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Literature about math, educational content from the Nobel Prize, and word problems that are definitely NOT homework!
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For the last newsletter we took a look at online content from established government and library resources. This time we look at a few more from nonprofits with a math and science theme.
Mathical Prize - for Books with Math
Did you know that that is a book prize for fiction and nonfiction books that inspire children to see math in the world around them? We at the State Library didn’t know. But we do now!
Check out the Mathical Book Prize (awarded by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) out of Berkeley, CA) and its list of winners on their website, and see the supporting resources for these books on the TeachingBooks.net curated site for the Mathical Book Prize.
Nobel Prize Website Includes Teaching Guides
The Nobel Prize website doesn’t just list the winners of this prestigious international award. Within 24 hours of the announcement of the winners, the Nobel Prize foundation also provides online lessons for educators on the awardees and the areas they cover. It's a great feature for teachers looking for timely content and context.
Nobel Prizes are awarded in the following topics:
And if by chance you’ve got bilingual students who speak Swedish, full lessons in the language of the Nobel Prize are available too. (The choice of Swedish isn’t random: the Nobel Prize committee is based in Sweden and started when Swedish Alfred Nobel -- inventor, entrepreneur, scientist and businessman who also wrote poetry and drama--died in 1895 and left much of his wealth to the establishment of the prize. The first series of awards were given out in 1901.)
Bedtime Math: a program that is NOT for class or homework!
The creators of Bedtime Math, a fun math program for families, are adamant: “Please do not do Bedtime Math in class or assign it as homework!” That’s because their mission is to have a daily series of math problems be family-oriented, familiar, and FUN.
The nonprofit organization and program is the brainchild of Laura Bilodeau Overdeck, a mom with an undergrad degree in astrophysics, a masters in public policy, and a knack for making up math problems that are enjoyable.
“As a mom, she (along with her husband John) started giving math problems to their two older kids,” notes the Bedtime Math website. “When their 2-year-old started hollering for his own math problem, they knew they were onto something, and Bedtime Math was born.”
The mission of Bedtime Math is to make math routine, enjoyable and cool ... which is why they do their best to insist on the Bedtime-Math-is-NOT-homework” rule. The researched and curated word problems should be presented at the dinner table, at bedtime, and any time as part of family activity.
But they still need teachers and administrators to help to spread the word to parents. Take a look at their website and suggestions for family activities and parental involvement – including their Parents Count initiative.
REPEATS
The following information was included in previous newsletters, but the blurbs are important enough to include again.
TECH AND TRAINING: ProQuest staff ready to help
ProQuest staff want to put a big shout-out to the K-12 field that they are ready to help with set-up.
"Please let us know if you have any questions about your account setup for Culturegrams, eLibrary, ProQuest Central Student, ProQuest Research Companion, Schools and Educators Complete, SIRS Issues Researcher and SIRS Discoverer," wrote their training department lead.
"Our technical support team is available Monday - Sunday: 5:00 AM-1:00 AM Pacific Time and can answer questions about: authentication, integration with learning management systems, password changes, usage, and product functionality and content.
"In addition to phone and email, we also have live Chat and a support portal at https://support.proquest.com/ "
"We look forward to hearing from you!"
SPOTLIGHT: Britannica extension in Chrome
Encyclopedia Britannica has a new option for schools called "Britannica School Insights," a Chrome extension that surfaces Britannica School results when users do a search in a Chrome browser. When in use, the extension lets users know when Britannica content is available it appears in the upper right corner -- basically where you might otherwise find Wikipedia or Google content.
This is a new feature for Britannica for schools -- so California gets to hear about it first. The Insights extension can either be added on an individual basis, or rolled out district wide (for Goggle or Microsoft districts). The extension is free. But if it's not for you, no big deal, just use Britannica as you normally would.
SPOTLIGHT: History of the various offerings from ProQuest
The suite of ProQuest resources is diverse, robust, and almost appear to be multiple resources from one provider. And that would be exactly right! ProQuest's offerings (CultureGrams, Central Student, eLibrary, SIRS Discoverer and Issues Researcher, Research Companion, and School & Educators Complete (eBook)) are diverse products that often started on different platforms.
Curious about the history behind each offered to California's education sector? And want insight how some of the education library databases came into existence? ProQuest trainer Andrea Sevetson created a 12-minute informative recorded presentation that's ideal for library database newcomers and experts alike. (Provided through the Webex platform for recordings.)
Recorded webinars
Previous newsletters reminded readers that the K-12 Online Content Project includes recorded training webinars. A recap for those who missed it:
The State Library has also built an ongoing list of these recordings. Take a look at the main K-12 Online Content page under the "Webinar Recordings and Other Online Training" tab. We'll be adding to this list as more resources and recordings become available.
ProQuest Training in San Diego next week (October 29)
The San Diego County Office of Education will be hosting ProQuest for training in the seven separate products for the California K-12 online content project on October 29. There will be a webcast for those interested in participating from alternative locations. REGISTER.
Upcoming Online Trainings
We continue to have live webinar trainings scheduled. Check them out on the embedded calendar at the State Library’s site, or go directly to the listings.
Share this with someone (You can grab the text for your own outreach, too)
We’re trying to build a network of educators, librarians, administrators and others (including parents and the students themselves) to fully utilize this educational opportunity. Please share this eNewsletter with others, and encourage them to sign up. And feel free to copy/paste text for your own outreach to teachers, staff and others -- just make sure you get the URLs, credit the State Library somewhere, and fix any typos or grammar problems!
Comments and suggestions are always welcome and may be sent to Marybeth.barber@library.ca.gov.
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