ON-LINE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

NYS Teacher Center Online Academy Winter-Spring 2008. All classes are 15 hours in length and run from March 6, 2008 to end April 17, 2008

Teacher Center Member Fees: $99 per course – Non-Teacher Center Member Fees— $150 per course

Participants in this course will learn ways to integrate the use of calculators into their math curriculum and into their daily math activities. Calculators have become an integral part of teaching math. Teachers will learn the skills and concepts students need to become proficient with using the calculator as a tool to help find solutions to everyday problems. Using the calculator along with an understanding of the concepts will lead to increased understanding and higher achievement. This course will introduce ways to incorporate the calculator into math everyday. Participants will learn how to solve problems on all levels using a calculator. The use of different types of calculators will be explored.

An Overview of Autism Ms. Barbara Tanguay

NYS Learning Standard: ALL Grade Level K-12

This course will highlight the fascinating yet devastating features of Autism as seen in children. It will survey current issues in the field of Autistic Spectrum Disorders and review its background. It will provide information for understanding the complex social, communication, and behavioral issues involved and discuss effective strategies for working with children with Autism.

Historical Scrap booking Ms Viri Pettersen
NYS Learning Standard: ALL Grade Level 3-12

This course will teach professionals how to use the scrap booking technique in the development of historical research. Identify, bookmark and evaluate Internet resources for use in the classroom. Participate in collegial discussions on technique, application, design and assessment. Hone your knowledge base on technical innovations that will further assist in student learning.

Web 2.0 for Educators Mr. Craig Mantin NYS Learning Standard: MST-ALL Grade Level K-8

How Can Web 2.0 help me as an educator? This course aims to provide an understanding of what Web 2.0 is, to help educators in terms of professional development, and to look at its potential as a teaching tool. Educators will analyze the potential of having content come to them as opposed to the continuous search for information. Through practice and example, educators will look at the value of collaboration in terms of professional development as well as a means of differentiated instruction for students.

Learning While Healing: Educators Collaborate to Prepare Students Surviving Cancer to Reenter the Local Classroom
Ms Karli Wheeler

This course is designed to help teachers improve their understanding of students’ various learning needs, and the use of technology to help support traditional classroom instruction. Participants will develop and implement lessons and activities to support the unique learning needs of students with cancer, whether in the hospital or at home. They will build a library of lessons aligned to New York State standards, using the Internet, audio and videoconferencing. NYS Standard: ALL Grade: K-12

Using Literacy Across the Curriculum

Ms Lisa Watson

NYS Standards: ELA Grade Level Secondary, Reading: ALL

This is a course designed to show teachers from Pre K- 12th grade how to use literacy as the core for any of their lessons. It will be based on Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ philosophy from her book, Active Literacy across the Curriculum.
Economics and the Internet Dr. Sheldon Meltzner NYS Learning Standard: ALL Grade Level 9-12

This course is designed to help the high school teacher improve personal and student mastery of economics and to help students prepare for economics competitions and the AP exam.
Online Child Exploitation and Child Protection: Online and Offline Dr. Edward Maggio

NYS Learning Standards: ALL Grade Level K-12

This course will provide a basic understanding of the problem, the signs of sexual exploitation, and a profile of the sexual predators as well as suggest ways to protect children.
Creating Templates for Reading Comprehension Victoria Rella

NYS Standards: ELA Grade Level Secondary, Reading: ALL

How do students connect to literature? Does visualizing a text help students to improve comprehension? Wouldn’t it be great to design reading handouts that can be used with all of the literature you cover in the classroom? Using Laura Robb’s theory of reading comprehension instruction as a model, this course is designed to review reading strategies to improve comprehension, provide a forum for ELA educators to discuss best practices, and provide an opportunity for teachers to design templates for reading comprehension instruction in the classroom.
Grant writing for Educators: Effective Proposal Writing Vickie Parker and Sara Zaidspiner-Leibo

NYS Learning Standards: ALL Grade K-12

The purpose of this online course is to demystify the proposal writing process by providing educators with a basic overview of how to write a proposal. It will examine the components of the standard proposal format as well as provide examples and feedback that will familiarize the writer with successful, narrative techniques. Although each individual grant may pose different requirements, the proposal itself contains the same basic components. The need statement, program design, timeline, budget, assessment, and executive summary will all be explained and exemplars will be evaluated. Each participant should have a class-critiqued, effective proposal completed by the end of the course.

The Effective Para-Educator: Issues in Special Education Mary Galac

NYS Learning Standards: ALL Grade K-12

This 15 hour course is designed to provide information that will increase your awareness and knowledge of the expectations and responsibilities of aides. The class will provide you information on effective communication skills, assertive discipline techniques, and effective listening skills. Participants will gain knowledge of the special education categories, identify appropriate strategies, and possible accommodations to assist special education students.

The Mindful Classroom: Stress Reduction for Teachers and Students Mrs. Allison Wilcox-Lanfear

NYS Learning Standards: ALL Grade K-12

With the increased standards and demands of our education system, as well as a faster-paced lifestyle, teachers and students are incurring greater stress. Stress has been proven to negatively affect concentration, behavior, performance and overall health. Teachers must practice and model effective ways to prioritize and deal with stressors. In this course, teachers will learn mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques to prevent stress, promote a calming classroom atmosphere and improve students’ concentration. Studies have shown that relaxed students earn higher grades, get sick less, and have better behavior. Using mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques will enhance teachers’ own job satisfaction and improve their ability to manage the classroom and promote academic success. Standards: ALL

Reaching All Students: Differentiating Instruction for Learners

Ajia Haynes

NYS Learning Standards: ALL Grade K-12

In this class, teachers will learn to develop and implement lessons and activities to better support the students in their classrooms. Teachers will create activities and lessons that are aligned with the NY State Standards and are based on whether the learner is a visual, kinesthetic, or auditory learner. Teachers will use computer programs, the Internet, games, manipulatives, and/or other resources to enable students to comprehend and communicate curriculum objectives.