September 02, 2010
Start the school year with Gizmos!
Once again, it's that special time of the year: Back to school! The classrooms are spotless, the notebooks are full of crisp paper and the pencils are freshly sharpened. But, the one thing that will get students interested in learning isn't the allure of colorful book covers, it's technology. Follow the lead of middle school teacher Lindsey Blevins and integrate Gizmos in your classroom to keep students engaged the whole year through:
"I found that with the added use of technology, using Gizmos, I reached even a greater percentage of my students because of the varied level of instruction each Gizmo provides. I was able to direct students with specialized learning needs, from basic to advanced...Even those students who may not be technology oriented had an interest in the Gizmos because they were manipulating the learning situation and it became an individualized challenge for them to succeed....ExploreLearning and Gizmos has provided a wonderful technology tool that provides strong differentiated, supplemental instruction."
Lindsey Blevins
Middle School Science Teacher
Mountain Home School District 9, AR
There are Gizmos for all learners. Browse our library of over 450 Gizmos by math or science topic, state/provincial standard, or textbook correlation to find the right ones for your classroom!
Posted by Erika Sims at 11:25 AM in Testimonials | Permalink
August 24, 2010
Welcome back to school!
It's that time of year again, with everyone a little sad that summer's over but excited to start a new school year. At ExploreLearning we've continued our curriculum enhancement project, and have just published five new sets of expanded curriculum materials:
This is our first batch of physical science Gizmos this year, and we will be focusing on physical science for the remainder of the year. Enjoy the Gizmos, and good luck in the new school year!
Posted by krosenkrantz at 09:25 AM in Site Announcements | Permalink
August 20, 2010
Survey of PA 8th graders reveals stellar results
Anthony Jackowski, Assistant Principal of Springton Lake Middle School, PA, conducted a survery among 8th grade students to see how they were responding to Gizmos. He graciously shared their responses with us, and the comments speak for themselves:
"I like Gizmos because..."
•"...I was able to use an interactive website which gave feedback."
•"...They are very convenient. Doing them from home is nice."
•"...I am a visual learner and they were well illustrated."
•"...They are very easy to use. They are fast and simple with hardly any flaws."
•"...We don’t have to waste real materials: we can use [Gizmos] on a computer."
Rating based on a 1-10 scale (10 being the highest):
•"I would rate Gizmos a 10 on how much they help understand the science concepts. You don’t always know if you understand a concept until you are tested on it and Gizmos help to reinforce what I learned."
•" I’d give [Gizmos] a 10 because you can move around objects to get your answer, which may be easier than doing it mentally."
•"I would give Gizmos a 9. It helps me because I actually get to see and experiment on what we’re learning."
We are always thrilled to hear directly from our student audience. Happy students learning more with Gizmos is what ExploreLearning is all about!
Posted by Erika Sims at 03:50 PM in Testimonials | Permalink
July 19, 2010
Enhanced Gizmos in astronomy
Five more Gizmos have been enhanced with expanded curriculum materials. These Gizmos feature the Moon (Moonrise, Moonset, and Phases), orbits (Orbital Motion - Kepler's Laws and Comparing Earth and Venus), gravity (Gravitational Force), and the stars (H-R Diagram).
Each of these Gizmos now includes a Student Exploration sheet, Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocabulary Sheet. We have now finished enhancing Earth Science Gizmos are are tackling Physical Science Gizmos next. Enjoy the new materials!
Posted by krosenkrantz at 05:01 PM in Site Announcements | Permalink
June 28, 2010
More updated Earth Science Gizmos
Enhanced curriculum materials have been published for the following five Earth Science Gizmos:
Posted by krosenkrantz at 08:35 PM in Site Announcements | Permalink
June 15, 2010
New curriculum highlights seasons and eclipses
Just in time for the solstice on June 21, we have published enhanced curriculum materials for five Earth Science Gizmos:
Posted by krosenkrantz at 02:16 PM in Site Announcements | Permalink
June 14, 2010
ExploreLearning wins AEP Golden Lamp Award
We are pleased to announce that ExploreLearning has won a Golden Lamp Award from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP). The Golden Lamp Awards are one of educational publishing’s longest running and most prestigious traditions, honoring the “best of the best” in four categories. ExploreLearning won the Golden Lamp for Curriculum, against diverse and highly-regarded finalist companies. Congratulations to the Gizmo team!
See the complete list of 2010 AEP Award winners.
Posted by ExploreLearning at 01:21 PM in Press Clippings | Permalink
June 04, 2010
Gizmo Recommendations contest winner!
Thank you to the many ExploreLearning subscribers who participated in our recent Gizmo Recommendations contest. We received hundreds of new (and terrific) recommendations for Gizmos up and down the curriculum! Today, we randomly chose the winner for our iPod contest, for subscribers submitting at least 5 new recommendations. The winner is Cathy Hammell from Polk County, FL. Cathy teaches middle school science and had this to say earlier today:
"Wow! I am very excited and got a big smile when I read the congratulations email. I love Gizmos. They provide my students with the added visual to what I teach in the classroom. They also provide my students with a clear picture of concepts and fill in the gaps of anything I missed."Take a look at a couple of the science Gizmos that Cathy recommended: Mystery Powder Analysis and Element Builder. Or, try one of these math Gizmos also recently recommended: Order of Operations and Adding and Subtracting Integers.
Look for another Gizmo-related contest over the summer. Details will be coming in a newsletter soon!
Posted by ExploreLearning at 02:55 PM in Testimonials | Permalink
June 03, 2010
Gizmo demo movies are live!
Who says that all the blockbuster summertime movie action is only taking place on the big screen?
We're happy to announce that all 80 Gizmos with the "purple bar on the left side" appearance have a demo movie!
These Gizmo demo movies are quick (~3 minute) how-to movies that show you what each Gizmo can do, and how you can interact with it. The movies don't teach the lesson (see the Lesson Materials or Exploration Guide for that), but they should help get you comfortable with that Gizmo.
Demo movies come with voice-over narration, so be sure you have your sound turned on. (We recommend using headphones if in a lab setting.)
Movies are appropriate for teachers or students.
To access the demo movie, click on the "Demo" button in the purple bar, at the lower left corner of the Gizmo.
Posted by Dan at 03:57 PM in Help (User Support), Quick Tips, Site Announcements, Training and Professional Development, Using Gizmos | Permalink
May 27, 2010
Last Chance for subscribers to recommend Gizmos and win!
Have you recommended Gizmos to other teachers on ExploreLearning.com? If you submit five or more recommendations by tomorrow (May 28th) at midnight, you will be automatically entered into a drawing for a free iPod Touch. The lucky winner will be announced on June 4th.
Here are the specific requirements for contest entry:
1) 1) Recommend five or more Gizmos, including informative comments.
2) 2) Make sure you have a User Picture posted, which you can do this from the 'Me' tab of your Teacher Homepage.
3) 3) Finish all of your recommendations by Friday, May 28th at midnight.
4) 4) Please note that only current ExploreLearning.com subscribers can submit Gizmo recommendations.
Here’s a hint from the Help Center: How to recommend a Gizmo
If you have any questions about the contest, please contact ExploreLearning Support. Good luck!
Posted by ExploreLearning at 04:42 PM | Permalink
