NetWatch
by Kathie Felix, News Editor
News of the
latest Net-related products and technology for K-12 may
be sent directly to Kathie Felix at 5746 Union Mill Rd.,
PMB 605, Clifton, VA 20124 or to kfelix@infotoday.com.
NETNEWS
Student Achievement Data for All
A collaboration involving the U.S. Department of
Education, the Broad Foundation, Standard & Poors,
and Just for the Kids will provide a two-phase program
designed to improve public education in the U.S. Phase
one will fund a basic data analysis package for all
50 states under a No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Web site.
The package will identify trends in student test results
at the school, district, and state level; compare a
state, school, or district's data against benchmarks;
show student test results disaggregated by every NCLB-mandated
student subgroup and grade level; and compare schools
and districts within a state to identify performance
levels with a variety of user-selected criteria. Phase
two will provide a 50-state roll out of Standard & Poor's
full School Evaluation Service for 2 years. This service
will allow parents to view all student test result
data included in phase one and will provide additional
financial, demographic, school environment, and spending
information on school districts, as well as a Return
on Resources analysis examining student achievement
and school district spending in terms of learning environment,
demographics, and finances. The U.S. Department of
Education has announced that state participation and
full reporting of data through this initiative constitutes
complete reporting compliance as required by NCLB. The
Broad Foundation, http://www.broadfoundation.org/.
NetTeaching
Gale Online Resources
Gale Schools.com, available with no subscription
fee, provides information, lesson plans, activities,
and other classroom resources. Special sections have
been designed specifically for media specialists, teachers,
administrators, students, and parents. In addition,
the company has launched two free e-newsletters. The
monthly It's Galementary! for K-5 media specialists
and teachers provides information on current trends,
news, and products. Curriculinks for grades 6-12 provides
a different "Decade in Focus" feature each month, "Sci-Try" science
experiments, and expert articles on grade-appropriate
issues. Gale, 800/877-4453 or http://www.gale.com/.
CNN Student News
The CNN Student News Web site, developed for use
with middle and high school students, now provides
streamlined navigation and more in-depth teaching tools,
including daily updates of curriculum resources and
program transcripts, learning activities
correlated to national standards, and daily classroom discussion questions.
To help educators find lessons on recent events, a new section archives 1 month
of daily programs. The site continues to offer a streamed version of the full
10-minute CNN Student News program. CNN/Turner Broadcasting System, http://www.cnnstudentnews.com/.
Web Strategies
Web Searching Strategies—An Introductory
Curriculum for Students and Teachers provides
classroom-ready tools for finding, evaluating, and
citing Internet-based resources. The author, Sam
Miller, is an 8th grade science teacher and teacher
preparation program liaison with more than 3 decades
of education experience. The first section of the
book focuses on independent investigations for high
school students and teachers. The second section
provides teacher-guided lessons for grades 5-8. The
price is $22.45 for members of the International
Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) or $24.95
for non-members. ISTE, 800/336-5191 or http://www.iste.org/.
Net Libraries
Gale's Virtual Library
The Gale Virtual Reference Library integrates e-reference
books in a database interface. Libraries can select
from an initial collection of more than 50 reference
sources—such as encyclopedias, almanacs, and series—to
create a customized integrated online information service.
Gale manages the selected collection, showing patrons
only the titles the library has purchased, linked from
the library's OPAC through MARC records. The virtual
reference library is accessed from a common menu that
integrates all of the library's Gale databases, including
eBooks, resource centers, periodical databases, and
electronic journals from Ingenta. For archiving purposes,
a copy of each eBook will be delivered at the time
of purchase, as either an FTP delivery or
a CD-ROM. Gale, 800/877-4253 or http://www.gale.com/.
L.A. Times Archive in ProQuest Collection
The Los Angeles Times has been added to the
ProQuest Historical Newspapers collection. The Times back
file dates from the newspaper's founding in 1881 through
1922. Each available issue is digitized from cover
to cover and includes news stories, editorials, photos,
graphics, and advertisers. Search and browse functions
are available. Articles and full-page images are available
as PDF files. The Los Angeles Times offers a
window on the history of Western expansion and immigration
and chronicles the development of Los Angeles, California,
and the Pacific Rim, as well as the West's major industries,
including film and entertainment. Free trials are available. ProQuest,
800/521-0600 or http://www.il.proquest.com/.
NetLearning
The Smithsonian Online
The Smithsonian Institution's Web site, http://www.SmithsonianEducation.org/,
features content from 16 Smithsonian museums, the National
Zoo, and the Institution's research centers. The site includes separate areas
for educators, families, and students; nearly 1,000 educational resources
searchable by grade, subject, and museum; interactive student activities;
and free classroom resources such as lessons, activities, and teaching tools
aligned with national education standards. Special sections examine topics
such as Apollo 11, Secrets of the Smithsonian, and Smithsonian Kids. Smithsonian
Institution, http://www.SmithsonianEducation.org/.
Free Math Homework Help
Online homework help for College Preparatory Mathematics
(CPM) textbooks will be available for free through
July 15, 2004, on the Hotmath Web site. CPM is a grade
6-12 mathematics program that stresses the use of problem-solving
strategies in class and for homework. The CPM textbooks
are used in middle school math through pre-calculus
classes. The Hotmath Web site shows tutorials with
hints, questions, and explanations for homework problems.
The site is normally available by subscription; CPM
has subsidized the fee as a service to CPM-using schools,
parents, and students. Hotmath, http://www.hotmath.com/.
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