EDSS 521 - Michelle

Hi - just wanted to give you a head's up to the the latest from Michelle on WebCT. There are instructions to be done before class. This is part of her announcement:



Her class meets on Tuesdays 5:30-8:30 Academic Hall 407

If you are in her class - see you later!

Hat tip Paige:

"Attached is a transcript from a live chat on advice for first-year teachers. It's kind of long, but there are some good pieces of advice throughout."

MICROSOFT STUDENT 2006

Well Microsoft is at it again - this time with a new package: MS Student 2006. It is an interesting concept - I have not evaluated it yet, but it is released. Here is the link:

Again this is shared so you are aware of the tools out there - the calculator stuff looks powerful, but the rest I don't now - I like to say, "I'm from Missouri - show me!" This might be just a lot of hype.

VISUAL THESAURUS

There are some programs that improve with age - like a good vintage wine. Visual Thesaurus is one of these jewels. Innovative in its design they have now added other languages, but not only other languages, it is how they implemented it! Very cool! This ought to prove a jewel for those in BCLAD classes, and actually English and language arts classes.

Here is an example - I looked at the word: "wonder" which is difficult to translate if you use it in the sentence: "I wonder...." The Spanish concepts of that sentence is tricky to translate but it is easier to do it with this picture:

Is that cool or what?

But not only that, you also get to hear the word pronounced (Listen you teachers that are teaching second language learners!) You can also e-mail this graphic to others if you wish, Then they have a "Teacher's Corner" to help teachers use the tool in their classrooms.

You can subscribe to the service or else buy the desktop version of the program - the cost is nominal really - two Frapuccinos' worth!

Here is the link:
Have a great time!

WHAT DO STUDENTS THINK?

Check this out:

"A surprisingly high number of teenagers fear for their safety at school, believe teachers don't care about them and feel their classes lack demanding challenges, according to an Indiana University study to be released today"

Find the full article at: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050817/NEWS01/508170483/1006/NEWS01

CSET III - PASSED!

One month later I got my notice via e-mail:

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Examination: 116 CSET Social Science Subtest III
Status: Pass
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Nice, very nice, all my testing is now complete: CBEST, CSET I, II, and III, BCLAD Oral & Written.

Today is also my wedding anniversary to boot! Time to celebrate - dinner at the Del is in order for my beautiful bride - don't you think?

KEVIN IGASAKI

Wow! What a shock to receive the e-mail from school about Kevin. He passed away last week.

It was incredible sad news. Dr. Kevin Igasaki was in charge of the Language Learning Center... it was but July 28th when he administered my BCLAD exam. He was a kind individual always supportive of the students - he will be missed I am sure.

We are lifting his family in prayer.

EDUCATION OUTSOURCING

I am not sure if you are aware of the trending within industry to outsource professional jobs out of the country - India in particular. They have a very well educated population with an powerful and extensive High School and University program that has created a tremendous workforce of engineers, system analysis, mathematicians, etc. That talent pool is hired by many companies because 1) it is cheaper and of higher quality, or 2) the talent is not available in the U. S. or is in short supply.

Well guess what? They are beginning to outsouce teaching jobs bacause of the shortage of math an science teachers.

"Close on the heels of their successful handling of Business Process Outsourcing and call centres, Indian firms will now provide private tuition facilities to British school children in mathematics and science over the internet. "

Check it out at the following link:

Times of India

What do you think?

PURCHASING BOOKS

Well due to the great connections of a mathematician friend in the education business - he got my attention to the following site:

Best prices on books...! Check it out.

Words

I heard about a study conducted by Yale University where researchers found that of all the words in the dictionary, there are 12 with the power to positively impact people’s actions. These aren’t simply words; they are highly-persuasive tools that can be used to achieve beneficial results:

new

discover
save

guarantee
safety

results
proven

you
love

health
money

easy

I always believed that words have power - as new teachers perhaps we all can be cognizant of their value and most important of their influence! Interesting, don't you think?

CSET SECTION III

Well… I just completed Section III of the CSET History exam! This section of the exam supposedly covered California history but … no, of course it didn’t; it was all over the map! The 40 multiple choice questions and three essays covered a range of topics most of which were general historical topics – few related to California – oh well!

Now let me think, in addition to your subject matter Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree you must take: EDUC 350 (3 units), EDUC 364 (3 units), EDUC 422 (3 units) in addition, you must provide a minimum of two letters of personal recommendation by a public school teacher to be accepted into the program, you also must pass: the CBEST test, the CSET Section I, Section II, and Section III tests for history, BCLAD Language Oral test, BCLAD Written test, the College Of Education Interview, the Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) given by an authorized Red Cross provider , the FBI and Security Clearance as authorized by the State, a TB test, and finally you must submit your Records of Immunizations from the time you were born (no kidding!). Now you can continue your credentialing classes! Most of my cohort group is drooping like I am!

This whole affair feels like gigantic pasquinade being played on myself and my cohort group!

Help!

I am going out to dinner with my family to one of my favorite restaurants which I playfully call the “Road-kill” café........ I am gently chided by my wife and family NO! It is called the Roadhouse Grill as we rush out of the house because I envision a cold tall one waiting for me to go along with the a great steak - and peanuts on the floor! Salud!

VAIL HIGH SCHOOL - ALL ELECTRONIC

This very interesting article in says that Arizona’s Vail High School will not use textbooks – they will go completely to a wireless, laptop, network and NO textbooks… This is an interesting concept. Check out Vail High’s web site:

1/2 SUMMER IS OVER

Well, progress!

First, a collective sigh of relief by all the cohort for Summer 2005 as we finish the Keating's bootcamp! This was a lot of work… [caution future teachers] but overall, productive if you wish to be a jongleur !

Second, I just got news that CSET Section II on US History is now history – I passed!

Third, I got accepted into the BCLAD portion of the program…

Overall good progress…but the beat goes one – summer continues – next is EDSS 511 the remaining lectures and the masochistic time compression! Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Hey – put it in perspective – this too will pass!

“¿No que no?”

AND THE TIME KEEPS ROLLING BY!

Weeks are rolling by! May is over and we are chipping away at June. The cohort program now becomes a bit clearer (the fog has not totally lifted) but the team building is interesting as a paradigm to learn how to teach. By force we have had to intersect with others in the group, by force we have had to learn more about our styles and preferences, by force we are learning to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, by force we are uniting as a team. I say by force because that is how you get through the class – but, interestingly enough the pressure to produce and perform as a group has “forced” us to be stressed beyond our comfort zone and things are getting done – and of relatively high quality… I think the paradigm is working…. I personally find the group work easier at times and at other times harder depending on partnering – which is natural…

There are some awesome incredibly creative people in our cohort….

GROKKER

Grok is a relatively new term that has crept into our language: it means to know something so well that it becomes part of oneself of our makeup. It comes from Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land - it is a Martian word!

Anyway, a product called Grokker has come into being and is now available on the web to do searches – that visually gives you a comprehensive view of a search emulating the “Grok” experience. Very interesting…. Check it out:

CSET Section II US History

Well, well, well - this is my third test in the credentialing series (second in the CSET Series) with one more test to go in July. This one covered US History - after 39 multiple choice questions and 3 essay questions - I was burned out but happy after the 3 1/2 hours it took me to complete the test! Overall I actually think I did ok - I knew the answers to most of the questions - nailed the first long essay, and did ok (I pray) on the second two essays. We shall see.

Now what kind of questions? The usual stuff but tricky in many ways. For example you had better know about Andrew Jackson and his exercise of power against the Nullification of Tariffs, and of course the influence of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois and their influence on the US in the 20th century - comparing and contrasting their philosophies and approaches - likewise you had better be familiar with the transportation systems and urbanization patterns. In a similar manner, immigration patters.

Well a good effort deserves a reward: Charito and I went out to dinner at our favorite spot and sipped some wine while listened to wonderful flamenco guitar all the while enjoying a wonderful chicken Chimi Churri - an Argentinean dish out of this world! Yumm.... The chef is just excellent. Capped of course with a cup of excellent coffee and a desert! By the way and just in case, the name of the place? Friar's Folly in San Marcos – see the link below:

IN THE BEGINNING...

Here we go!

Busy day: took the Spanish test as required to be admitted into the teaching credentialing program with a BCLAD option. The test asked you to record your answers in a cassette after watching a video. Simple things – working up to, “Should an HIV positive child be allowed to remain in school?”, to, “What you think of re-incarnation?”, leading up to, “should US troops be used outside the US like in Somalia?” Yeah, yeah – don’t ask.

The written part was relatively simple – it asked you to write a letter to a school district in Northern California and discuss the philosophy of teaching in a bilingual environment plus a discussion of strengths, weaknesses, salary, etc.

We shall see – I have been told it will be three weeks to get results.

Today is the first and formal day of Orientation for the Summer Session – it is the actual day when I can say I began the program in earnest. Met Pat Stall, and Joe Keating – very nice individuals – both PhDs and experienced teachers. What they presented today was encouraging as an overview. They actually had us do practical exercises to remember kids names – by practicing among ourselves – nice game:

Name tags
Circle arrangement
Outside exercise – toss toys to each other while calling their names
Repeat exercise – faster and faster..

We were given a list of attributes that excellent teachers possess – and we were asked to evaluate ourselves in this context to see what we need to work on. Interesting.

My cohorts number about 25.

HISTORY AND MATH

History and Mathematics intersect:

...from a medieval European military handbook.

An army wishes to scale a 24-foot high castle turret. If the turret lies across an 18-foot wide moat, how long must the army’s ladder be?

...from the Cairo Papyrus, an Egyptian mathematical papyrus dating from about 300 BCE.

A ladder of length 10 cubits leans against a wall. If the foot of the ladder stands 6 cubits from the wall, how high up the wall does the ladder reach?

...from an ancient Mesopotamian clay tablet from the Old Babylonian period (1900-1600 BCE).

A beam of length 30 units stands vertically against a wall. As the top of the beam slides down the wall, the bottom of the beam slides away from the wall. If the top of the beam slides 6 units down the wall, how far does the bottom of the beam slide away from the wall?

Here is the link:

http://newton.uor.edu/facultyfolder/beery/math115/day4.htm

STUDENTS AND TEACHER PRESENTATIONS

Microsoft just released new templates for PowerPoint that address educational topics - Check it out!

ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIO

It is always exciting (and at times frustrating) using new technology – but many times it is worth it! TaskStream is a web sites designed to help build electronic portfolios. Actually it can do a lot more than that...! But for now...

It is a subscription service that gives the individual and the school to way of running a folio assessment program. A folio assessment programs offer online tracking and evaluation of responses to pre-defined requirements within a participant submission portfolio. It uses the Directed Response Folio (DRF) as its key element – these are templates created by the university coordinators that define the program requirements plus scoring.

The idea is to have each participating student create his or her own DRF from the template with proper responses.

Ideally when all is said and done – the student will have a comprehensive set of artifacts and folios and reflections illustrating the extent of their understanding in fulfilling the the Teacher Performance Expectation (TPE) competencies.

Here is mine with the Educ 422 information fulfilling TPE 14 – take a peek: