Friday, March 5, 2010

AEA Customer Satisfaction Survey to Launch March 8

The melting snow and warming weather brings another spring tradition – it’s that time of year again when we ask that you fill out the AEA Customer Satisfaction survey. Next Monday, March 8 you and your staff will receive an email asking that you complete the 2010 AEA Customer Satisfaction survey. The Subject line of the email will read “AEA Customer Satisfaction Survey.” The survey will be available March 8 through April 9.

The survey provides us with your insight on how to improve our services to your school(s) and students. Last year, we were delighted of our high response rate and hope that we can achieve those souring numbers (or higher) this year.


We will be sending reminders throughout the month of March and early April. Since the survey is anonymous, we have no way of knowing who has contributed and who has not. You are only asked to fill out the survey once. After you complete the survey, you may disregard the reminder notices.

Please remind all your staff to participate. We look forward to your input!

IEP and Medicaid Basics for School Nurses

Please notify your school nurse of the upcoming IEP and Medicaid Basics training on April 14, 2010. The purpose of the program is to provide education for school nurses on the individualized educational plan (IEP), the Medicaid reimbursement program, and the individualized health plan (IHP). Given all the budget shortfalls, more schools are electing to bill Medicaid.

This workshop will prepare school nurses to be an active and knowledgeable participant in the billing process. Click here for an agenda and registration form. Participants may also register by going to the Heartland Professional Development catalog on our home page. They then can copy activity number: NU001692111001 and paste it into the search box on the registration page in the browser
.

Special Education Administrative Rules of Special Education Manual

You may access the 2010 Special Education Administrative Rules of the Special Education Manual by clicking here. There is also a supplement found here containing some changes since the original writing, dated January 20, 2010.

Cool Apps for Your iTouch

Heartland AEA supports the Department of Education’s eWalk initiative through training and issuing iPod Touches to administrators. The eWalk software is intended to assist school leaders in gathering data while conducting classroom walk-throughs. It is a free application for Iowa administrators and collects, analyzes and stores teacher observation data. The results are uploaded to the web for instant data analysis for creating reports.

Heartland now has a fresh supply of iPod Touches for administrators. The cost continues to be $100 each. If interested in eWalk training and/or for obtaining iPod Touches, please contact:
Toy Waterman at ext. 14541 or twaterman@aea11.k12.ia.us

Mary Johnson (515) 270-0405 ext. 14528 or mjohnson@aea11.k12.ia.us

When you get your iTouch, make sure to check out Connect Pro Mobile. The AEAs often use Adobe Connect Pro to produce webinars. There is now an app so you can participate in those unique situations when a desktop or laptop computer is not available.

To learn more about Connect Pro Mobile, go to http://www.connectusers.com/tutorials/2010/02/connectpromobile/. Download the app from the App Store or go to http://itunes.com/apps/AdobeAcrobatConnectProMobile. Webex is another commonly used webinar platform--there's also an app for that.

ISU AMS Severe Weather Poster Contest

Iowa State University Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (ISU AMS)is sponsoring a Severe Weather Awareness Poster Contest. They are looking for posters that illustrate ways to prepare for severe weather in Iowa (floods, tornadoes, lightning, etc). Winners and honorable mentions will be chosen for two age groups, K-3 and 4-6. Prizes for the winners may include certificates, weather calendars, window clings, NOAA weather radios and more. The posters must be postmarked by April 2nd and arrive by April 6th (the Tuesday of Iowa's Severe Weather Awareness Week).

Additional information, such as where to mail the posters, is available on their website at http://www.geology.iastate.edu/ams/community/posters.php. You may also click here for a flyer for distribution to your teacher and students with contest information. Any questions can be directed to Shannon Rabideau at posters.isuams@iastate.edu.