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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.
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.
Vocabulary A-Z Wins Coveted Award of Excellence
Technology & Learning's Awards of Excellence (AOE) program has been recognizing outstanding ed-tech curriculum products for 24 years.
We’re proud to announce that ProQuest LearningPage’s new Vocabulary A-Z learning solution has won a 2006 AOE! Take a moment to explore how Vocabulary A-Z can help you and your school generate thousands of custom vocabulary lessons, each with enough materials for weeks worth of instruction.
Try a free sample and subscribe today.
With a solid reputation in the industry as a longstanding, high-quality program, the AOE recognizes both "best of breed" and creative new offerings that help educators in the business of teaching, training, and managing with technology. All entries are given a rigorous test-driving by qualified educators in several rounds of judging, which takes place over several weeks at various computer labs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Join us in congratulating the ProQuest LearningPage team for their hard work in bringing Vocabulary A-Z to life.
Free Podcast Training via iTunes
As you know, we offer large, Flash-authored training files for all of our K-12 solutions. Beginning this year, we’re proud to roll out a series of monthly video podcasts, along with smaller versions of our larger training files – all playable inside a free copy of iTunes.
Download your copy of iTunes today, and subscribe to our free podcasts with a click of your mouse. (No iPod necessary!)
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PLATINUM CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
October is Computer Learning Month. Increasingly, students are turning to the computer and the Internet for learning both at home and at school.
Some schools have been quick to see the value of educational technology and have become leaders in integrating it into the teaching and learning process. These schools and teachers have become the models of how technology can multiply the effectiveness of teachers and learners when used appropriately.
According to scientific research, one of the best ways of learning with technology is for students to be involved in engaging and meaningful mini-research activities. Traditionally research activities required much time to find relevant and authoritative information, then more time to copy the best information and citations, time to organize and analyze, and then additional time to format and type the report.
Most students did these reports grudgingly and often without real learning. Losing valuable classroom time for other learning activities often made teachers reluctant to assign these activities. Plagiarism or the threat of plagiarism added another deterrent.
Now, ProQuest Platinum, using information technology, can compress the time needed for research activities. This provides incentives for both students and teachers to learn beyond the textbook becaue technology makes it much easier now. ProQuest mini-research models and strategies also help save time in analysis and synthesis to ensure that students use the critical thinking skills that discourage plagiarism.
Activity: To help students appreciate the computer and technology learning revolution that they’re participating in, the following Platinum mini-research activity is recommended.
- Click the Topic Guide tab and type “computers and education and learning” in the Search box.
- Use the following topics for student research: Education AND Technology; Education AND Computers; Education AND Computer assisted instruction—CAI; Computers AND Learning; Computers AND Quality of education.
- Students will click View articles under these topics to begin their research.
Students should be assigned one subtopic and create a marked list of three relevant articles. Here are some examples: computer assisted instruction; online high school courses; virtual field trips; educational software including simulations; information technology and literacy; online testing; multimedia presentations. Students will use the information to write a report of 150-200 words showing examples of how such technology-based solutions are improving teaching and learning and why they’re more effective than traditional methods.
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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.
Primary source types include: Advertisements, Editorial Cartoons, Letters, Memos, Messages, Maps and Charts, Original Documents, Original Works of Art, Photographs, Poems and Literary Works, Posters, Published Articles, Speeches and Addresses. Users will be able to save time by exploring thousands of primary sources in one integrated, user-friendly resource. Students will also be able to use these primary source documents to understand how historical events affected politics, popular culture, and the media.
Here are links to several primary source documents. To access the material, sign up for a free trial, login, and then click on each link:
Find out more about SIRS Decades at our K-12 website.
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CULTUREGRAMS™ IN FOCUS
CultureGrams can help you broaden your students' understanding of the world and its peoples. The World Edition includes 190+ 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 70+ 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:
Japan
Capital: Tokyo
Population: 127,417,244 (rank=10)
Area, sq. mi.: 145,882 (rank=60)
Area, sq. km.: 377,835
Real GDP per capita: $27,967
Adult literacy rate: 99% (male); 99% (female)
Infant mortality rate: 3 per 1,000 births
Life expectancy: 78 (male); 85 (female)
Did You Know?
- Because body language is important, Japanese often expect others to sense their feelings without verbal communication.
- Most Japanese marriage ceremonies take place in hotels.
- Baseball is Japan's national sport.
Population
Japan is 99 percent ethnic Japanese, with a small number of Koreans (about 0.5 percent) and Chinese. The Ainu (an indigenous ethnic group whose habitation of Japan predates the migration of ethnic Japanese) live mostly on Hokkaido Island. All non-Japanese must register annually with the police and do not have full citizenship rights.
General Attitudes
Politeness is extremely important; a direct “no” is seldom given, but a phrase like “I will think about it” can mean “no.” Also out of politeness, a “yes” may be given quickly, even though it only means the person is listening or understands the speaker's request. The Japanese feel an obligation to return favors and gifts. They honor age and tradition. “Losing face,” or being shamed in public, is very undesirable. Gaman (enduring patience) is a respected trait that carries one through personal hardship.
Greetings
A bow is the traditional greeting between Japanese. Persons wishing to show respect or humility bow lower than the other person. The Japanese shake hands with Westerners. While some appreciate it when Westerners bow, others do not, especially when the two people are not acquainted. Therefore, a handshake is most appropriate for foreign visitors. The Japanese are formal, and titles are important in introductions. A family name is used with the suffix -san. Mr. Ogushi in North America is called Ogushi-san in Japan. The use of first names is reserved for family and friends. Between business representatives, the exchange of business cards (offered and accepted with both hands) most often accompanies a greeting.
Gestures
Japanese regard yawning in public as impolite. A person should sit up straight with both feet on the floor. Legs may be crossed at the knee or ankle, but placing an ankle over a knee is considered improper. One beckons by waving all fingers with the palm down. It is polite to point with the entire hand rather than the index finger. Shaking one hand from side to side with the palm forward means “no.” People refer to themselves by pointing an index finger at their nose. Laughter does not necessarily signify joy or amusement; it can also be a sign of embarrassment. Chewing gum in public is generally considered ill-mannered. One covers one's mouth when using a toothpick.
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.
Mote Aquarium
Mote Marine Laboratory
"Mote Aquarium hosts nearly 400,000 visitors a year in Sarasota, Florida, where a variety of marine life--from the smallest critters to apex predators--are showcased. The aquarium's many exhibits are designed to highlight the marine research performed by the scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory." (MOTE MARINE LABORATORY) Learn about sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, and other marine animals!
Tudor Britain
The National Archives of the United Kingdom
“This website presents a selection of different types of historical evidence for students to examine, such as artifacts, inventories and wills, letters, maps and books. Students can examine these objects and consider how they were made, what they were for and who might have created or used them. They can discover facts about the Tudor period, see how evidence can be used to build up an historical picture, and think about what can be learned this way about the interests, values and preoccupations of people during Tudor times." (THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM)
Where Plants and Animals Live
Organization: Houghton Mifflin Company
"Where can you find plants and animals? A pond is one place. Think about the plants and animals that live in a pond. Remember that some of the animals might be hiding." (HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY) Find the plants and animals and click on them to learn more.
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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.
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 an ProQuest Platform (Platinum+) or additional ProQuest solution course today.
(Interested in Reading A-Z programs? Click here.)
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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