FOR-PD Update
January 2007
Latest FOR-PD Numbers
- 15,899 participants
- 1,165 sections
- 67 participating districts
- 7 participating universities
- 6 participating community colleges
Completion Information for Fall 2007
By this time, all districts should have received completion information for the fall courses. If you have not received this information, please contact Richard Scott by telephone (407) 207-4940 or via email at riscott@mail.ucf.edu.
Participants have also been sent their completion certificates. If there are teachers in your district who have not received their completion certificate, please have them call our office at 1-888-227-7261 or email us at forpd@mail.ucf.edu.
Spring Registration Update
The spring sections of the FOR-PD course will begin January 22, 2007. Participants will be notified via email on January 22nd with their login information and specific information about their section. Participants are encouraged to keep this email for their records.
Below are registration numbers for spring 2007.
Section Type |
Number of Sections |
Number of Particiapts |
University |
6 |
118 |
Community College |
5 |
121 |
District |
36 |
858 |
Open Enrollment |
46 |
1109 |
TOTAL |
93 |
2206 |
Registration for Summer 2007
Open Enrollment
Open enrollment allows teachers across the state to register directly with FOR-PD. Teachers are grouped with other teachers from their district or surrounding districts. This option is ideal for smaller districts who feel they cannot register a district section. Many districts post these dates on their district professional development site or send them out directly to teachers through various district communications.
The open enrollment web site can be found at http://forpd.ucf.edu/register/register.html.
| Open Enrollment Summer 2007 | |
| 4/02/2007 at 9 AM EST | Open enrollment (OE) begins on FOR-PD Web site. |
| 5/21/2007 at 5 PM EST | Open enrollment closes. |
| 6/4/2007 | Summer OE courses begin. |
| 9/10/2007 | Summer OE courses end. |
District Registration Closes January 8th
Districts can register their own sections of FOR-PD at no cost to the district. For these sections, the district is responsible for recruiting teachers, completing the registration form, and sending that registration form to FOR-PD. Districts must have 20 teachers registered in order to start a district registration. For more information on how your district can register a section of FOR-PD, please go to our district web site at http://forpd.ucf.edu/register/district.html.
| District Registration Spring 2007 | |
| 5/21/2007 | Registration file must be received in the FOR-PD office. |
| 6/4/2007 | Summer district courses begin. |
| 9/10/2007 | Summer district courses end. |
We request that districts adhere to the dates provided. All registration files should be emailed to Richard Scott (riscott@mail.ucf.edu) on or before the due dates above. The District Registration file can be downloaded at http://forpd.ucf.edu/register/regfile_district.xls.
Changes for Spring 2007
FOR-PD receives a great deal of feedback from facilitators, participants, and district/university/community college personnel. The data and feedback drives many of the changes we implement. In the spring, there will be several changes for both participants and facilitators. In our December 2006 Project Update [link] we provided a detailed listing of changes for the spring semester. Details about changes for the spring can also be found in the December edition of the FOR-PD Facilitator Newsletter [link]. Below are just some reminders of changes for participants.
Course Content Location:
The content of FOR-PD is copyrighted and in order to protect this content from outside access, we have decided to move the lessons within WebCT. In previous semesters our content has been outside of WebCT and vulnerable to those who wish to "borrow" it without permission.
Moving the course content means the following:
- Participants will now use WebCT to navigate through the course.
- Downloading lesson content in order to print lessons will now be done using the WebCT Compile Tool. We have explained how to use this tool in Lesson 1.
- One drawback is that we are unable to immediately change broken links. Once courses have been cloned off of the course template, we are unable to make changes to the content. To alleviate this issue, we have created a Resource Page which contains all of the links used in each lesson. Participants will find a link to these resources on the first page of each lesson. Broken links will be updated on these pages and participants will be notified of the updates.
Lesson Due Dates and Grading Schedule:
FOR-PD, while online, is not intended to be an independent study. For this reason, we are scheduling very specific due dates. Participants are expected to meet the deadlines for each lesson. This information is communicated to participants via the Participant Expectations Document, course calendar, lesson schedule, Lesson 1, communication by facilitators, and increased communication by FOR-PD. Grading deadlines are intended to keep all participants on track for completion.
- Lessons will now be due on Saturday night at 11:55pm EST.
- Grades must be posted by Sunday at 11:55 pm EST of the week following the date assignments are due.
Quizzes:
Currently participants in sections other than college or university sections are allowed to take the quizzes as many times as needed to reach master. Beginning in the spring, participants will only be allowed to take the quiz three times. Participants are encouraged to look at the feedback that is provided each time they take the quiz. Feedback provided to participants includes the correct answer and reasoning as to why their answer was not correct. Participants who look at the feedback provided should be able to pass the quiz on their second attempt.
Grading Requirements:
Current FOR-PD policy states that facilitators are not required to grade assignments for participants who fall seven or more lessons behind. FOR-PD feels strongly that any participant who falls this far behind has clearly missed the point and the benefits of this professional development course. Starting this spring, participants who fall seven or more lessons behind will not be allowed to continue with the FOR-PD course.
Increased Participant Communication:
FOR-PD will be communicating with participants on a biweekly basis via email. These emails will include reminders of the course schedule, tips and tricks for online learning, and support to ensure successful completion of the FOR-PD course. We hope this communication will encourage participants to keep closely to the course schedule and ensure their success.
Reading Endorsement Competency 1
In the continued effort to provide teachers with high-quality reading endorsement professional development, the Just Read, Florida! office has announced the availability of 1,000 free registrations for the competency one online course entitled Foundations of Language and Cognition (FOLAC) offered through North East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC). Additional information about the FOLAC training, including training goals and objectives, assignment schedule, and technical requirements, is available online at http://www.nefec.org/dl/folac/.
Because there are a number of non-reading endorsed middle and high school educators teaching reading classes this year who are considered out of field, the Just Read, Florida! office has developed a hierarchy of priority for the complimentary FOLAC slots.
- Teachers who are currently teaching reading courses in grades 6-12 during the 2006-2007 school year and are required to earn the reading endorsement have first priority.
- Teachers who, in all probability, will be teaching reading courses in grades 6-12 during the 2007-2008 school year and are required to complete their reading endorsement have second priority.
- Reading coaches have third priority.
- Principals have fourth priority.
Teachers may register online for the complimentary slots beginning January 15, 2007, at 7:00 AM (EST) at http://www.nefec.org/dl/folac/. Registrations will not be accepted before this date and time, but registration will remain open until all slots are filled.
For more information you may download and review the following Florida Department of Education Memorandum available at http://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-4174/comp1memo.pdf
K-12 Comprehensive Reading Plan Requirements
The Florida Legislature, as recommended by Governor Bush and the State Board of Education, took action to make reading a permanent priority and to ensure that reading is funded annually as a part of the public school funding formula. Established in the 2006 law within section 1011.62, Florida Statutes, fundage in the amount of $111.8 million for the 2006-2007 school year was awarded.
In order to receive this reading funding, districts had to write a K-12 Comprehensive Research-Based Reading Plan. The Florida Department of Education's Just Read, Florida! office recently sent out a memorandum to further clarify the requirements for the K-12 Comprehensive Reading Plan. Included are questions and answers on selected issues such as assessment and the role of the reading/literacy coach. This document attempts to pull together a collective group of questions and concerns.
To view this document please download the following PDF located at
http://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-4148/compfaq_att1.pdf
FOR-PD Literacy e-Newsletter
Please read the January issue of the FOR-PD Literacy Newsletter.
In Focus – Gender, Learning, and Literacy
Gender, learning, and literacy have once again become a hot topic. Many researchers feel that learning and literacy development is different when considering the gender of the student. This month, the In Focus section of the Literacy Newsletter takes a closer look at how gender and gender roles can lead to an enhanced learning for boys and girls. Check the resources we have provided on this issue.
FOR-PD's Reading Strategy of the Month
January's Reading Strategy of the Month focuses on using etymologies in instruction to improve vocabulary development and increase comprehension. Helping students gain practice in identifying and considering word origins can enhance their overall vocabulary development. “A study of the etymology of certain words has a good deal of value in expanding the basic vocabulary and in generating an appreciation for the English language’s diversity, flexibility, and capability of growth.” (Johnson & Pearson, 1978, p. 50). Etymologies can provide students with an appreciation for words of the present by investigating their past. “Knowing that so many words have come from mythology, literature, and historical events and figures provides important background knowledge for students’ reading in the various content areas (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2004, p. 263).”
Each month we feature an effective reading strategy, explain the rationale behind the strategy, give directions on how to use the strategy with students, present ideas for adapting the strategy to different content areas, present ideas for assessing the strategy, and of course provide a printable PDF version of the strategy. Check out our Reading Strategy Archive to see past Reading Strategies of the Month.Literacy Coaches' Corner
The winter 2007 Journal of Staff Development focuses on support for school-based coaches. In January's Coaches' Corner, we feature a summary of an article by Jim Knight, a research associate at the University of Kansas, on how to support school-based collaboration. He discusses his concerns that while school-based coaching has become more well-known, it may be implemented too simplistically and without an understanding of the complexity of change (Knight, 2007). Check out the Reading Coache' Corner for the five key points to building a coaching program.
Knight, J. (2007, Winter). 5 key points to building a coaching program. Journal of Staff Development, 28(1), 26-31.
January's Text Set
This month begins an exciting new collaboration between FOR-PD and two facilitators: Nancy Case from Alachua County and Jean Salamon from Lake County. Besides being FOR-PD facilitators, both ladies are also media specialists. They will be sharing some excellent books to use in class text sets. Check out January's Text Set on "race relations."
FOR-PD is looking for ideas for future text sets. If you have an idea, please feel free to email us at forpd@mail.ucf.edu.
FOR-PD's Facilitator e-Newsletter
Please also read the January edition of the Facilitator e-Newsletter. This newsletter is developed to support the development and work of our FOR-PD facilitators.
Celebrating Facilitators from Fall 2006
FOR-PD would like to congratulate the fall facilitators who achieved an 80 percent completion rate.
Patricia Allegar - Seminole County |
Deanne Nelson-Sarasota County |
An extra special round of applause goes to those facilitators who had a 100 percent completion rate!
| Anne Bishop-UF Montez Hollins-St. Lucie County |
Leona Hunt-CFCC Jayna Snyder-BRCC |
Congratulations to all of our facilitators for a great semester!
Spring Facilitator Professional Development
Facilitator Resource of the Month
This month we have provided several resources relating to teacher presence in online learning.
Online Challenges and Strategies http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca/maclachlan/teaching_presence/theme_tp.htm
What is teacher presence? This link provides information on the challenges and strategies in creating teacher presence. This is one page from the Calgary Board of Education's Teaching and Learning Online e-PD course, which references a lengthy definition of Teaching Presence: "Teaching presence, the first theme of online learning, is the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes" (Rourke, Anderson, Garrison and Archer, 2000). The site contains an interesting presentation with comments from those teaching online and informative links, that explore the topic further and attempt to explain the definition.
Facilitator Roles and Strategies
http://www2.edc.org/NetTech/facilitating1/FacilitationGuide.html#Facilitator
This guide lists specific facilitator roles and offers valuable implementation strategies to help facilitators. The roles listed include:
- Greet and encourage participants, make everyone feel heard, create a comfortable environment.
- Foster communication between and among participants.
- Provide behind-the-scenes support via email.
- Model desired type of interactions.
- Keep the workshop alive; prevent stagnancy.
- Keep the discussions on track, rein in long digressions, push people forward on the topic.
- Guide participants through the curriculum.
- Make sure the audience and the curriculum are in sync.
Facilitating Online-The Communication Factor
http://community.flexiblelearning.net.au/TeachingTrainingLearners/content/article_6873.htm
The last resource has valuable information and reminders about the communication factor of facilitation. It offers a wonderful discussion on "listening" online including Ms. Fawcett's "poetic response on Active Listening Online."
FOR-PD Help Desk Hours
Help Desk hours are:
Monday through Friday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday, Tuesday, and Friday 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Toll free from Florida only 1-866-863-READ (7323)
Non-Florida calls only 407-249-4702
Technical support is also available through AOL Instant Messenger, screen name "forpdhelp."
If teachers need technical support beyond that which their facilitator or school technology coordinator can offer, they should contact the FOR-PD Technical Support Help Desk. Please fill out the Tech Help Form or call the Help Desk.
Chat Live with the Help Desk. First, make sure that we are online. The button below will tell you whether we are online or offline. Next, click on Set Screen Name and type your name. Then, click in the light blue box below to type your message. Press Enter to send it. This requires you have Macromedia Flash installed on your computer. http://forpd.ucf.edu/about/technicalsupport.html
Do you have comments about the course? Have you received any comments from people in your district? We are always looking for feedback, so send it our way. Email forpd@mail.ucf.edu.
For comments and suggestions, please contact us at forpd@mail.ucf.edu or 407-207-7296.
© Copyright 2003-2008 by FOR-PD at the University of Central Florida. All rights reserved.