October 2009
Text to Speech, Search Widgets, Citations & More
Greetings from ProQuest and SIRS. We hope you enjoyed your September issue of our full SIRS enewsletter, which arrived just in time for back to school.
This month's first-ever update email newsletter (which will arrive monthly between our full SIRS issues) is designed to be a quick read, filled with short bits of information to fill you in on what's new with a minimum of clutter.
As always, don't miss our full set of support resources for your subscriptions at proquestk12.com, free webinars, lesson-rich enewsletters, videos, and more.
New SIRS® Issues Researcher Features:
Text to Speech & Downloadable Audio
Our new interactive Text to Speech feature reads articles out loud to students. The text is automatically highlighted in sync with sound, allowing students to follow along as the article is read.
Click to see larger image
Education Impacts: The SIRS Text to Speech capability supports differentiated instruction, while highlighting the text in sync with sound allows lower-level readers and ELL students to follow text to aid comprehension and increase readability.
Downloadable Audio MP3 files also allow students to hear the audio version of articles, but without words being highlighted. This further differentiates instruction for learners who need audio, but not visual support. In addition, this downloadable audio file can be saved and retrieved at a later time, both at home or school.
SIRS Search Widgets
Get your free SIRS widget now! A widget is a portable search tool which can be embedded in any school or library webpage by your technology team for instant searching of SIRS from anywhere on any website.
Click the Educators' Resources link in the upper right-hand corner of your subscription to create your custom search box. Grab the code and embed it on your webpages to enable instant searching from any logged-in computer.
SIRS Discoverer®:
Current Events, Political Cartoons, Maps & More
Every day, our editorial team updates SIRS Discoverer with new articles and resources.
Below is a short list of the timeliest and most topical articles added to your product in recent weeks.
- 'Gossip Girl' Among Top 10 Books Eyed for Ban
- T. Rex No Match for a One-Celled Killer
- Ice on Mars More Extensive Than Thought
Promote your library with a PDF poster that invites users to
"Live. Learn. Laugh. Love. Your Library."
Our updated 2010 SIRS Citation Guide (PDF)
reflects the latest updates to MLA and APA formats.
Think Green (ProQuest did!)
ProQuest's 2010 K-12 Catalog PDF is available.
Hands-on Research Activities—Spotlights & Challenge Quests
National Hispanic Awareness Month is held annually from September to October in honor of the anniversary of several Latin American nations' independence.
Learn more about notable Hispanic Americans and trace Hispanic culture's unique impact on the American experience in our new SIRS Spotlight of the Month.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice on August 6. SIRS asks: Sotomayor is a first-generation American, born in the Bronx, New York. What is her heritage?
Each month, our SIRS team scours the Internet for top-quality websites for schools and students. Dive into this month's selections: Halloween, Vinson Massif, Leaves. (More)
CultureGrams can help broaden your students' understanding of the world. Visit
Lithuania in our
World
Edition.
Did You Know? Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare independence from the U.S.S.R.? (More)
Grab this funding feed for your webpage!
