TECHNOS

July 27, 2008

AIT Products & Services

Check out AIT’s online catalog for more information about these featured Professional Development products…

Respecting Diversity in the Classroom (DVD Set) includes one 60-minute program with 10 segments and a 56-page electronic facilitator’s guide. It is available now for $195.00. Contact AIT Sales for more information; refer to Product Code: 386-KIT-DVD.

Segment 1 involves viewers by getting them to think about their own cultural backgrounds: “List the top four cultural identifiers that best describe who you are.”
Segment 2 introduces more complex cultural identifiers: “Try using thin/thick descriptors to define your culture.”
Segment 3 brings family backgrounds into the equation: “Describe the ways you and your family regard your own cultural orientation.”
Segment 4 confronts street language in the school: “If the content is accurate and communication clear, should a teacher accept linguistically different English?”
Segment 5 raises the question of whether viewers sometimes exclude others on the basis of mistaken impressions: “How can teachers and students change communication patterns so that students feel more involved?”
Segment 6 stimulates sensitivity to the needs of others: “What concerns about religious observance should be respected in school?”
Segment 7 puts viewers in others’ shoes: “How can we use the experience of a Puerto Rican immigrant in a multicultural approach to thematic exploration?”
Segment 8 broadens the learning experience through interaction with another culture: “The Button Blanket Project: A lesson in participating in another world.”
Segment 9 tests communication skills with all students: “What strategies can you use to address differences in learning style and social interaction?”
Segment 10 asks if multiculturalism is necessary: “Some critics feel that multiculturalism may disunite America. What do you think?”

Every Child Can Succeed, Effective Instructional Strategies. Identifies how focusing on active learning techniques that include hands-on activities can create opportunities for all students. One 20-minute program, now available on DVD for $79.00. Refer to Product Code: 312-016-I-CC. The companion publication, Readings for School Improvement, a 432-page anthology, is available for $24.95. Product Code: 312-READINGS.

Youth Crises I: Planning the Response for Hostage Taking, Shootings & Suicides. This 40-minute program is a complete video-based workshop that helps school administrators and concerned members of the school community begin the process of creating a crisis intervention and response plan. It is a practical and useful resource, providing the framework for writing and establishing your crisis intervention and follow-up plan. Available in both VHS and DVD formats. On sale now for only $74.98; contact AIT Sales for more information.

Youth Crises II: Play it Safe—Plan for Crises. This 40-minute program provides materials for introducing district personnel to the features of local plans and/or for providing them with guidelines for reviewing and evaluating these. It suggests models for fleshing out draft or incomplete plans; for training school staff as well as district personnel in their responsibilities during crises; and for adding guidelines for handling specific emergencies in addition to those in Youth Crises I. Available in both VHS and DVD formats. On sale now for only $74.98; contact AIT Sales for more information.

The following instructional programs are featured in this month’s Lessons ALIVE! free lesson plan:

It Figures. This math series encourages students to apply mathematics skills, ideas, and problem-solving strategies to real-life problems. Fourth-grade students become effective problem solvers by understanding that the process of reaching a correct answer is as important as the answer itself. The It Figures 28 video programs and 64-page teacher’s guide develop mathematical skills, promote an understanding of mathematical ideas, and demonstrate mathematical problem-solving strategies. Instructional dramas and animated segments teach the importance of mathematics in everyday life and challenge students to consider how mathematics relates to them. Contact AIT Sales for more information. NOTE: Program 19, “Finding Equivalent Fractions,” is featured in this month’s Lessons ALIVE! free lesson plan.

Music to My Ears. Produced by Nashville Public Television and the Country Music Hall of Fame, this series includes four 30-minute programs for students in grades 6–12. It has several goals. The most important is to encourage the viewer to become an active listener who employs careful observation and critical thinking in the art of listening. Secondary goals include 1) helping audiences make connections between concepts in music and other art forms, such as the visual or performing arts; 2) exposing students to a variety of musical styles and genres; and 3) introducing viewers to musical structure and terminology. Each program explores a musical idea through performances, conversations, and demonstrations. Other art forms are used to create analogies for the musical concepts. NOTE: Program 4, “Zoom In, Zoom Out,” is featured in this month’s Lessons ALIVE! free lesson plan.

Economics at Work. In the complex arena of economics, we often hear references to interest, savings, consumption, profit, overhead, production, and a myriad of other factors. Without a context, they are just theories and fancy words! Economics at Work is a curriculum program that places these theories into real-world, relevant situations. This program is available digitally. Contact AIT Sales for more information. Five modules for students in grades 9–12, college. NOTE: The “Build You a ’Vette?” program from Module 2: Exchanging, is featured in this month’s Lessons ALIVE! free lesson plan.

Oxygen: What a Gas! Introduce the chemistry, biology, and science history of oxygen in a lively, captivating format. Convey and reinforce rigorous content through informative, yet humorous, graphics and songs by the Shuffle Demons, a Beatnik-styled jazz/rock band. Two 15-minute programs for students in grades 7–12. NOTE: Program 1, “The Breath of Life,” is featured in this month’s Lessons ALIVE! free lesson plan.

Mathemedia. Helps teach 7th- through 12th-grade students to apply mathematics principles to real-world situations, by placing math in everyday and workplace contexts. Real-life applications of mathematics concepts are illustrated through dramatic video segments showing peer-age characters using math to solve common problems. Twelve 20-minute programs available digitally. Contact AIT Sales for more information. NOTE: Program 12, “Coordinates,” is featured in this month’s Lessons ALIVE! free lesson plan.

Find out more about AIT’s programs at our online catalog. You can also download a .pdf version of AIT’s product catalog.