Friday, May 4, 2012

AEA PD Online: Online Training Prioritization Survey

With the new ramping up of online professional development, we are dedicating more resources to developing online trainings. We plan on creating five new trainings each year for the online training system. To help us prioritize, complete the survey below.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/aea11.k12.ia.us/viewform?formkey=dF91bklIb0hYcHBWdTlYZGhyOWdlZXc6MQ

Online Learning is Changing Education

Last spring, Iowa's nine AEAs collectively launched AEA PD Online, a one-stop shop for Iowa educators' online professional development needs. Still haven't dived into online learning? What are you waiting for?! Click here for information about AEA PD Online including an in-depth section on the costs associated with the online training system. Wonder how online learning can transform your school? Click here for information on the services currently provided by the AEAs in the area of K-12 online- or blended-learning.

You Can Become an AEA PD Online Instructor

AEA PD Online is always looking for instructors with a passion for their subject area and the desire to teach in new methods. For those wishing to become online instructors, AEA PD Online offers Online Learning for Iowa Educators (OLLIE) courses. Click here for more information about the OLLIE training, which includes foundational courses in online pedagogy designed around the Iowa Teaching Standards.

Workshop Will Explore Enhancing Reading Instruction for All Students, May 22

Click here to find information about a workshop provided by Dr. Kevin Feldman that will explore strategies of enhancing reading instruction with all students. This session will focus on improving core instruction within a school-wide system to support reading achievement. The one-day session will be held on May 22, 2012 at Zion Lutheran Church at 4300 Beaver in Des Moines. The cost is $30.

Our Kids Summer Institute Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for the 2012 Our Kids Summer Institute. The institute is appropriate for all content teachers and administrators, not just ELL teachers, and will provide the opportunity to discover new strategies for working with English language learner students. Other topics include Response to Intervention (RtI), co-teaching, technology for ELLs and literacy for the limited formal school population.

The first 350 participants registered will receive a $125 stipend from the Iowa Department of Education for attending the full conference. In order to receive a stipend, you must attend both days and sign in and out. Two graduate credit hours through William Penn University will be available on site. No other credit will be offered for this conference.

Click here for a flyer that can be distributed to interested teachers and administrators. Registration is available through the Heartland AEA Professional Development Catalog.

Heartland Area Spring Title I Meeting

The annual Spring Title I meeting will be held on Monday, May 14, 2012 form 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Rooms 13A & B of the Johnston Regional Education Center (6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston). The Iowa Department of Education will be sharing the latest updates and requirements concerning Title I programs and funding.

If this date does not work for you, click here for the Iowa Dept. of Education's May School Leaders Update, which has a listing of the other AEA meetings in the state.

ICAM Update: 2012 and Beyond

The Iowa Collaborative Assessment Modules (ICAM) will be offered for another two years. At that time the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium program will be in place to provide multi-format testing that ICAM has provided for districts.

Click here for a set of FAQs to bring you up-to-date with the future of multi-format testing in Iowa.

Contact Lisa Krapfl, ICAM State Coordinator, at lkrapfl@aea1.k12.ia.us or (800) 942-4668 with any questions you may have.

Print School Graduation Programs Through Heartland AEA

It's May and many schools are starting to prepare for graduation/commencement ceremonies. Remember that Heartland AEA is able to print, fold and bind your school's graduation programs, whether it is preschool, elementary, middle school or high school, in a variety of formats.

The most popular sizes are 5.5x8.5 or 8.5x11, and we can print in full color or black/white. You are not limited to a set number of pages -- we've printed everything from a simple one-pager to a 30+ page, full color program.

Submit an electronic copy of your program with a Print Request Form to our Print Center at printcenter@aea11.k12.ia.us. We also have graphic artists that can create your programs. Please submit a Production Request Form to our graphic designers at graphics@aea11.k12.ia.us, and one of them will contact you about layout, information and design. The Print Request Form and Production Request Form can be found on our website at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/print/index.html.

Please allow two weeks for the completion of your order. Finished programs will be shipped via our van mail delivery or can be picked up at our Print Center in the Johnston Regional Education Center (6500 Corporate Drive).

Quick Pitch Biz Competition for Business-Minded High School Students

In partnership with Ernst and Young, the Jacobson Institute is hosting a Quick Pitch Biz Competition. The competition is open to any Iowa high school student(s) with an existing business or a business idea.

Students must submit the application and one-page executive summary by Friday, May 11, 2012. Cash prizes totaling $6,000 will be awarded to the top businesses! The school with the most student applicants will receive a $1,000 grant to support entrepreneurship education.

Go to http://www.jacobsoninstitute.org/bizplan/ for competition information, promotional materials and the online application.

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.

Surplus Microscopes Available from DMACC

There are surplus microscopes available from the DMACC Ankeny campus available to any high school classroom. There are 13 singular eye piece American Optical microscopes each with three ocular sizes (4x, 10x and 45x). If interested, please contact Julie Klocke at jaklocke1@dmacc.edu or (515) 964-6386 to schedule a pickup.

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.