Monday, January 26, 2009

Computer Education for Teachers

Know Your USA is featured in the new book: Computer Education for Teachers: Integrating Technology into Classroom Teaching by V. Sharp; "An example of an addictive drill-and-practice program is Know Your USA". We are delighted that Know Your USA was featured in such a great publication for teachers.

Book Description (from Amazon)
Teachers who want an up-to-date, readable, and concise introduction to computers continue to turn to Computer Education for Teachers. The new edition places more emphasis on multimedia and the Internet, covering topics such as digital photography, iPods in the classroom, the Internet, and distance learning. A robust Web site also accompanies this streamlined book. It contains video tutorials on topics such as creating a digital portfolio and making a Podcast. These tutorials are from 1 to 3 minutes in duration and are step-by-step projects. Teachers who are unfamiliar with the use of the computer in the classroom will find this to be the perfect resource.

About the Author (from Amazon)
Vicki F. Sharp is a professor at California State University with experience teaching in elementary school. She received her Ph.D. in Quantitative Research from St. Louis University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University. She teaches math/science methods courses and computer courses and supervises student teachers. She has authored or co-authored over twenty-five books including Statistics for the Social Sciences (Little Brown), HyperStudio in an Hour and PowerPoint in an Hour (ISTE), Make it with Office and Make it with Inspiration (Visions Technology in Education). She serves as a computer consultant and trainer for software publishers and school districts in Southern California. She speaks at computer conventions such as Computer User Educators (CUE) and The National Education Computing Conference (NECC).

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Saturday, January 24, 2009

More Investment in Education

I have been reading through the The American Reinvestment and Recovery Plan, some interesting points relating to education, I have outlined the main points below.
  • An historic investment to school modernization, sufficient to renovate and modernizing 10,000 schools. This historic investment in upgrading the nation's public schools will improve learning environments for about 5 million students.
  • Increasing college affordability for 7 million students by funding the shortfall in Pell Grants and increasing the maximum award level by $500.
  • Providing a new higher education tax cut to nearly 4 million students. The plan will create a new $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit that is partially refundable. As a result, the nearly one-fifth of high school seniors who receive no tax credit under the current system will receive a tax cut to make college affordable for the first time.
  • Tripling the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science, to help spur the next generation of home grown scientific innovation.
  • Expanding the number of children and families receiving quality preschool services. The plan will double the Early Head Start program, which will not only provide an additional 350,000 children access to quality pre-k services, but will create at least 15,000 new teaching and teaching assistant jobs, as well as new supervisory and support positions.
  • Preventing teacher layoffs and education cuts in every state, maintaining key reforms, and ensuring all schools have advanced technology for the 21st century economy.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Know Your USA - Update

Today we will be uploading a minor update for Know Your USA, this will update the presidential information and provide a worksheet on President Obama.

The update provides:
- Updated About the USA with details of Barack Obama, plus fact file.
- The school edition now includes two new worksheets on President Obama and the US Flag.

Know Your USA 1.5.4 was successfully uploaded to our servers on Jan 26, 2009 at 7:30pm EST.

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Monday, January 12, 2009

The New President of the United States

January 20, 2009 is inauguration day for the new president of the United States, Barack Obama. To celebrate the inauguration we have created a nine page worksheet (1.0 MB) about the United States, perfect for school. If you want to learn more about the United States please consider our awarding winning Know Your USA software.

Page 1: Map of USA with Regions and States marked.
Page 2: Map with each State name and the Capital.
Page 3: Name the States of the USA pop quiz worksheet.
Page 4: Blank Flag of the United States, great for coloring.
Page 5: Join the Dots maps of the USA.
Page 6: Barack Obama factfile with coloring.
Page 7: Washington DC factfile with photos and map.
Page 8: Barack Obama factfile and photo.
Page 9: US Election Results worksheet, color in the winner of each state.

This worksheet is perfect for printing and copying. It is a great introduction to the United States and excellent classroom activity for the inauguration.



We also have a free online quiz for testing your knowledge of each State in the United States. Play it online at our website. Remember that each aspect of the USA is covered in detail in our award winning Know Your USA software. Buy our software at Amazon.com or download today. You can also watch the YouTube Animaniacs cartoon clip we posted a few weeks ago too, quick way to introduce the United States to younger children.

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