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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.
New Training & Support Resources
As you may know, ProQuest is home to a group of dedicated road warriors (also known as trainers) who are constantly on the move, bringing hands-on information about our popular solutions to schools across the U.S., Canada, and beyond.
At every stop, the team collects feedback about our K-12 website. What do staffers like about the site? Is ProQuest offering the right mix of training documents and presentations? What could we change to make it more useful and effective?
Recently, the volumes of feedback we've received since September has resulted in the launch of an all-new Training & Support page. The page now fits in most browsers without the need to scroll down, and contains all the links you've come to rely on, presented in a clearer, multi-button format. Check it out today--and thanks for helping us make our website more useful for schools around the world!
We also recently launched new versions of existing training and product information resources, including:
ExploreLearning.com: Codie Finalist X 3
We're proud to announce that ExploreLearning.com is a finalist in the Software and Information Industry Association's (SIIA) 21st annual Codie Awards!
ExploreLearning is a Finalist in three categories, including:
Best Instructional Solution: Online
Best Instructional Solution: Science
Best Instructional Solution: Mathematics
"ProQuest is honored to be selected as a finalist for these three Codie awards," said John Campbell, Senior Vice President of K-12, ProQuest Information and Learning. "This honor reflects our commitment to providing quality materials that support math and science curricula. We are proud that our peers have recognized ExploreLearning as a product that consistently supports student achievement in these critical areas."
With the objective of helping learners make sense of complex scientific and mathematical principles, ExploreLearning offers interactive online simulations that drive conceptual understanding of math and science in grades 6-12. ExploreLearning helps students build lasting knowledge of mathematical and scientific principles through hands-on exploration. Its growing base of inquiry-based learning materials provides a powerful enhancement to the way teachers teach and students learn.
Read the full press release online.
New ProQuest® Historical Newspaper Titles:
Hartford Courant & Chicago Defender
The Hartford Courant
--the "oldest continuously published paper in the United States"--is an exceptional source for Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early American research.
You and your students can read first-hand accounts of the Boston Tea Party; the Stamp Tax; the campaigns of George Washington and the Continental Army; public reactions to the Declaration of Independence; early American issues such as Federalists versus Republicans and slavery; and much more.
This title, in combination with The New York Times, provides a definitive collection of original sources from the two leading newspapers of their times, spanning the years 1764 to 2002.
Years currently available span 1764 to 1922. The remaining backfile will be completed later in 2006. You can view sample articles from this new title inside a special PowerPoint presentation.
The Chicago Defender is also now available. This title, nearing completion, will cover the years 1905 to 1975. The Defender has been considered one of the most influential African-American newspapers since 1905.
Each issue provides perspective on the daily lives of African-Americans, and a deeper understanding of the black perspective on key historical events and enduring issues. View sample articles inside a PowerPoint presentation.
For pricing information, call 800-521-0600, ext. 3344, today, or visit our solution resource page for additional information.
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PLATINUM CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
The celebration of Women’s History Month in March recognizes the past and continuing struggle by women in the U.S. for equality and civil rights. Social Studies teachers should take this opportunity to help students who enjoy these rights understand the issues of equality that were addressed, the strategies used to overcome, and the present issues of equality that still exist.
As students grow up in an increasingly global world, the same struggles for equality exist in many other countries of the world. Many Americans are motivated to help in these global struggles as well as continue the domestic progress for women’s rights.
Easy access to the following subjects will help students and teachers get the best articles for their Women’s History Month mini-research projects:
- Click the Topic Guide tab.
- Type Women’s rights in the Find Term box.
- Click Find Term button.
- Nine subject areas will be listed for students to use.
- Click View articles to explore these topics and articles.
- Click Marked List to collect the best articles for your report.
Every student research activity should be guided by Essential Questions for critical thinking. These are examples that teachers can use to create other research activities in the future to ensure that students’ mini-research projects are more than a hunt for facts, but instead build critical thinking and information literacy skills.
- What are the major issues that contribute to inequity for women?
- Why have these inequities persisted over time?
- How have women in the U. S. and the world overcome many of these inequities?
- How can women and men in America help women in other countries make progress in rights and equity?
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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.
Country:
France
- Capital City: Paris
- Population: 60,424,213
- Area: 211,208 square miles (547,030 sq km)
- Real GDP per capita: $26,920
- Adult literacy rate: 99% (male), 99% (female)
- Infant mortality: 4 per 1,000 births
- Life expectancy: 75 (male), 83 (female)
Did You Know?
- Pets outnumber children in France.
- When eating a meal in France, it is impolite to put your hands in your lap.
- The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution. It is 1,063 feet (324 m) high and is painted about every seven years. It takes a team of 25 painters 60 tons of paint and more than a year to complete the task.
Language
French is an important international language. It's an official language of the United Nations and is second only to English in use between nations for communication, business, and diplomacy. The French government has stressed the language so much that almost everyone in France speaks French, despite the different nationalities represented. Even regional dialects have lost their importance in recent years.
Greetings
Shaking hands upon greeting and parting is customary in France. An aggressive handshake is considered impolite. The French handshake is a light grip and a single, quick shake. Generally, a woman does not offer her hand to a man but waits for him to initiate the greeting. Coworkers shake hands upon arriving and departing from work each day. Women customarily are kissed on both cheeks by male and female friends. Men only kiss the cheeks of males who are relatives or close friends. When people give kisses, they generally just touch cheeks and "kiss the air." The number of kisses given varies by region and ranges from two to four.
Diet
The French consider cooking an art, and French cuisine is famous worldwide. The first French cookbooks date back to the Middle Ages, and French standards were the early gauge of fine cooking. Regional traditions are strong. There are several types of cooking, ranging from hearty, inexpensive fare to sophisticated dishes with costly ingredients. Nouvelle cuisine, created in the 1960s, was a reaction to heavy cooking. While still made of expensive ingredients, it is much lighter, portions are smaller, and the presentation is more artistic.
Recreation
The French are enthusiastic spectators, but fewer participate in team sports than might be expected. Soccer and rugby are popular spectator sports. Participation is highest in individual sports: cycling, fishing, tennis, hiking, skiing, and sailing. The annual Tour de France cycling race and the French Open tennis tournament are popular national events. Most people take five weeks of paid vacation each year--four weeks in the summer and one week at Christmas. During August, when many people travel, some shops and factories close.
To find out more about CultureGrams, connect to our website today.
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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.
Career Voyages
Organization: U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) &
U.S. Department of Education (DOE)
This site "is designed to provide information on high-growth, high-demand occupations along with the skills and education needed to attain those jobs... Start exploring career options--whether you are in high school, have graduated, have a vocational certificate, have a 2-year or 4-year college degree, or have knowledge and skills acquired through training centers, on-the-job training, or work experience. Be in demand by knowing about high growth jobs with better wages and a brighter future." (DOL) Learn about occupations in a variety of industries. Tips and tools for career planning are included.
Drop Me Off In Harlem
Organization: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
"Discover the themes and works that emerged when creative and intellectual voices intersected during the Harlem Renaissance." (JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS) Explore the people, places, and themes of the Harlem Renaissance and how they intersected through this multimedia site. Watch Earl Tucker dance, listen to Langston Hughes read a piece of poetry, listen to Fats Waller perform, and more.
Inventing Modern America
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Inventing Modern America: From the Microwave to the Mouse celebrates the best of American ingenuity and inventiveness. In-depth profiles of...inventors tell the often surprising stories of the creation of everyday objects, from Kevlar and the personal computer to the pacemaker. This site explores the life and work of five of these intriguing innovators." (MIT)
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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.
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.
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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.
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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
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