November 5, 2009

Principal of USDE Blue Ribbon School in Manly, IA Credits Reading Recovery® for Improvement in Student Achievement

Central Springs Elementary School in the Nora Springs-Rock Falls Community School District is being recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. Central Springs Elementary is one of only four schools in Iowa to be selected for this honor this year. The school has demonstrated dramatic improvement on the Test of Basic Skills in math, reading and science.

In a recent Globe Gazette article, the principal attributes the increase in Reading Recovery teaching positions as one of the key contributors to the improvement. The Reading Recovery Center of Iowa in the Curriculum & Instruction Department of the College of Education at UNI supports all of the Reading Recovery teachers, schools and sites in Iowa. Dr. Salli Forbes provides ongoing professional development and technical support for Teacher Leader Lori Beltran at the AEA 267 Reading Recovery Site, who, in turn, supports the preparation, ongoing professional development and implementation of Reading Recovery at Central Springs Elementary School.

November 3, 2009

Dr. Donaldson Featured in Graduate College Lecture Series

J. Ana Donaldson, associate professor of Instructional Technology, will present "Effectively Moving Courses Online: Get On the Bus or Be Left in the Dust," at noon, Wednesday, Nov. 11, in MSH 001. This presentation will provide faculty with guidelines for moving their courses online, with special focus on creating online communities using the Phases of Engagement Model (Conrad and Donaldson, 2004). Overviews of online rigor and instructor survival skills will be included and links to additional resources will be provided. Participant discussion and questions will be encouraged. Cookies and coffee will be provided by the Graduate College. Feel free to bring your lunch.

October 21, 2009

Engaging the Online Learner…[& Instructor]

A half-day workshop was held on Friday, October 16th for faculty considering moving a course online or for a transition to an ICN/online hybrid delivery methodology. The session designed by Ana Donaldson and Lois Lindell was well attended and the feedback has been positive. Several resources, including handouts and video archives of the event are available at: www.uni.edu/coe/ci/workshop-donaldson

A university-wide brown bag lunch presentation entitled "Effectively Moving Courses Online: Get on the Bus or be Left in the Dustwill" be given by Ana Donaldson on November 11, 2009.

September 23, 2009

COE Family Weekend Open House and Picnic

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009, 10:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. — Open House. 12 - 1:30 P.M. — Picnic on Marshall Center School lawn, rain location SEC Lobby. View the invitation mailed to students and parents.

September 10, 2009

National Search for College of Education Dean

UNI Executive Vice President and Provost Gloria Gibson has announced the university will launch a national search for a dean of the UNI College of Education. The new dean will replace William Callahan who was named to a three-year appointment as COE dean in 2007. The appointment will end June 30, 2010. "I want to thank Bill for his leadership of the College of Education and for his service to the university," said Gibson. "We will plan to have the new dean selected and in place July 1, 2010." A search committee will be selected and announced soon.

September 3, 2009

Dr. Zeitz Interviewed by WNPR Talk Host Colin McEnroe

Is keyboarding replacing handwriting instruction in today’s schools? This is the question that Connecticut NPR’s host, Colin McEnroe, posed to author Kitty Burns Florey who wrote the book Script and Scribble: The Rise and Fall of Handwriting. Zeitz was invited to participate because of his research in keyboarding and his keyboarding website, www.keyboardingresearch.org

McEnroe led a discussion with Florey advocating handwriting, UNI associate professor Leigh Zeitz advocating keyboarding, and professor Barbara Getty supporting a revolutionary handwriting system.
Listen to the episode here

September 1, 2009

Definition to Practice: Translating the Definition into a Standards-Based IT Program

The September 2009 issue of the journal TechTrends features an article by Dr. J. Ana Donaldson about the innovative way in which a graduate course in the Instructional Technology division has been aligned to national standards. The article is available online at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/lk018u4615r631x0/

Dr. Donaldson is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology in Curriculum & Instruction. For many years she has presented on how to integrate technology into an engaged learning environment with an emphasis on online learning. Besides her years of classroom experience in creating Web-supported learning environments, Ana is a published author, keynote speaker, and international presenter. She is co-author with Rita-Marie Conrad of Engaging the Online Learner: Activities for Creative Instruction.

August 31, 2009

Dr. Zeitz Featured in WCF Courier Article: New World

Leigh Zeitz, Associate Professor of Instructional Technology in Curriculum and Instruction, recently coordinated a Second Life presentation to his Kiwanis Rough Risers club in Cedar Falls. The virtual world presentation was led by LuAnn Phillips, the extension Virtual Worlds Coordinator for the New York Extension services. LuAnn (AKA Thynka Little in Second Life) took the club members on a tour of her virtual island where she teaches extension courses and provides virtual models of real world situations. She has even developed a walk-through handicapped accessible home to demonstrate what is possible.

An article in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier describes this 21st century presentation as well as reactions by the club members. More information about Second Life can be found at www.secondlife.com

August 24, 2009

Dr. Sarah Montgomery Joins Elementary Education Faculty

The Elementary Education Division of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction is pleased to welcome Dr. Sarah Montgomery, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education.

Dr. Sarah Montgomery earned a M.S.Ed. in Elementary Education and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Indiana University. Prior to and while earning these degrees, she was an elementary teacher, coordinator of a reading tutoring program at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington, Indiana, and an Associate Instructor at Indiana University. Dr. Montgomery’s research interests include the ways in which youth production and dissemination of digital media such as podcasts, can support education for democracy. She has also conducted research on 19th century feminization of the teaching profession. Dr. Montgomery is an active member of the College and University Faculty Association (CUFA) of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). In 2008, she was awarded the prestigious Kipchoge Neftali Kirkland Social Justice Paper Award at the NCSS annual convention. Dr. Montgomery joined the faculty in August 2009. She is married to Zak Montgomery, Professor of Spanish at Wartburg College.