Monthly Archives: November 2008

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online: School Edition

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The Encyclopaedia Britannica: Online Student Edition is a valuable resource for teachers and student-teachers preparing K-12 lesson plans.   It is available through the Mervyn Sterne Library databases, and is also accessible through the Alabama Virtual Library  (AVL). Content is divided into three grade levels: high school (Encylopaedia Britannica), middle school (Compton’s by Britannica), and elementary (Britannica Elementary).   Teachers’ tools include:

  • Learning Materials – Student activities, arranged by grade, subject, and type.  Type designations include interactive lessons, exercises, study guides, Web Site activities, and more.
  • Curriculum Standards – Many of the resources in this database are tied to curriculum standards. By clicking on a specific state on the curriculum standards map provided, one may see which standards the particular resource meets.
  • Online Workspace – a personal workspace may be created in which one may save articles, images, multimedia, activities, and other resources found in the encyclopedia.  This workspace may be shared with others, including your students. 
  • Blogs – At the high school level, there are interactive blogs on a variety of current topics.  Additionally, Encyclopaedia Britannica articles or topic widgets may be added to one’s own blog or website.
  • Web’s Best Sites – From an article or search result page, there is a link to the “Web’s Best Sites.”  These are sites, relevant to the topic, which have been carefully evaluated and chosen by the staff at Britannica. 

If you have any questions about this database, contact Imelda Vetter, ivetter@uab.edu, 934-6364.

Birmingham International Center Professional Development Workshop

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Birmingham International Center is honoring Spain and educating Alabamians on all aspects of the country through in-school education programs, teacher workshops, performances, and special events.

The Birmingham International Center , active in Alabama since 1950, seeks to promote mutual understanding between cultures.  Some of the highlights of this year’s education program include:

  • The Unique Techniques workshop – a workshop for visual arts teachers, artists, and anyone interested in art and international education.  This year’s event was held on October 25, in conjunction with the Alabama Art Education Association’s fall conference.
  • International Education Week – During the week of November 17-21, the BIC will be providing educational programming to various schools and community organizations in the Birmingham area. 
  • Professional Development Workshop – On February 28, 2009, BIC and Spain Park High School will host a workshop for teachers of all subjects and at all grade levels, providing information, tools, and resources (including lesson plans) for Spanish cultural enrichment in the classroom.
  • In-School Performances – From February through April, Spanish artists will be performing for students in schools.
  • Read about more programs on the BIC Website

As a member of the Education Committee for the Birmingham International Center, I would like to extend two invitations.

  1. The Education Committee is looking for program presenters for the Professional Development Workshop on February 28, 2009.  Presentation content areas include history, the arts, literature, economics, science, mathematics, writing, architecture, language, economics and politics. If interested, contact Louanne Clayton Jacobs, ljacobs@bsc.edu, for further information and a proposal form. Proposal forms are due by December 1.
  2. I would like to encourage the School of Education faculty and students to attend the workshop.   At the workshop, there will be over two dozen interactive, hands-on sessions.  Every attendee will receive a Discover Spain Resource Kit, which contains lesson plans keyed to state course of study standards, and a CD.  Attendees may sample Spanish cuisine at the “Taste of Spain” luncheon.  More information and the registration form are available at the BIC Website. Or call the BIC at 205-252-7652.

Feel free to contact Imelda Vetter, Reference Librarian for Education, with any questions about this information. Email – ivetter@uab.edu, phone – 934-6364

Encyclopedia of Educational Technology

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The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology, a publication of the San Diego State University Department of Educational Technology, is an online resource containing articles on a variety of ed-tech topics.  These articles are written by graduate students, professors, and other volunteers; the targeted audience includes college students and practitioners.  Multimedia is incorporated into most of the encyclopedia’s entries to enrich the learning of concepts. 

Here is a small sample of the hundreds of topics represented on this website:

  • Cue summation in instructional multimedia
  • Bloom’s learning domains
  • Digital natives in the classroom
  • GIS and the K-12 teacher
  • Interactive whiteboards
  • TPR for learning
  • Music’s contribution to academic success
  • Human performance technology
  • Preparing presentations for educational use
  • Blogs in online college classes
  • Designing Web-based tutorials
  • On line fair use
  • Podcasting
  • SCORM
  • Blended learning
  • Accidental learning through computer games

The site also contains a comprehensive bibliography of books and articles on the topic of educational technology.  If interested in contributing to this Website, one may also find guidelines for submission.