Explore What's New

S.T.E.M. Central is our new headquarters for science, technology, engineering and mathematics content. Its goal is to support teachers in preparing students for the 21^st century workplace. It's packed with videos, games and multimedia. Visit it today and tell us what you think. 

2012 National S.T.E.M. Video Game Challenge
This contest seeks to motivate interest in S.T.E.M. learning among youth by tapping into their love for making and playing video games.  The deadline is March 12, 2012. Learn more about it at gpb.org/stem-contest.

Mission US is a multimedia project featuring free interactive adventure games set in different eras of U.S. history.  The brand-new second game, "Flight to Freedom," puts the player in the role of Lucy, a young slave on a plantation outside of Lexington, Kentucky. The adventure begins in the summer of 1848 and grapples with immigration, industry, and expansion, as well as slavery.

Professor Ridley Recognizes

The Georgia Afterschool Investment Council (GAIC) released the first ever Georgia Afterschool Quality Standards in December 2011. The standards serve as a framework to help afterschool providers assess their programs and provide opportunities for children, youth, and families to identify areas of strength and in need of improvement in their programs. 

These standards are the first in the nation to align to the Common Core State Standards, which enables connect what is done during afterschool hours to the school day as we create strong habits of mind in our young people for the greatest success in life.

The standards emphasize high quality programming across the following areas:

• Active and engaging learning
• Linkages to the school day and the Common Core State Standards
• Health, nutrition, and physical fitness
• Environment (indoor and outdoor space)
• Relationships, culture, and diversity
• Staffing, volunteers, and professional development
• Continuous improvement

These standards serve as a symbol of Georgia's commitment to provide children, youth, and families access to a diverse range of programming that will enrich and support the positive development of young people across the state.

If you are a teacher or a principal, the Georgia Afterschool Network encourages you to reach out to your local afterschool programs and share this standards document with them. When you do that, keep us posted on the progress of these conversations.  If you would like more information on the Georgia Afterschool Quality Standards, please visit GAIC's website or contact Katie Kross at katiek@afterschoolga.org.

Tech Tip

 
Professional Learning Sessions Online – Bookmark this link: www.gpb.org/education/common-core and save the dates!  Online training on the new Common Core Georgia Performance Standards continues this month and lasts through May.

To improve your viewing experience, we recommend that you do NOT use Interenet Explorer.  Instead, you may download Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome -- both free -- for a better streaming experience. Here are links to it and other popular browsers:

Safari free download
Internet Explorer  7 free download

This Tech Tip is also true when you are using the GPB Digital Streaming resources.

On-air and Online

The Inventure Prize at Georgia Tech – on GPB March 13 at 7 p.m. Join New York Times technology columnist and NOVA television host David Pogue in finding the next superstar inventor. Take part in our live blog and viewer’s choice vote online during the show at www.gpb.org.

 

National Nutrition Month - March is National Nutrition Month.  You can find fitness tips and healthy eating advice on our website GPBwell.

Women’s History Month Did you know that Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell took part in the women’s suffrage movement as a child? Or that the Girl Scouts were founded by a southern “tomboy?” Visit our Women’s History month theme page to get little known facts about Georgia women who made a splash. 

You can also find videos and podcasts on Georgia Stories about famous women in Georgia History, including the first woman elected to the United State Congress.

Common Core Online Training Schedule

3/1     4^th Grade Mathematics  10 a.m.
         10^th Grade Mathematics 2 p.m.

3/6     5^th Grade Mathematics 10 a.m.
         11^th Grade Mathematics 2 p.m.

3/13   5^thGrade English Language Arts 10 a.m.
         9^th& 10^th Grade English Language Arts
                   2 p.m.

 3/14  8^th Grade English Language Arts 10 a.m.
         1^st Grade English Language Arts 2 p.m.

Learn

Registration for the 43rd Annual Children's Literature Conference, to be held in Athens GA, on March 23-24, 2012 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, is now available.  Click here to register.

A selection of PBS TeacherLine’s new and most popular courses are starting on Wednesday, February 29^th, with the option to enroll through Friday, March 2^nd.  See some of the courses available below and find out more with the full course list online. 

• INST342.17: Teaching with Primary Sources from the Library of Congress
• Use NASA resources & support inquiry-based learning of Global Climate Change with this PD course
  STEM412.22: Global Climate Change Education for Middle School
  STEM417.10: Global Climate Change Education for High School
• TECH570.4: Fundamentals of Virtual K-12 Teaching

Women's History Month resources from Teacher’s Domain
Get a jump on your curriculum themes for March with these profiles of American women in history:

• Lucy Laney, a former slave who established the first school for black children in Augusta, Georgia   
• Jane Jacobs, an activist who worked to save the neighborhoods of New York City
• Charlotte Hawkins Brown, founder of an educational institution for young African Americans
• Pocahontas, a Native American princess who may have rescued John Smith and helped his fellow colonists  

For a STEM twist, take a look at career profiles featuring women working in a diverse range of disciplines.

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We're Looking for a Few Good Bloggers!

Do you blog or have you always wanted to? We’re looking for guest bloggers to contribute to our Passion for Learning blog. All topic areas are welcome. If you are interested in being a GPB Teacher Blogger, send us your name, email address, topic of expertise and blog link (if you have one) to education@gpb.org.

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