Greenwood's Pop Culture Universe
[ABC-CLIO (805) 968-1911 - Grades 9/up]

ABC-CLIO, an award-winning publisher serving the history community with databases, books, eBooks, social studies reference and curriculum resources for middle and high school libraries and classrooms, in 2008 became the publisher of Greenwood Publishing Group's imprints, titles, eBooks, and databases.

One such product is Greenwood's Pop Culture Universe, a historical database of facts and events showing the influence of pop culture on America's history, mainly during the 20^th century. The approach is a departure from the traditional historical offerings of ABC-CLIO, and brings a contemporary and refreshing new look to the website. High school students will find the interface highly motivating.

The home page features photos of well-known personalities, and one can mouse-over and click to access a decade's worth of historical details and facts, starting in the 1920s. The main page of each decade has content adapted from various Greenwood sources, including links to Overview, In the News, Major Awards, Fads, New Products and Businesses, Discoveries and Inventions, New Words and Phrases, Clothing and Appearance, Sports, and Obituaries. Topics in the right column deal with Best of the Decade, showcasing Film, Movie Stars, Television, Songs, Books, and Broadway. We were sadly missing multimedia capabilities, and perhaps these enhancements will follow.

This innovative, subscription-based website won an EDDIE Award for High School Social Studies.

Pixie 2
[Tech4Learning (877) 834-5453]

Winner of the Early Elementary Multimedia Creation EDDIE, Pixie 2 is a full-featured art program with simple, easy to use tools appropriate to K-5 learners. Capable of implementation across the curriculum, with Pixie 2 students can create original artwork, record narration, add stickers, use customized activities, and publish slide shows, movies and online storybooks.

Replete with features, even novice users can jump right in and start to create. Chock-full of text and paint tools, tons of stickers, music and sounds, students can also use "professional" film techniques such as blur, 3D, motion blur, ripple, swirl, sepia tint, and even remove red eye.  But it's not all fun and games - all of the features can be used to show understanding of lessons in language arts, science, math, and geography.

Versatile and accessible, Pixie 2 can be used by native Spanish speakers - it toggles easily between English and Spanish; and Special Needs students can demonstrate their expertise. The program can also be used by educators on a whiteboard for classroom activities and student demonstrations.

In the 21^st Century, students need access to a variety of learning modalities, and Pixie 2 provides that opportunity. We congratulate Tech4Learning on their achievement.

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