News

The CIMC is proud to announce that our director, Jo Ann Carr, was selected as recipient of the 2007 Wisconsin Alumni Association Excellence in Leadership (for an individual unit) Award. Jo Ann has been the director of the CIMC for over thirty years, and is also director of the IMDC. We are thrilled to have her enormous contributions recongized by the UW-Madison campus. As we wrote in the nomination letter for the award, "She is an inspiration to her staff and to the School, and we all feel genuinely lucky to work with her and for her. She has ignited passion and motivation in the staff of IMDC and CIMC, both individually and as a whole."

The award is part of the prestigious UW-Madison Academic Staff Excellence Awards. For more information about the award, visit the UW-Madison Academic Staff web site.

Posted by Anna Lewis on April 1, 2007

These titles are recent additions to the MMSD Education Resource Center's (ERC) collections.

Administration / Educational Policy
101 best Web sites for district leaders / Susan Brooks-Young (2004)
The new taxonomy of educational objectives (2nd ed.) / Robert J. Marzano, John S. Kendall (2007)
The principal's companion : strategies and hints to make the job easier (2nd ed. ) / Pam Robbins (2003)
The electronic briefcase for administrators : tools and templates / Susan Brooks-Young (2004)

Art Education
Building parent involvement through the arts : activities and projects that enrich classrooms and schools / Michael Sikes, (2007)

Health / School Counseling / Special Education
Narrative counseling in schools : powerful and brief (2nd ed. ) / John Winslade (2007)
Foundations of clinical research : applications to practice / Leslie Gross Portney (2000)
Managing teens with ADHD : practical tools & strategies for dealing with difficult behaviors / Grad L. Flick (2000)
Evidence-based rehabilitation : a guide to practice / edited by Mary Law (2002)
Is it sensory or is it behavior? : behavior problem identification, assessment, and intervention / Carol Murray-Slutsky (2005)

History / Math / Science / Social Studies
Mai Ya’s long journey / Sheila Cohen (2005)
Investigating real data in the classroom : expanding children's understanding of math and science / Richard Lehrer, Leona Schauble, editors (2002)
First steps in mathematics: overview / STEPS Professional Development (2004)
First steps in mathematics: Space / STEPS Professional Development (2007)
First steps in mathematics: chance and data / STEPS Professional Development (2007)
First steps in mathematics: measurement, vol.1 : understand units, direct measure / STEPS Professional Development (2007)
First steps in mathematics: measurement, vol.2 : indirect measure, estimate / STEPS Professional Development (2007)
First steps in mathematics: number, vol. 1 : understand whole and decimal numbers; understand fractional numbers / STEPS Professional Development (2007)
First steps in mathematics: number, vol. 2 : understand operations; calculate; reason about number patterns / STEPS Professional Development (2007)

Language Arts / Literacy
Puzzle them first! : Motivating adolescent readers with question-finding / A. Vincent Ciardello (2007)
Teaching African American learners to read : perspectives and practices / Int’l Reading Assn (2005)
Boy writers : reclaiming their voices / Ralph J. Fletcher (2006)
Wisconsin Indian literature : anthology of native voices / edited by Kathleen Tigerman (2006)

Teachers / Teaching & Learning
Activating the desire to learn / Robert Sullo (2007)
Authentic classroom management : creating a learning community and building reflective practice / Barbara Larrivee (2005)
Managing your classroom with heart : a guide for nurturing adolescent learners / Katy Ridnour (2006)
Q tasks : how to empower students to ask questions and care about answers / Carol Koechlin (2006)

To review or borrow these materials, please visit the ERC at:

Doyle Administration Building, Rm. 116
Madison Metropolitan School District
545 West Dayton Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703

or contact:
Caroline Kaufman, Reference Librarian
663-1918
ckaufman@madison.k12.wi.us

Posted by Vince Jenkins on April 1, 2007

Schools Can’t Wait: Accelerating the Redesign of University Principal Preparation Programs
[96 p. PDF file]
"Better-prepared school leaders are essential for implementing school reform, maintaining continuous school improvement and realizing higher student achievement. This report highlights the redesign process for principal preparation programs, and it recommends a course of action for states to follow in planning and implementing successful program reform."

NEA's Read Across America: The Cat In The Hat's 50th birthday (teacher activity guide)
[Web site]
A collection of brochures from the National Education Association to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Dr. Seuss' 'The Cat in the Hat.' Includes the story behind the publication of 'The Cat in the Hat' and ideas for supporting literacy in the classroom.

Media Portrayals of Girls and Women
[Web site]
Ranges from effects on body image and self-identity to ramifications in sports and politics; the economic interests behind the objectification and eroticization of females by the media; efforts to counter negative stereotyping; latest articles and studies on ways in which media both limit and empower women and girls in society.

The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online
[Web site]
The largest collection of writings by and about Darwin, this site currently offers more than 50,000 pages of searchable text and 50,000 images of both publications and transcribed manuscripts, most available as fully formatted electronic text and as colour images of the originals ands as free machine-read audio MP3 files. Includes the largest Darwin bibliography ever produced

CoSN K-12 Open Technologies
[Web site]
To help educators and technologists with the planning, evaluation, decision-making, and implementation processes associated with adopting open source software, open standards and open hardware in K-12.

Multiple Intelligences
[Web site]
A collection of articles, recommended readings, and related links related to Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Kidipede: History for Kids
[Web site]
Created specially for kids, this website provides introductory information about the history and culture of North America, Europe, Asia and Africa in different time periods, with pictures, lesson plans and teacher guides.

Endangered Species Program. Kids' Corner
[Web site]
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service demonstrates how loss of habitat and ecosystems can deteriorate biodiversity, and how the Endangered Species Act helps prevent extinction.

American President: An Online Reference Resource
[Web site]
Examines the American presidency and the executive branch of government. Includes biographies of every president and first lady, many cabinet officials, presidential staffers and advisors; timelines and essays on areas of presidential responsibility; and articles about White House administrative duties.

MMSD's Technology Plan
[Web site]
"Encompasses the infrastructure, data, training and support functions of all technology use in the district, from instruction and education support functions in the classroom through all financial, reporting and administrative support functions required to support and manage the school district."

Centenary of the Montessori Movement
[Web site]
The official website of the Montessori Centenary, this site features background information about the Montessori movement and information on centenary events. Includes extracts from Montessori's writings, historical photos, articles about the Montessori teaching method, etc.

Teacher Rules, Roles and Rights
[Web site]
This online database allows users to analyze and compare the collective bargaining agreements, board policies, and teacher handbooks from the nation's 50 largest school districts.

Posted by Vince Jenkins on April 1, 2007

New titles at the CIMC include:

Designing Effective Online Instruction: A Handbook for Web-Based Courses, by Franklin R. Koontz, Hongqin Li, and Daniel P. Compora. (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2006)
Prof LB1044.87 K66 2006

Teaching Web Search Skills: Techniques and Strategies of Top Trainers, by Greg R. Notess. (Information Today, Inc., 2006)
Prof ZA4230 .N68 2006

Using Blogs to Enhance Literacy: The Next Powerful Step in 21st-Century Learning, by Diane Penrod. (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2007)
Prof PE1422 .P46 2007

Playstation Nation: Protect Your Child from Video Game Addiction, by Olivia Bruner and Kurt Bruner. (Center Street, 2006)
Prof HQ784.V53 B78 2006

The Big6 in Middle School: Teaching Information and Communications Technology Skills, by Barbara A. Jansen. (Linworth Pub., 2007)
Prof ZA3075 .J36 2007

Teens, Technology, and Literacy: Or, Why Bad Grammar Isn't Always Bad, by Linda W. Braun. (Libraries Unlimited, 2007)
Prof LC149.5 .B73 2007

Educational Research: Why "What Works" Doesn't Work, edited by Paul Smeyers and Marc Depaepe. (Springer, 2006)
Prof LB1028 .E3144 2006

The Battle Over Homework: Common Ground for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents (3rd ed.), by Harris Cooper. (Corwin Press, 2007)
Prof LB1048 .C655 2007

The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It, by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish. (Crown Publishers, 2006)
Prof LB1048 .B46 2006

Reading Doesn't Matter Anymore: Shattering the Myths of Literacy, by David Booth. (Stenhouse, 2006)
Prof LB1050 .B64 2006

Posted by Vince Jenkins on April 1, 2007

UW Libraries is pleased to announce the addition of a new database featuring more than 300,000 digital images. ARTstor covers many time periods and cultures, and documents the fields of architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design, as well as many other forms of visual culture. Users can search, view, and download images.

ARTstor provides a rich collection of instructional resources, including:

Guidelines for teaching with ARTstor images

Instructional Handouts

FAQs and Resource for the K-12 community

Questions? Contact Lynn Korenic, Director of Kohler Art Library by e-mail or by phone (263-2256).

Posted by Vince Jenkins on April 1, 2007

School of Education faculty are reminded that CIMC staff serve as resource specialists across curriculum content areas in the School of Education. As we build the collection at the CIMC, we welcome and encourage recommendations by SoE Faculty for new acquisitions of books, videos, kits, software, music, and items to add to our professional collection.

Please feel free to contact CIMC staff by using our web form, or phone 262-7301, or email Vince Jenkins with recommendations.

Posted by Vince Jenkins on April 1, 2007

Studying for the PPST and other exams just got a little easier. Madison Public Library (MPL) has a collection of test preparation materials available on its website. Those interested in using the materials visit MPL’s “Research and Reference Resources” Page. Once there click “connect now” next to the LearningExpress Library.

While first time users of the resource need to sign in as a New User and create an account, no personal information is required. Once inside, users have access to many e-books dealing with test preparation, but the strength of the collection is the practice tests. People can take the tests online while they are timed and scored. The list of available practice tests includes PPST: Praxis 1, Graduate School Entrance Exams (GRE, LSAT, MCAT and GMAT), TOEFL, College Entrance Exams, and Advanced Placement exams.

Posted by Jim Jonas on April 1, 2007

The Concise Nature Encyclopedia, by David Burnie. (Kingfisher, 2006)
LTY QH48 .B9652 2006

Chronology of Science, by Lisa Rezende. (Facts On File, 2006)
LTy Q125 R455 2006

Giants of Science. Sigmund Freud, by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Boris Kulikov. (Viking, 2006)
LTy BF173.F85 K78 2006

Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet, by David McLimans. (Walker, 2006)
LTy QL83 .M355 2006

. . . and media

Sammy's Science House [CD-ROM], Windows/Macintosh V3.1 ; School ed. (Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited, and Edmark, 2006)
LTy Q161.2 .S26 2006

A.D.A.M. Interactive Anatomy 4 [CD-ROM], Student ed., Version 4 for Windows. (A.D.A.M. Software, 2004)
LTy QM25 A336 2004

Pintar Interactive Virtualab. Electricity [CD-ROM], PC ver. Ver 2005. (Pintar Media, 2005)
LTy QC533 .P45 2005

Autograph. Version 3 [CD-ROM], Ver. 3.1 for Windows. (Eastmond Publishing Ltd., 2005)
LTy QA90 A98 2005

Posted by Vince Jenkins on April 1, 2007

Jim Jonas just presented "Web Tools for Educators" at the Wisconsin Educational Media Association Conference held this March in Madison. The session was so popular, that Jim was asked to give an encore presentation later that same day. The session provided attendees with a glimpse of some of the new web tools and services they’ve been too busy to investigate on their own. They learned the power of social networking while gathering images with Flickr, information with Bloglines and bookmarks with del.icio.us. Finally they learned how to integrate all of these tools and others into Mozilla Firefox for fast, efficient Internet searching. Congratulations, Jim!

Anna Lewis and Chris Blakesley presented "Instant Experts: Effective Training for Short-Term Employees" at the Wisconsin State Training Conference also held in Madison. The session addressed how the CIMC designed an initial and continuing training system designed to impact the learning and skill set of short-term employees. Copies of handouts from that session are available on http://instantexperts.blogspot.com/.

Posted by Anna Lewis on April 1, 2007

You may have noticed new scanners in the labs this month. The scanners are streamline and black with sporty silver highlights. These five new machines are Epson Perfection V700 scanners and their addition increases our scanner total to twelve.

The new scanners quadruple the optical resolution of the previous generation. They have an incredible optical resolution of 6400 dots per inch ("samples per inch" for the scanner purists). Their older siblings produced 1600 dpi (Expression 1680) and 2400 dbi (Expression 10000XL). Like the Expression 1680, the newer Perfection V700 has a 8.5" x 11.7" flatbed and comes with a number of trays for film scanning.

You can find a scanner in each of the labs and classrooms. They play nice with both Macintosh and Windows operating systems, and scans can be made through Adobe Photoshop or directly with the Epson Scan program. Those needing to scan text documents can use the ABBYY FineReader program for optical character recognition (OCR).

Questions, please contact Chris Dowling at cdowling@wisc.edu.

Posted by Chris Dowling on April 1, 2007

This month the CIMC staff is excited to support literacy and National Library Week (April 15 – 21, 2007) by featuring YOU and YOUR FAVORITE BOOK as celebrities in your very own “READ” Poster! Visit the CIMC during National Library Week (Mon – Thurs, 1-6 pm, Friday 1-5 pm) with your favorite book (or feel free to choose a book from the CIMC collection) and staff will take a photo of you with your book. After you select your own unique background to star against, we will print a “READ” poster just for YOU! It’s free, and everyone is welcome --- so bring your friends along and they can star in their very own poster, too! [Posters will be paid for out of gift funds].

In addition to recognizing National Library Week, April is the month that celebrates Mathematics Awareness, Poetry, and Jazz Appreciation and our April displays will feature resources from the CIMC collection that spotlight these celebrated areas.

Visit the CIMC this month to view our new displays --- and don’t forget to stop by during the week of April 15-21 (Mon-Fri, 1-6 pm) to experience the fun of your very own celebrity photo shoot!

Posted by Anna Lewis on April 1, 2007

We are pleased to announce the opening of a new designated study room at the CIMC. Room 332 near the open lab is intended as a flexible use space. Individuals or groups are welcome to use the study room. The space is intended for short term use and may be reserved ahead of time by noting the date and time on the calendar located in the room.

Questions? see CIMC staff at any service desk.

Posted by Catherine Stephens on April 1, 2007

CIMC hours during spring break will be:

Saturday, March 31 - Sunday, April 1st: CLOSED
Monday, April 2 - Friday, April 6: 9am to 5pm
Saturday, April 7 - Sunday, April 8: CLOSED

Normal spring hours will resume at 8am on Monday, April 9.

Please call 608-263-4750 with any questions.

Posted by Anna Lewis on April 1, 2007

SoE faculty, staff, and students are invited to share their recommendations for topic areas in which the CIMC needs to bolster its collections. These recommendations will be used to develop proposals for funding from Friends of Libraries Grants. Proposals are limited to $1000. Last year the CIMC purchased videos for support of Special
Education teacher education with our Friends Grant. Please contact vjenkins@education.wisc.edu with suggestions.

Posted by Anna Lewis on April 1, 2007