Starting with the December blog, each ICN News will focus on a specific theme concerning the ICN. Although other pertinent news will also be featured in the blog, most articles will focus on the theme. The December blog theme, Exploring IPTV Sessions, highlights the varied and successful K-12 Connections, Transitions, and School to Careers sessions offered via the ICN by IPTV. Please take a moment to read this month’s articles and discover the benefits that the ICN can bring to your classroom, whether you teach high school, middle school or elementary school.
The Great Debaters, an IPTV Transitions session offered on October 9, connected session participants with current and past members of the award-winning Roosevelt High School debate team to discuss the benefits and rewards of participating in school debate teams. Roosevelt High School’s debate team was named among the nation’s top ten programs in the country following a strong performance at the Desert Lights National Tournament in Las Vegas. Roosevelt earned the Schwann School of Excellence Award as one of the nation’s top debate programs. This is quite an accomplishment considering 860 schools competed in the tournament in 16 different events. Roosevelt became the third central Iowa school to win the award in the past six years. In addition to this team honor, the National Forensic League recently named 2008 Roosevelt graduate Billy Strong an NFL All-American debater. The title of NFL All-American is the highest honor possible for a high school debate student.
The session, designed for students interested in debate or already involved in debate, focused on the role and benefits of debate for students in their lives after high school. Roosevelt High School debate team members Amelia Martin, Chris Oman and Taylor Young, Roosevelt graduate and current Grinnell College student Sam Fairfield discussed the skills they have honed through involvement in debate. Roosevelt debate team coach Harry Strong also talked about the benefits of debate with session participants. 
All current debate team members felt that debate is preparing them in many varied and beneficial ways for their lives beyond high school. Martin felt that debate improved her schoolwork, provided development of her verbal skills and raised her confidence. She felt that although you have to work hard, it is “work well spent” and helps her to think “outside the box.”
Oman felt that debate helps him to write quality essays and shape his thinking about the world. Through debate participation, he has met people around the world and now, as a result of his experiences, wants to pursue international relations, global politics and economics as he furthers his education.
Young spent time studying, researching and participating in Lincoln-Douglas style debates. This experience taught him time management skills and he feels that debate is “the greatest activity I have done.” All of the students spoke highly of their experience and feel strongly that it will benefit them in the future.
Coach Strong and Fairfield presented a perspective from beyond high school. Yale college administrators informed Coach Strong during discussions that debate students are highly sought after for overall academics. Debate students learn to impact arguments, present an argument and explain why the argument matters.
Fairfield, a sophomore at Grinnell named Honorable Mention NFL All-American in 2007, felt that debate has benefited him in numerous ways. His high school experience in debate programs helped him develop critical thinking, essay writing and time management skills that prepared him well for college. In addition, participation in debate gave him focus in high school that helped him academically get into college. He has learned that college counselors highly consider qualities found in debate students in scholarship applications. He feels that competitive debate has helped him learn how to work in groups, develop his skills in critical argumentation and mature as an individual.
Another interesting note about this team and its success—the Roosevelt High School debate team almost became extinct a few years ago due to budget cuts. To read more about how Fairfield, Strong and other students saved the debate program and helped bring it to its current level of success, see the Global Debate Blog at http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/students-save-iowa-high-school-debate.html.
If you or your students would like to share a successful academic and/or extracurricular opportunity offered in your school or classroom, please contact Lyneé Casper at lcasper@aea11.k12.ia.us. Sharing success stories is a great way to get more schools and students involved in worthwhile activities that can enhance their education. Through this ICN session, these students were able to connect with students throughout Iowa to share their passion for debate and inspire others to participate in this worthwhile experience.
Behind the Scenes at IPTV: LaShell Staley, Trista Peitzman, and Abby Brown Keep IPTV Sessions Rolling
LaShell Staley has been with Iowa Public Television for over 17 years. Her educational background includes a B.A. in journalism and a minor in English. During her time at the network, she has held a variety of positions that include management of the college-level programming service for the network, sitting on national boards with PBS and Kentucky Educational Television related to Adult Literacy and program development. She also held a seat on the Coordinating Council for Post High School Education. Staley has also worked on a number of grants and on special project teams throughout her years with IPTV. As one example, she developed the iowalearns.org project. In her current position, Staley manages the School to Careers and Transitions Projects at IPTV. She also works on projects related to ABE/GED/ELL and is the network contact for these groups. In addition to these duties, Staley is currently in the middle of her second (three-year) term on a Department of Education appointment to the Special Education Advisory Council (SEAP) for the State of Iowa. She is also currently serving a term on the Iowa Literacy Council and has served on this council in years past.
Trista Peitzman, the PreK-12 coordinator for K-12 Connections, has been a part of IPTV for nearly 10 years. Prior to working for IPTV, she taught elementary school for six years. In her coordinator role, she plans ICN sessions, schedules and facilitates ICN sessions, trains presenters and works with presenters to modify the ICN if necessary. In addition to these duties, Peitzman recently began working with the new Raising Readers program, a reading readiness campaign. PBS KIDS Raising Readers is a national literacy campaign and part of the Ready To Learn initiative, focused on building reading skills at home, at school, in childcare and in the community. Funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the United States Department of Education, the Ready To Learn initiative efforts incorporate the latest research about the most effective ways for kids to build reading skills, with a special emphasis on the needs of children from lower income families. Peitzman is pleased to be part of this worthwhile initiative and enjoys all aspects of her job as she helps teachers to get the resources they need to more effectively teach. For more information about the Raising Readers initiative, check their Web site at http://pbskids.org/read/?station=KDIN.
Abby Brown was hired by Iowa Public Television in the fall of 2005 after completing her B.S. in early childhood education at Iowa State University to work on the K-12 Connections project. Her main role with the project is to coordinate distance-learning opportunities delivered to Iowa schools via the ICN. She works to create opportunities for students in grades Pre-K through 12 as well as educators, administrators, nurses, librarians and other adults who work in schools. To develop and make these opportunities a reality, she works with partners throughout the state of Iowa to deliver educational and interactive sessions across all content areas and grade levels. For Brown, the most enjoyable aspect of the position is teaching ICN sessions for Pre-K and elementary students. She enjoys getting to know the teachers and students, especially those who attend regularly. She also feels strongly about her part in fostering opportunities for children that they might not otherwise get to experience.
A projected increase in technology jobs and a decrease in technology workers may result in a severe workforce shortage in coming years. The supply of Iowa technology workers continues to fall below the current and future demands of this important field. The Technology Association of Iowa (TAI) Educational Foundation has developed and tested a technology career awareness program called HyperStream to support its key initiative of developing Iowa's future technology workforce. IPTV and the ICN are working with the program to offer ICN sessions focused on increasing student interest in technology careers. Three upcoming sessions introduce the Hyperstream project and provide the first mentor sessions.
In the general information session, offered on December 11 from 3:20-4:20 p.m., educators and administrators can learn more about the program. Launched statewide in September, TAI member-companies and their employees are striving to be the driving forces for increasing numbers of Iowa 8th–12th graders to pursue post-secondary technology education and prepare for Iowa technology careers. Through active partnerships between business and education, ambassador companies will work directly with educators and students by mentoring, starting HyperStream Clubs and supporting hands-on projects. Ambassadors, who are professionals working in the technology field, will directly develop our future technology leaders and contribute to the community. The ICN will be utilized as a way for ambassadors to reach multiple classes at one time. Educators and administrators are encouraged to join TAI project managers during this introductory session to learn more about this innovative project.
Mentor sessions will begin the actual process of bringing ambassadors from local industries to the students. These professionals will commit via the project to mentor a class for one year. The goal of this aspect of the program is to provide students with real-world experiences in technology careers and to understand jobs within a given organization. Through the ICN, more than one class will be reached and thus mentored.
The first mentor session, offered on December 16 and 17 from 11:00-11:50 a.m., will be presented by an ambassador from the Microsoft Corporation. He will talk with students about Microsoft and the job prospects within the company for students in Iowa. He will also talk about Microsoft’s role in this project and how schools can get involved with the Hyperstream project in Iowa. Of particular interest for this ambassador is the announcement earlier this year that Microsoft will open a new data center in West Des Moines. According to Gov. Chet Culver’s office, “The data center, described as the place ‘where the internet lives,’ is expected to house large-scale, worldwide Web services for Microsoft's online services business.”
An ambassador from LWBJ Financial will present the second mentor session, also offered on December 17 from 10:00-10:50 a.m. LWBJ Financial is an international company with an Iowa office. The ambassador, an accounting and financial analyst for LWBJ, will discuss details about her company and the importance of understanding and developing skills with software applications for professionals in her field. The CPAs and financial analysts who work for LWBJ must have technology skills to do their day-to-day work. She will also discuss how LWBJ hopes to mentor classes in Iowa and foster an interest in students in this career field.
If you feel that your students would benefit from this very worthwhile project, please go to the appropriate Transitions registration page by choosing the links below. LaShell Staley is also available to answer questions by phone at (800) 532-1290 or (515) 242-3144 or by e-mail at lashell@iptv.org.
General Information Session
Microsoft Ambassador
LWBJ Ambassador
Starting with the publication of Little House in the Big Woods in 1932, pioneer life as captured by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her Little House books has captivated millions of beloved readers. During a new K-12 Connections session offered by the Hoover Presidential Library, students in grades 3-6 can learn more about the life and times of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The session, offered two times daily on eight different days in January, will take students on a journey through Laura’s life.
Presenters will map Laura’s journeys from Pepin, Wisconsin; to Kansas and back again to the Big Woods; then off to Walnut Grove, Minnesota; Burr Oak, Iowa; and De Smet, South Dakota; and finally to Mansfield, Missouri, her home for over 60 years. Fiddle music, photographs from Laura’s albums, videos, letters written by Laura and Rose and period artifacts will be used to make Laura’s world come to life.
Prior to the session, teachers are encouraged to help students prepare relevant questions for the presenters. Following the ICN session, registrants receive a complimentary book, In the Land of the Big Red Apple, from the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. For more information about the session, please refer to the K-12 Connections Calendar at http://www.iptv.org/iowa_database/cal-default.cfm.
The 50-minute session is offered on the following days at both 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.:
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
***PLEASE NOTE*** If the times offered above do not work with your schedule, please contact Mary Evans, and she will be happy to schedule a session at a time of your convenience.
Through support from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine, the Jacobson Institute is currently developing the YouthBizCentral online entrepreneurship curriculum. YouthBizCentral will be piloted in Iowa schools during the spring 2009 semester. The general information ICN session, presented on January 20 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. will provide participating teachers with an overview of the curriculum and instructions on how to get started. Curriculum features of the program include an online/easily accessible format, eight fully customizable core units, lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, activities and Web resources, entrepreneurial profiles and a student business-planning template. The goal of the program is to equip youth with the skills to succeed in business and entrepreneurship.
The program is open to Iowa secondary educators (grades 9-12). Educators participating in the pilot MUST be willing to implement the eight-unit curriculum and provide feedback regarding the curriculum. Each participating educator, selected on a first come, first served basis, will receive a $250 stipend upon completion of the pilot project. The YouthBizCentral spring 2009 pilot is limited to 100 Iowa secondary educators. Prior to signing up for the general information ICN session, participants must complete the online registration form at the YouthBizCentral Web site. If you are interested in more information, contact Dawn Bowlus at (319) 335-0985 or at dawn-bowlus@uiowa.edu.
Are your students participating in Science Fair 2009 this spring? If so, be sure to attend one of the remaining informational ICN sessions designed to help you prepare your students. These sessions, geared for teachers of students in grades 6-12, cover a range of topics relating to the science fair. SSTFI Director Andrea Spencer and SSTFI alumna Heather LeFleur will present all sessions. The first three sessions in this six-part series occurred in October and November, but there’s still time to participate in the remaining sessions. Confirmed registrants for one or more of the sessions in the Science Fair 2009 series will receive an Explore More DVD set including the following titles: Genetic Engineering, The Future of Energy, Working Landscapes and Water Quality. Remaining session topics and times are listed below. Click on the links to learn more about each session or check out the sessions on the K-12 Connections Calendar.
January 28, 4:00-5:00 p.m. – Science Fair 2009: Preparing Abstracts and the Research Paper
The content of this session includes the following:
• What is an abstract, and what should it contain?
• Examples of abstracts
• Preparing the research paper to best communicate the research
February 5, 4:00-5:00 p.m. - Science Fair 2009: Display Design and Graphic
The content of this session includes the following:
• Overview of a display for fair exhibition and how to prepare
• Preparing graphs
February 24, 4:00-5:00 p.m. - Science Fair 2009: Interviewing at the fair with Judges
The content of this session includes the following:
• Judging process
• Sample judging interviews with judges and subsequent debriefing of interviews
• How to prepare for the interview
The pilot Chinese course offered this semester by Burlington Notre Dame, an Iowa private school, has been a hit with students. The need for the course, offered through ILO, developed over the last few years, as more students have become interested in learning Asian languages. A total of 15 students from three different schools are currently enrolled in this pilot program that uses a Polycom device to reach the different schools.
Hye-Seung Lee, an exchange teacher from Korea who is teaching the course, has focused on tones during this first semester. She has spent a lot of time just getting the students to sound Chinese. As mentioned in the October ICN News blog, Ms. Lee will be moving at the end of the semester. Burlington Notre Dame foreign language instructor Richard Dunshee reports that they have found a replacement for Ms. Lee. She is teaching elementary school now for Mid-Prairie. The plans are that the new instructor will teach next semester and hopefully be able to offer first and second year Chinese in the fall of 2009. Dunshee also has the “hope to add either Arabic or Japanese also, but that is still a hope.”
Student feedback for the course has been very positive. Of the 15 students taking the course, 14 students responded to a feedback questionnaire. The students particularly enjoy learning to write the Chinese characters and learning to use the correct tones when speaking. They feel that the class will benefit them in the future by giving them more job opportunities, particularly in the business world. Most of the students chose to take the course because they have an interest in learning other languages. The majority of the students expressed an interest in continuing to take Chinese.
Student Brooke Byars states, “I would love to take Chinese another year if it is offered, even all four years.” All of the students had positive words concerning the overall course and the instructor.
Attendance for the course, another indicator of its success, has been very good, especially considering its early morning meeting time of 7:15 a.m. One girl, the only student from New London, actually came to class when there was no school at New London for the day. She arranged for the principal to open the doors for her. Some of the students who have had some academic trouble in other classes have been motivated in this class and are all doing very well.
As mentioned in the October blog, Burlington Notre Dame provides a coach, necessary materials and willingness to be flexible with scheduling. As a partner with the school, ILO provides an online registration system and posts the class on the ILO Web site. For school partners using the ICN, ILO would also pay applicable ICN costs that may incur. For questions relating to this Chinese course, contact Richard Dunshee at rdunshee@nd-burl.pvt.k12.ia.us. For questions related to Iowa Learning Online, contact Arlan Thorson at athorson@iowalearningonline.org or at (515) 238-4765. Interested individuals can also visit http://iowalearningonline.org for more information.
My tips for this issue concern ICN classroom use and the ICN classroom electrical circuit. As I have noticed a steady change in the uses of our ICN Classrooms, I thought these tips and thoughts worth mentioning. Schools are more frequently using the ICN classroom for reasons other than ICN use. I have always felt this is a good idea—the classrooms are owned by the school and they should use them to their maximum potential.
Why not use the ICN classroom for a speech class a couple times each month? Students would have a podium to stand behind and give their speech. Students and teachers could also use the podium, student camera and computer to show a PowerPoint or website to the class. Teachers could tape presentations and play them back to the class for critiquing. What a great place to have a math class! Place the calculator under the overhead and everyone can see it. These uses are beneficial and appropriate additional uses for these classrooms.
Using the ICN classrooms for additional purposes can, however, sometimes lead to problems. In addition to the uses above, I am also seeing the rooms used as small computer labs. These rooms were wired with a dedicated electrical circuit that allows all of the classroom equipment to power up by activating one or two switches under the podium. If several computers are plugged into this circuit, a circuit breaker can be tripped back in the FOT Room. Over time, the breaker will begin to soften and not stay on.
Once the breaker softens, it will begin to trip even when the classroom is turned on. This is a particularly bad situation for an evening class when no one is around to help if the breaker trips. Thus, if you are going to use the ICN classroom in a situation that will involve a large amount of electrical power, I would suggest you get that electrical power from the wall outlets and not under the podium or the tables where they are wired into the classroom equipment circuit. Small, but important changes in the way schools use their ICN classroom will keep them working successfully for a longer time.
My final thought for the blog involves the use of the ICN. We have a one-of-a-kind distance learning system in the state of Iowa called the Iowa Communications Network. The government spent $185,000,000 and developed a state agency to operate it. My question is why in the world aren’t we using it more? Why not support a good technology that works and add new technologies as options to make it even more useful?
The ICN equipment has been stable, and there are options available to upgrade it, such as the IP Option. By adding the IP Option or other upgrades, a classroom can reach beyond its walls. In addition, it’s a real classroom with a podium, teacher camera, student camera, overhead camera, DVD/VCR player, VHS recorder and a computer for the Internet and/or PowerPoint. There are so many reasons for increasing use of the ICN. There is a saying that states, “Content drives technology.”
Find reasons to use the ICN and apply pressure to acquire the technology. The two things we need most are reasons to use the ICN and leadership from teachers and administrators to develop a path to follow. Iowa needs to continue to utilize the ICN. New uses continue to evolve, and we must remember this is a great Iowa resource!
The ICN continues to offer free videoconferencing to Iowa families with loved ones serving in Iraq. Iowans may arrange to visit with family service members, from any branch of the military, who are serving in Al Assad, Fallujah, Camp Taqaddum, Camp Victory (Baghdad) and Taji. The videoconferences are provided at no cost to the family or soldier through ICN and the Operation Hometown Link initiative of the national non-profit Freedom Calls organization. For information on how to arrange a Freedom Calls ICN videoconference, contact Gail McMahon at Gail.McMahon@iowa.gov or call (515) 725-4713.
