News For a Winter's Eve
Capstone Digital
received two 2010 EDDIE Awards for its products PebbleGo™ and Capstone
Interactive Library™. PebbleGo, an interactive database that
introduces research concepts while improving reading skills, was
honored in the Early Elementary Reading and Science Website
category. In addition, Capstone Interactive Library, which
provides online access to interactive titles for emergent, struggling
and reluctant readers, won in the best Language Arts Website for Middle
School category. Read more…
Discovery Education
launched a mobile platform that allows users to stream educational
content on the iPad, and is available at no additional cost to existing
subscribers. The initial launch includes 33,000 video assets from
the company’s award-winning services, including Discovery Education streaming, Discovery Education Science and Discovery Education Health.
In the coming months, Discovery Education will be adding more
multimedia assets and other resources to this extensive online
collection. Read more…
In an effort to make broadband connectivity affordable for
schools and libraries, the FCC released the National Broadband
Orders. Most significant for E-rate participants is that the
funding cap will be indexed to the general economy inflation to allow
applicants to get more for their money. To keep E-rate
stakeholders abreast of these changes, Funds For Learning created a centralized repository for news related to the National Broadband Orders: fundsforlearning.com/fcc-e-rate-broadband-Orders. Read more…
Morgan’s Wonderland, PCI Education and WeAreTeachers
named seven-year-old Brenden Baker the grand prize winner of a free
trip to the world’s first ultra-accessible family fun park.
Nominated by Marsha Stewart, teacher at Abilene Independent School
District, Brenden has Desbuquois Syndrome, an extremely rare form of
Dwarfism. Marsha also will receive a suite of PCI Education
curriculum products for her classroom. Read more…
Shmoop, a digital curriculum company that makes fun, rigorous learning and teaching materials, now offers Site Licenses for schools, districts and public libraries. Affordable group rates are available on these subscription products: Test Prep (for SAT, PSAT, AP Exams) and Teacher’s Editions.
Shmoop also will give group rates to homeschooling collectives.
Shmoop Site Licenses provide students, teachers and patrons access to
Shmoop subscription products anywhere Web access is available. Read more…
Key Curriculum Press announced the launch of its free online community Sketchpad Sketch Exchange™. Designed for math educators, Sketch Exchange facilitates the sharing of Sketchpad activities, tips and questions, while connecting with peers in the community forum. The Geometer’s Sketchpad®
offers a visual interactive learning experience that will help
elementary, middle and high school students better understand a range
of mathematical concepts. Read more…
AutismPro was recently honored by Tech & Learning magazine as an Award of Excellence winner in the New Product category. The company received recognition for its flagship product, AutismPro,
which provides online professional development, case management, and
evidence-based classroom resources to help educators and school staff
members effectively manage and teach students with autism. This year,
developers of 78 educational hardware, software, network, and web
products and services were recognized for their enriching contributions
to learning. Read more…
PBS TeacherLine now offers a
research-based professional development course created by the National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). “Letting Mathematics Lead”
focuses
on the skills and knowledge students need to understand and
master math, and how teachers can set learning goals for
students. During the course, teachers reflect on their
instructional practices in
the context of national teaching standards to discover methods that
improve math learning. Read more…
Lightspeed Systems’ expanded
High Capacity Network Solution offers smart Web filtering for up to 10
gigabits of traffic to help school districts meet their growing network
security and management needs. Lightspeed Systems is offering Lightspeed Rocket, Web Access Manager in
versions that are designed to handle more traffic and more complex
school networks. Web Access Manager comes equipped with My Big Campus,
a software feature that integrates online resource management and
collaboration into the security suite to help streamline IT
administration and more. Read more…
“Inspire Elementary Students With Engineering,” a new online professional development course from PBS TeacherLine,
helps preK-6 grade teachers build on their subject-area knowledge while
learning innovative instructional strategies they can apply immediately
in the classroom to teach engineering concepts. Teachers learn
how to provide students with an early foundation in engineering through
standards-based science, math and reading curricula, and to help
students develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
The course was developed by the Institute for P-12 Engineering Research
and Learning within the Purdue University School of Engineering
Education, and is open for enrollment for the Winter 2010-11
term. Learn more…
Through a one-to-one laptop program and the STI InformationNOW
Web-based student information system, Crescent Public Schools in
Crescent, Okla., has provided an engaging, personalized
learning environment and dramatically improved
parental involvement. InformationNOW
provides the district with a critical lifeline for teachers to increase
productivity, monitor individual student progress, and maintain
communications with parents. An online portal gives parents 24/7
access to their children’s grades, discipline reports, attendance and
more to stay informed and involved in the school. Learn more…
