Ready for Back to School?

September 1, 2014

Hopefully you’re refreshed and ready for back to school! Here, we are busy conducting workshops for educators across the country (and across the world!), sharing our services and showing how they relate to today’s most important topics, including standards, project-based learning, assessments, and beyond.

We truly feel that we have a partnership with our customers, so as you start your school year, feel free to lean on us for help and ideas. Share with us when you have a success story or a breakthrough—it’s the most rewarding feedback we can hear!

While planning for the upcoming school year, the Britannica team came up with a few thoughts on how we can work together to be ready for Back to School 2014 and make the most of it.

1. Be a Pro.

Attend Professional Development sessions to get an update or a refresher and see what has changed over the summer with the products you use.

Sign up for free Webinars to see what’s new, get fresh ideas for lessons and projects, and learn tips on how to make implementation easier.
If time is tight, see what other options are available. Many times training and PD are available 24/7, via video tutorials or recorded Webinars.
For maximum results, try face-to-face workshops, customized training, and other in-depth training. Here are just a few of our options that cover key topics:

2. Be the Voice.

If you’ve been instrumental in choosing a service or program for your school, don’t be shy about becoming an advocate for it. Make sure students and fellow educators know what you have available and understand how it can make their lives easier and more efficient. We have prepared a variety of free materials that help you promote the availability of products at your site.

Place posters around the classrooms, in hallways, and in the libraries that showcase the products that are available.
Print out bookmarks and hand them out in class, or place them at the checkout counter in the library so that students can grab them. Visit info.eb.com/pd to see what other materials are available for the products that are at your site.
Show the posters, bookmarks, and other materials in staff meetings so that fellow educators know what is available to them and their students. Let them know about Professional Development opportunities so that they can learn more about how to make the most of new products.
Involve Parents. Send or e-mail a letter to parents announcing the tools that students have in school, at the library, and at home. Mention it again at Open Houses, at Parent-Teacher conferences, or in newsletters so that parents know what resources their children are using and what they can access from home.

3. Be Curious.

Once you see what’s new in a Professional Development session, incorporate it into the classroom or library and keep exploring the site for other features that you find beneficial.

One fun new feature is “At A Glance.” Britannica School subscribers can enter “At A Glance” into the search box of Britannica School and uncover a treasure trove of information, from explorers, world leaders, and landmarks to kings and queens, the solar system, holidays and festivals, and beyond. Use it to brainstorm for projects, supplement a lesson, or find topical events that relate to your calendar. Or use “Do You Know?”, “Name the Image,” or “What Does It Mean?” on the Elementary home page as a fun quiz item during the day.

4. Be on a Quest.

Britannica has something new that has quickly become an educator favorite. Library Media Connection said “Now that I’ve used it I don’t think I can live without it.” and it recently was named ISTE 2014 Best of Show. What is all the buzz about? It’s ImageQuest, and if you haven’t heard about it yet, take a quick look at this video and see the power of what nearly 3,000,000 images have to offer schools and libraries.

It’s easy to make creative use of ImageQuest in language arts, math, science, and social studies projects. Jump start your planning by trying these Project Ideas that are ready for immediate implementation into elementary, middle, or high school classrooms. You can also attend a 30-minute live webinar if that works best for your schedule. Check out the dates and times here.

5. Be Social

Connect with other educators for news, ideas, and support. Whether you prefer Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, make the most of it! We’re using social media to communicate, providing fun nuggets of information, and sharing our free resources that allow teachers and students to get more out of the classroom.

Do you have other ideas on how we can work together? Best wishes for a great school year!