Submit Your Product/Press/Service/Event Release

Augusta State, College of Charleston, St. John's and University of Houston Lead Inaugural Rankings; Eastern Michigan Claims Highest Rated Professor on Site Professors Can Now Respond to Student Comments with New "Professor Rebuttal" Feature and "Professors Strike Back" Series, Students Can Access RateMyProfessors.com via New Facebook Widget

One group of children in America is being left behind in terms of getting all they need from the schools they attend, according to a newly-released survey of parents and educators

K12 Inc. to Provide Curriculum and School Services to the new Nevada Virtual Academy

New York, New York—March 7, 2007—Thousands of teachers and education professionals will converge on Manhattan later this month for the second annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning, a landmark education conference ...

Teachers and school administrators are concerned by the growing number of at-risk children in their schools, where 30% of students drop out before graduating.

WORLD EXPLORATION JUST A MOUSE CLICK AWAY WITH RAND MCNALLY'S NEW EDUCATIONAL ONLINE SERVICE

- Rand McNally Classroom's all-original content brings geography to life

SKOKIE, Ill., Sept. 28, 2006 - With Geography Awareness Week, Nov. 12-18, just around the corner, teachers need the most current, accurate tools to help their students explore the ends of the earth. Luckily, Rand McNally has combined its 150 years of geographic and education expertise with the power and convenience of the Internet to introduce schools to the ultimate geography teaching tool: Rand McNally Classroom.

This new online service will spark students' imaginations with engaging geography content and interactive games and activities, while providing teachers with skills-based lesson plans and assessments - all in one place.  

Since geography is a core academic subject under the No Child Left Behind Act, it is critical that teachers have access to the kind of detailed, updated geography materials Rand McNally Classroom provides. The subscription-based service will launch in October, offering a host of original content on the Web that will complement Rand McNally's atlases, wall maps and other classroom materials.  This interactive media will bring to life the Rand McNally tools so central to social studies, geography and history curricula for grades K-12.

Teachers can project Rand McNally Classroom maps onto a whiteboard using an LCD projector - enabling students to explore the maps as a class as well as individually.  Additionally, each map is printable as a PDF file.

Maps Expand Your Horizons and Bring You Home Again

With the help of exciting multimedia content, students can truly transport themselves into every corner of the world.  Rand McNally Classroom offers an incredible breadth of information on each continent, country, state - even students' own streets.  And every part of the world is explained in great detail, encouraging students to compare and contrast populations and economies, or research different languages or holidays.

"With so much information on the Internet it is important that teachers know their material is coming from a reliable source," said Joel Minster, chief cartographer of Rand McNally. "Rand McNally Classroom provides teachers with the comprehensive, interactive data they need from a name they know and trust."

In addition to providing expansive geography materials for students, Rand McNally Classroom offers a wide variety of vital teacher services. Teachers can download editable lesson plans and assessments for various levels, Q&As and state standards.  Students and teachers alike can access the site from any computer with a user name and password - allowing kids to have easy access to materials at home.

"Rand McNally Classroom is the perfect companion to the books and maps that are staples in social studies classrooms," said Robert Apatoff, president and chief executive officer of Rand McNally.  "It balances the need for easy-to-use programs with in-depth and interactive content."

The heart of the site is the "Explore your world" section - specifically "Maps & Facts." This part of the Web site contains hundreds of maps allowing students to navigate from a locator map of the world, down to local urban, suburban or rural maps.  The "My School & Neighborhood" map, an offering unique to Rand McNally, helps to bring the idea of geography home for students by providing a map of their own school's neighborhood.  Beneath the "Maps & Facts" section are a number of special-topic maps, including earth science and history maps.

Activities Bring Students Back From Recess

Another key part of Rand McNally Classroom invites students to "Interact with your world."  Here, students can enjoy hands-on projects such as a place-the-states puzzle, building their own map, continent quizzes and animated features on the anatomy of a map and geography terms.

Another way to make geography more interesting is to make it more immediate.  Rand McNally Classroom does this by posting "The Weekly Buzz" which links a map with a different current event each week.  The "Where in the World" feature invites students to investigate the location of an interesting picture.  The "Traveling Teddies" segment partners with the Society of American Travel Writers to bring K-3 students photos and stories from this lovable stuffed animal's vagabonding. 

And if, after exploring such a wealth of information, teachers or their students are left with a burning question they can always "Ask the Experts"-a periodic posting of questions from teachers, students and classes with answers from Rand McNally's Geographic Information Services and editorial departments. 

About Rand McNally & Company

Found in schools throughout the United States, Rand McNally's maps, globes and supplemental materials are the standard in geography education.   The company began publishing educational products in 1880 and today provides innovative learning tools at all levels, from continent-specific wall maps to custom-made My School & Neighborhood� maps.

Celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2006, Rand McNally offers the most trusted tools to discover, map and navigate your world.   The company leads the way with innovative products and services for the consumer, business, education and commercial transportation markets.   For more information, visit www.randmcnally.com or call (800) 333-0136.

 "At-Risk Students," a groundbreaking book by teacher and popular motivational speaker Bill Page, reveals the underlying causes of classroom misbehavior.