The Gizmo Gazette
News from ExploreLearning.com
May 2010
This newsletter is full of great information on Gizmos and the latest goings on at ExploreLearning:
Jacob Hesselschwardt is our May Educator of the Month. Mr. H. (as he is know to his students) teaches Middle School math in Bossier City, Louisiana. He uses Gizmos in classes ranging from 6th grade math to Algebra. Jacob has contributed one lesson material and seven Gizmo recommendations as part of the ExploreLearning Community.
Jacob had this to say about Gizmos: "ExploreLearning Gizmos are fantastic online, virtual manipulatives for facilitating discovery based learning in mathematics and science. Students are able to get a deeper, more personal knowledge of the content through explorations with the Gizmos than what they can through simply using textbooks and workbooks."
Jacob's contributed lesson is for the Fraction Artist Gizmo, a popular Gizmo on our site. Since Jacob teaches at the Middle School level and his students are computer savvy, he modified the Student Exploration Sheet to allow insertion of student-developed fraction scenarios as screen shots. Jacob's students are used to completing assignments directly on the computer and then submitting them electronically to him via the school's intranet.
Shared Class Gizmo Lists and Gizmo recommendations are available to ExploreLearning subscribers and free trialers, based on "What I Teach" settings. User contributed Lesson Materials are only available to subscribers.
Our subscribers have been busy recommending their favorite Gizmos to other teachers using Gizmos. Check out the latest recommendations! To do this, login to ExploreLearning.com as a free trialer and then click on any Gizmo's Lesson Info link. Scroll down to 'User Recommendations. Or, try some of these Gizmos with new recommendations:
Gizmo recommendations are available to ExploreLearning subscribers and free trialers, based on "What I Teach" settings. They are customized just for your teaching!
  ExploreLearning Gizmos have been named a finalist in six categories for the 2010 Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) Awards. Gizmos are finalists in three Curriculum categories, two Technology Innovation categories, and most notably for the Golden Lamp, AEP's highest award.
The AEP Awards program recognizes excellence in educational products and education marketing. ExploreLearning has won three previous awards from AEP and have been nominated numerous times as finalists. This year's winners will be announced on June 8, 2010.
See the complete list of AEP Awards finalists
Five more Gizmos have been updated with expanded curriculum materials (Student Exploration, Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocabulary Sheet). Four of these Gizmos explore the structure of the atom and/or discuss the beginnings of quantum mechanics:
The fifth updated Gizmo discusses two chemical reactions that are essential for building and breaking down organic molecules:
We have now updated all of our chemistry Gizmos. Next stop, earth science!
ExploreLearning sales staff members are packing their suitcases for a busy spring conference season. We will introduce 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. Find us at these exciting meetings:
Stay tuned to find out when Gizmos will be showcased at a conference near you!
As always, if you have a question or comment about Gizmos, don't hesitate to contact us at support@explorelearning.com.
We would love to hear from you. Also, take a look at ExploreLearning News on the front page of the website for breaking news any time.
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Getting the Most from Gizmos
Read our Teaching With Gizmos series of helpful hints:
Gizmos are great for Math:
"Gizmos has been the best for interactive concepts geared to mathematics…Gizmos is a true virtual manipulative for mathematics with assessment results…Gizmos is the only program [I have] for intensive interactive instruction on math concepts, which is so important for this level of student and the great technological computer age…"
Kristi Schmitter
Math Teacher
Page Unified School District
Page, AZ
Gizmos are great for Science:
"As a science teacher I sometimes find it difficult to convey abstract ideas. The Gizmos are an excellent tool for bringing these ideas to life; allowing students to visualize these concepts and solidify their understanding. In addition, as students are interacting with the Gizmos, I have the freedom to be more mobile throughout the classroom and provide more individualized instruction. I am confident that any other teacher who chooses to try ExploreLearning Gizmos will be equally satisfied. "
Jeanne Lotito
High School for Arts and Business
Community School District 24
New York City, NY
Critical Acclaim
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Finalist: Golden Lamp Award
2010 AEP
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Finalist: DAA Awards (5 categories)
2010 AEP
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Finalist: Best K-12 Instructional Solution
2010 SIIA CODiE Awards
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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
2010, 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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