Media News

The September 11th Education Program: A National Interdisciplinary Curriculum has been created by the September 11th Education Trust and Social Studies School Services for students in grades 6 to 12. The program consists of two DVDs and a curriculum guide containing lesson plans, handouts, and advocacy activities. The seven curriculum units "are filled with inquiry-based interactive activities tied to national standards and a multitude of primary sources, including 70 first-person interviews with survivors, victim's family members…and politicians such as Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton. A free 12-minute Remembrance Video, discussion questions, and a Web forum is available from Social Studies School Services at www.LearnAbout9-11.org. The price for the entire curriculum is $129.

Overdrive (overdrive.com), a digital distributor of eBooks and audiobooks to libraries, has entered into a marketing agreement with Sony Electronics, the developer of the Sony Reader Digital Book, to cross-market Overdrive's library network and the Reader. "Users simply browse or search their library Web site, check out their selected eBook, and download to a PC. Once downloaded, the eBook may then be transferred to the Sony Reader via free Adobe Digital Editions software." Librarians will also be trained by OverDrive on how to use the Sony Reader with their download service.

PBS Kids will be broadcasting new series and new episodes of popular programs this Fall. To accompany this programming and enrich the learning experience, PBS is providing online resources such as videos, classroom activities, and games through the searchable library at pbsteachers.org. Among the programs in the Fall lineup are Dinosaur Train (pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain) and Sid the Science Kid (pbskids.org/sid).