The Digital Frog Blog

Today is International Teachers Day – this got me thinking about my checkered career as an educator and how much teaching has changed over the last half century.

I trained as an elementary teacher in England in the sixties and was in the first cohort of three-year trainees. I majored in English Literature and avoided the sciences whenever I could, but as a junior school teacher had to teach everything including music (and I’m tone deaf!). My most vivid memory of my three years isolated in an old English castle learning the craft of teaching was an elderly professor thumping on the table and saying “If you say you are going to kill a child, you MUST kill that child”. That woke me up! Of course, what she was saying was that you should never threaten a child with a punishment you have no intention of carrying out – some of today’s parents would do well to remember that shocking advice!

I remember one practicum when I had to teach photosynthesis to a class of unruly eleven-year olds. The truth is I did not really understand it myself – but stayed up all night trying to create a large poster that would help the students (and me) understand the process. Which leads me to muse on the incredible visual aids available to today’s teachers. With overhead projectors, interactive whiteboards, the internet and computer resources such as Digital Frog’s natural science software, no teacher needs to stay up all night struggling to create third-rate visual aids.

Truthfully, I never did get to grips with photosynthesis until I was editing the text for Photosynthesis in The Digitial Field Trip the The Wetlands. The excellent animations make it much easier to understand the basic process, while offering details for the older students – they can even click to view the molecular structure of the chemicals – and I did have one bright student in that class long ago who would have lapped up that information.

Of course, that is another advantage of technology-enabled learning tools; they cater to multiple intelligences and learning styles and allow slower learners to work at their own pace, while quick learners can continue to delve deeper and are less likely to disrupt the class.

One change that I personally think is not an improvement is that teaching, at least in North America, has become very prescriptive. Whenever the politicians get any flack about the educational achievements of students, they try and fix the problem by passing legislation such as No Child Left Behind. These mandates are almost always underfunded and impose more bureaucracy and strain on already overloaded teachers, while not improving the overall education.

I was lucky enough to teach in an era when teachers were considered to be professionals who could decide what and how to teach as long as the students left elementary school having mastered the “3 Rs” – reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmetic with exposure to the sciences and the arts. If there was an eclipse of the sun, we would drop everything else and teach everything around this exciting event – we’d find stories and poems that featured thsi mystical event as well as teaching the science (again, with inexpert drawings and posters! The administration understood that not all students could achieve the same academic levels and we were expected to accommodate the multiple strengths and weaknesses.

Although I have not been teaching in the classroom for many years (I moved into corporate training, technical writing and then software development), it seems to me that today’s teachers are so¬† pressured by¬† the prescriptive curriculum that teaching today is even more challenging than when I was teaching, in spite of the incredible teaching tools available to them.

What do YOU think?

No comments »

Well the cooler nights and crisper mornings has me thinking about fall and the back to school routine. As marketing coordinator at Digital Frog International, working on the back to school specials got me remembering that favorite time of year (especially for parents!) We each treasure memories from our own school days and the beginning of a new school year. I remember being so hot on the first day of school because I would insist on wearing my new fall school outfit even though it was 80 degrees out!

My daughters were always excited about the new school year, wondering who would be in their class, did they get the teacher they hoped for and of course how would they look in the new school outfit! We all look forward to the shopping trip for new binders, pens, pencils and of course stylish new clothes. In the interest of recycling and reusing we tried not to buy everything new each year though I gave up trying to make my children reuse the markers and colored pencils from one year to the next even though they were barely used, the old ones became the home work set and the new ones went off to school. My girls loved organizing the new binders with paper and dividers and they swore every new year to stay neat and organized in their books(usually that lasted the first 2 weeks)

My daughters have very diverse interests and have chosen very different paths in school. We had a surprise from one of our daughters when she went into science at college. Science was not of any interest to her in high school and after spending her summer working for Digital Frog International testing the new versions of our science programs SciencMatrix: Cell Structure and Function and The Digital Frrog 2.5 she had her interest piqued in anatomy and biology and is now working towards a career in the science field.

Our family will be celebrating the beginning of school for many more years as only one of our four girls has graduated from post secondary education.

No comments »

Update‚ÄîAug. 14, 9:55 am‚ÄîEverything on the store is back up and running. Over the next few days, we will be doing some other under the hood changes, so there is a slight chance the store may be offline again. If that is the case, it should not be for more than a short span of time and anything in your shopping cart will be retained and saved for when we’re back online

We’re in the process of upgrading The Digital Frog Online store and hoped it would be a quick and hardly even noticeable process. But as these things sometimes go, we’ve run into some unexpected issues. The store is currently offline, but we’re working hard to fix them as quickly as possible and get everything back up and running smoothly.

In the meantime, if you do wish to place an order for any Digital Frog product (or even a DemoWare CD), you can call our order line at 1-800-621-3764. (Customers outside North America can call +1-519-766-1097.)

We’ll let you know as soon as we’re back up and running.

———-

No comments »

You may have read the best-selling book, Marley & Me, (sub-titled “the world’s worst dog) by John Grogan. Well I am beginning to think that our nine-month golden retriever, Dudley, might just be vying for that title. He is adorable, he is beautiful, and he is driving us crazy.

Digital Frog International has always “employed” two canine security guards. Sadly, our nine year old shepherd/lab cross, aptly named Goober, developed lymphoma last Summer and died. I was traveling to science conferences until the end of November, so delayed the search for another security guard until December. We normally “hire” rescue dogs, but very few suitable young dogs were available. One rescue organization had a suitable dog, but turned us down because we do not allow our dogs to sleep on our bed!

So, I went online and found a litter of golden retrievers. One snowy Tuesday in early December, I chose Dudley, and left him with a cuddly toy so that he would have something that smelt of his litter mates when we brought him home. On the Friday we picked up this adorable bundle of fluff.

Whisky, our number one security guard, the alpha German Shepherd, tolerated the intruder. On Saturday, we took Dudley to the vet who pronounced him fit and healthy. By Sunday evening, he was in intensive care suffering from the dreaded parvo virus with a fifty//fifty chance of survival! It seems the first injection had not taken and he had picked up the virus when walking with his foster parents.

One week, and thousands of dollars later, we again brought him home and he has not looked back since. Our early training efforts appeared to be paying off until Toby, his “cousin” came to visit. Toby taught him to steal food from the compost and to go visiting our neighbors across the road. None of our corrective efforts deterred this behavior, until, in desperation, we installed an invisible fence. Now, he stays on the property and we do not have to worry that he will chase cars.

Dudley, however, is full of mischief and loves to steal shoes, socks, hats, plants, plastic bags, DVDs, childrens’ toys, and even, last night, two dressmaker pins I had just removed from the garment I was working on. Now, the problem is, we have no chance of catching him so the only way we can retrieve the stolen item is to distract him – and the one sure way we to distract him is with food, which, of course, is simply reinforcing the larcenous behavior. One day, when the grandchildren were visiting recently, he stole a pair of socks, looked up at my daughter, trotted over to the treat bin, dropped the socks and tried to remove the lid of the bin.

His thievery is not restricted to inanimate objects – he spends hours on the pond waiting for unsuspecting frogs to emerge.

Sometimes he he succeeds and trots off with his new friend, which he then drops on the grass, anxious to continue the game of tag. Amazingly, most of these frogs do survive – after all retrievers have been bred to retrieve ducks without damaging them. He even retrieved a very large goldfish and deposited it on the grass. Fortunately we found it almost immediately, put it back in the pond and it, too, survived.

2 Comments »

Yesterday I was waiting for an appointment and idly watching the activity in the square below. I saw a young child of seven or eight crossing the street weighed down by an enormous backpack and started thinking about why schools are still so dependent on heavy textbooks.

Of course there are some good reasons, namely:

• Teachers are comfortable with these structured learning tools
• They are low-tech and therefore do not go wrong
• Typically they offer a complete course of work, so require less prep time for the teacher

But at the same time, there are significant downsides:

• They can be VERY boring
• They are VERY heavy
• They account for the felling of millions of trees
• They cost a LOT of money
• Outdated content requires replacement of the whole book

For a long time, I have felt that there has to be a better way. In fact, there is a better way to achieve the same benefits of the printed textbook without the list of downsides: interactive, computer-based learning tools.

While at one time access to technology in schools was an issue, computers have become pretty ubiquitous, both at home and in the classroom. Technology-enabled learning tools can engage students in new, interactive ways while still covering the material that historically students have lugged around in textbooks. Related topics can be easily linked in ways impossible in print. Concepts that are difficult to demonstrate in a flat illustration or picture can be made much easier to comprehend through animations, video, and activities to help make learning less passive. Multimedia, when it’s done well, can really expand learning by appealing to multiple learning styles. A textbook may be good for avid readers, but can be less effective for those who learn better from other methods. And all this can be delivered on CD, DVD, the computer’s hard drive or over the internet without the need to lug around heavy textbooks.

This is something Digital Frog International has been doing for a long time‚Äîeven before computers were so common. And while our educational software is a strong supplemental source that was never intended to replace an entire textbook, we’ve strived to embody the advantages that any good computer-based learning tool should have over the “anachonistic” textbook:

• Holistic and comprehensive content designed to meet a wide range of curriculum requirements
• Engaging activities that capture student interest through interaction
• Animations for difficult concepts
• Integrated, context-sensitive dictionary
• Integrated text-to-speech for the visually-impaired and auditory learners
• Interactive concept map to ensure students never get lost
• Customizable workbook materials – print only what you need, when you need it
• Light weight
• Can be dynamically updated via the internet
• MUCH less expensive than text books
• Can be accessed directly from disc, via the school network, on the student’s own computer or via the school portal (depending on the licensing)

So, maybe it’s time that textbooks followed the dinosaurs into extinction?

T-rex image from Noah’s Animal Figurines, where you can buy him for just $12.

No comments »

Before we launched the very first version of The Digital Frog back in 1995, we carried out extensive beta testing with local high school students. The student reports gave us much cause for both hilarity and concern.

Each student was asked to dissect the digital frog and then answer an extensive questionnaire and write his or her own comments. Overall, students preferred the digital dissection but for surprising reasons. One student commented “digital disection is much better than real disection because then I don’t have to dodge the scalpels of the kid behind”. Another student thought that “The Digital Frog” is much better than digesting real frogs”!

Yet another commented that “real disection is much better because then I get to mash the brains into the desk”! One has to wonder what these kids were learning in the traditional wet lab environment.

6 Comments »

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Digital Frog International web site was offline for just short of 24 hours from approximately 5 p.m. Friday, April 25 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.

We apologize for any inconvenience, but we’re happy to say that everything is back up and running as it should be.

If you received an email from us and tried to unsubscribe from our mailing list during the site outage, you may have to click the unsubscribe link in the email again or send us an email and we will manually unsubscribe you.

No comments »

When we set out to re-launch our web site earlier this year, we wanted to make it easier than ever to find out about our range of educational software products, try them for yourself and do a better job of opening communication with educators and parents (not to mention, with each other… but more on that part soon.)

What we lacked, however, was an easy way for you to order the software directly from us. But no longer:

Introducing the online Digital Frog Shop.

As of today, all of our products can be purchased online, directly from Digital Frog International. Everything from single-license versions of our virtual frog dissection, anatomy and ecology program to building site licenses of any of our three Digital Field Trips (or even the new Digital Field Trip Series DVD). You can even order a DemoWare CD for just a $5 shipping and handling fee.

We are able to accept all major credit cards, using Paypal for safe and secure payment processing. (And no, you do not need a Paypal account to purchase from us.) We’ll ship to anywhere in the world and all our products are backed by a 30-day money back guarantee. (See our terms and conditions for more details.)

If you are an educator who needs to place your order with a PO, we’re set up for you too. You can submit your order through the Digital Frog Shop, along with a PO number. We just ask you to follow-up with a fax of the PO on your school’s letterhead and we’ll take care of the rest.

So, come on in! We’re open for business and glad we can make it even easier to provide our educational software to your students.

1 Comment »

If you teach science this conference is a must. We have been exhibiting at the National Science Teachers Association national conference for many, many years and we always learn something new, from the teachers who visit our booth to other exhibitors and, when we have time, from session presenters.

Our favorite presenter of all time is Nancy Harrison (and not just because she recommends The Digital Frog 2.5). Nancy is a practicing pathologist who loves animals and firmly believes that cutting up dead animals in high school is of little pedagogical value and countless animals die unnecessarily.

Nancy’s love of animals led her to research all the computer-based alternatives on the market. Recognizing that teachers are pressed for time, she felt this would help them make the switch from cutting up dead animals to a computer-based alternative. Initially, Nancy showed the teachers several programs, but eventually honed her presentation to just two programs, which she deemed to be the “best of the best”.

Whenever we can, we attend Nancy’s presentation and listen as Nancy explains to a hushed audience how her high school science teacher influenced her life and her career. And, of course, we love it as she tells the audience why The Digital Frog isthe best of the best. We are very fortunate that Nancy endorses our program (as did eSchool News readers) but we do NOT give her any financial support. In fact, Nancy will not even allow us to buy her a cup of coffee.

Nancy’s presentation at CSTA in Long Beach last year was full to overflowing. This year NSTA is in Boston and Nancy will be presenting “Virtual Dissection: The Best of the Best” on Friday Mar. 28 from 12:30 to 1:30 in the Amphitheater of the Seaport World Trade Center (so you might actually get a seat).

By the way, our booth number is 1337 and we will be holding a draw for an unlimited Building Site License for The Digital Frog 2.5 (list price $899). Stop by our booth, mention the “secret” password – The Year of The Frog – and triple your chances of winning.

No comments »

If you are a previous visitor to the Digital Frog International web site, you’ll undoubtedly have noticed we’ve been busy over the past while:

Updated digital frogs and field trips
Last year we released updated versions of our virtual frog dissection, anatomy and ecology program The Digital Frog 2.5, as well as all three of our Digital Field Trips: The Wetlands, The Rainforest and The Desert. We also introduced The Digital Field Trip Series DVD, with all three field trips on one disc for a savings of more than 20% off the price of the individual titles.

A new web site
Earlier this year, we launched our new web site—both with a new design and new content to make it easier to find out about our educational software and how to get the most out of it. But that was just the first step.

Introducing… The Digital Frog Blog
Right now, you are looking at the newest addition to the Digital Frog International web site: The Digital Frog Blog. Why a blog? We want to reach out to teachers, parents and homeschoolers to share interesting and useful facts related to the natural sciences, as well as tips and techniques for getting the most out of our educational science software, plus anything else you tell us you are interested in.

Coming soon: E-commerce and interactive forums
We’re currently hard at work on launching our online store to make it even easier to purchase Digital Frog International software, safely and securely without leaving home.

And to help our users connect and get the most out of their software, we will also be launching the Digital Frog forum shortly, allowing teachers, parents, homeschoolers and even students to connect with each other to discuss everything from integrating our programs into your curriculum to useful resources in education, science, nature, geography or whatever else you want to discuss. The sky is the limit.

Help us help you
We definitely don’t want this to be a one way street. Please tell us how you would like to see The Digital Frog Blog evolve. Leave your comments. We promise we’ll read every one. We are listening and are looking forward to this next step in opening the dialogue with you, the teachers, parents, homeschoolers, students and nature-lovers that have kept us doing what we’ve been doing for the past 12 years.

No comments »