December 7, 2005

  • 12/07/05
T.H.E. Newsletter: December 7, 2005
December 7, 2005
WEEKLY SECTIONS

  • Adobe Completes Acquisition of Macromedia

    Adobe Systems Inc. announced the completion of its acquisition of Macromedia Inc. The transaction was finalized on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. As a result of the acquisition, Macromedia common stock is no longer being traded and shares of Macromedia common stock were converted into the right to receive 1.38 shares of Adobe common stock. The combination of Adobe and Macromedia creates one of the world's largest, most innovative, and diversified software companies. The move also accelerates Adobe's strategic initiative to advance a powerful software platform, based on PDF and Macromedia Flash technologies, that scales from mobile devices to high-end servers. As part of the initial integration of product portfolios, Adobe has announced three new product bundles that combine the design and publishing power of Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Adobe video tools with the interactive strength of just-released Macromedia Flash Professional 8 and Macromedia Studio 8 software (see separate press release at http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200512/120505Bundles.html).

    For the full story on the completed acquisition, visit http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200512/120505AdobeAcquiresMacromedia.html

  • Fifth-Graders Challenge Classes Nationwide to Help Change Lives

    Fifth-grades at Teed Elementary School in Idaho are encouraging classrooms nationwide to follow their lead in helping raise money for life-changing surgeries for children in developing countries who cannot afford medical care. As pioneers of the Kids Changing Lives with the Gift of a Smile program designed by Laura Silsby, mother of a fifth-grade student and CEO of PersonalShopper.com, the Idaho students are raising money for Operation Smile, an organization that provides free reconstructive surgery to repair facial deformities for children in developing countries. PersonalShopper.com is matching student gifts, up to $50,000. As a special incentive for educators, the company will give a $100 shopping spree on PersonalShopper.com to every teacher whose classroom raises $240 and who also encourages the involvement of eight other teachers who each cover the cost of a child's surgery ($240). In addition, PersonalShopper.com will give a Kids Changing Lives bracelet and a movie ticket to each student in a class that participates in the program before Christmas.

    For the full story, visit http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=57091

  • Alabama Becomes First State to Launch Online Sportsmanship Education Program

    Last week, Alabama became the first state to launch a statewide sportsmanship education program for coaches. Legislative, education, and athletic leaders led by the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) announced that all the state's athletic directors and coaching staffs in its member schools would receive access to STAR Coaching, a Web-based sportsmanship program for coaches developed by Learning Through Sports, to help them prevent steroid abuse and build schoolwide sportsmanship initiatives. The program builds on the October 2005 launch of the statewide program giving a companion product, STAR Sportsmanship, to all the state's fourth-grade students. This effort will also be funded by the state through its character education law but managed by the AHSAA, which is also a vocal leader in the effort to help coaches deal with the rising concern of steroid abuse among student athletes.

    For the full story, visit
    http://www.learningthroughsports.com/press_releases.asp?sectionID=8&record_no=5624

  • Videoconferencing Enables Michigan Students to Connect With Author Jim Stovall

    Polycom Inc. has announced its sponsorship of Berrien County (Michigan) Intermediate School District's (BCISD) ASK (Authors Specialist and Knowledge) program. The educational program will feature a video conference discussion between The Ultimate Gift author, Jim Stovall, and students from across the United States. Both the author and students will connect live via Polycom video conference today and again on March 6 at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa to discuss Stovall's book, the upcoming feature film based on the book, and the challenges he has had to overcome in living with total blindness.

    For the full story, visit http://www.polycom.com/company_info/1,1412,pw-164-13452,00.html

  • Boston Test Prep to Offer College-Bound Students Free Movie Tickets

Boston Test Prep (BTP) announced that it will provide teens the ultimate study break—a free trip to the movies. Subscribing Boston Test Prep (BTP) students who answer 150 quiz questions correctly on their SAT Test Prep can earn a free movie ticket from the popular movie-ticketing service Fandango.

For the full story, visit http://sat.bostontestprep.com/learnmore/btpsat/news/newsroom.asp?pop=0&nr=press_120505

 



http://www.trumba.com/schools
Scholastic and Trumba have launched a special campaign to provide a year of free access to Trumba's new calendar tool, OneCalendar, for every classroom teacher in the country. With OneCalendar, teachers can easily send regular e-mails to parents with a full list of upcoming events, homework assignments, and other important reminders. In addition, this joint campaign will feature in-school materials that include a 12-page Teacher Guide with interactive parent-family materials and teacher planning and organizing tools that are available from the Scholastic and Trumba Web sites.


http://www.questia.com/library/rl_cat
Questia Media Inc. has developed a new program called Reading Lists, which are librarian-selected resources such as articles and books on popular topics, organized by subject and grade level. After specifying search criteria, a list appears of all the available Reading Lists. Each list contains five or more books or articles related to the topic. The material on the Web site provides both students and teachers with knowledge that can be utilized in a variety of ways such as for background research, project resources, and required or assigned reading materials.

Call for Papers!!!
Please take a second to look at some of the topics we'll be covering in our fall issues:

  • School Perspectives —discuss a specific topic, trend, or concern about education technology.

  • Wishlist/Shortlist —a simple list of the technology (e.g., wireless, laptops, etc.) you're looking at to solve a challenge in your school/district, and an accompanying “shortlist” of vendors you're looking at to solve those challenges.

If you have a good story that is related to any of the above topics, please e-mail an abstract to [email protected]

T.H.E. Offers Educators Individual netTrekker Subscriptions
T.H.E. Journal has announced an exclusive partnership with Thinkronize, developers of netTrekker, the trusted search engine for schools, which allows educators worldwide to purchase individual (single-user) subscriptions to netTrekker, which previously was available only on a site license basis to schools and districts. With this initiative, T.H.E. and Thinkronize have combined to better serve their customer's needs by personalizing the way educators use the Internet. Educators can purchase individual subscriptions for netTrekker through the T.H.E. Journal's Web site at http://www.thejournal.com/netTrekker. The suggested list price for a one-year subscription is $49.95.

THE Institute and AOL @ SCHOOL Offer New Online Course for Educators  
“Internet Literacy – Making the Most of the Web,” is a new online course for educators interested in using the World Wide Web in teaching and learning. Designed for elementary and secondary school teachers, the course provides tools for educators to integrate technology into their curricula to improve student achievement and meet NCLB requirements. The cost is $79 per person; course moderation and graduate credit are additional options. “Internet Literacy – Making the Most of the Web," is designed to be useful both for educators new to using technology in teaching and learning and for tech-savvy veterans.
For complete course details and to register, go to http://www.thejournal.com/institute/course510.cfm.

Four Integrating Technology Courses from T.H.E. Institute
 T.H.E. Institute is offering four online professional development courses to help educators comply with NCLB requirements and use technology more successfully in the classroom. The cost is $149 per course, which includes a $10 per person per course administration fee for documentation of clock hours and a certificate of completion. Course moderation and graduate credit are additional options; volume discounts are available. Anyone who enrolls in a course will receive individual access to the netTrekker site, as well as free individual access to United Learning's unitedstreaming site. In addition, special pricing is available for educators in districts that have purchased Glencoe/McGraw-Hill's TechCONNECT.

Integrating Technology in the Classroom Courses: Social Studies - Available Now; Science - Available Now; English/Language Arts- Available Now; Mathematics - Available Now

For more information, log on to http://www.thejournal.com/institute/IntegratingTech.cfm.

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