President’s Message
What a month it has been! At a
time of the year when we should be slowing This last e-News of the year gives me the opportunity to thank each of you for a most wonderful year, and send my best wishes that the coming year be the best yet for all of us. May
your holiday season be filled with joy!
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What a glorious time of year it
is! The colors, the sounds, the smells, the decorations, the
laughter and most of all the faces of children, delight and lift us
from our daily routines. Once again our neighborhoods have been
transformed into winter wonderlands. Someone remarked that all
that takes place during this special time each year provides us with
warm thoughts and memories for the harsher months ahead. One
does want to bottle the season to keep the joy, the kindness and the
love that seems to flow so easily just now, for moments when we might
need them later on. May we each carry peace and joy into the New
Year. 
down just a bit to get
ready for the holidays, we have been as busy as the elves in Santa's
workshop. You may not notice any immediate changes in our
websites, but as the months move forward, you will begin to see what
our team has been working on. This month we have
experienced some growing pains.. We apologize for the delay in your
receiving the e-News last month. It is very exciting to be a part
of the continuing effort to improve online learning. 
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Extended through the end of January 2007, subscribe to e-Tutor for three months and receive a $50 discount for each student subscription. Simply put GIFT2006 in the referral box on the application form to receive credit for your gift.
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Give
the gift of learning! Give e-Tutor Virtual Learning
for three months this holiday season. There couldn't
be a better gift to give to a child you love. | Page 2 | ||||
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James A.
Michener |
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 Learning with e-Tutor:
You may have experienced a few bumps in the road this month as we continue to add features and change the look and feel of e-Tutor Virtual Learning. At this writing a few select subscribers are using the newest format of the online learning program. e-Tutor is a very large, comprehensive program. It will take many, many months for all the current changes we have planned to be implemented. By the time we finish, our "to do" list will include other new and innovative additions. Some things to look for:
These changes will make e-Tutor more secure. Thanks for your continued support and encouragement. Some seasonal lesson
modules that your student will enjoy:
Twenty-two new
lesson modules
were added Join the e-Tutor world of learning today to view the Lesson Library. |
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We Are Growing! 
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Gail Godwin |
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This
is the season when stress starts to build, both at home and at work. The
following tips can help ease you through the difficult times:
It is your choice. You can try to make your situation satisfying. If stress arises, you can choose to attempt a solution. There are many choices open to you. Which ones will you make? |
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Elaine
Maxwell |
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Working Smart |
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At
any age it is important to extend one's active vocabularies.
Activities that focus on classification skills effectively advance
vocabulary development. Strategies for vocabulary development
are based on the premise that new words are learned by associating
them with known words, a process that utilizes one's prior knowledge
and experience to learn new words. When classifying new and
known words, we compare and contrast their meanings. Through this
process one discovers the unique meanings of words and how they relate
to those similar in meaning. One strategic in
vocaulary development is semantic association. Semantic association uses classification as a means to help expand the knowledge of words. In semantic association we list words that pertain to two related topics, such as objects found in kitchens and objects found in living rooms. The process guides us in learning new meanings for known words and the conceptual relationships among words. Another technique is called semantic feature analysis where a grid visually represents the relationships of words and concepts in a category. Items within a specific category are plotted in a column opposite a list of item's characteristics or features. It is easy to identify how words are alike and how they are different. . Adapted from Silver Burdett and Ginn |
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So, what will we remember most about 2006? Probably, that it was a fantastic year of growth for us. We have added some fantastic new features to e-Tutor including: a new home page with increased offerings, the e-Tutor Calendar, the Graphing Calculator, hundreds of new lesson modules, administrative tools, and more. It’s also been a year of more strategic use of online learning programs like e-Tutor. Increasingly we are seeing tutoring centers interested in ways to address e-learning by using their computer investments in more intelligent ways, not just acquiring CDs to meet student needs. The biggest challenge will be executing successfully to take e-Tutor to the “next level”, whether it’s tactics like improving the instructional design or adding eCommunity to strategies or about changing the subscriber role. It’s also important to focus on the goals, not the tools. Getting the design right is the hard part. That's where many of you can help us as we move forward. Your input is always appreciated and encouraged. Our prediction for 2007
is that online learning will continue to grow rapi Knowledge HQ Planning and Evaluation
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Dead Poet's Society (Screenplay) |
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Despite the availability of well-paid jobs in fields such as engineering, statistics and technology, many students do not take enough math courses. They see it as hard, boring and irrelevant...not true! Here are some reasons to learn math.
Edutopia, Espen Anderson, Professor, School of Management, Oslo |
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Family festivals, celebrations and rituals are opportunities to turn an ordinary day into one to remember. Celebrations strengthen the bonds between the ones you love, reinforce those things you have in common and establish traditions that will live on, even after the children are grown. It doesn't matter whether your family is made up of two, ten or eighty, a family festival will draw you closer. Rituals marking even seemingly insignificant events, when done in a spirit of gladness, bring satisfaction and joy to the home. You can have as many celebrations as you like. They can be simple or fancy, planned or unplanned. They can be incorporated into everyday life or take place once a year. You can come together for birthday parties, impromptu get-togethers, or to hone the milestones in life. You don't even need an excuse...just the desire to be together. What are your family
traditions? What rituals and celebrations bring you joy?
Do some need to be added or updated? You might want to change
the way you celebrate holidays or birthdays. One year a family
had a white twig covered with lights for their Christmas tree.
It marked the beginning of an effort to make their holidays less
commercial. A family festival centers around the joy of being kindred spirits, of knowing each other and of sharing lives. To generate a family festival requires only your commitment to gatherings filled with honest, heartfelt interaction. Getting together out of obligation is merely a dull routine; but coming together to celebrate one another is fun, meaningful and deeply fulfilling. A family event with heart, gratitude and mutual appreciation is indeed a glorious occasion. Adapted from Wonderful Ways to Love A Child, Judy Ford |
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The holidays can be the most joyous time of the year, but they can also be the most stressful. Holidays can also be a time of hectic shopping, financial concerns, family conflicts and loneliness. We are so busy trying to take care of the details of the festivities, we often forget to take care of ourselves. Here are some suggestions to help you cope with holiday stress this season: Try to plan ahead.
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Native American Proverb |
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Infection Detection Protection: A
clever online magazine from the American Museum of Natural
History. Divided into sections: Meet the Microbes, a colorful
definition of viruses, bacteria and protozoa; Bacteria in the
Cafeteria, a simple game to help children become aware of potential
dangers; Infection, a board game that lets you break thru the human
defense system; How Lou Got the Flu, explains how infectious diseases
spread; and more. Requires Macromedia Shockware. Fin, Fur and Feather Bureau of
Investigation (FFFBI) Headquarters: The site uses interactive
stories and original thinking games to get kids to solve mysteries and
learn crucial skills such as using the Interent for research and
investigation, reading and writing. The project encourages
exploration of a wide range of subjects from math and science to
geography, genetics and history. Jo Cool or Jo Fool: An Online Game
About Savvy Surfing: As Jo surfs the net, you decide if he's a Jo Cool
or Jo Fool. Jo Cool means he's smart. Jo Fool means he's
about to "get a face full of virutal pie." Includes a
checklist for helping you decide if he's making a good choice, twenty questions at the end and a fifty page file to help educators use
the site. Finally, someone put some humor into media literacy! Miscositas: This site features a
collection of over forty virutal picture books in English, French and
Spanish. Also includes games, realia, curricular suggestions for
teaching and learning these languages and links to more
resources. Illustrated throughout with colorful drawings
including entries in the large pop-up glossary. The Home of Thomas Jefferson:
Monticello was the home of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the
United States. You can explore the house, gardens and
plantation. Includes: biographic info, "A Day in the
Life" with images, Jefferson's West (Thomas Jefferson and the
Lewis and Clark Expedition), an interactive floorplan, biographies of
people who lived and worked at Monticello, an exhibit on Oral
Histories, a narrative on slavery, picutres and descriptions of plants
and gardens, recipes and more. Ribbit's Math Ventures: Ribbit contains
complex, life situated problems in mathematics. Problems are
grouped at Primary, Intermediate and Junior High. Hop to it! Mountain Voices: How does development
affect individuals in different countries? Oral testimonies have
been gathered from communities in the Himalayas, the Andes, the Sierra
Norte, Mount Elgon, the highlands of Ethiopia and Lesotho, China, and
more. Students can learn of the past and present of many native
peoples in the world, as well as the realities of the global economy
in these regions.
Best
Wishes for a Happy Holiday Season! 6713 No. Oliphant Ave. Copyright © 2006 Knowledge HQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
Smiling changes your breathing pattern
and reduces blood flow to the sinuses, thereby cooling the
brain. According to a psychologist at the University of Michigan,
a lower brain temperature makes for pleasant feelings and less
depression and helps you to remember positive experiences. It
also gives new meaning to the phrase, "Keep a cool head."
As we plan for the year ahead Knowledge
Headquarters will focus on three questions:
dly not only with
individuals, but, in schools and agencies. The capabilities are fairly
mature, and integration is now possible, so that we have a
whole new set of capabilities that provide some excellent performance opportunities. We can’t assume that if we build it, they
will learn. We have to develop a learning culture, we need to develop
our learners’ ability to learn, and we have to recognize and
take responsibility for and foster learning to learn. So, our task
with your help, for the New Year is great. But the rewards are
huge for our students and parents! We look forward to continuing to work with you through
2007.
hool, you close
the door to interesting studies and careers.
