Back issues of Sun Associates News are available online.

Please feel free to email any of the contributors of our newsletter with your comments and suggestions for upcoming issues.

IN THIS ISSUE

I. FEATURE -- Getting Started With a Technology Plan: 9 Key Elements

II. INTEGRATION IDEA OF THE MONTH -- Plant Growth Comic Strips

III.SPOTLIGHT ON THE WEB -- Plant Life and Gardens

IV. ON THE HORIZON --January's Educational Technology Events

V. FUN FACTS & TRIVIA -- Descendants of the Presidents

VI. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE

I. FEATURE -- Jennifer Kagan

This month, our feature article focuses on key elements of a sound technology plan. Whether your task is to write a technology plan from scratch or to update an older version, you'll want to include some key items to make your plan a success.

Read our online feature on technology planning tips.

Return to top

II. INTEGRATION IDEA OF THE MONTH -- Heather Hurley

Welcome to the Integration Idea of the Month. Each month I share a technology project that you can implement in your classroom. All lessons are designed for the one or few computer classroom, though a lab setting will work just as well. If you have questions or suggestions for future projects, email me.

January's theme is "New Beginnings." Keeping this in mind, why not start spring early by beginning a unit of study about plants. This month's activity is one that can be done as a way of documenting plant growth in your classroom.

For a detailed description, check out the lesson plan link for Plant Growth Comic Strips on the Sun Associates website.

For additional resources, check out "Spotlight on the Web" below. Melissa has provided you with some informative websites about plants.

-- Happy Integrating :)

Return to top

III. SPOTLIGHT ON THE WEB -- Melissa Chatfield

Happy New Year! This month our newsletter theme is "New Beginnings" a great introduction to a unit on botany and the life cycle of different plants. For elementary teachers, check out The Great Plant Escape, an interactive web site that helps students unlock the mysteries of plant life. Go to the Teachers' Guide to get ideas for using the site in your classroom. The Great Plant Escape was developed by the University of Illinois Extension.

At any grade level, growing a class garden (indoor or outdoor) can be a great example of a "hands-on learning activity." While a garden can clearly help students understand the abstract idea of a seed turning into a plant, it can also be used as a teaching tool in several less obvious curriculum areas. Visit the National Gardening Association's KidsGardening.com to find plant information, classroom stories, K12 curriculum activities, and even grant information to start a school garden.

Questions, comments? E-mail me!

Return to top

IV. ON THE HORIZON -- Lara Buchko

Sun Associates Workshops

All workshops are held in our offices in Lowell, MA from 9am - 12pm, and are free of charge. To register, please call 978-453-3070 ext. 260 or email us at workshops@sun-associates.com

January 22, 2001
Best Practices Showcase

January's Educational Technology Events

January 10, 2001
Gainesville, FL
New and Emerging Competencies for School Building-Level Technology Champions 2001

January 10-12, 2001
Guangzou, China
International Conference on Learning and Teaching Online

January 11-13, 2001
Albuquerque, NM
TAM 2001: A Technology Odyssey

January 11-13, 2001
Orlando, FL
FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference) 2001

January 11-13, 2001
Indianapolis, IN
ICE 2001: Sculpting the Future

January 12-15, 2001
San Jose, CA
CBEA State Conference

January 23-25, 2001
Oshkosh, WI
112th Annual Classroom Technology Conference

January 24-26, 2001
Bozeman, MT
Western Education Technology Roundup

January 25-27, 2001
San Francisco, CA
Technology, Reading and Learning Difficulties 19th Annual International Conference

January 28-29, 2001
Scottsdale, AZ
Preparing Your School Building for Technology 2001

January 29, 2001
Jackson, MS
Champions 2001

For a full list of conferences, shows, and other events where you can find Sun Associates, visit our web site if you have questions about our upcoming events, or if you would like to submit an educational technology event for our calendar, please email me.

Next Month

The Newsletter theme will be "Leadership." We invite you to submit related ideas, resources, or information to any of our authors. If we publish your contribution in our next newsletter, we'll send you a free gift!!

Return to top

V. FUN FACTS & TRIVIA -- Jean Kim

Descendants of the Presidents

President-elect George W. Bush will become only the second son of a US president to follow his father's footsteps into the White House, but he's hardly alone in having a former president in his family tree. According to the Feb. 2001 issue of Family Tree Magazine, 100 million Americans boast some sort of presidential roots. The publication says almost anyone with New England ancestry is probably connected to dozens of U.S. Presidents. Those with Quaker or Southern roots also have a good chance. Bush follows John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, as a presidential offspring also elected to the White House. Benjamin Harrison is the only grandson of a president (William Henry Harrison) ever elected president.

Other presidential pedigrees:

• George Washington, the father of our country, had no direct descendants: smallpox in his youth may have left him sterile.
• Franklin Roosevelt was a distant cousin of Theodore's, and his wife Eleanor was TR's niece. So she was the only first lady who didn't change her last name at marriage, since she was already a Roosevelt.
• John Adams, Ulysses S. Grant and FDR all had ancestors who sailed on the Mayflower.
• You may have the best odds of being descended from little-known President John Tyler, who fathered 15 children, the most of any chief executive.
• Don't try claiming to be a direct ancestor of James Buchanan; he was the only bachelor president.

For more information on presidential pedigrees, visit Family Tree Magazine online.

Trivia Question of the Month:

• What is the snowiest major city in the United States?

  To respond to the trivia question, please email us. The answer will be published in our next month's newsletter. Stay tuned!

Here's the answer to last month's trivia question concerning Mt. Rushmore.

Return to top

VI. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE

We hope you enjoyed reading the ideas and information in Sun Associates News. If you have received this newsletter forwarded by a friend and would like to to receive your own copy, simply send an email -- with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject -- to us at newsletter@sun-associates.com.

If you would prefer not to receive future issues via email please let us know at by email to newsletter@sun-associates.com. Just put the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject of your email message.

Return to top

Sun Associates offers this monthly newsletter as a service to educators interested in issues related to the integration of technology in schools. Our firm specializes in technology evaluation, planning, and professional development. We work with teachers across the country and bring this breadth of experience to all of our work. This newsletter is designed to share some of our recent findings and experiences.

 

Home	Search	Contact Us

Information on this site that has been produced by Sun Associates is Copyright 1997 - 2006 Sun Associates and is available for individual, one-time, use by educators. Duplication is prohibited without permission. All other material is the property of its authors and Sun Associates makes no warranty for its use or accuracy.