Horizons [Companies] - Educational Technologies

Video

Math Connects

Educational products aren’t just designed for students. They’re also designed for teachers, who face many challenges in their efforts to maximize learning for every student. This textbook promo is designed to illustrate how Macmillan McGraw-Hill’s Math Connections textbooks allow teachers to manage their time and resources more efficiently to improve their students’ success.

Animation

Math Animation

Horizons was asked to develop a large battery of animations for the McGraw-Hill Companies. We worked with its Macmillan [elementary school] and Glencoe [middle and high school] divisions to create a total of 1,064 flash animations. Each animation uses visuals and audio to illustrate - and clarify - the key concept of a math problem selected from a K-8 textbook. In creating this library of animations, we collaborated closely with McGraw-Hill Math Editors, Administrators and the Media Technology Group, completing the project on time and on budget. Click to see a sample of the animations.

English Spanish

Math Personal Tutors

Let's face it, students today have a lot going on in their lives. As a result, they sometimes miss a lesson because of conflicts with other activities. Or, they have trouble grasping what their teacher was trying to get across to them in class. Fortunately, today's students also have a virtual assistant to help make sure they understand the critical material. Horizons partnered with McGraw-Hill to create the "Personal Tutor", a proprietary software that is just that - a tutor available to students 24/7, anywhere they have access to an internet connection. We've taken important math concepts - and explained them with visuals and audio - in a format that students can pause, rewind, or watch over and over until the information sinks in. We have created thousands of individual problem-solving walkthroughs for each mathematics level from Grade 3 through calculus. What could be better than having your own Personal Tutor?

Video

3D Science Open Animation

We have a philosophy at Horizons: "Don't leave them asking for more!" This opening animation is a prime example of that. We received a request to create a prototype video for a possible upcoming project. In the process of producing the prototype, we decided to create this 3D animation to introduce the video. Take a look at the animation - it denotes the underlying implication that the video series will take the viewer from the molecular level of cells (Life Science) to the realms of space (Physical Science) -- and everywhere in between!

Video

What's Science Got To Do With It?

How many times have you heard kids ask, "Why do I have to learn this? I will never use it in real life."? Well, this series of videos is designed to address both the question...and the statement. We partnered with McGraw-Hill Companies to produce a product that actually presents "real life" people (in "real life" careers) who are using the "real life" concepts that the students are learning about in their middle school and high school textbooks. In the process of developing 81 individual videos, we conducted interviews with experts from many different walks of life...videotaped scientific processes...simulated other scientific processes through animation...used special cameras to capture microscopic activity...and basically did "whatever it takes" to teach today's students that science is all about "real life!"

Video

Science 3D Chapter Opener

To Infinity and Beyond! Well to the Moon anyway. We were asked to create a 3D Chapter Opener for Middle School Science. The object was to take the content of the chapter and develop a short engaging synopsis of the covered material. In todays world students are looking for something that moves and talks - so we gave them the moon. Take a look!

Video

Treasures Promo Video

A high quality textbook program can only be effective if it makes it into the classroom. Consequently, even the best scholastic products need to be promoted to their potential customers. This textbook promo features the Macmillan McGraw-Hill’s Treasures Reading program for K-6 students. State-specific versions of this video were produced for adoptions in California and Texas, as well as a generic version for national use.

PowerPoint with Audio Flash Flash

Literature Classroom Presentation Toolkit

There is no way to adequately explain the challenge of this project. On the surface it is just what the title says, a presentation tool created to help teachers engage their students. Under that surface, however, it was a massive undertaking with a very short production schedule. The development of this product includes 2,607 individual presentation files, 190,374 screens, 83,200 live links, 43,650 graphic files, 4,247 animations, 17,016 audio files, and 11,520 assessment questions for 7 different grade levels. A lot of effort, all to make it easier for teachers to teach and for students to learn. We'd say it was well worth it.

Video

Literature Launchers

While reading the printed word will always be an essential skill, today's students respond to a wide variety of media formats. For McGraw-Hill Educational Publishing's Glencoe [middle and high school] division, Horizons has created several hundred literature-themed videos for students to enjoy in their classrooms or online. These "launchers" give the students a deeper background before they approach a particular piece of literature. It might be a video interview with the author of the work, a video that places the work in historical or cultural context, or perhaps even a dramatization of a portion of the work itself. The videos correspond to the textbooks for Grades 6 through 12, including American, British and World Literatures.

Animation

Einstein Animation

Some students find History unappetizing, because it's just "stuff about people who aren't even around anymore". But what if you could bring those people to life? Well, that's (kind of) what we've done. Take a look at this Einstein figure to find out some unexpected facts about Albert Einstein. Our goal with these animations is to create media that engages students' imaginations - and teaches them at the same time!

Animation

Uncle Sam Animation

The purpose of this prototype animation was to take an historical figure and "bring the person to life" using 3D animation. We chose Uncle Sam as an example to demonstrate our capabilities for the potential project -- and now "We Want You!" (please) to take a look and imagine what we could do to bring your educational projects to life as well.

Video

Virginia Time Links Video

One of the biggest trends in educational publishing today is the re-purposing of existing media into different and updated formats. With this project, we took some existing videos...sprinkled in some brand new footage...and added new updated menus and packaging to create an affordable (and "new") product for State Specific use.

Video

COSI-Columbus Center of Science & Industry

In 2009, the Columbus Center of Science and Industry was selected by Parents magazine as the #1 science center in the country. For this 3-spot campaign, Horizons helped illustrate the fact that when children go to COSI, they learn.

Video

The Ohio State University

Horizons has produced a variety of audiovisual products for The Ohio State University, including this video designed to recruit prospective out-of-state students.

Video

What's Science Got To Do With It?

How many times have you heard kids ask, "Why do I have to learn this? I will never use it in real life."? Well, this series of videos is designed to address both the question...and the statement. We partnered with McGraw-Hill Companies to produce a product that actually presents "real life" people (in "real life" careers) who are using the "real life" concepts that the students are learning about in their middle school and high school textbooks. In the process of developing 81 individual videos, we conducted interviews with experts from many different walks of life...videotaped scientific processes...simulated other scientific processes through animation...used special cameras to capture microscopic activity...and basically did "whatever it takes" to teach today's students that science is all about "real life!"

Visit http://www.glencoe.com/catalog/index.php/home/1

Web

Glencoe eCatalog

Sometimes you just need someone who knows your business and your products to add a creative design to your website. The McGraw-Hill Companies called on us to do the graphic design for their Glencoe Catalog site.

www.glencoe.com/catalog/

Web

Macmillian e-Catalog

Sometimes you just need someone who knows your business and your products to add a creative design to your website. The McGraw-Hill Companies called on us to do the graphic design for their Macmillan Catalog site. We were happy to partner with them on this task.

catalog.macmillanmh.com/catalog

Web

Teaching Today

When Glencoe/McGraw-Hill wanted to redesign and update its Teaching Today website, they called us. Now they have a web site that can be used to communicate and share helpful information with educators and administrators across the United States. Click on the link below to take a look.

www.teachingtoday.glencoe.com/

Interactive Demo

Women In Art

Back in 1997 - when interactive design and programming was in its veritable infancy, Horizons produced this interactive CD-ROM for the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The interactive CD provides an array of educational tools that made learning about women artists and their contributions a uniquely enjoyable experience. And today, more than a dozen years after the creation of the Women In Art CD, the program's design and functionality remain a work of art.

Interactive Flash Flash Game Box Art

Garfield "Mad About Cats"

Horizons has worked with many familiar children's icons, including the Muppets, Garfield, and other lovable characters. For this children's CD-ROM, we created the animations, audio tracks, games and other features that helped children learn about exotic cat species from around the world. In addition to the educational component, of course, were the games which gave kids a chance to expand their creativity and skills. The entire CD-ROM was programmed by Horizons, and distributed nationwide.

Online Interactive

Pass in a Flash

Horizons was approached by EA Publishing to create an on-line program to help students prepare for state testing. See our Pass in a Flash demo by clicking the link below:

www.passinaflash.com/Demo

Animation

Ballistics Animation

As part of our What's Science Got To Do With It? video series for Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, we needed to illustrate how gunpowder residue left on a shooter's hand helps investigators in their efforts to solve crimes. So we created this ballistics animation and placed it in a "CSI" type video to demonstrate how the residue is deposited on a hand when the gun is fired.

Ticket To Ride Hippo At Your Door Three Monkeys Fish Moves

Carus Publishing - Noodlebug

We partnered with Carus Publishing, a leading distributor of children's magazines, to bring their award-winning illustrations to life with music and animation. This sample features just a few of the illustrations that we animated (and some of the custom music that we composed) to help pre-schoolers become more engaged with the stories.

Video Animation Web

SRA Snapshots Video & Simply Science

Horizons Companies played a vital, ongoing role throughout the development and execution of this grades 1-5 educational project for McGraw-Hill Education's SRA [elementary school] Division. From developing the graphic design and layout of the integrated textbook pages and video screens...to conceiving, researching and writing ninety-nine different video scripts...to shooting, editing and creating animations for the videos...and to creating custom music tracks, every single member of Horizons Companies' staff lent his or her expertise to the project. In addition, Horizons also programmed four separate versions of the e-Books for Snapshots Simply Science in English and in Spanish.

Mathematics

Science

Language Arts

Social Studies

Video & Film

Web Design

Interactive Design

Animation

Math Connects

Math Animation

Math Personal Tutors

3D Science Open Animation

What's Science Got To Do With It?

Science 3D Chapter Opener

Treasures Promo Video

Literature Classroom Presentation Toolkit

Literature Launchers

Einstein Animation

Uncle Sam Animation

Virginia Time Links Video

COSI-Columbus Center of Science & Industry

The Ohio State University

What's Science Got To Do With It?

Glencoe eCatalog

www.glencoe.com/catalog/

Macmillian e-Catalog

catalog.macmillanmh.com/catalog

Teaching Today

www.teachingtoday.glencoe.com/

Women In Art

Garfield "Mad About Cats"

Pass in a Flash

www.passinaflash.com/Demo

Ballistics Animation

Carus Publishing - Noodlebug

SRA Snapshots Video & Simply Science

www.SRA Snapshots.com