FOR-PD Update

April 2007

Latest FOR-PD Numbers

15,957 participants
1,190 sections
67 participating districts
7 participating universities
6 participating community colleges

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 full 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

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 at least 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 Summer 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 forpdreg@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.

Recently, FOR-PD opened applications to our Facilitator Certification and Training Course. We had many applicants and are in the process of reviewing all applications. All applicants will be notified of their selection on April 30, 2007. The facilitator training course will begin May 7, 2007 and end June 25, 2007. Our next application period will be this fall. Districts will be notified of the application period.

Facilitator Application Requirements

Persons desiring to become facilitators should possess the following qualifications:

Successful completion of the FOR-PD course (Scoring at the 80% level or above on all assignments and quizzes)
A minimum of three years of teaching experience
Advanced knowledge of research-based reading strategies
Ability to provide explicit instruction in the following elements of reading as they apply to appropriate grades: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
Ability to systematically use effective reading strategies that have been tested and have a record of success
Identified by school or district as a reading/literacy leader

Any of the following:

Masters Degree in reading or other related areas
Bachelors Degree plus completion of the Reading Endorsement
Hold a position as a Reading Coach or Curriculum Coach

For more information on becoming a facilitator, please check out the information on our website http://forpd.ucf.edu/facilitators/requirements.html.

FOR-PD Literacy e-Newsletter

Please read the March/April issue of the FOR-PD Literacy Newsletter.

In Focus – High School Reform

A current focus has risen across the country to improve education for high school students. Many organizations have written proposals and statements on ways that the U.S. Congress can help foster reform that is needed to support our nation's high school students. This month, for our In Focus section of the Literacy Newsletter, we'll be taking a closer look at how school reform initiatives are working toward supporting our adolescent learners.

Check out the In Focus section.

FOR-PD's Reading Strategy of the Month

The Reading Strategy of the Month focuses on the use of poetry to foster comprehension, fluency, and engagement with readers of all ages. April is National Poetry Month; check out our reading strategy to gather ideas for using poetry in your classroom.

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

Adolescents require instruction in unlocking the higher-degrees of literacy in order to understand texts that cover a wide-range of topics and subject areas. In recognition of this need, middle and high schools in the United States are looking toward the “literacy coach” to assist content area teachers who may need extra support in creating effective reading instruction.

The International Reading Association in collaboration with National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Science Teachers Association, and National Council for the Social Studies, and with support provided by Carnegie Corporation of New York, has created a blueprint not only for literacy coaches, but also for policymakers, school and district administrators, and teacher educators on ways that literacy coaches can help adolescent learners.

The organizations and associations included sections on leadership standards, content area standards for English, Math, Science, and Social Studies, and a section on research with a proposed research agenda on future research.

Download the full text of Standards for Middle and High School Literacy Coaches

Text Set

The March/April text set provides a medley of text and other materials, including non-fiction, websites, photos, pictures, primary source documents, and fiction on the topic of Japanese Internment during World War II.

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 April edition of the Facilitator e-Newsletter. This newsletter is developed to support the development and work of our FOR-PD facilitators.

Facilitator Resource of the Month

The resources identified for facilitators continue to look at questioning and how to use questioning during facilitation.

The art of questioning is a basic skill of good teaching. Through questioning, facilitators can aid participants in exploring the information they are learning deeper. Questioning can also help participants make connections between what they are learning in the course and what they are implementing in their classroom. The first resource identifies five basic types of questions: factual, convergent, divergent, evaluative, and combinations of the previous types. The Facilitator Newsletter offers additional information on Socratic questioning and essential questions. A final resource provided focuses on how to use these questioning techniques in an online environment.

Resources to check out include:

The Five Basic Types of Questions http://www.uwsp.edu/Education/lwilson/learning/quest2.htm

Crafting Questions for Online Discussions http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/online_questions/index.html

Facilitator Chats

We would like to thank Carol McWilliams, Assistant Director of SUNLINK, for giving her time to attend our April Facilitator Chat. She presented some terrific tips for online facilitation based on her lengthy experience. Some of her suggestions include:

Present content in a conversational style.
Use humor.
Help participants to "see" your environment by mentioning an event, decor, or companion (Carol shares about her little dog sitting on her desk as she works).
Use "virtual office hours" to hold mini-tutorials.
Use reflective listening.
Be accessible.

In May, Dr. Atusi Hirumi will be chatting with our facilitators. Dr. Hurimi is an Associate Professor and Co-Chair of the Instructional Technology Program at the University of Central Florida. Dr Hirumi is responsible for the design and delivery of seven graduate level and two undergraduate level courses. His accomplishments are many, including development of e-learning systems and assisting universities, community colleges, K-12 school districts and businesses across the United States and in Mexico to establish online certificate and degree programs.

Our facilitators often spend a great deal of time online making sure all participant issues are taken care of and completing their grading duties. Dr. Hurimi's chat will focus on the topic of optimizing time spent online and steps facilitators can take to keep time spent online to a minimum.

FOR-PD Staff Member - Melanie Edwards

Staff Member Name: Melanie Edwards
Job Title: Help Desk Manager
Favorite Book: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Extended Info:

Email Address: meedward@mail.ucf.edu
Hometown: Levittown, Puerto Rico
Degree: BS Industrial & Systems Engineering & MS Modeling & Simulation (Pursuing)
Job Responsibilities:
As the Help Desk Manager, I oversee and manage the daily inquiries to the FOR-PD Help Desk through various forms of communication, including phone, email, IM, and live chat. Amongst other duties, I also assist with course revision and development on a semester basis and provide general technical support to the FOR-PD staff.
Quote: If at first you don't succeed, redefine success. - Murphy's Law

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 to 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.