%%NAME%%,
Enclosed is this month's free newsletter for ProQuest® Platinum subscribers. This newsletter is designed to help teachers, librarians, and administrators stay informed about the latest changes to their subscriptions, while providing classroom resources and giving tips for using their ProQuest solutions in a variety of settings.
Don't miss our online archive for access to past issues, and to make changes to your newsletter options.
In this issue:
PROQUEST EDUCATION SOLUTION UPDATES
Our product development team is constantly reviewing customer feedback and making changes to our learning resources to meet your needs. Several updates or content additions were recently completed, and we wanted to bring them to your attention.
ExploreLearning: Codie Award Winner
Last week, ProQuest announced that ExploreLearning.com was a winner of a Software and Information Industry Association's (SIIA) Codie Award. ExploreLearning won the software and information industry's highest honor for the "Best Instructional Solution: Science."
"We are honored that ExploreLearning has been recognized as the best instructional solution in science," says John Campbell, Senior Vice President of ProQuest Education. "We are proud that ExploreLearning helps thousands of students achieve in math and science by building lasting understanding."
The winners of the 21st Annual Codie Awards were honored at a black-tie gala on May 16 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. This year’s winners were chosen from more than 1,025 nominations submitted by more than 500 companies, breaking the record for nominations set in the 2005 awards.
Established in 1986, the Codie Awards are the benchmark for celebrating the most innovative products in the software, digital content, and education technology industries. The Codie Awards program is the longest running and only peer recognition program in the software and information industry.
"This 21st Annual Codie Awards continues our tradition of celebrating the best products in the software and information industry." said Ken Wasch, President of SIIA. "Being a winner among so many fine nominees is a solid achievement. I congratulate all of the
companies."
ExploreLearning offers interactive online simulations that drive the inquiry process and conceptual understanding of math and science in grades 6-12. ExploreLearning helps students build lasting knowledge of complex mathematical and scientific principles through hands-on exploration, providing a powerful enhancement to the way teachers teach and students learn.
Discover everything ExploreLearning has to offer you and your school!
CultureGrams: World Conflicts Today Release
ProQuest is proud to announce the release of a new World Conflicts Today text and updates to the other nine conflicts that make up this in-depth resource. The new text treats the ongoing and resurgent conflict in Afghanistan---reviewed and highly recommended by war expert and eyewitness to the Afghanistan war, Dodge Billingsley.
World Conflicts Today is an online reference product and teaching tool for students and teachers and for use in high school and university libraries and classrooms. It explains and illustrates complex, ongoing world conflicts in clear and straightforward terms. The reports cater both to those who may just want an overview of a particular conflict and to those who need in-depth understanding.
The conflicts:
- Afghanistan (NEW!)
- Iraq
- Basque Country
- Palestinian Territories
- Northern Ireland
- Korean Peninsula
- Colombia
- Darfur
- Chechnya
- Jammu and Kashmir
The reports may be used across the curriculum for history, current events, and social studies research. Dive into CultureGrams and World Conflicts Today at our K-12 website.
[ TOP ]
PLATINUM CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
June is International Volunteers Month! Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy initiated the idea of volunteering to help others and support your country at the same time. In his inaugural address, on January 20, 1961, he stated: "Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country." The day after he became President, Kennedy ordered a task force to take the first steps in creating the Peace Corps, which has since sent more than 165,000 volunteers to help in 135 countries.
Activity: In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, President George W. Bush has renewed the call to harness the idealism and energy of youth in the interest of world peace. In his State of the Union address, Bush outlined plans to double the size of the Peace Corps to 15,000 active members, and to combine it with other volunteer agencies under a new umbrella, the USA Freedom Corps. To access Platinum learning resources for this topic:
- Use the Topic search terms “Peace Corp” and “USA Freedom Corps.”
- Click View Documents in the topic USA Freedom Corps (company/org) AND Volunteers
- Click View Document in the topic Peace Corps (company/org) AND Volunteers
Create and assign essential questions for research to students. These are the key to effective research activities. Without them, students flounder and generally report encyclopedic information about the topic that does not integrate original thought and critical thinking. With them, students are guided to relevant information and have a good idea of what to do with it. Here are some examples of essential questions to assign students but teachers should create others as well. Answer the following Essential Questions about the Peace Corp and the USA Freedom Corps:
- How are these two volunteer groups similar?
- How are these two volunteer groups different?
- What was the driving force behind the founding of each of these?
- How do these two groups get their volunteers?
- How effective has either group been in helping people in need?
- How effective has the experience been in the future for these volunteers?
[ TOP ]
SIRS® DECADES: PRIMARY SOURCES IN YOUR CLASSROOM
The use of source documents offers students a direct glimpse into the past. But without context, these sources can confuse as often as illuminate. SIRS Decades places these resources into a relevant framework for understanding that enriches both the content and student understanding of the material. SIRS Decades features more than 5,000 hand-selected primary and secondary source articles highlighting key events, movements, people, and places in 20th-century America.
These visuals are editorially-selected by SIRS so there is a built-in focus and synergy among these resources that would not be present in random or general searching of the Internet or any other historical print or electronic database.
All Primary Source Documents include a summary to help students select appropriate resources for reports without the need to browse all resources. These editorially-written summaries provide a framework for the documents and help students to fully understand the importance of each document, which they may find difficult to interpret on their own. Time saved can be reinvested in more critical thinking: analysis, synthesis, and writing/report presentation. Increasing time on the development of these skills ensures future success in higher education, careers, and personal life decision making.
To access the material below, sign up for a trial, login, and then click on each link.
Sample Primary Source Documents
Find out more about SIRS Decades at our K-12 website.
[ TOP ]
BONUS CURRICULUM MATERIALS
ProQuest® Learning: Literature: Founded 40 years ago in June 1966, The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States. NOW has 500,000 contributing members and 550 chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
NOW's goal has been to take actions that will achieve equality for all women. NOW works to eliminate discrimination and harassment in the workplace, schools, the justice system, and all other sectors of society; secure abortion, birth control, and reproductive rights for all women; end all forms of violence against women; eradicate racism, sexism, and homophobia; and promote equality and justice in our society.
Betty Friedan was the driving force behind the founding of NOW and became its first president. She was also an accomplished author and her works helped to set the tone for the women’s equality movement. Other women have also been proactive for gender equity and were authors as well. Their ideas helped motivate the women’s movement over time. Here are some examples of these women authors: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Victoria Woodhull, and Gerda Lerner.
Using ProQuest Learning: Literature, teachers should assign students to research one of these authors and feminists. The reports should address some of the following essential questions:
- What was the main focus of the writings of this author?
- How did the work of this author support the fight for women’s rights?
- How did the literary world react to her works?
Find our more about ProQuest Learning: Literature at our website.
eLibrary® Elementary: June is Sports America Kids Month. This is a topic that students in K-6 can really get excited about because there is so much going on right now: the World Cup of soccer; baseball pennant races and Barry Bonds home run records; pro football mini-camps and speculation on the upcoming season; Arena football playoffs; NBA playoffs; NHL playoffs; and Little League baseball too.
Activity: Use the following procedure to access relevant information for Sports America Kids Month:
- Click the Topics tab > Sports & Gym.
- Click Major Sports to get some of the information needed
- Click Outdoor & Water Sports to get additional information
- Click Individual Athletes to get additional information
Assign each student a different sport that’s still in season to research based on their interests. Assign a two-minute oral report (or PowerPoint if students have the skill) that uses as least three resources and that includes some of the following information:
- Brief history including athletes of the past
- Current happenings including athletes of the present
- Any controversies or unusual events
- Why the student prefers this sport over the others
These oral reports give students extra motivation to create interesting reports, so they’ll work harder and learn more. Oral reports also give themexperience in developing essential presentation skills. These skills are part of all state standards and considered as 21st century essential skills for future success.
Find our more about eLibrary Elementary at our website.
[ TOP ]
CULTUREGRAMS™ IN FOCUS
CultureGrams can help you broaden your students' understanding of the world and its peoples. Our World Edition includes 187 country profiles, written for junior high students and older. CultureGrams also has a Kids Edition and a States Edition, geared for upper elementary students. These editions include kid-friendly profiles of 68 countries and all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.
CultureGrams goes beyond mere facts and figures to deliver an insider's perspective on daily life and culture, including the history, customs, and lifestyles of the world's people.
State:
Alabama
Did You Know?
- The town of Enterprise has a monument to the boll weevil, a beetle that killed 90 percent of the cotton harvest in 1915.
- George Washington Carver, a former slave who became a research scientist, discovered three hundred uses for peanuts, including peanut butter!
- The Marshall Space Center in Huntsville is where scientists developed the rocket that took U.S. astronauts to the moon.
Resources and Economy
Alabama’s economy relies on agriculture, including cotton, soybeans, peanuts, pecans, and sweet potatoes. Dairy and poultry products are important as well. Abundant timber (forests cover 71 percent of Alabama) provides paper and wood products. More than one hundred tree species can be found, including bamboo. Water is everywhere, and Alabamians use it for crops and farming, for boating and fishing, and for hydroelectric power. Water also cools Alabama’s five nuclear power plants. Scientific research in the state helps improve medical and aerospace technology. In manufacturing, Alabamians produce plastics, paper products, textiles, and automobiles. Iron and steel are also important industries in the state. Oil is found on the Gulf Coast.
The Civil Rights Movement
Alabama’s African-Americans played key roles in the Civil Rights Movement, which led to national and state laws that treat all citizens fairly. In the 1950s and ’60s, Jim Crow laws (laws preventing African-Americans from voting or having equal rights) made people upset. Rosa Parks, an African-American woman in Montgomery, refused to give up her seat in the “colored” section of a bus for a white man. She was arrested. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a minister, led other African-Americans to boycott (or refuse to use) the bus system for a whole year. In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alabama could not make white and black people ride on different parts of a bus.
Cultural Note
One of the most important roots of rock and roll and modern jazz music is the blues. The blues is a kind of music that grew out of the experience of slavery. Slaves often sang while they worked in the fields. Hollers, chants, and other kinds of songs from Africa were commonly sung. William Christopher (W. C.) Handy, as a young black man in Florence, Alabama, used to hear such work songs. Later, as a musician, he mixed those songs with music for orchestra. He called this the blues because the songs were often about sadness and despair. One of his most famous songs is called “The St. Louis Blues.” Today, W. C. Handy is often called “the father of the blues.”
To find out more about CultureGrams, connect to our website today.
[ TOP ]
TOP 3 WEBSITES
Each month, our SIRS® WebSelect and SIRS® Discoverer WebFind editorial teams scour the Internet for top-quality sites that help teachers teach and students learn. Although no Internet site can supplant a quality research database, these vetted resources offer unique resources that are sure to be of interest.
Immigration: The Changing Face of America
Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)
This site "provides an introduction to the study of immigration to the United States. It is far from the complete story, and focuses only on the immigrant groups that arrived in greatest numbers during the 19th and early 20th centuries." (LOC) Read brief profiles of the major immigrant groups, play games to test your Irish and Native American vocabulary, explore recipes in the Great American Potluck, and more.
Rocket Science 101
Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
"Assemble a rocket from main engine to payload fairing! Rocket Science 101 shows the basic parts of the launch vehicle, how they are configured, and how they work together to launch a NASA spacecraft." (NASA) Become a rocket scientist by using this tool to assemble either a Delta II or Atlas V rocket then watch your creation blast off.
Manet and the Sea
Organization: Philadephia Museum of Art
"Edouard Manet stands as one of the most--if not THE most--innovative and influential painters of the nineteenth century. He was an artist who profoundly understood the legacy of the great art of the past. At the same time, he interacted, in a vital and stimulating way, with nearly all the young rebels of the next generation, the future 'Impressionists.'" (PHILADEPHIA MUSEUM OF ART) Explore the works of Manet and other impressionist artists and view a sketchbook Manet carried around with him on his trip to Boulogne in 1868.
[ TOP ]
FREE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Our ProQuest product trainers are standing by to help you get the most out of your subscription--and learn more about our other digital learning resources! We offer a wide variety of online training sessions each month.
Plus, all attendees can easily obtain a Certificate of Attendance (right) for any of our online courses! The certificate documents the course name, amount of class time, date, and verifies attendance. You can use the certificate to document attendance in the class and submit it along with the additional documentation your school district requires to award you with continuing education credits.
Be sure to tell your trainer that you would like to receive a certificate via email at the start of each class. They’ll be glad to help!
You can download three ready-to-print versions of forthcoming training dates and times in PDF format.
Our training sessions cover after-school hours within several time zones. Best of all, there's no cost to participate. All you need is a computer with Internet access, a phone, and one hour.
Register for a course!
You may also sign up for a timely enewsletter to receive training dates each month via email as soon as they're available.
[ TOP ]
CALL FOR USER TESTIMONIALS
What features of Platinum do you and your students find the most useful? Have you recently used or are planning to use it as part of an assignment or student research project? How do you and other curriculum leaders in your institution use your ProQuest educational resources?
Share your experiences with peers working in schools across the country and around the world--through an upcoming Product News Bulletin! We're waiting to hear from you. Please send your ideas and stories to: tim.mclain@il.proquest.com
If we choose your submission, we'll contact you for additional information and permission to use your story in a future issue.
[ TOP ]
FORWARD TO A COLLEAGUE + EMAIL SERVICE INFORMATION
Increase the usage of your digital learning resources! Our forward-to-a-friend service makes it easy to instantly send this product bulletin -- and all the great ideas and information it contains -- to others in your subscribing institution with a click of your mouse.
Also, be sure to encourage them to sign up for our SIRS, CultureGrams, ProQuest, ProQuest Historical Newspapers, eLibrary, eLibrary Curriculum Edition, and additional enewsletters as appropriate.
To change your email address, sign up for additional newsletter titles, or modify your subscription settings, click here.
Cordially,
Your ProQuest K-12 Team
|
