Advertising has filled our heads with all sort of ideas
about what material things we should surround ourselves with
to be a truly successful individual of today. And although
one might hope that educational products are in a different
category - that everything touted as educational is indeed
educational - this is not the case. There is often significant
variation in the quality of educational products.

So I&rsquove compiled a list of what I think are some good choices
for kids this holiday season. Some of these are the old
standards of our childhood. Others are more typical of our
modern world. All, however, are based on what I think are
solid principles of learning.

1. Books of any length, complexity, topic, as long as your
child is likely to be interested in them (it&rsquos not necessary
that your child be reading Tolstoy at age fourteen!). There
is something uniquely cerebral and introspective about reading
that sets it apart from other forms of media. Unlike
television, which projects already-formed images into our
minds, reading is a more active experience that requires
one to create images out of the words on the page. It trains
us in the magic and subtleties of language, and as such
hones our ability for complex thought.

Electronic books are a relatively new alternative to paperback
books that you might want to consider. Handheld devices are now
available ( see http://www.writerswrite.com/epublishing/edevices.htm )
in which you can store the text of books, thousands of which have
been converted into various electronic formats. Some ebooks books
(particularly classics) are free, some must be purchased.

2. Videos, especially for younger children, with good educational
content. Some advantages of video over regular television are the
absence of commercials and the ability to evaluate the content
beforehand. Shows with singing , dancing, etc. can be fun if the
entire family gets involved.

3. Projects which require some sort of assembly, such as lego for
younger children and science kits for older children. Or, buy
v tools and embark on a project with your child to build a piece of
furniture, fix a car, plant a garden, or some equivalently tactile
task.
4. Sports equipment. A heathly body contributes to a healthy mind.
Staying fit can not only be exhilarating but also develops mental
discipline, keeps kids out of trouble, and builds interpersonal
and cooperative skills that can come in handy later in life.

5. A computer. This is a great educational purchase, not only for
your children but for everyone in your family. The magnitude of
information at your fingertips on the internet is overwhelming.
Most encyclopedias on CD-Rom have full multimedia and search
capabilities, and cost substantially less than the paper versions
of our youth. If you are concerned about access to inappropriate
sites on the internet, then many programs are available that
screen the type of content your child can gain access to.

6. Educational software. A well-designed educational software
program, based on or extending the curriculum taught in schools,
can be a perfect gift for your child. The interactivity of a
multimedia (sound, video, animation, etc.) experience can, if
done well, engage the learner much more powerfully than the
static linearity of most textbooks. For an excellent example
of curriculum-based software, try INNOVA Multimedia&rsquos free
download of their "A Whale of a Tale" series at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com

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Christmas 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 this month
you are automatically entered in our Christmas contest to
win 3 free CD-ROMs from any level of our "A Whale of a Tale"
series. Good Luck!

Congratulations to our most recent winner: María Franco Baturone

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This Month&rsquos 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

Leap into Language 3 - "Irregular Plurals" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lang3e.html encourages
children to recognize plurals -es and other irregular plurals.

Dive into Math 2 - "Whole numbers 0 - 50" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math2i.html encourages
children to compare, order and represent numerals 0 - 50.

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

SeeMore Wildlife
http://www.seemorewildlife.com
Visit this site to see actual live streaming video of animals.

The Busy Educator&rsquos Guide to the World Wide Web
http://www.glavac.com
A contribution to the busy educators out there (teachers,
librarians, administrators, parents and others) who have
discovered what the author long found out about the Internet
and the World Wide Web i.e. there are a lot of incredible
people who have shared a lot of incredible resources to make
our job of educating children a bit easier.

eNature.com Nature Guides
http://www.enature.com/audio/audio_home.asp
The songs and calls of more than 550 North American birds can
now be heard online.

abcteach
http://abcteach.com
A place for fun ideas and activities for kids, parents, student
teachers, and teachers.

The Search for Ancient Sharks
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/prehistoricsharks
Join the Discovery expedition to the Falkland Islands in search
of the fossil remains of the ancient shark Pucapampella. Tour
the ancient seas to meet some of Pucapampella&rsquos closest friends.
Or visit the prehistoric shark gallery for illustrations of
sharks beyond your imagination.

Oceans Alive!
http://www.mos.org/oceans
The oceans are alive! Our planet, mostly covered by water, is
filled with movement and life. Learn all about our global seas
v in Oceans ALIVE!

Math in Daily Life
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath
When you buy a car, follow a recipe, or decorate your home,
you&rsquore using math principles. People have been using these same
principles for thousands&ndasheven millions&ndashof years, across
countries and continents. Whether you&rsquore sailing a boat off
the coast of Japan or building a house in Peru, you&rsquore using
math to get things done.

Resource Acrion Programs
http://www.getwise.org/lwise/main.html
The LivingWise® program teaches the importance of the
environment, energy and water. The program focuses on energy
and water efficiency, emphasizing the value of our natural
resources and exploring opportunities for conservation in
students&rsquo homes and everyday lives. Students and families
learn about pollution, waste management, transportation and
renewable energy to develop a greater sense of environmental
responsibility.

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Christmas Links
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The Annual NORAD Tracks Santa Claus Website
http://www.noradsanta.com
Watch Santa&rsquos journey from the North Pole.

Advent Calendar
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7134/Christmas/chradvent.htm
An advent calendar filled with 25 fun activities for children.

A Brand New Christmas Story!
http://hometown.aol.com/SantiKlaus/KidsPartiesXmas/HolidayFunPg6BXmasStory.html
Wonderful Christmas story for all ages called Olive, the Orphan
Reindeer.

Santa Claus Welcome to ELF School
http://www.claus.com/elfschool/index.shtml
Children will enjoy these activities in Elf School.

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

Cuvier&rsquos Beaked Whale:
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/salt/whale/cuvier.htm>
They discuss the different characteristics of Beaked whales,
as well as their different habits.

Whale Songs:
http://www.whalesongs.org
Welcome to Whale Songs, an educational center about people
and whales. It is an evolving resource, encouraging
communication among researchers, students, educators and
whale lovers worldwide.

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Whale Trivia:
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With a range spanning most oceans, the Minke, like the Humpback,
is a member of the rorqual family. Grooves run from the tip of
its lower jaw to near its navel--almost half its total body
length. The Minke is also the smallest of the rorqual whale
family, with males averaging 26 ft. and females a foot longer.
Body weight averages 6 to 8 tons for both sexes. Calves enter
the world at about 10 ft., weighing approximately 1,000 lbs.

Minke Whale coloration is a bluish dark gray above and lighter
on the underside, with its flippers usually displaying large
white patches. Currently, Minke population is estimated to be
approximately 900,000.

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What&rsquos Hot - Our Latest Software Reviews
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http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/science/9/ss3/merge.shtml
Check out the latest review of our Science 3 by SuperKids.

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Webmaster&rsquos Wanderings
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Lesson Plans
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lp_index.html
The lesson plans are designed by teachers for teachers and
parents. The suggested learning activities complement the
lesson and can be utilized by both teachers and parents as
enrichment or remedial projects within the home or the school
environment. There are presently over 40 lesson plans available.

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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

------------------------------------------------------------ "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
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Where Learning Comes First!