ExploreLearning News

More updated Earth Science Gizmos

Enhanced curriculum materials have been published for the following five Earth Science Gizmos:

Ocean Mapping

Porosity

Building Topographic Maps

Relative Humidity

Herschel Experiment

Herschel Experiment (metric version)

Each of these Gizmos now has a Student Exploration, Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocabulary Sheet. Each document is available as a pdf or Word document that you can edit if you wish. Enjoy the new materials and enjoy the Gizmos!

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:

Seasons in 3D

Seasons Around the World

2D Eclipse

3D Eclipse

Penumbra Effect

By the way, look out for two upcoming eclipses. On June 26 there will be a partial lunar eclipse visible from much of the Americas and eastern Asia. On July 11 a total solar eclipse will be visible from islands in the Sough Pacific as well as from Chile and Argentina. For details on these spectacular events, consult the NASA Eclipse Web Site: 

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.

  

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!

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.