MSNBC, YAHOO!, WEEKLY READER, SONY, PSINet AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY JOIN EARTH DOG TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT!
Innovative Program Urges Students to Sniff Out Environmental Issues
4/19/99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Earth Dog, a fun, furry, global cartoon crusader designed to teach environmental awareness to children of all ages is now challenging students to become “Earth Dog Reporters.” Students taking the challenge will need to identify environmental problems and develop possible solutions. “Become An Earth Dog Reporter” is part of an environment curriculum sponsored through 1999 by the Department of Energy (DOE), Yahoo!, Weekly Reader, Sony Electronics, PSINet and MSNBC on the Internet.
“Earth Dog makes learning about the environment a fun, educational and interactive process. The key to this project is involving children in all stages of reporting environmental problems: identification of the problem, evaluation of relevant issues and development of potential remedies or solutions,” said Gene Freeze, one of Earth Dog’s creators. “Participation in this contest will help children develop important problem-solving skills as well as cultivate an appreciation for environmental issues.”
The DOE’s Outreach Program brings Earth Dog’s booklet, including contest details, to at least 25 million students. The Weekly Reader, the world’s largest children’s newspaper, is including the booklet in its classroom mailings, reaching an additional 9 million students nationwide. Yahoo!, a leading global Internet media company, will provide expanded visibility for the program throughout its network of properties.The DOE and NBC News will evaluate reports submitted by students to determine the contest winners. Individual winners will earn cash prizes, have their reports published on the Internet and win Sony WebTV Internet terminals for their schools.
The 1997-98 Earth Dog contest was one of DOE’s most successful outreach programs” I think Earth Dog is a great way to get young people involved and make them understand that they must be kind to the future because that is where they are going to spend the rest of their lives,” said John Athcheson, DOE Director of the Office of Planning, Budget, Evaluation and Customer Service.
“Earth Dog reaches not only the children, but their parents as children take their quest for environmental problems and solutions into their own backyards and communities. I have incorporated the environmentally friendly canine into my science, writing, and social studies programs with great success,” said Mary Vesley, a teacher at Churchill Elementary in McLean, VA.
The Newspaper Association of America and the National Association of Newspapers encourage members to help inform the public about the contest and publish student reports in their papers.
Students can enter the contest by visiting Earth Dog’s Web site at www.earthdog.com that also includes environmental information and research resources. Contest booklets are free to schools that subscribe to Weekly Reader or by contacting DOE at 1-800-363-3732.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
LAUREN CHASE
For information on Yahoo, MSNBC, Weekly Reader, Sony, PSINet and DOE please go to: http://www.earthdog.com/PRESS/PRESSRELEASE.html
For art work and to reprint the contest in your paper please go to: http://www.earthdog.com/PRESS/PRESS2.html
###
-Weekly Reader, the largest newspaper in the world for kids, publishes 7 different classroom editions for grades Pre Kindergarten through grade 6. It’s purpose is to awaken kids’ interests in the world in which they live, give them a broader view of life, enable them to become good citizens, and foster the news-reading habit.
MSNBC is a partnership between NBC (NYSE:GE) a leading provider of news and information, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), the leader in personal computer software and a major provider of Internet online services. Built on the worldwide resources of NBC News, MSNBC is a 24-hour cable news network and an Internet news service. Contact: Lloyd Trufelman (212) 725-2295
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), is a global Internet media company that offers a branded network of comprehensive information, communication and shopping services to 60 million users worldwide.
Editor’s Note: For information regarding the nearest Sony authorized dealer or service location, readers can call 1-800-222-SONY. More information about Sony products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sony.com. Additional press information is available at http://www.sony.com/news.
Sony Electronics Background: Sony Electronics had record sales of $10.5 billion for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 1998. Headquartered in Park Ridge, N.J., the company has approximately 26,000 employees in North America. Sony is the co-developer of CD and DVD technologies, and is noted for such product developments as the MiniDisc digital audio system, digital video camcorders, the Digital Mavica electronic camera and Trinitron television technology.
Headquartered in Herndon, VA, PSINet is a global facilities-based Internet Protocol (IP) data communications carrier focused on the business marketplace. PSINet offers a broad set of high-speed corporate LAN connectivity services supporting managed security and guaranteed Internet, Intranet, electronic commerce, Web hosting services, and services for other carriers and ISPs. PSINet operates an international state-of-the-art frame relay and ATM-based, IP-optimized network consisting of more than 500 points of presence (POPs) around the world serving primary markets in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. PSINet information can be obtained by e-mail at info@psi.com, by accessing the Web site at http://www.psinet.com or by calling toll-free 1-800-799-0676.
# # #
For Immediate Release
Contact: Outpost PR Representative Sara White
Software Publishers Association
Phone (202) 452-1600, ext. 343
Thousands of Web Surfers Visit Earth Dog
in Search for Internet Treasure www.earthdog.com Serves as Outpost for Lycos CyberSurfari ‘98, Internet’s Largest Treasure Hunt
10/20/98 -
www.earthdog.com holds a clue that will help unlock a treasure chest containing more than $100,000 in cash and prizes for participants of Lycos CyberSurfari ‘98, the Internet’s largest treasure hunt. Running from Oct. 20 to Nov. 20, the month-long online contest made possible for the fourth year by the Software Publishers Association
(SPA) is designed to help students, teachers and families learn how to benefit from surfing the Web. www.earthdog.com serves as one of 100 outposts – the sites participants must search to reveal clues. Outposts are selected to represent a broad spectrum of leading educational, cultural and entertainment sites.
“www.earthdog.com is proud to serve as an outpost for Lycos CyberSurfari ‘98,” said Lauren Chase. “The contest reflects our commitment to increasing the number of students and adults accessing the Internet and making their online experience as rich as possible. We are confident that many of the thousands of treasure seekers who visit our site for the first time during the contest will return to enjoy our content for years to come.”
As schools across the nation ramp up with technology, educators are teaching students how to utilize the Internet by incorporating CyberSurfari into their Fall curriculum. In 1997, more than 4,500 school teams competed with family teams and individuals from 97 countries – a sixteen-fold increase over 1995. Over half the teachers who organized school teams indicated that CyberSurfari had been designated as part of their educational curriculum as opposed to an extra-curricular activity. This signaled a major breakthrough for the event and is a result of the popularity of the contest with students and the educational value of a structured Web activity.
“CyberSurfari has become one of SPA’s greatest achievements in promoting the integration of technology and schools,” said Ken Wasch, SPA president. “The contest focuses on navigating the wealth of information available on the World Wide Web in a team or individual format that’s just plain fun. Many classes hold a pizza party to kick off the competition and students are eager to find clues both at school and with their parents’ help at home. We consider Lycos CyberSurfari ‘98 a perfect vehicle to introduce students to the Internet, and we’re proud that educators agree.”
Thousands of Web Surfers Visit www.earthdog.com in Search for Internet Treasure
Visit http://www.earthdog.com
Further information on CyberSurfari ‘98 is accessible at
http://www.spa.org/cybersurfari.
SPA is the principal trade association of the software industry,
representing the leading publishers as well as start-up firms in the
business, home office, consumer, entertainment and education markets.
SPA supports companies that develop and publish software applications
and tools for use on the desktop, client-server networks and the
Internet. SPA’s 1,200 member companies account for 85 percent of U.S.
revenue for packaged and online software. Additional information on SPA
and its activities on behalf of the software industry can be found at
http://www.spa.org.
April 15, 1998
Earth Dog Inc.
Page 1/2
The Earth Dog Movement Sweeps Schools Across the Country
Earth Dog®, an environmentally concerned canine, asks creative students to help solve the earth’s problems. This fun, furry, global cartoon crusader was first introduced by the Dept. of Energy and Sony Electronics in a contest which educated students about problems facing our environment and asked them to write an Earth Dog Adventure in which the problems were solved.
Twenty national winners were selected just in time for the upcoming Earth Day celebrations. Winners will receive one hundred dollars and an Earth Dog T-Shirt. Their schools will receive a Sony, Internet Terminal which makes it possible to get the Internet on T.V.
“One of the most sucessful Outreach Programs the Department Of Energy has ever done”, Sharron Brown, senior information specialist with EREC. The contest was judged by The Earth Dog Team, Dept. of Energy’s Pat Rose, Linda Lung and NBC news anchor, I.J. Hudson.
Interest in Earth Dog® is growing by Barks and Bounds ! Unlike many previous environmental characters, Earth Dog is not violent , “Dog-matic” or “Environ-mental”. He makes learning about the environment fun, interesting and interactive. “Kids are smart and concerned about the quality of the air they breathe and water they drink. They also know that just beating up the bad guy doesn’t solve the problem. Earth Dog encourages an entirely different approach” says Gene Freeze, one of Earth Dog’s creators.”
The best way to educate adults is through their children”, says teacher Mary Vesley of Churchill Elementary in McLean, Va. As a result of this contest, many of my students and their parents have become “Earth Dog’s” themselves”. ” I think Earth Dog is a great way to get young people involved and make them understand that they must be kind to the future because that is where they are going to spend the rest of their lives,” said John Athcheson, DOE Director of the Office of Planning, Budget, Evaluation and Customer Service.
Upcoming Earth Dog® activities include another Dept. of Energy contest, “Be An Earth Dog Reporter”, which will be introduced to schools in the fall of 1998, details will be posted on the “Contest” page of the Earth Dog site. Also, Earth Dog educational posters are scheduled to be distributed by Weekly Reader, Inc. to the classrooms of over nine million students. DOE and EPA will participate in the content. “We are looking for a corporation with an environmental conscience to help fund the Weekly Reader educational poster campaign” comments Dawn Chaikin, Director of Earth Dog Activities.
Earth Dog can be collared on the World Wide Web at http://www.earthdog.com with contents provided by National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Educational Dividends and links to the major environmental web sites. Both The Dept. of Energy and The Environmental Protection Agency will soon have an interactive activity on the Earth Dog web site to answer students questions about environmental issues.
Earth Dog can also be found in the just released book, The Internet For Your Kids, with a forward by famed film producer George Lucas and in the April issue of Target for the Family produced by Parents Magazine for Target Stores. For more information about Earth Dog or the next Earth Dog Contest , visit the internet at www.earthdog.com
————————————————————-
Dept of Energy Sends Earth Dog to the Rescue
(NAPS)-To save our environment, Earth Dog needs the help of some creative
children. Introduced by the Department of Energy as part of its outreach
progam, Earth Dog is a privately held company that is raising enviromental
awareness. Earth Dog is also the name of their fun, furry, global, cartoon
crusader, who educates children about problems facing our environment and
gets them involved in creating the solutions. Earth Dog, an environmentally
concerned canine, needs creative kids to solve earths’s problems.
Students can help Earth Dog by entering a contest in which they create new
cartoon adventures.
To enter, pick an enviromental problem and research it. Explain to Earth Dog
how it developed
(in 250 to 700 words) and make up a way Earth Dog can help solve the problem.
Winners can earn cash prizes, get their stories published on the Internet and
win their school Web TV Internet terminals from WebTV Networks, Inc., one of
the contest’s sponsors.
The environmentally concerned canine be collared on the World Wide Web at :
http://www.earthdog.com
The Earth Dog page features contents provided by National Geographic ,
Discovery Channel, Educational Dividends, Tom Snyder Productions and the US
Department of Energy.
Teachers are using the site with social studies, creative writing and science
studies.
” I think Earth Dog is a great way to get young people involved and make
them understand that they must be kind to the future because that is where
they are going to spend the rest of their lives,” said John Athcheson, DOE
Director of the Office of Planning, Budget, Evaluation and Customer Service.
1-800-DOE-EREC
————————————————————-
HOT NEW CHARACTER
Hot New Character Works His Way Into The Hearts of Students Across the Country
The popularity of Earth Dog® is growing amongst students in barks and bounds after he was first introduced in a contest to students across the country by the U.S. Dept. of Energy in 1997. Earth Dog is a fun, furry, global, cartoon crusader, who educates students about problems facing our environment and gets them involved in creating the solutions. Many people concerned about the environment refer to themselves as “Earth Dogs”. The character Earth Dog® was developed to help make learning about the environment interesting, exciting and interactive. Unlike many previous environmental characters, Earth Dog is not violent, “Dog-matic” nor “Environ-mental”. He is a fun, action / adventure character and he invites everyone to participate in helping him solve environmental problems and join him in his adventures.
The environmentally concerned canine can be collared on the World Wide Web at http://www.earthdog.com. (As seen on NBC) The Earth Dog web site features contents provided by National Geographic , Discovery Channel, Educational Dividends, and the US Department of Energy and is linked to most major environmental web sites.
The most popular areas on the Earth Dog site:
“The Story” (How Earth Dog came to be.) ,”The Earth Dog Club”, “The Contest”, “Games”, and “The Earth Dog Store”.
In 1997 “The Earth Dog Contest” was mentioned in the following Media:
NBC 4 “Digital Edge” with I.J. Hudson
CBS filmed the Earth Dog site for their show “Wild, Wild, Web” distributed in 130 markets.
Weekly Reader
Dallas Child Magazine
WorkingMother Magazine
Washington Council Letter
As of 11/28/97 = Earth Dog was seen in 704 Newspapers articles in 23 different states, with a readership of 29,195,936 -44% in the top 50 markets.
1998 -Just released Book “The Internet For Your Kids” By Sybex Books, Forward by George Lucas
In 1998 – The Earth Dog Site will be featured in “Target the Family” produced by Parents magazine for Target Stores.
In 1998 Department of Energy will continue the “Earth Dog Contest” and assist in an interactive segment on the Earth Dog Site on “Renewable Energy” with content provided by top experts and scientists from all over. This will be very educational, entertaining and fun. Students will be able to ask “how to” type questions and receive expert advice.
Earth Dog is going to be on the classroom walls of over 9 million students
In 1998, Weekly Reader, Inc., with support from The U.S. Dept. of Energy and select corporate sponsors, is planning to produce Earth Dog® posters with environmental messages which will go into the classrooms of over 9 million children throughout the U.S. This proposal follows one of the D.O.E.’s most successful projects ever, the Earth Dog Contest, co- sponsored by Sony Electronics and Web TV. ” I think Earth Dog® is a great way to get young people involved and make them understand that they must be kind to the future because that is where they are going to spend the rest of their lives,” said John Athcheson, DOE Director of the Office of Planning, Budget, Evaluation and Customer Service.
The Earth Dog site. (www.earthdog.com)
Fax – 301-654-4259
May 5, 1997
DOE Sends Earth Dog to the Rescue
(NAPS)-To save our environment, Earth Dog, http://www.earthdog.com needs the help of some creative children. Introduced by the Department
of Energy as part of its outreach program, Earth Dog is a privately held company that is raising environmental awareness. Earth Dog is also the
name of their fun, furry, global, cartoon crusader, who educates children about problems facing our environment and gets them involved in creating the solutions. Earth Dog, an environmentally concerned canine, needs creative kids to solve Earth’s problems.
Students can help Earth Dog by entering a contest in which they create new cartoon adventures.
To enter, pick an environmental problem and research it. Explain to Earth Dog how it developed (in 250 to 700 words) and make up a way Earth
Dog can help solve the problem.
Winners can earn cash prizes, get their stories published on the Internet and win their school Web TV Internet terminals from WebTV Networks,
Inc., one of the contest’s sponsors.
The Earth Dog page features contents provided by National Geographic , Discovery Channel, Educational Dividends, Tom Snyder Productions and the US Department of Energy.
Teachers are using the site with social studies, creative writing and science studies.
“I think Earth Dog is a great way to get young people involved and make them understand that they must be kind to the future because that is where
they are going to spend the rest of their lives,” said John Athcheson, DOE Director of the Office of Planning, Budget, Evaluation and Customer
Service.”
1-800-DOE-EREC
May 1, 1997
H2Oceans Theme Links Page
These links can provide useful information for your study of this theme. Back to the
Everglades In this article, published in Technology Review (August/September 1995), Norman …
38% http://school.discovery.com/spring97/themes/h2oceans/links.html (Size 11.1K) Document date: 28 Mar 1997
Earth Dog
For an environmental adventure with interactive activities and
prizes (WebTV’s, cash, T-Shirts, etc) for all ages, we invite you
to visit Earth Dog. Come and have fun learning about the
environment with Earth Dog. Discovery Channel School has been
chosen as one of the featured activities for this site.
http://www.earthdog.com
Family.Com: Dallas Child – News to You
NEWS TO YOU
EARTH DOG WANTS YOU!
The dynamic duo are on the prowl, and they’re looking for
a few good kids. These concerned crusaders don’t hail from
Gotham City, but they do uphold virtue and destroy evil,
environmentally speaking that is. Earth Dog, the
“save-the-earth crusader,” and the Department of Energy
have teamed up to raise earth awareness among children and
their parents with the Earth Dog contest. In 250-700 words,
entrants will select an environmental problem, explain how
it developed and what the relentless recycler can do to help.
Entries will be judged in four separate categories: grades
one to five, six to eight, nine to twelve and beyond; entries
must be received by November 30, 1997. Collaborative
efforts are permitted and will be judged as a single entry. A
minimum of 20 national winners will be selected. Each
national winner will have his or her story appear on the
Earth Dog web site, receive $100, and an Earth Dog
T-shirt. Also, the schools from which the national winners
are selected will win a Sony Web-TV Internet terminal.
Interested kids and families can enter the contest via the
Earth Dog web site (www.earthdog.com) or by calling the
Department of Energy at 1-800-DOE-EREC.
Kids: Theodore Tugboat Bulletin
BERIT’S BEST SITES FOR CHILDREN
August 8/97 update
ACTIVITY CENTERS
ENVIRONMENT
Earth Dog
http://www.earthdog.com/
Read energy facts and a story about Earth Dog, the cartoon environmental
crusader, and play games and activities
net-happenings: NET-HAPPENINGS Digest – 2 Oct
1997 – Special issue
Document date: 18 Aug 1997
net-happenings: NET-HAPPENINGS Digest – 2 Oct 1997 – Special issue
http://www.liszt.com/read/net-happenings/199710021656.MAA00057@lists.internic.net Document date: 22 Jan 1998
Write the Next Earth Dog Adventure!!!
Be Published, Win Cash, T-shirts. Schools Can Win Sony WebTV Internet
Terminals !
Earth Dog needs your help to solve some very serious environmental problems!
Your job is to pick an environmental problem, either one that already
interests you, or one of the five problems that we’ve listed below. Then,
use between 250-700 words :
Explain to Earth Dog how the problem developed and make up a way that Earth
Dog can help to solve the problem.
You can start by going to the library and getting books, magazines and other
written information on environmental problems. If you have access to the
Internet, you can log on to many different environmental organizations’ web sites.
After you have read up on your particular problem, come up with ways Earth
Dog can help. Explain the problem to Earth Dog. Tell him where to go to
solve it.
Tell him who should go with him. Earth Dog has the power to go anywhere on
the planet and to bring anyone along. Tell Earth Dog how he can use his
magical powers to share your new solutions with people, animals, plants,
water, air, and soil. Remember, Earth Dog can talk to them all and Earth Dog
can allow them all to talk to one another.
Important! Though we want you to use the information you find in the library
or on the Internet, we also want your *own* ideas.
One of the most important things we will be judging is how creative you can
be in solving these problems.
Official rules and entry form at:
http://www.earthdog.com/contest/rules.html
PHOAKS: Resources for sci.edu
People Helping One Another Know Stuff “Together, we know it all.” More resources: Page 1 Page 2
Page 4 Top Posters Volunteered Resources Newsgroup Info Pheedback
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Category Lister jumplink tm The coolest way to surf the net! Education
20% http://www.jumplink.com/List-Education.htm (Size 34.1K) Document date: 19
Feb 1998
http://www.earthdog.com
For an environmental adventure with activities and prizes.
Society and Culture: Cultures and Groups: Children: Links for Kids: Contests
Earth Dog – an environmental adventure with interactive activities. Write the next adventure and win prizes.
http://www.earthdog.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dept of Energy Sends Earth Dog to the Rescue (NAPS)-To save our
environment, Earth Dog needs the help o.
