The Gizmo Gazette
News from ExploreLearning.com
December 2009
This newsletter is full of great information on Gizmos and the latest goings on at ExploreLearning:
In addition to the Lesson Materials provided by ExploreLearning with each Gizmo, subscribers can share their own lesson materials with other subscribers.
They can also recommend favorite Gizmos and share entire lists of Gizmos for different math or science classes.
Our subscribers are taking advantage of the great teaching ideas that these resources offer and are giving us lots of positive feedback.
"These new tools really create a sense of community among educators. The ability of Gizmo users to think outside the box and engage students is apparent in so many of the shared ideas -
what a wonderful resource collection. As a veteran teacher I use Gizmos for every topic and concept that I teach… definitely THE BEST tool in my teacher bag of tricks!"
Donna Abbruzzese
Middle School Teacher
Guilderland Central School District, NY
Although these features are only available to subscribers, you can watch the Community Features Overview
for a quick overview. You can learn more about ExploreLearning and Teaching with Gizmos in the Video Library as well.
Today, with the specter of an H1N1 pandemic spreading across the world, an understanding of disease transmission is more important than ever.
With the Disease Spread Gizmo, students can explore the ways that diseases can spread in a human population.
You can choose the methods of disease transmission: person-to-person, airborne, and food borne as well as any combination of these.
You can also adjust the probability of each form of transmission and number of people in the affected group.
In Virus Lytic Cycle Gizmo you can actually see how a virus destroys cells and reproduces itself in the process.
This Gizmo has very cool animation and is highly recommended by our science experts. Data related to the number of healthy cells,
infected cells, and viruses can be recorded over time to determine the time required for the virus to mature within a cell.
Maybe after using these Gizmos, your students will be more careful about washing their hands - or staying home when they don't feel well (oops, they probably don't need an excuse for that!).
ExploreLearning sales staff members are unpacking their suitcases after a busy fall conference season. We introduced hundreds of educators to Gizmos at many of the best Mathematics,
Science, and Educational Technology conferences in the country, with presentations at our booth and on the conference programs.
Thom O'Brien, National Sales Consultant, demonstrates
Gizmos to an enthusiastic crowd at a recent conference.
"It’s just as fun to see a teacher have an 'Ah-hah' moment as it is a student," said an ExploreLearning staff member about presenting Gizmos to a teacher for the first time.
Plans are in the works for a busy spring conference schedule as well. Stay tuned to find out when Gizmos will be showcased in a location near you!
December brings us holidays and snow, and you guessed it - we have a Holiday Snowflake Designer Gizmo.
Students of all ages will have fun folding and cutting paper to make symmetrical snowflakes, similar to what we find in nature.
To explore symmetry some more, try the Quilting Bee Gizmo and create patterns with a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line of symmetry.
Quilts can be folded to look for reflections, or rotated to test for rotational symmetry. Check out #17 from the Quilt Gallery (an evergreen tree) this month.
Just in case you missed this in last month's edition… Thanks to the fantastic success of Gizmos, our PD department has been growing by leaps and bounds.
This year alone, in fact, our talented trainers have had the opportunity to work directly with over 10,000 educators across North America!
If you think you might just be the ideal person to lead our training efforts, or if you want to recommend a colleague, please check out the details on our
Employment page to learn more about this exciting opportunity.
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New to ExploreLearning?
Try Gizmos for Free!
Purchasing Information
Interested in bringing Gizmos to your school or district?
Getting the Most from Gizmos
Read our Teaching With Gizmos series of helpful hints:
Gizmos are great for Math:
"My students and I love the Elementary Math Gizmos! I'm using them with my gifted kids! AND THEY GET IT!"
Lee Ann Jones
Teacher of the Gifted,
Norland Elementary School
Miami-Dade Cty Public Schools, FL
Gizmos are great for Science:
"Gizmos are an excellent tool for bringing abstract ideas to life - allowing students to visualize these concepts and solidify their understanding in my science classroom."
Jeanne Lotito
Science Teacher,
High School of Art and Business
New York Public Schools, NY
Critical Acclaim
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Winner: Awards of Excellence
2009, 2008 Tech and Learning Magazine
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Winner: Best K-12 Instructional Solution
2009 SIIA CODiE Awards
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Winner: Distinguished Achievement Award
2008, 2007, 2005 AEP
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Winner: Best Science Instruction Solution
2007, 2006 SIIA CODiE Awards
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Finalist: Golden Lamp Award
2009, 2008, 2006 AEP
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Finalist: Best Instructional Solution, Math
2009, 2008, 2006 SIIA CODiE Awards
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Finalist: Best Instructional Solution, Science
2009, 2008 SIIA CODiE Awards
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Finalist: Best Instructional Solution, Online
2006 SIIA CODiE Awards
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Diamond Award in Mathematics
District Administration Magazine
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E-Learning Innovation Award
Macromedia Corp.
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Best Education Website
Webby Awards
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Three time Digital Dozen Honoree
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
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