Pisgah Forest Institute (PFI) has begun a newsletter which is being produced by Operations Coordinator Heather Cosby. The first issue featured articles on the 2004 workshop instructors as well as highlights from those eight courses. Also included are updates on a variety of happenings around the Institute.
The staff has made many changes to the PFI web site, www.brevard.edu/pfi. Among the new features is a chat room designed for workshop alums. The registration page for the eight Summer 2005 workshops is up and running. Numerous educators already have enrolled. Those interested can review the course descriptions and sign up. More information about the website will be related in a future issue of the ERC Newsletter.
The first PFI workshop scheduled for the 2004-2005 academic year - " What Goes Around, Comes Around..The Art and Science of Recycling and Composting " - will be held on the Brevard College Campus on November 5th and 6th. This short-course, which will focus on the importance of recycling and composting in solid waste management and sustainability, also will introduce methods for instructing these topics in the classroom. Participants will visit a municipal landfill as well as tour the Mobile Environmental Learning Center (MELC). Each attendee will receive a workshop notebook, a compost bin for demonstrating composting in the classroom and many other pertinent teaching aids. The PFI staffer who has taken the lead in the orchestration of this course is Jessica Sharp. Those interested in this workshop can enroll by going to the PFI website. There is no charge to attend. Participants can earn up to one CEU based on ten contact hours and are also eligible for Criteria 3 credit in the North Carolina Environmental Educators (NCEE) certification program.
PFI’s website is located at www.brevard.edu/pfi.
KceeI and the Willary Water Resource Center will be hosting a special Instructional Program Planning Council (IPPC) meeting on November 3rd. The session will focus on the environmental opportunities and resources at Keystone College. The agenda has been finalized and will encompass overviews of the following: the Willary Water Resource Center – its formation and role, the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed Atlas, the new weather station, and the new stream cam; KCEEI – its formation, mission, success of the first workshops, and projected 2005 workshops; Water Resource Management Program – continuous stream monitoring/partnership with the University of Minnesota, environmental/forensics laboratory, and the current status of the Biology/Forensics program. Keystone’s role in the environment and its environmental partners will also be discussed.
KceeI is working on developing and designing a promotional piece that illustrates the environmental complex at Keystone, the nature and history of the campus, on-campus partnerships, off-campus partnerships, and the environmental education opportunities within. Descriptions of these partnerships may be viewed at the Institute’s website under “Environmental Resources” or by clicking on this link: (www.kceei.keystone.edu/environmental_complex.htm).
KceeI is also hosting a workshop titled “Biology of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and Conifer Alternatives” on Keystone’s Campus October 23rd from 9am-12pm. A promotional piece for this event has been distributed to local conservation districts, foresters, attendees of the 2004 KceeI workshops, and other area teachers. Detailed information and an electronic brochure may be found at: www.kceei.keystone.edu/upcoming_events.htm.
KceeI is involved in an “Environmental Forum” sponsored by NEIU-19, DCNR – State Parks, Lackawanna Heritage Valley and Pennsylvania American Water. It is a year-long program for high school students in grades 7-12 that focuses on the future of the Lackawanna Valley and how local communities are connecting to the area’s most prominent natural resources – the Lackawanna and Susquehanna Rivers. Approximately 70 students and 13 teachers from local schools will work with local resource and higher education professionals and take part in field trips. The forum will culminate with student service projects and a formal presentation with displays. Themes of focus will include science, history and culture, recreation/tourism, and geography as they relate to the Watershed. The program meets many of the PA Department of Education’s academic standards. Tim Eichner, Assistant Director of KceeI, has assisted in two sessions focusing on watershed delineation and water quality monitoring.
Howard Jennings and Deanna Haluska are actively trying to coordinate dates for next summer’s workshops with the Governor’s Institute Conference, which will be hosted for two weeks on the campus of Keystone College in July. The initial redesign of KceeI’s 2005 summer workshops flyer is also underway.
KceeI’s website is located at www.kceei.keystone.edu.
The Western North Carolina Health Network (“WNC Network”), a collaboration of the area’s 16 hospitals, 13 county health departments and health care providers, received two grants totaling $2.5 million from the Department of Health and Human Services through the efforts of Congressman Taylor for the purposes of electronically linking the area hospitals and other health care providers.
For more information please visit: http://www.ercwc.org/press/2004/PR101404final.pdf .
The WNC Health Network’s website is located at: http://www.wnchn.org/.
DePaul University
DePaul is very busy providing the AAM workshop series to 16 schools throughout Chicago. Teachers from both public and private schools are participating and offering their schools as host sites for teachers in surrounding area schools. To date, DePaul has 140 teachers participating in the program, with more than 40 teachers completing 10 or more hours of AAM training. Evaluations received from the teachers continue to be very favorable about the program and the Library of Congress’ resources.
DePaul was requested by Chicago Public Schools to speak at two additional conferences and an Educational Fair. The presentations should result in recruiting additional participants to the program. DePaul has yet to fill its training schedule to capacity and is welcoming further opportunities to offer the AAM workshop series in its service area.
DePaul held the last of four summer institute workshops for Phase I alumni. All unit plans and lesson plans, along with mentoring activity reports, are expected by the end of December 2004.
DePaul’s AAM program website is located at: http://aam.depaul.edu/
Governors State University
The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time for educators. GSU has started the second group of Phase I students. The students have met on three Saturdays. Luci Sweder has been busy fine-tuning the curriculum, and it seems to be paying off. This time students were immersed in visual literacy, primary sources, and LOC searching and resources for nearly two days before they began learning about how to build a website.
Special thanks to Elizabeth Ridgway of the LOC for conducting a video conference on Saturday – her day off! As always, talking live to the LOC was a big hit.
GSU is currently using WebCT to support the participants in this cohort. Using assignments, reinforcing learning, and facilitating discussion are some of the ways to easily weave WebCT into the learning model. Luci also conducts an online discussion using both WebCT and Illuminate to keep it interactive.
GSU also completed its first Phase II workshop for graduate reading students. The 16 students participated in a session called “Visual Literacy Treasure Hunting” at the LOC. Both graduate and undergraduate professors in the College of Education are being encouraged to take advantage of the workshops and video conferences we can offer to enhance their courses. It appears that several are interested in this for next semester.
The GSU AAM staff decided to move into Phase II by offering workshops and video conferences to schools that have Phase I participants. This was viewed as an experimental recruitment plan; that is, would the offer be accepted by schools or would the well be dry? Sandi Estep is glad to report that there have been three inquiries from three different school districts. Perhaps having an AAM “cheerleader” in the school is a way to generate interest and enthusiasm. Time will tell.
Luci and Sandi are engaged in a great deal of planning for the future of the GSU program. The next kick-off dinner is December 1st. Planning is also underway for summer 2005 when GSU will begin a training series for university faculty. Next, GSU is looking at a train-the-trainers session to help accommodate the anticipated human resource needs for many workshops in the near future. Lastly, Luci is planning to move some modules into an online training format. This may be a great way to conduct workshops at the convenience of the classroom teacher.
Governors State’s AAM program website is located at: http://aam.govst.edu/
Eastern Illinois University
October is looking like another busy month for EIU AAM. On October 13, Project Director Cindy Rich and Digital Preservationist Steve Staskiewicz presented at the 100th Eastern Illinois University Adventure of the American Mind workshop at Riddle Elementary School in Mattoon. EIU AAM is offering all workshops listed in the workshop matrix. Since beginning training this summer, 19 different workshops have been presented, incorporating and highlighting the valuable resources of the LOC. Teachers deeply appreciate the fact that the workshops are hands-on and interactive, and not lecture-based or heavy in theory. They enjoy the combination of locating and creating classroom resources, and the modeling and discussion of best teaching practices and pedagogy. The schools have diverse needs, and the AAM program strives to address each school’s individual requirements.
The premiere issue of the EIU AAM Newsletter was distributed, and feedback was very positive. The goal is to publish the newsletter on the 15th of each month in a digital and PDF format. It is the hope of the program that the newsletter will be printed and shared with other teachers that were unable to attend workshops.
The EIU AAM website is constantly evolving with the program. The site has received 345 visitors and 1,246 hits since September 14. Teachers report that they use the site as a resource and a launching point to the Learning Page and American Memory. Tracking software indicates that users have come to the site from the
EIU’s AAM program website is located at: http://www.eiu.edu/~eiuaam/
Illinois State University
The due date for this newsletter article comes just before Rick Satchwell’s eight-week anniversary on the job as AAM Director at ISU. Diane Ashby, Dean of the College of Education, recently asked Rick why he took this job. He was quick to respond, “Because it’s exciting, I like working with teachers, and it’s stretching me professionally.”
Starting a program from scratch is exciting. Since the middle of August, Rick has established an office, attended a Director’s Meeting in Washington D.C., hosted two presentations with Elizabeth Ridgway, Educational Outreach Team Leader for the Library of Congress, given a presentation at University High School in Normal, and agreed to co-present a pre-conference workshop in March with EIU’s AAM Director, Cindy Rich. The excitement never ends!
Rick Satchwell has more than the ten years of experience conducting professional development training with teachers from all over the
ISU’s AAM program website is located at:
http://www.aamprogram.org/introduction/aam_partners_detail.aspx?id=22
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
SIU-C AAM has been involved in discussions with area educational agencies related to Phase II activities. In-service teachers and technology coordinators have expressed great interest in the workshops, and AAM staff members are refining a variety of workshops and instructional activities.
Currently, the preliminary stages of planning are underway for the development of Web-based instructional modules. Teachers completing the modules would be eligible for continuing professional development units (CPDUs) which are necessary for re-certification in the state. Roll-out of the initial modules is planned for late spring or early summer 2005.
The staff continues to consult with Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and in-service teachers who completed the AAM graduate course. Bill Bruns provides excellent assistance with both hardware and software issues related to instructional technology.
SIU-C’s AAM program website is located at: http://aam.siu.edu/
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
The SIU-E AAM team continues to present the Phase II workshop series at Regional Office of Education (ROE) meetings to district superintendents in seven regional areas. One more presentation will be made to ROE 41 in Madison County on October 13. The AAM Team also presented at the Monroe/Randolph Bi-County Teacher Institute held on October 8. K-12 in-service teachers had the opportunity to attend one of two hands-on sessions lasting 1.5 hours entitled, "Integrating the American Memory Website Into the Classroom.” Teachers were encouraged to talk with their principals about holding a future AAM workshop in their schools.
The AAM Team will be hosting a "Fine Tuning the Laptop" session to the first cohort of teachers on October 14 on campus to keep their computers running in tip-top condition for their classroom. SIU-E AAM lessons are continuing to be evaluated and put online. Please feel free to view the lessons at www.siue.edu/education/aam/lesson.htm.
Amy Wilkinson, Director, and her husband, Michael, would like to thank everyone for the congratulations and best wishes on the birth of their son, Jake. Amy missed seeing everyone at the last partner meeting and looks forward to seeing everyone again in the spring.
SIU-E’s AAM program website is located at: http://www.siue.edu/education/aam
Metropolitan State College of Denver
AAM-Colorado has just completed its first Weekend Workshop Series. Educators can participate over three weekends to complete the entire program, earning graduate credit, American Memory Certification, credit at AAM-Colorado’s Digital Primary Resource Center, and eligibility for a technology purchase for their school. The first weekend, October 8-10, was Series 1 and went very well. Series 2 will be presented October 22-24, with Series 3 November 5-7.
AAM-Colorado Director, Peggy O’Neill-Jones, has been busy with trips to Washington, D.C. for the Director’s Meeting and recent presentations to Metropolitan State’s Board of Trustees. She presented materials demonstrating AAM-Colorado’s progress thus far on projects such as its Rich Media DVDs (see http://aamcolorado.mscd.edu for details) and overall progress with getting the program up and running. All involved with these presentations were impressed and excited about where this program is going.
The AAM-Colorado team is focusing on preparations for the upcoming Weekend Series 2 and 3, continuing to build a “buzz” about the program, and launching its Blending Learning courses that will allow educators to complete a portion of the workshops online and the rest in face-to-face classes. AAM-Colorado will host an Open House for all interested parties on January 14 to demonstrate these and the rest of the fantastic projects, and to celebrate the program as a whole. If you would like to participate, please contact aamcolorado@mscd.edu or call (303) 352-4945.
MSCD’s AAM program website is located at: http://aamcolorado.mscd.edu
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