Georgia Public Broadcasting's Family Literacy program recognizes and supports literacy initiatives in Georgia that provide reading and language development programs for children and adults, and we want to spread the word about a wonderful childhood literacy organization in Georgia called the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy.
The foundation strives to improve early childhood learning for every child regardless of income, race, religion or gender with the philosophy that any child who cannot read is at-risk. After six successful years, the Ferst Foundation has been helping Georgia's youth become better prepared for school by providing one free book a month to children registered with the foundation until they reach the age of five.
This literacy foundation was created after founder, Robin Ferst, read an article about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, and it continues to move forward with a mission to offer the Imagination Library to all of Georgia's children by 2010. If a child is registered at birth, he/she has the opportunity to receive a total of 60 free books.
Each book provided by the Ferst Foundation is picked by a panel of experts from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and is accompanied by a monthly communication piece that includes a book guide, a child activity page, and opportunities for local community literacy announcements and sponsor acknowledgements.
"Children who learn to appreciate books at an early age will grow up and become better readers, great learners, and become the successful students that we need for Georgia's future," said the Ferst Foundation's Executive Director, Shauna von Hanstein.
Statistics have shown that many Georgia children do not have books in their home, and this has shown to negatively effect a child's success in school. The Ferst Foundation attacks this problem at the core by providing an array of age-appropriate books to families in participating counties in Georgia. Morgan County Schools Superintendent, Stanley DeJarnett, says since their collaboration with the Ferst Foundation they have seen a significant rise on the kindergarten readiness test, and he believes the most influential factor in this rise were the books arriving in the mail from the Ferst Foundation.
The Ferst Foundation believes providing age-appropriate books to as many Georgia homes as possible will not only contribute to a child's growing mind and success in school, but will also contribute to Georgia's society as a whole.
"A home without age-appropriate books is more than an unfortunate by-product of poverty, it has broad ramifications for Georgia," said the Ferst Foundation's founder, Robin Ferst.
With expectations to expand its presence around the state to include the Georgia counties with the lowest literacy rates, the Foundation currently operates in more than 40 counties and urban communities in Atlanta and has been mailing more than 500,000 books to over 37,000 Georgia children throughout its six years of operation.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
Celebrate Earth Day with It's A Big, Big World!
In celebration of Earth Day on April 23, It's a Big, Big World, an innovative science program from PBS designed to encourage students to explore the world around them through problem solving and scientific inquiry, has created an interactive resource kit filled with science activities.
Offering a wealth of resources for parents and educators, It's a Big, Big World is a perfect program to support science, geography, nature and environmentally-themed activities.
To receive a resource kit, please contact Laura Miller at LMiller@gpb.org. Please include your contact information along with how you will use the kit to support your instruction or program.
Sony Electronics, Inc. is a proud sponsor of It's a Big, Big World. Additional outreach funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
It's a Big, Big World airs as part of PBS Kids programming Monday - Friday at 8:30 a.m., and airs on Channel 410 on Wednesdays from 2 - 4:30 p.m.
For more information about the program and its resources, visit It's a Big, Big World.
Offering a wealth of resources for parents and educators, It's a Big, Big World is a perfect program to support science, geography, nature and environmentally-themed activities.
To receive a resource kit, please contact Laura Miller at LMiller@gpb.org. Please include your contact information along with how you will use the kit to support your instruction or program.
Sony Electronics, Inc. is a proud sponsor of It's a Big, Big World. Additional outreach funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
It's a Big, Big World airs as part of PBS Kids programming Monday - Friday at 8:30 a.m., and airs on Channel 410 on Wednesdays from 2 - 4:30 p.m.
For more information about the program and its resources, visit It's a Big, Big World.
GPB Education TIE Network Inaugural Event
GPB Education's Technology in Education Network (TIE Network) hosted its inaugural event at Georgia Southern University's College of Education on March 13 in Statesboro, Ga. The theme of the event was "Show Your Green" in honor of the TIE Network and St. Patrick's Day.
Twenty-two attendees participated in engaging sessions with fellow TIE Network members and educators. Counties represented were Bibb, Savannah-Chatham, Wayne and the First District RESA. Georgia Southern University students from Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia were also present.
"I would like to see the TIE Network event become a yearly occurrence at Georgia Southern University," said Dr. Lucindia Chance, Academic Dean of Georgia Southern University's College of Education.
Session topics included editing audio files using Audacity, creating digital stories using Windows Movie Maker, and exploring free Google resources. Featured speakers and presenters that shared their expertise at the inaugural event included Dr. Lucindia Chance, GSU College of Education, Academic Dean; Jeff Giddens, First District RESA; Daniel Rivera, First District RESA; and Katherine Aiken, GPB Education TIE Network Manager.
"I love the way our network ties educators together so that we can learn from each other and develop our technology skills," said Judy Newsome, educator at Massey Heritage Center in Savannah-Chatham County.
The TIE Network empowers Georgia educators who are passionate about incorporating technology into the classroom by connecting them with other educators throughout the region. Once connected, educators share ideas, offer support, network and collaborate with other educators who integrate digital media in their classrooms.
On April 10, Dalton State College ETTC with host a regional TIE Network event for members in north Georgia.
To find out more about the TIE Network, please visit www.tienetwork.org.
Twenty-two attendees participated in engaging sessions with fellow TIE Network members and educators. Counties represented were Bibb, Savannah-Chatham, Wayne and the First District RESA. Georgia Southern University students from Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia were also present.
"I would like to see the TIE Network event become a yearly occurrence at Georgia Southern University," said Dr. Lucindia Chance, Academic Dean of Georgia Southern University's College of Education.
Session topics included editing audio files using Audacity, creating digital stories using Windows Movie Maker, and exploring free Google resources. Featured speakers and presenters that shared their expertise at the inaugural event included Dr. Lucindia Chance, GSU College of Education, Academic Dean; Jeff Giddens, First District RESA; Daniel Rivera, First District RESA; and Katherine Aiken, GPB Education TIE Network Manager.
"I love the way our network ties educators together so that we can learn from each other and develop our technology skills," said Judy Newsome, educator at Massey Heritage Center in Savannah-Chatham County.
The TIE Network empowers Georgia educators who are passionate about incorporating technology into the classroom by connecting them with other educators throughout the region. Once connected, educators share ideas, offer support, network and collaborate with other educators who integrate digital media in their classrooms.
On April 10, Dalton State College ETTC with host a regional TIE Network event for members in north Georgia.
To find out more about the TIE Network, please visit www.tienetwork.org.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Announcing C-47's Fall 2006 Winner
C-47: Georgia Short Film Showcase is proud to announce the Fall 2006 Showcase winning film "Blame Falls" directed by Ly Bolia. This film was selected out of 20 submissions for the Fall 2006 Showcase.
"Blame Falls" was shot on location in a local Atlanta home in high-definition film over three days. The film follows a grieving man after he loses his wife and son. He searches for an answer to why his life has made a turn for the worse, and he finds it in an unsuspecting collections agent.
The film's director, Ly Bolia, spent 12 years shooting independent films in New York City. He was educated at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and he now resides in Atlanta. As a professor at Georgia State University, he is able to share his expertise with undergraduate and graduate students in film.
If you or someone you know would like to submit a film, please visit the C-47 website.
"Blame Falls" was shot on location in a local Atlanta home in high-definition film over three days. The film follows a grieving man after he loses his wife and son. He searches for an answer to why his life has made a turn for the worse, and he finds it in an unsuspecting collections agent.
The film's director, Ly Bolia, spent 12 years shooting independent films in New York City. He was educated at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and he now resides in Atlanta. As a professor at Georgia State University, he is able to share his expertise with undergraduate and graduate students in film.
If you or someone you know would like to submit a film, please visit the C-47 website.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Elementary School Students Learn About Filmmaking
Video has become an important tool for communicating in today's world, and students in elementary school are no exception when it comes to communicating and storytelling with the use of video. Students at Peyton Forest Elementary School learned exactly how important video can be at the "Postcards from Buster" workshop.
During the workshop, students in third, fourth and fifth grade learned the basics of filmmaking, received a media literacy lesson, learned how to storyboard their ideas, and created original videos that were about one minute in length. Students also learned how to edit their videos using iMovie.
The submissions created by the students will be submitted to the "Postcards From You Film Festival." Chosen videos from the festival will be shown in late spring 2007 as interstitials between the new season of Arthur.
Videos from the workshop are titled "School of the Tiger" and "Be Creative." Thomas said both of these videos were submitted to the "Postcards From You Film Festival," and students are waiting to hear whether or not their film will be aired during the new season of Arthur.
Cynthia Thomas, Media Specialist at Peyton Forest Elementary, said the workshop really has helped the students learn the fundamentals of operating a video camera.
As a result of the workshop, Peyton Forest now has a Press Club. The newly formed Press Club videotapes all events at the school and is making a school documentary to present to the principal at the end of the year.
During the workshop, students in third, fourth and fifth grade learned the basics of filmmaking, received a media literacy lesson, learned how to storyboard their ideas, and created original videos that were about one minute in length. Students also learned how to edit their videos using iMovie.
The submissions created by the students will be submitted to the "Postcards From You Film Festival." Chosen videos from the festival will be shown in late spring 2007 as interstitials between the new season of Arthur.
Videos from the workshop are titled "School of the Tiger" and "Be Creative." Thomas said both of these videos were submitted to the "Postcards From You Film Festival," and students are waiting to hear whether or not their film will be aired during the new season of Arthur.
Cynthia Thomas, Media Specialist at Peyton Forest Elementary, said the workshop really has helped the students learn the fundamentals of operating a video camera.
As a result of the workshop, Peyton Forest now has a Press Club. The newly formed Press Club videotapes all events at the school and is making a school documentary to present to the principal at the end of the year.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Explore Georgia's Art on the Web
The Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) recently launched a new website dedicated to the Georgia's State Art Collection, an extensive chronicle of work created by Georgia artists from the 1970s to the 1990s. The website is an interactive "Internet home" for anyone who has a connection to the arts.
This website is the first to be hosted by a state arts agency that focuses exclusively on visual artists of the state and offers curriculum-based lesson plans that correlate to national and state standards.
For more than a year, the Georgia Council for the Arts worked with technology partner Georgia Public Broadcasting to photograph, digitize and archive more than six hundred pieces of art created by more than three hundred Georgia artists. Many of these names are easily recognizable by patrons of the arts: Benny Andrews, Ed Moulthrop, Howard Finster and Lamar Dodd. They are just a few of the artists whose roots originated in Georgia but have gained national recognition.
Visitors of the website can view actual footage of many of the artists and listen as they discuss what motivated a particular piece, observe the texture of a piece close-up that details brush strokes or weaving patterns, learn more about the artist through biographical content that includes exhibit locations and educational background, and download lesson plans that connect the art work to relevant curriculum.
Georgia's State Art collection hasn't always been as easily accessible to art lovers and scholars. In the 1960s, the collection existed as two separate collections in the Georgia Art Bus Program and the Georgia Art Acquisition Program, and it could only be viewed on the Art Bus or in state government buildings across the state.
In the early 1990s, the two programs combined and the Georgia State Art Collection was formed. It can now be viewed in person and online, and clients of Georgia Council for the Arts are able to borrow the art work from the State Art Collection.
Visit the Georgia State Art Collection.
This website is the first to be hosted by a state arts agency that focuses exclusively on visual artists of the state and offers curriculum-based lesson plans that correlate to national and state standards.
For more than a year, the Georgia Council for the Arts worked with technology partner Georgia Public Broadcasting to photograph, digitize and archive more than six hundred pieces of art created by more than three hundred Georgia artists. Many of these names are easily recognizable by patrons of the arts: Benny Andrews, Ed Moulthrop, Howard Finster and Lamar Dodd. They are just a few of the artists whose roots originated in Georgia but have gained national recognition.
Visitors of the website can view actual footage of many of the artists and listen as they discuss what motivated a particular piece, observe the texture of a piece close-up that details brush strokes or weaving patterns, learn more about the artist through biographical content that includes exhibit locations and educational background, and download lesson plans that connect the art work to relevant curriculum.
Georgia's State Art collection hasn't always been as easily accessible to art lovers and scholars. In the 1960s, the collection existed as two separate collections in the Georgia Art Bus Program and the Georgia Art Acquisition Program, and it could only be viewed on the Art Bus or in state government buildings across the state.
In the early 1990s, the two programs combined and the Georgia State Art Collection was formed. It can now be viewed in person and online, and clients of Georgia Council for the Arts are able to borrow the art work from the State Art Collection.
Visit the Georgia State Art Collection.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Celebrate Literacy and the Love of Reading with the Milner Award
Laura Numeroff, author of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and many other beloved children's books, was awarded the Milner Award in Atlanta on February 26 at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Central Library. The Milner Award encourages children's literacy and the love of reading by empowering children to vote for their favorite author. The chosen author is brought to Atlanta and presented the Milner Award at the "Children's Favorite Author Series," a free program for school children.
The Milner Award is awarded each year to a new children's author. Throughout the school year, the Milner Ambassador visits elementary schools throughout Georgia to further the purpose of the award - "to foster a lifelong love of reading in children."
For more information, please visit the Milner Award website.
The Milner Award is awarded each year to a new children's author. Throughout the school year, the Milner Ambassador visits elementary schools throughout Georgia to further the purpose of the award - "to foster a lifelong love of reading in children."
For more information, please visit the Milner Award website.
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