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May, 2011 | No. 7, Vol. 5

Deadlines:

  • FrontRow significant short-term savings end June 30th. Read on for more info.
  • CBC News in Review - sign up before June 30th for next year! Click here for more info.
  • Try WorldBook's Science Power - no charge until June 30th. Read below for more info.
  • Microsoft Innovative Pathfinder Program - apply before May 30th to become part of this great program. Click here for more info.

New For You:

Did you Hear? FrontRow Audio Systems at Exceptional Savings!

Two great offers on FrontRow Audio Systems are now available to ERAC members. My First FrontRow offers amazing savings for schools buying their first FrontRow system. This offer is only available until June 30th. For even more savings, ongoing ERAC discounts on FrontRow will be offered to members on all systems and major components.
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Try WorldBook's Science Power Today at No Charge!

ERAC Online Database Bundle subscribers are invited to try WorldBook's new classroom resource Science Power at no charge until June 30, 2011. This new WorldBook resource is currently undergoing a formal evaluation by ERAC. WorldBook Science Power is an engaging and visually rich supplemental science site for the upper elementary grades.

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Made the Grade:

The following resources have recently been evaluated by ERAC and can now be found in the ERAC Resource Collection:

  • Early Numbers YOUDLE Box - Bridges Canada - Math - Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 1
  • Letter Formation YOUDLE Box - Bridges Canada - English Language Arts - Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 1
  • Math Starters - Root 7 Educational Services - Math - Grades 5-8
  • Problem Solving - Root 7 Education Services - Math - Grades 5-9

Dollars and Sense:

Keep Those Product or Vendor Referrals Coming - Please and Thanks!

School District #36 - Surrey has done it! So has School District 43 - Coquitlam. Both of these districts have made recent referrals to the ERAC resource evaluation system and the number of products being evaluated is increasing every month. Here's why. When individual ERAC member districts or schools refer vendors to ERAC to have their products evaluated before purchase, we all benefit.
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Keep On Driving - ERAC Digital Media Solutions Test Drive Extended to December 2011

The ERAC Digital Media Test Drive has been extended into next fall because of implementation challenges. Although digital media is as common as pencils and notebooks, the actual process of registration, training, activation, and other implementation concerns, has taken much longer than originally expected.
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ERAC in the Classroom:

Kids and Teachers Play, Practice and Learn

Comox District students were the big beneficiaries of the prize draw at last year's BC School Superintendent's conference. Assistant Superintendent Sheila Shanahan had the winning ticket for a SMART Table. ERAC reaches out to key vendors for a few high-end giveaways to showcase new deals and special products at the annual conference.
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French Connection:

For our French language educators and students, find out about these recently evaluated resources in the ERAC Resource Collection:

  • Les 10: Histoire canadienne
  • Pixton pour les 'coles - evaluated with the English version Pixton for Schools
  • Envol en litt'ratie maternelle - 3 ann'e - Trousse compl'te de lecture partag'e

In the Works:

  • The new Media Awareness Network secondary school product MyWorld is currently being evaluated by ERAC. If the evaluation report is positive, there is a very good chance ERAC will license it for all members for the 2011 - 2012 school year.
  • ERAC is currently assessing continued demand for Media Awareness Network's Passport to the Internet. We have not made a final decision to license it for an additional year. If you have an opinion on this one, please share it with us via email at info@bcerac.ca.
  • ERAC is still hoping to bring members an agreement for Dragon Naturally Speaking but it is proving to be a very slow process. Nuance Communications approved an ERAC evaluation just last week and it will be completed within a month.

Did You Know?

ExploreLearning and ERAC Do Not Reach a Provincial Agreement

After an extensive negotiation process over a period of several months, ERAC has been unable to reach a satisfactory pricing agreement for Gizmos. While the ERAC evaluation of this product was quite positive, the pricing offered was not right for ERAC members.
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Reality Check Replacement Links Now Available

Media Awareness Network is no longer updating the full Reality Check program, but they have created a list of Web sites to replace those in the program which no longer exist. When you log in to the secure site to access Reality Check, you will see the list titled "Replacement Links" published right below the teacher's guide.

Tweet Repeat:

To review our recent tweets go here -and follow us!