The Critical Thinking Co. TM, award-winning national publisher of educational books and software for all ages, is proud to announce that Building Thinking SkillsR Level 1 software and the book, Balance BendersTM Level 1, have earned Seals of Approval from The National Parenting Center.

Building Thinking SkillsR provides highly effective verbal and nonverbal reasoning activities to improve students’ vocabulary, reading, writing, math, logic, and figural-spatial skills, as well as their visual and auditory processing. This exceptional series provides a solid foundation for academic excellence and success in any assessment.

In the software adventure, teams of critical thinkers must complete the verbal and figural activities in each of the 10 underground levels to rescue Dr. Cognito and restore order to the lab. The activities are developmentally sequenced. Each skill is presented first in the semi-concrete figural-spatial form and then in the abstract verbal form. Students learn to analyze relationships between objects, between words, and between objects as they observe, recognize, and describe characteristics; distinguish similarities and differences; and identify and complete sequences, classifications, and analogies. These processes help students develop superior thinking and communication skills that lead to deeper content learning in all subjects.

Balance BendersTM can be used as quick, fun logic problems or as stepping-stones to success in algebra. Students develop deductive thinking and pre-algebra skills as they solve the balance puzzles. Students must analyze each balance to identify the clues, and then synthesize the information to solve the puzzle. Balance BendersTM Level1 helps students succeed on standardized tests and prepares them for higher-level assessments.

The National Parenting Center was founded in 1989 with the intention of providing the most comprehensive and responsible parenting advice to parents everywhere. The advice provided is furnished by some of the world’s most respected authorities in the field of child rearing and development.

Its Seal of Approval identifies the finest products and services being marketed to the parent/child audience. From educational and entertainment products and equipment to travel destinations, the consumer-oriented testing process solicits evaluations from parents and their children. This award signifies to other parents that their peers have acknowledged a product’s quality and desirability based on a wide variety of determining factors.

Source:http://www.pr.com/press-release/270206

reen Building Services partnered with BOMA Portland (Portland Metropolitan Building Owners and Managers Association) to launch a new Web-based software tool last month that will allow building owners to track the ongoing operation, performance and maintenance of green buildings.

Building Insights O+M Track helps building managers plan, log and analyze everything from energy use to green cleaning practices to solid waste management to purchasing

The software, built by software contract developer Formos LLC of Vancouver, Wash., sells for $250 per month per building. Discounts are offered to BOMA members and for owners of multiple businesses

developing the tool was a way to teach building owners how to fish.

“There wasn’t a tool out there available and it became that ‘teach a man to fish’ discussion,” said Andrew Scott, director of marketing for Green Building Services. “We could keep giving building owners fish by doing this work for them, or we could create a tool and move away from being a document management service.”

The O+M Track software (it stands for operations and maintenance) is designed for building owners who want to see how their green buildings are operating or who want to improve their green performance. It includes reporting tools and cost-of-ownership calculations.

Source:-http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2010/09/gbs_boma_roll_out_green_building_software.html

With the release of the latest version of the building thermography software Fornax 2, InfraTec GmbH provides an efficient tool for the evaluation and documentation of thermographic building recording, especially for energy advisors. The software simplifies thermographic building analysis as well as expert opinions in a more efficient way. Being the result of a long-time experienced building thermography service provider, Fornax has been developed for practical purposes, such as analysing, evaluating and documenting building thermography recording. It turns thermographic cameras of the InfraTec product series VarioCAM, VarioCAM high resolution and varioSCAN into efficient control and analysis tools for architects, engineers, facility managers, craftsmen and energy advisors. The latest version of Fornax 2 allows customers to carry out thermographic building analysis in a simplified way and to furnish expert opinions.

Source:http://home.nestor.minsk.by/build/news/2010/03/3111.html