CYBERCHASE Training

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CYBERCHASE Training Builders Math
2007 - 2008
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Agenda

• Welcome Introductions
• Introduction To Cyberchase
• Cyberchase 2007 2008
• Materials Review
• Sign Up To Join The Chase!

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Workshop Objectives

• By the end of todays presentation, you will
• be a Cyberchase Expert
• learn how to use the Cyberchase television
  episodes and corresponding educational materials
  to help the children in your program better
  understand mathematical concepts
• have an opportunity to sign up to receive free
  Cyberchase educational materials through 2008

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What is
?
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• THE SERIES

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The CYBERCHASE Mission

• The CYBERCHASE project strives to
• Help 8- to 11-year-olds develop and
  sustain enthusiasm for math
• Help children develop skills in reasoning
  and problem solving
• Demonstrate the usefulness of
  mathematical thinking
• Help children see math in the everyday world
• Change childrens perceptions of math and
  foster an I can do this! attitude.

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CYBERCHASE is Popular and Effective

• Broadcast on 300 PBS stations digital channels
  in 50 states (95 of TV households)
• Download your favorite episode at
• Google Video, Amazon Unbox, Open Media Network,
  iTunes
• A big hit with kids of all ages
• Skews evenly between boys and girls
• Nearly 1/3 of the audience is African-American or
  Hispanic
• Nearly 5 million viewers tune in every week
• Ranks in the top tier of the PBS Kids line-up
• CYBERCHASE is effective! According to research,
  CYBERCHASE viewers are better problem-solvers and
  are more confident about math relative to
  non-viewers

72 half hour episodes on
air as of fall 2007
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The Series

• Action-packed Adventures
• Packed with mystery, humor, and action, the TV
  show features a team of curious kids who outwit,
  outsmart, and outlast the bad guys in their
  adventurous quest to save Cyberspace.
• Centers on the classic battle of good vs. evil.
• One of the original inspirations for the series
  was Alice in Wonderland.
• Each episode takes place on a different fantasy
  Cyber-site.
• Key to shows success is that it shows ordinary
  kidsnot teenagers or adultsusing brain power
  to solve mysteries and problems.

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The Series
The Good Guys Jackie African-American suburban
girl a drama queen, over the top, the
organizer. Inez Latina city girl stubborn
and talkative, loves animals and has a
cat. Matt Caucasian country boy kinesthetic
learner backpack full of gadgets. Digit
Wisecracking, loudmouthed Cyberbird.
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The Series
The Bad Guys Hacker Pompous, power-hungry,
conniving. Wants to take over Cyberspace. A good
guy turned bad. Wears a pocket protector. Buzz
Hackers bumbling henchman. Short and round not
the sharpest tool in the shed. Delete Hackers
other bumbling henchman. Tall and skinny not the
brightest star in the heavens.
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The Series

• The Premise
• Hacker is on a dastardly mission to crash
  Motherboard, and take over all of cyberspace.
• Jackie, Inez, and Matt are whisked into
  cyberspace to help Motherboard and prevent
  Hackers victory.
• In each episode, the kids must thwart Hackers
  diabolical plans with their only weapon BRAIN
  POWER!

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The Series

• Sneaky Learning
• Math content is an integral part of the humor,
  mystery, adventure, and fun of the series
• Series content guided by NCTM math standards,
  classroom experience of math educators, and
  cognitive research
• Each episode focuses on the exploration of a
  single math concept
• Applies math to real-world problem-solving.

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The Series

• Whats the
• BIG IDEA?
• Each episode is built on a single math concept or
  skill.
• All mysteries and problems in the episode relate
  to the BIG IDEA.
• The Cyber kids are challenged to apply this
  concept or skill to a variety of situations.

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The Series

• Important to note. . .
• Some characters may not catch on to math
  concepts immediately
• Problems are broken down into simple steps
• Characters employ different strategies and
  learning styles
• Solutions come with process and persistence.

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The Series

• For Real
• Each episode is immediately followed by a
  live-action epilogue where The Big Idea is
  applied to real life.
• Bianca and Harry constantly encounter
  conundrums and challenges that require math
  skills and brain power.
• Each epilogue is exactly five minutes long and
  provides a stand-alone overview of the concept
  and its applications.

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Cyberchase Outreach
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Outreach Goals

• Extend learning into homes, classrooms,
  libraries, museums, and after school programs
  nationwide.
• Special focus on reaching girls, minorities and
  underserved kids, particularly those without
  ready access to technology.
• Support teaching and learning through a network
  of outreach partner organizations.
• Directly connect with educators at professional
  conferences through presentations, trainings and
  exhibits.
• Drive viewers to the TV program and visitors to
  the Web site.

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Outreach Partners

• Year-long outreach to PBS stations, libraries,
  museums/science centers and after school sites
  nationwide
• Key Partnerships Collaborations
• PBS Stations
• After School and Educational Programs such as
• AAHPERD
• American Library Association (ALA)
• Association of Science Technology Centers
  (ASTC)
• Childrens Aid Society
• Childrens Museum of Houston
• Girl Scouts
• Girls Incorporated
• National Engineers Week Foundation
• Sally Ride Science

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Museum Outreach

• Cyberchase The Chase Is On!
• Created in partnership with the
  Childrens Museum of
  Houston
• 1500 sq. ft. bilingual traveling exhibit
• Visiting 14 cities over 5 years including
• The New York Hall of Science Flushing, NY
• EdVenture Columbia, SC
• Minnetrista Muncie, IN
• Chicago Childrens Museum Chicago, IL
• Port Discovery Baltimore, MD
• Austin Childrens Museum Austin, TX

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Cyberchase Online
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Cyberchase Online

• Site includes
• Over 40 multi-level math games
• Streaming video
• Webisodes
• Family activities teacher materials
• Opportunities to submit drawings and stories
• Statistics
• Over 1.3 BILLION page views to date
• 650,000 unique visits per week
• An online poll indicates that 85 of visitors are
  seven or older

www.pbskidsgo.org/cyberchase
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Visit Cyberchase Web Site www.pbskidsgo.org/cyberc
hase

• Visit For Parents Teachers

• Check out News Events

• Play games!

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Educational Materials Available Online

• Thematic Initiatives from previous seasons of
  Cyberchase featured
• Know Your Dough
• Tackled topics such as saving, spending and
  budgeting, CYBERCHASE to help children learn
  smart money skills they can use their whole lives
• Super Cyberchase Science
• Illustrated how math can unlock and help children
  explore science ideas
• Math in Science Engineering
• Helped children think like engineers, who use
  both math and science to solve practical problems
  and create valuable and useful things for our
  everyday world
• My Big Idea
• Presented and modeled the problem-solving process
  behind inventing used by mathematicians,
  scientists, and engineers

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New Themes 2007 - 2008

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2007 2008 CYBERCHASE Themes
Construction projects are full of
mathematics. Through CYBERCHASE Builders Math,
kids and grownups have fun making things while
building important math skills. Topics
Include Measurement Algebraic
Thinking Multi-Step Problem Solving Patterns In
Nature 2D 3D Geometry
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Builders Math Activity Example
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2007 2008 Resources Available

• Available Now
• Cyberchase Comic books
• Cyberchase Posters
• Coming Soon
• Builders Math DVD and CD-Rom
• Math in Sports DVD and CD-Rom

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Wrap Up

• Questions
• Please make sure that you have signed up to
  continue to receive Cyberchase materials
• Email us at cyberchase_at_thirteen.org if you would
  like to request additional materials
• Stayed tuned for more information from Cyberchase!

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• Thank You!