FOR-PD Update

January 2008

Greetings from the FOR-PD Project!

Latest FOR-PD Numbers

31,196 preK-20 participants
1,404 sections
67 participating districts
7 participating universities
6 participating community colleges

FOR-PD Launches "New" Website

The FOR-PD course has a “new look”! We are in session this spring with over 1,800 preK-12 educators who are taking the FOR-PD course. Updates in our course redesign are intended to make the course more user- friendly and easy to navigate! We are receiving much positive feedback about the new look of the course, the organization of the lessons, the layout and navigation, as well as the improved friendliness of the course. We also completed several content update and included more information for teachers in the content areas. The FOR-PD team is happy with the progress being made to implement strong instructional design elements that facilitate learner-content interaction and increase learning gains!

This spring we continue to work on content updates and plan to provide educators with updated resources, classroom applications, and many other teacher-relevant elements that will help teachers succeed and learn how to best implement scientifically-based reading instruction in their classroom.

FOR-PD Announces Literacy Blog

FOR-PD Literacy Blog Screen shot FOR-PD Literacy Blog is provided to all those interested in literacy and literacy research. Throughout the semester the FOR-PD Reading Specialist will be posting thoughts, ideas, and follow-up for the lessons provided within the FOR-PD course. She will post reading news, new research, and literacy links that you may want to visit and share with others.

Data shows that Florida’s educators are effectively utilizing the FOR-PD Literacy Blog as a means of communication, exchanging ideas, learning from each other, and also as a means of an online literacy community.

You can read the blog by visiting the blog site at http://forpd.ucf.edu/literacyblog/. In order to make comments to a posting you must become a registered user. To register, please visit http://forpd.ucf.edu/literacyblog/wp-login.php?action=register and type in a user name and email address. Once this has been completed, a password will be emailed to you. (You can also subscribe via your e-mail address via our literacy blog site.)

Registrations and Calendars (2008)

Registration and Calendar for Spring 2008 Open Enrollment/District Spring 2008
4/19/2008	Spring open enrollment courses end.
Registration and Calendar for Summer 2008 Open Enrollment/District Summer 2008
3/3/2008 at 9 AM EST	Open enrollment begins on FOR-PD web site.
4/14/2008 at 5PM EST	Open enrollment closes.
5/12/2008	Summer open enrollment courses begin.
8/16/2008	Summer open enrollment courses end.
Registration and Calendar for Fall 2008 Open Enrollment/District Fall 2008
6/2/2008 at 9 AM EST	Open enrollment begins on FOR-PD web site.
8/18/2008 at 5PM EST	Open enrollment closes.
9/8/2008	Fall open enrollment courses begin.
12/13/2008	Fall open enrollment courses end.

FOR-PD Literacy e-Newsletter

The FOR-PD E-Literacy Newsletter also has a “new look”! We have worked hard to improve this valuable publication; we hope that you will enjoy it and that you will also use it to support your professional needs.

Please read our most recent E- Literacy Newsletter; please feel free to share it with educators across the state. FOR-PD's Literacy newsletter deals specifically with literacy and learning for K-12 teachers of Florida's public schools. As you read and review our newsletter you will find information on local, state, and federal literacy news, upcoming conferences, celebrations, sources of funding, resources on the World Wide Web, and children’s and young adult literature, teacher professional books, and other resources you can use with your students. The participant section answers pertinent questions participants have about the course and provides helpful tips for successful completion. We hope that this newsletter will provide educators with useful information to support their literacy development and the work they do with Florida students.

FOR-PD's Reading Strategy of the Month

Our newest Reading Strategy of the Month focuses Word Analogies. Whether comparing the concept of cells to building blocks or the term McCarthyism to a Salem witch trial, analogies are excellent tools used to create a bridge between new knowledge and known concepts. “Analogies can serve as early ‘mental models’ that students can use to form limited but meaningful understandings of complex concepts” (Glynn, 2007). By asking students to consider the relationships between words, teachers can help trigger critical thinking on an abundance of topics and subjects (Vacca & Vacca, 1999).

Word analogies have been found to be useful thinking exercises that require students to draw inferences and offer a way to increase students’ vocabulary and comprehension (Readence, Bean, & Baldwin, 1998). As with almost any learning strategy, activating students’ prior knowledge is a first step. This can be exceptionally important with analogies. Often seen as an equation found in standardized tests where each side of an analogy is balanced (i.e. Lincoln is to slavery, as Jefferson is to independence), the terms teachers use within an analogy can effect students understanding of the material being covered. Teachers should also remember to give demonstrations on how to successfully analyze an analogy, and model how students can create their own analogies (Vacca & Vacca, 1999).

In our continuing effort to provide additional support to our teachers across the state, FOR-PD has established a Reading Strategy of the Month for educators to use. Each month FOR-PD features a different reading strategy. The research-base for the strategy is explained, directions on how to use the strategy are provided, ideas for adapting the strategy are explained, assessment tips are shared, and examples are provided from elementary and secondary levels. Check out our monthly strategies and share them with your colleagues. Let us know if you use them and how you use them. Email us at forpd@mail.ucf.edu - subject heading FOR-PD Reading Strategies.

FOR-PD's Facilitator e-Newsletter

The Facilitator E-Newsletter also has a “new look”! We have done some major makeovers here at FOR-PD this year! We have worked hard to improve this valuable facilitator publication; please examine and see how FOR-PD continues to provide ongoing professional development for its “online literacy coaches”.

Please also read the January edition of the Facilitator e-Newsletter. This newsletter is developed to support the work of our FOR-PD facilitators.

Facilitator Resource of the Month

Our new year’s resource will provide a good overview of online facilitation, what it is and the skills necessary in order to be effective. What We Have Learned About Effective Online Facilitation from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework community can be of benefit to new and experienced facilitators alike. This guide is based on the knowledge generated from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework and selected external literature and provides an introduction to key issues related to online facilitation.

FOR-PD facilitators continue to learn about the following facilitation skills:

engage the learner in the learning process, particularly at the beginning;
use appropriate questioning, listening, and feedback skills;
provide direction and support to learners;
manage online discussion;
build online community;
build relationships between participants and yourself;
use motivational skills to keep students progressing.

FOR-PD facilitators are reflecting upon, and learning more, about own role as a facilitator. For example: Why is online facilitation important? How does your role as the facilitator impact the learning of the participants?

FOR-PD Help Desk Hours

Help Desk hours are:

Monday through Friday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM EST and 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM EST
Saturday 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM EST

The phone number is 1-866-863-READ (7323) toll free, Florida calls only. For local calls, the number is 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. This requires you to have Macromedia Flash installed on your computer. First, make sure that we are online. See the following link for more information http://forpd.ucf.edu/helpdesk/index.html

FOR-PD Welcomes Your Feedback!

Do you have comments about the course or the FOR-PD project, in general? 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.