PFI
staff members Kevin Fischer and Ryan McCormack attended the “Feed the Bin:
Train the Trainer” workshop in Raleigh,
NC, from August
13-15. The training event was sponsored
by Wake County Solid Waste, who has committed to educating students to become
environmental stewards. The Feed the Bin
program paid the entire cost of the workshop, including travel, room and
board. Pisgah
Forest Institute plans to offer a
future workshop on recycling in the classroom, utilizing the curriculum
provided. The curriculum prepared by the Feed the Bin program is already
correlated with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and National
Science Standards. In addition to the curriculum created by Feed the Bin, books
from the National Energy Education Development Project, the elementary
curriculum guide Waste in Place from
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., and a recycling bin full of ready-to-use games,
books, posters, materials for activities, and various other items were also
provided. PFI
is looking forward to a great working relationship with Feed the Bin staff
members, who have been successful at establishing a recycling program in a
large school district.
Ryan McCormack also participated in a workshop sponsored by
The Science House of North Carolina State University from July 31-August
4. Before Ryan was hired by PFI,
he taught in the McDowell county school system, where he took part in the
equipment loan program that the Science House runs through its satellite
offices across the state. He assisted
with their Calculator-Based Learning workshop, whose objective is to bring
hand-held technologies into the classroom.
These technologies provide a multimedia, hands-on, inquiry-based math
and science learning experience for students. We look forward to working with
the Science House in the future, particularly on a modified Geographic Information
Systems (GIS)
workshop, which will utilize various technologies including satellite data to
map and track geographic information.
After PFI’s
summer workshops ended on July 28, the new staff members spent much of August
in evaluating those workshops. As a result of these evaluations and other
considerations, PFI
is making some changes to next summer’s workshop offerings. Most significantly,
we are designing a new workshop on Forest Ecology. The 2007 summer workshop
titles and descriptions will be posted in a future newsletter.
PFI's
website is located at www.brevard.edu/pfi.
The last of KceeI’s 2006 courses was the Geology of Northeastern PA course. This course ran from July
23 – 28, 2006. It began the same as all other KceeI courses
with registration on Sunday at 3:00pm.
After registration and KceeI Bingo on Keystone’s trails led by Tim
Eichner, Director of the Water Resource Center, the group proceeded to the opening
evening banquet. Howard Jennings,
Director of KceeI, gave an introduction to the Institute and a brief overview
of the week’s activities and materials.
The Keynote
Speaker for the evening was Dr. Duane Braun.
Dr. Braun is a geology professor at Bloomsburg University and has done extensive research in
the following areas: Geomorphology, Pleistocene Geology, Geoarchaeology, and
Hydrogeology. Currently, his research
interests lie in the distribution of glacial deposits in northeastern Pennsylvania, Pleistocene geology of Pennsylvania, and the overall Geomorphologic
evolution of the Appalachians. The topic of Dr.
Braun’s presentation was, “The Glaciation of Northeastern PA: What we have
Learned From 30 Years of Mapping the Region.”
Christina
Brundage, Technology Support Specialist from the NEIU-19, talked to the
teachers first thing Monday morning.
Christina introduced the WebQuest and explained the process for creating
one. The WebQuest is required for those
obtaining CPE Credit through the NEIU-19 or Wilkes University Graduate Education
Credit. Following this, Dr. Robert Cook, Keystone College Professor and
point person for developing the Geology course for KceeI, began the first
topic: uniformitarianism and actualism, the importance of observation. This served as an appropriate introduction to
the next topic: indicators of depositional environment, climate and flow
direction.
To practice
the concepts that were just learned, the group went to a very interesting
geological site called Little Rocky Glen where a brief overview of the recent
geologic history of the area was given by Mary Felley, Executive Director of Countryside
Conservancy. After lunch, the group was
given time to make their own observations in and around the site. Rock types, paleocurrent indicators, fossils
and stream incision mechanisms were just some of the Devonian indications that
were found here. A summary of
observations and a discussion of Devonian paleogeography was the last item of
the day.
Tuesday
began with an introduction to rocks and minerals of the northeast followed by
identification of common rock forming minerals and rocks. Topographic maps and geologic structures were
covered in the afternoon. To get a
better sense of the subject matter, the group set out on a topographic
profiling hike to observe the geologic structures that make up a topographic
map.
Wednesday’s
field trip was the highlight of the week. The first stop was in Dunmore, PA to view an area that is part of the
Pottsville formation. The second stop was on property owned by PA
American Water Company at Lake Scranton’s Dam #2. Here, Dr. Cook pointed out the diamictite and
quartz sandstone of the Spechty Kopf Formation.
Following this, the group traveled to the next two locations to view the
remains of Mississipian Paleoforest in Mauch Chunk Formation and the Trimmers
Rock Formation. Lunch was eaten on the
bus in route to the final location: The Boulder Field at Hickory Run State Park.
The Boulder Field, a striking boulder-strewn area, is a National Natural
Landmark.
Thursday
morning’s topics included deep time, relative and absolute dating activities,
and volcanoes. In the afternoon Bill
Huskin came to talk to the teachers about DLESE – Digital Library for Earth
System Education [http://www.dlese.org].
This is an extremely valuable site for educators with a plethora of
resources available. The rest of the
afternoon was spent learning about earthquakes and plate tectonics. After dinner, a WebQuest session was held for
those obtaining CPE or graduate credit.
On Friday
morning Dr. Cook gave the group a tour of Keystone College’s Environmental Laboratory
facilities. The group was impressed with
high-tech resources that are available to the students. The rest of the day was mainly focused on
glacial geology and soils. Pete Supko, a
high school teacher and a participant of the 2005 Geology of NEPA course,
shared how he has integrated geology into his classroom. The post-test was administered and after
evaluations were complete KceeI’s 2006 Geology of Northeastern PA course was also.
The success
of this course is probably best appreciated through some of the comments
included in the evaluations:
“What a phenomenal way to learn
about our history in Northeast Pennsylvania.”
“This course is unique and not
comparable to other programs; it far supersedes the other science education
workshops I’ve been to.”
“I absolutely recommend it. Teachers and future teachers should have more
coursework like this.”
“KceeI consistently presents
workshops that are educationally valuable, provide a plethora of useful
resources, and are just plain fun! I’ve
never had such a good time in an educational setting.”
“Absolutely excellent! The best science class I have ever
experienced…challenging, yet easily achievable...refreshing from all other
higher education experiences.”
“If you are a hands-on learner, you
need to be here.”
“…the professionalism, enthusiasm
and attention to every detail made this an experience I will always remember.”
24 teachers
participated in this course. 11 of whom
received CPE credit through the NEIU-19, 5 received Wilkes University Graduate
Education Credit, and 8 received Act 48 Hours.
There was an overall percent change of 38% in average test scores.
Just a
reminder…
KceeI’s
website is located at www.KceeI.keystone.edu.
Pacific Forest Institute
For updated
information on the Pacific Forest Institute, please visit our website at:
http://www.jessup.edu/academics/pacificforestinstitute.
For more
information on ERC Broadband, please visit the website at: www.ercbroadband.org.
Western
North Carolina
To date, nearly 100 school librarians and media coordinators
have enrolled in the PROPEL workshop series.
Workshops have begun at four locations in Western
North Carolina, with two more taking off this
week.
On August 23, the “Responsibility” workshop premiered at Brevard
College. Responsibility is the second of six workshops
making up the PROPEL series. In the next
two months, Responsibility is an
introduction to copyright basics, Web 2.0 copyright sites, bibliographic
citations, and the creation of image tables as curriculum pathfinders for
teachers. Fifteen media coordinators attended the first workshop.
Dr. Ed Shearin, Mars Hill College AAM
Director, is the lead facilitator for the Responsibility module. Guest speaker John
Brim, Copyright Specialist from the North
Carolina Department of Public Instruction, introduced copyright basics using
issues from the local and national school districts as examples. AnneMarie Walter, Associate Director of Mars
Hill College AAM,
demonstrated the use of online copyright tools such as Copyright
Bay,
Copyright Cyber Bee, and the Library of Congress’ “How to Cite Electronic
Resources.” Ed also demonstrated the use of David Warlick’s
Son of Citation Machine, an excellent Web 2.0 tool for creating bibliographic
citations. Dr. Beth
Coulter, Western Carolina University AAM
Director, facilitated the creation of image tables as curriculum pathfinders using
American Memory, the Library of Congress Photos and Prints catalog, and the LOC
online Exhibitions.
More information about PROPEL is available at www.aamprogram.org and at www.aamlearning.org.
Brevard College
Brevard College AAM
completed its last two “Teaching with Primary Sources: Digital Storytelling
Level II” workshops during the month of August.
The teachers who participated in these workshops worked hard to create
and produce incredible local historical mini-documentaries on topics such as
the history of Brevard
College,
local mountain music, quilting, local lore and storytelling, and the history of
the Cradle of Forestry in America. The people who provided oral histories and
personal perspectives for these stories are invaluable resources both for the
teachers who created the documentaries and for the students who will view them.
After wrapping up the last of the workshops for Phase II,
Brevard AAM
has begun the PROPEL workshop series for school media coordinators. Read more about this initiative in this
newsletter’s PROPEL section.
Brevard’s AAM
program Web site is located at: http://www.brevard.edu/aam/.
Fayetteville Technical Community College
The FTCC Congressional Scholars (CS) program kicked off the
2006-07 year with its Summer Institute on August 2-3. The Summer Institute introduced the selected
teachers and media specialists to the newly built Harry
F.
Shaw
Virtual
College
Center
where they will also attend class during the fall semester. Associate Vice President of Learning
Technology Bob Ervin coordinated the two-day learning event and welcomed the
new group to the program. A previous
Congressional Scholar from the 2005-06 year spoke to the participants about her
experience with using American Memory resources in the classroom. CS program instructors Dr. Barbara Marson and
Torie Quismundo worked with everyone in a hands-on introduction during the
course of the two days.
The instructors discussed the new format of the fall
classes, which will be hybrid in nature, incorporating both face-to-face with
online classes via Blackboard. Each
participant received a Congressional Scholars binder with program requirements,
assignment due dates, and handouts. The
PowerPoint and WebQuest requirements were introduced during the institute, with
samples of PowerPoint presentations that incorporated American Memory sources. The Scholars were also issued their new
laptops, texts, and software. The first
CS class (face-to-face) was held on August 28.
FTCC’s AAM
program Web site is located at: http://www.faytechcc.edu/scholars/.
Wingate University
The Wingate
University
cohort of the Congressional Scholars program held its Summer Institute in early
August. The 2006-07 participants had the opportunity for an introduction to
American Memory and the importance of primary resources, a review of the
laptops and tips
regarding the integration of technology into the curriculum,
and a discussion of the requirements and benefits of the Congressional Scholars
program. The most notable component of the Summer Institute included
presentations and comments provided by members of the Congressional Scholars
alumni base. These alums gave brief talks regarding their final projects and
mentor/mentee projects. Additionally, alums spent time answering questions from
the new participants. This component has been labeled one of the program’s best
practices.
Wingate’s AAM
program Web site is located at: http://www.aamprogram.org/introduction/aam_partners_detail.aspx?id=9.
Waynesburg College
WC AAM
announces Fall Institute 2006: WebQuesting at the Library of Congress. The
decision to offer a second workshop on WebQuesting was made in large part due
to the excellent response and innovative projects completed by Summer Institute
participants. Teachers created excellent WebQuests that will contribute to
student learning and bring existing curriculum into focus using LOC primary
sources.
For Fall Institute, there will be two types of classes
offered. The first will be the traditional classroom workshop Evening
Institute. Participants will attend classes on campus and will use Waynesburg
College
computers and equipment to create web pages using Dreamweaver software.
The second option is to attend class online. Participants in
this class will independently access demonstrations, mini-lectures, and
instructions using their home or school computers at a time convenient for
them. Technical and curriculum support will be provided via e-mail, online
chats, and discussion boards. Online projects will be completed using Microsoft
Word html templates, as this program is widely available. Offering two formats will allow a wider
variety of educators to participate, as well as provide valuable data about
participant preferences and habits that can be used in planning future
offerings.
Central
Christian
Academy
teachers completed two days of training on August 21st and 22nd.
WC AAM
staffers Sue Wise
and Nancy Wrick
conducted four different workshops with 15 teachers. “Digging Deeper and
Mapping Memories” finished up Basic Training for these educators and “Visual Literacy
and My Day in History” extended their arsenal of skills and ideas for
integrating LOC primary source documents into their lessons. CCA administrators
and WC AAM
staff members are in the process of deciding how to spend the $2,000 worth of
incentive money CCA teachers earned.
At least two CCA teachers are planning to join WC AAM
for Fall Institute 2006. Still another teacher plans to use an American Treasures
primary source box during the upcoming school year.
Waynesburg’s AAM
program Web site is located at: http://aam.waynesburg.edu.
Northern
Virginia Schools Partnership
The Northern Virginia
partnership went on the road this summer, from Virginia
Beach to Boston
where staff members provided workshops to invite educators to become patrons of
the Library of Congress and to challenge student understanding by incorporating
the Library’s vast resources into their curriculum.
Teachers are beginning to use the new Web site www.PrimarySourceLearning.org.
At this site, teachers from anywhere in the world can make a portfolio and
submit a Library of Congress primary source-based learning experience for possible
publication in the collection at this Web site. Recently a teacher from Poland
created a portfolio. Please feel free to invite teachers to submit learning
experiences to the collection. For more information contact, Rhonda Clevenson
at rclevenson@aamnva.org.
AAMNVA
kicks off the school year during the week of August 28th. The staff will work
with nearly 1,000 Northern Virginia
teachers this week through a variety of introduction activities, workshops, and
special curriculum projects. The largest curriculum project for this school
year will be completed in Arlington Public Schools where teachers are creating
primary source-based Social Studies introduction activities to begin each unit
of study for each grade level. View the first unit of study for each grade
level at http://www.primarysourcelearning.org/program/step2/s_s/posters/index.shtml
.
Northern Virginia’s
AAM
program Web site is located at: http://www.aamnva.org/.
Online
Education
Ed-U-Bits
Each month, the AAM
Online Education staff writes a short article on topics of interest for
educators who are using online resources as a part of their curriculum. We call
these articles Ed-U-Bits and include them with our monthly newsletters for home
school educators and public and private school educators. The August Ed-U-Bit
is Using
Timelines to Gather & Present Information. This Ed-U-Bit introduces the
use and variety of timelines available for students. The Ed-U-Bit includes many
examples for using timelines in different disciplines.
Online Professional Development Tool
Update
Development of the online professional development tool for
educators, An Introduction to Primary Sources is nearing completion. Tina Crain
has been employed to assist Karen Kawa in the development of the flash content
for the lesson. An Introduction to Primary Sources includes existing content
submitted by AAM
partners and is in the first stage of the piloting process. The tool will be
available for independent online use or as a part of a workshop.
AAM
Home
School
Program Presented to WNC
Home
School
Associations
Dr. Pam Johnson,
AAM
Online Education Director, presented an overview of the AAM
Home School Program to the Homeschool Association of Rutherford and Polk
County
organizational meeting on August 21st and the Transylvania County Homeschool
Association on August 26th. The availability of the lessons online, making it
possible for parents to integrate this resource into their current curriculum
was cited as a very important aspect by several parents.
Lab Assistant Training
The training for the lab assistants was held on August 30.
The lab assistants provide input to the AAM
Online Education staff from the piloting sites at 11 colleges in Western
North Carolina.
Welcome to Our New Lab Assistant at Tri-County
Community College
“Lucy” Lou Ann Garrett-Outen will support parents and
students in the AAM
Home School Computer Lab at the Andrews Campus of Tri-County Community College.
She is in her last semester toward earning a Bachelor’s degree in Information
Technology from Each Carolina University. Having served as a computer
technician, network administrator, and technology instructor, she is very
qualified for the position.
The AAM
Online Education program Web sites are located at: http://www.aamhomeschool.org/
http://aamonline.org/.