The
Inside Ticket from My eCoach®
Issue
#12-October 2005
- Special Feature: My eCoach: A Professional
Learning Community
- Member Spotlight- Donita Edgell
- Featured Project
- Featured Resources
- What’s New at My eCoach
- Grants and Contests
1.
Special Feature: My eCoach: A Professional Learning
Community
My eCoach is a Professional Learning Community (PLC) driven
by its members. Through sharing resources, ideas, and building
supportive teams, the community is constantly changing and
growing. We value the input of our membership by listening
to your ideas on new features, resources, and tools designed
to support the My eCoach PLC.
We are currently revising our coaching and mentoring model
to better address building effective and sustainable professional
learning communities. It has always been our belief that connecting,
sharing, and learning in a collaborative environment improves
professional and personal learning. With that said, we are
seeking input from our members to share their expertise with
us as we redesign our model. Founder and CEO Barbara Bray
created a Professional Learning Community blog and is seeking
comments and resources, links, case studies, and ideas from
members so our model is a shared vision and meets our members'
goals.
Log-in to My eCoach Online, then go to the Blogs > My
eCoach Staff Blogs > Professional Learning Communities
> Defining a PLC. If you are not a current My eCoach member,
you can access some of our features with a trial account.
Visit our website for details.
Excerpt from latest post:
A Professional Learning Community (PLC) is comprised
of people (teachers, para-professionals, administrators, and
other community members) who collectively examine and collaboratively
work to improve teaching practice. A PLC can but does not
have to be situated in one school or district. With the ability
to work online from anywhere at anytime, members of the community
can connect, find others with similar interests, study and
review existing teaching practice, and do action research
to improve teaching and learning.
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2. Member
Spotlight – Donita Edgell, Player, West Virginia
Donita Edgell is an elementary reading specialist teacher
from Doddridge County, WV. She works with students in both
an inclusion setting and pull out for extra tutoring. Her
innovative teaching and commitment to her students were among
the many reasons we chose Donita as a Featured Member. Her
eCoach, Marilyn Jett had this to say about Donita:
"Donita is one of the most creative teachers I have
ever met. She constantly amazes me with her bulletin boards
and the activities she develops for students. She always gives
both students and teachers a different way to look at things.
Her methods of teaching promote a higher level of thinking,
as well as, encouraging students to explore different opinions."
Go to this WRL
below to read more about Donita.
If you would like to nominate a member to be a Featured Member,
please email us.
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3. Featured Project
The Monarch Butterfly WebQuest - Camille
LoParrino: Bronx, NY
Essential Question: What type of environment would you need
to keep Monarch butterflies safe and healthy while they are
in your care?
Grades: 1-4, Science
Project Summary:
Students will work together as researchers, scientists, and
dieticians to help the Director of the Bronx Zoo develop a
safe environment for Monarch butterflies. Students will learn
the anatomy of the Monarch and Viceroy butterflies, the life
cycles and diets of butterflies. When they have completed
their research, they will work together to design a garden
for the zoo with a place for each cycle of a butterfly, and
a paragraph on how they prepared for the shipment of Monarchs.
Check it out at:
Teacher
Guide
Student
Page
Would you like us to add your
project to our eLibrary and be considered as a featured project?
Follow these steps:
- Use the appropriate builder checklist
to ensure that all components are in place. To download
the checklist, go to the Builders section in My eCoach Online
and click on “Download Handouts” under the WRL,
Activity, Custom, Inquiry, or UoP builders.
- If you have an eCoach, ask he or she to
review your project or ask a peer to review your project.
- Email the URL of your project to Head eCoach
Leilani at leilani@my-ecoach.com
4.
Featured Resources
Peggy Lin recently visited Yellowstone National
Park and also created several Flash animations on Chinese
writing. Check out the pictures
of geysers, monuments, and other points of interests by typing
in Peggy Lin in the eLibrary Search Box.
John Goerhke shared a new distance learning program from
the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame
The Education Department at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
and Museum is proud to announce the launch of its new distance
learning program, On The Road. Using videoconferencing technology,
the Museum offers a one of a kind educational experience for
grades 4-12. The classes are developed and conducted by the
Education Department staff and include exclusive interview
clips with key figures in the history of popular music, behind-the-scenes
commentary with Museum curators, audio and video clips of
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, and more. This years'
new programming features three classes: Ball of Confusion:
Rock Music and Social Change in the 60s and 70s, Hip-Hop Technology:
From Turntables to Computers, and Rock and Roll Reactions:
Records, Radio and the Birth of Teenage Culture in 1950s America.
To submit a resource to the eLibrary, login
to My eCoach Online, go to the eLibrary, then click the "Submit
a Resource" link.
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5. What’s
New at My eCoach
Julie Abbott joins My eCoach as Vice President
of Business Development
We are pleased to announce our newest member to the My eCoach
Team: Julie Abbott. Julie will oversee and lead My eCoach's
business development and sales team by setting strategic direction
for building revenue and increasing awareness of My eCoach's
professional development services and products. Abbott will
be based in Kansas City, Missouri and report to Founder and
CEO, Barbara Bray. Read the full press
release for more details.
Workshop "Into, Through, and Beyond! Extend your
Curriculum Online" voted "Best of the Best"
at NECC 05 in Philadelphia.
ISTE would like to increase the number of affordable national-level
presentations they can offer in their respective local, state,
and association conference programs. Three years ago, in an
effort to help achieve this goal and to extend the reach of
high quality NECC workshops, ISTE designed the "Best
of the Best" program. Barbara's workshop "Intro,
Through, and Beyond! Extend your Curriculum Online" will
be included in a catalogue of available workshops that will
be presented to ISTE Affiliate Organizations and offered through
the ISTE Professional Development Services Web site.
Info Box
The upper right box, called the Info Box has changed. You
no longer see your teams in this box. Your teams can still
be accessed using the My Teams link on the left navigation
menu. Also, the Info Box notes today's date, the time you
logged in, and will show a flashing New Mail link and envelope
if you have received new mail. You can still access and edit
your profile by clicking on the new profile icon in the Info
Box.
Blog Mini-Profile
You can create a mini-profile that others can see when they
go to any of your blogs by clicking Edit Profile on the right
of your blog home. You can use your profile picture or upload
a different picture. Any information that automatically appears
can be edited. We created this as a way for members to connect
with other members as another means of building our Professional
Learning Community. We encourage you to check other member's
blogs and to create one yourself!
New Blog Icons and Look
When you click on a blog or post, the look is cleaner with
white space. You will notice pop-up descriptors for many of
the icons. There are new icons on your Blog Home and with
each blog:
- Key to edit access
- Pencil to edit title, post, or comment
- White paper means published: click to unpublish
- Gray paper means unpublished: click to publish
- Paper with + New Post to add a new post
- Trash can to remove from your blog home and send to Restore
Blog
Blog Wizard, Email Notification, and Access Levels
Now when you click Create a New Blog, you are taken step-by-step
through a wizard. You can choose to be notified by email if
someone posts or comments to your blog. We changed how you
can allow access to your blogs:
- Personal - Only I can view this blog.
- Community - All My eCoach members are allowed to view
this blog.
- Team - I want to make this blog available to only select
teams.
Blog Comments
When someone comments to your post, the last comment appears
below your post on your Blog Home with author, date and time.
Alphabetized Folders in Message Center
Our first step in organizing the message center and folder
system. If you are on more than one team, teams on the right
are alphabetized, the pull-down menu, the folders, etc.
Added Flags and All Time Zones
Our PLC is growing with My eCoach in over 22 countries. When
you choose your country in your profile, your country's flag
appears. Let us know if your country is not represented. Also
in your profile, you can now choose any time zone by city
around the world. They are organized by time zones. The time
in your Info Box will reflect the time zone you chose.
New Standards Added
- CA - California SB2042 Induction Standards
- CO - Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA)
- CO - Colorado K-12 Academic Standards
- CO - Colorado Special Education Generalist Standards
- CO - Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP)
- CO - Performance Based Standards for Colorado Teachers
- National - National Geography Standards
- National - National Performance Music Standards
- National - National Standards for Foreign Language Education
- UT - Utah Standards
- WV - West Virginia Early Learning Standards
Coming Soon:
- Customized Individual Learning Plans: ability to name
each ILP and change labels
- Examples of new collaborative projects
- More state and country standards
- And much more…
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6. Grants, Contests,
and Fundraising
Check the updated WRL
for new grants and contests for teachers and schools.
Please let Barbara
know about any upcoming funding opportunities so she can add
them to this WRL. We also can work with you if you plan to
pursue any grant and want to include My eCoach.
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Issue #11-September 2005
- Member Spotlight- David Tucker
- Featured Project and Resources
- What’s New in My eCoach Online
- New Coaching Programs
- Grants and Contests
- Other News: Events & Featured
Store Products
- Tip of the Month
1. Member
Spotlight – David Tucker, eCoach, Washington
David Tucker has been a My eCoach Online member since the
summer of 2003 and established one of the first coaching programs
that used My eCoach Online. Now retired after years of teaching
science in the classroom, David continues to stay in the field
as a mentor, coach and consultant.
Go to this WRL
to read more about David.
If you would like to nominate a member to be a Featured Member,
please email us.
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2. Featured Projects
and Resources
Building a Better Tomorrow
– Gary Strickland and Sherri Merrill: Coleman, TX
Essential Question: "Do the individual decisions that
we make really make a difference in the environment?"
Project Overview:
Students gather information from various sources to learn
how vital elements are cycled through the environment by working
in small groups to learn the nitrogen, carbon, and water cycles.
They must then demonstrate how these cycles apply to their
daily lives. Finally, the students must consider the combined
effect of many people on these cycles and our global environment
and evaluate the impact that any changes in these cycles will
have on their future.
Teacher
Guide
Student
Page
Would you like us to add your
project to our eLibrary and be considered as a featured project?
Follow these steps:
- Use the appropriate builder checklist
to ensure that all components are in place. To download
the checklist, go to the Builders section in My eCoach Online
and click on “Download Handouts” under the WRL,
Activity, Custom, Inquiry, or UoP builders.
- If you have an eCoach, ask he or she to
review your project or ask a peer to review your project.
- Email the URL of your project to Head eCoach
Leilani at leilani@my-ecoach.com
Featured Collections
Check out the following featured sub-directories
in the eLibrary for projects, activities, books, documents,
website links, and images.
To submit a resource to the eLibrary, sign
into My eCoach Online, go to the eLibrary, then click the
“Submit a Resource” link.
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3. What’s
New in My eCoach Online
- Blogs
The BETA version of our Blogging feature is available for
members to use. Members can create and post comments to
personal blogs, team blogs, and community blogs. For more
information about how to use the Blog feature, be sure to
click on the red Help link
for the Blog Tutorial. Since we launched this feature, we
have received lots of valuable feedback from our members
that has helped us improve how Blogs work.
- Standards Viewer (My Standards)
Access the new Standards Viewer from every page (My Standards
on the left). You can add state, national and local content,
technology, and professional standards to your profile to
view the appropriate standards you may need for instruction.
When you modify your profile, click My Standards again on
the left.
Since the Standards Viewer is set up using a “tree”
system, you will need to click the standard and then the
sub-categories to get to each individual standard or benchmark.
For more information, there is a Help
at the top. Any standard that has a magnifying glass icon
next to it has projects and/or resources aligned to that
standard. Authors with the help of their eCoaches choose
the appropriate standards for their projects. We are in
the process of reviewing evaluated projects and aligning
resources contributed from members to the standards. We
are inputting standards with help from our members, so you
may not see all the standards you need. Remember, we have
just launched this system so eventually we will have resources
and projects aligned to your standards with your help!
- Team Up Projects
The Team Up feature is intended to provide a place for teachers
to look for others to collaborate with on projects. You
can post a project idea of your own or search through postings
from others. The idea is that you can find other members
who share an interest in a topic and are able to collaborate
on a project using My eCoach Online.
Team Up projects as of August 2005 are:
-Exploring Harry Potter - Trena Noval
-Documenting Training Processes – David Tucker
-Exploring Cultures and Traditions of the World –
Leilani Carbonell Pedroni
-DiVOHUp'd Digital Videos of Oral Histories Uploaded –
Christina Cagliostro
-Extending Open Court – Barbara Bray
-Research and Development - Barbara Bray
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4. New Coaching
Programs
Colorado: Western State College in Gunnison, CO is developing
a coaching program for their faculty. Nella B. Anderson, Anne
Hausler, and Sandy O'Banion recently visited California to
become eCoaches to manage their professional learning community.
They are working with two other eCoaches, Suzanne Oliver and
Monika Gylys who will also support the program. As soon as
they returned home, they started their program with 40 people
involved in one community on cooperative teaching and another
community focusing on Special Ed at the local school district.
There will be about 20 people involved in another community
on induction to support teachers in their 2nd and 3rd years
of teaching.
Wisconsin: Five eCoaches (Neil Johnson, Roger Kees, Diane
Plantz, Val Knobloch, and Terence O'Connell) from CESA 10
(Cooperative Educational Service Agency) in Chippewa Falls
and one eCoach (Andrea Pokrzywinzki) from Ashland, Wisconsin
has developed a coaching program with 100 teachers from around
the region. Teachers will be developing strategies and for
their 8th grade students to verify with evidence that they
have mastered the 8th grade Wisconsin Information and Technology
Literacy Standards. This program includes three evaluators
from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire.
Washington: ESD 113 (Olympia, WA) with 4 eCoaches (Cindy
Jouper, Janet Collier, Joel Williams, and Deborah Hale) and
ESD 101 (Spokane, WA) Educational Service Districts with 2
eCoaches (Sally Stratton and Brent Howard) have developed
a coaching program to support their EETT NO LIMIT programs.
Both programs started in August where they set up a team for
the 70 teachers to share discussions between regions and within
their own teams and districts. A week later, the Special Ed
Group (Jill Hallows and Jerry Connelly) started their coaching
program with teachers from around the state with the help
of David Tucker as their eCoach. David and Ken Bakken have
separate NO LIMIT programs going on at the same time. Check
in regularly to see exciting discussions, blogs, and projects
about math and improving teaching practice.
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5. Grants, Contests,
and Fundraising
Check this updated WRL
for new grants and contests for teachers and schools. New
fundraising opportunity (Donors Choose) for teachers where
almost everyone wins.
6.
Other News: Events and Featured Products in Store
Focus Group 2005
A group of My eCoach Online members met with us in July to
create projects and give us feedback on our current and upcoming
features. Some of the new features include new builders and
improved handling of our resources. Look for these early in
2006.
Featured
Product in Store: My eCoach Laptop Carrying Bag
Lightwieght with a strong construction, this khaki and black
computer bag is perfect for the on-the-go mentor, teacher,
student, or business person.
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7.
Tip of the Month
Copyright and Fair Use (Techlearning.com
– July 8, 2005)
Fair use is a complicated situation especially for K-12 and
higher education. What constitutes fair use of copyrighted
materials such as a book or software?
While fair use is intended to apply to teaching, research,
and other such activities, a crucial point is that an educational
purpose alone does not make a use fair. The purpose of the
use is, in fact, only one of four factors that users must
analyze in order to conclude whether or not an activity is
lawful. In determining whether the use made of a work in any
particular case is fair use the factors to be considered include:
- the purpose and character of the use, including whether
such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational
purposes;
- the nature of the copyrighted work;
- the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation
to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
- the effect of the use upon the potential market for or
value of the copyrighted work.
For more details on each of the four factors, go to Fair
Use: Overview and Meaning for Higher Education
Issue
#10-July 2005
- Member Spotlight- Pam Lowe
- Featured Projects and Resources
- What’s New in My eCoach Online
- New Members
- Grants and Contests
- Other News: Events & Featured
Store Products
- New Inside Ticket Feature! - Tip of
the Month
1. Member
Spotlight – Pam Lowe, Teacher and eCoach, O’Neal
Elementary, Poplar Bluff, AR
We are honored to introduce our latest featured member, Pam
Lowe, a fourth grade eMINTS (enhancing Missouri’s Instructional
Networked Teaching Strategies) teacher at O’Neal Elementary
in Poplar Bluff, Arkansas. She is also a published author
who has written articles and a workbook about Missouri history.
Pam's eCoach, Gayle Cantrell told us, "Pam was in one
of my first eMINTS groups. She has grown more than you can
imagine. She is also very active in her school. She does a
lot of training with the teachers in the district and is a
part of the grant writing committee as well as many others.
She often inspires me to move forward and I love the work
we do together."
Go to this WRL
to read the full interview and for links to some of Pam’s
projects.
If you would like to nominate a member to be a Featured Member,
please email us.
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2. Featured Projects
and Resources
Color Theory in Art – Lawrence
Montgomery: San Francisco, CA
Essential Question: How have artists throughout history
used color to achieve their artistic goals?
Activity Description from Lawrence Montgomery:
“The Introduction to Color Theory project was designed
for my ninth grade Visual Arts class at the San Francisco
Unified School District’s School of the Arts. Our Freshman
Visual Arts curriculum is intended to give the students a
strong basic understanding of the basic skills of an artist,
Composition, Perspective, Anatomy and Color Theory. This lesson
was an introduction to the concepts and vocabulary of Color
for the young artist.”
See project here.
Featured Collections
- Meredith Blache, a Washington state teacher who
taught in the Virgin Islands, donated nature-inspired pictures
from Washington state and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Keyword
search term in eLibrary: blache)
- Anne Hong, Graduate Student, Art Center College
of Design, donated original line art illustrations (animals),
abstract collages, and pictures of buildings and nature
from places in Italy, London, Los Angeles (CA), and San
Diego (CA). (Keyword search term in eLibrary: hong)
To submit a resource to the eLibrary, sign
into My eCoach Online, go to the eLibrary, then click the
“Submit a Resource” link.
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3. What’s
New in My eCoach® Online
- Alert
We added the new Alert feature to let members know when:
- A new feature or tool has been introduced to My eCoach
Online
- You have been invited to join a chat room
- Technical maintenance on the system is being scheduled
The Alert will appear below the green bar in the header
on pages you visit when logged into My eCoach Online.
- Inbox
Although not a new feature, we wanted to remind you to check
your inbox for internal email messages. You can send and
receive messages from other members. Whenever you receive
any new mail, the text “New Mail” in red will
appear in your Profile Box (located on the upper right corner
in My eCoach Online). You can click on the text or go to
the Message Center icons to check your mail.
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4. New Members
Washington State: New eCoaches and players from nine
statewide Educational Service Districts, the Network Learning
Community Satellite in Bellingham, WA and the Learning Disabled
Program of EETT operated from the Central Washington State
University in Ellensburg, WA.
Australia, New Zealand, and Washington: My eCoach Online
will be the primary online telecommunication resource between
students and teachers in the implementation of an International
Society for Technology in Education Affiliate classroom environmental
project with Queensland, Australia’s Aboriginal students,
New Zealand, Maori students, and Washington State students.
eMINTS: The eMINTS eCoach program is growing and adding
veteran eMINTS teachers from around Missouri and Utah. Monica
Beglau, Director of eMINTS wrote, “The eMINTS National
Center staff and teachers have let us know how much they value
the coaching and peer collaboration available on My eCoach.
They particularly enjoy the convenience of posting activities
online while aligning them with NETS and the Missouri Show-Me
Standards.”
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5. Grants, Contests,
and Fundraising
Check this updated WRL
for new grants and contests for teachers and schools. New
fundraising opportunity (Donors Choose) for teachers where
almost everyone wins.
6.
Other News: Events and Featured Products in Store
NECC 2005:
June 26-June 30 (Philadelphia, PA) - International event
for educators and technology leaders. We will be presenting
our latest features and offering memberships to My eCoach
Online. Contact Barbara or Leilani (800-633-2248) to set up
a time to meet. Come by our booth (#73), poster session on
Tuesday, and workshop on Wednesday morning.
Press
Release: My eCoach is working in collaboration with
Generation YES® to develop a comprehensive new technology
integration professional development model for three math-related
EETT programs in Washington state. This new model will combine
My eCoach’s online collaborative support for teachers
through it’s web-based coaching and mentoring environment,
My eCoach Online, with the exemplary Generation YES model
of students providing technology integration support.
Featured
Product in Store: Teacher Business Card Holders-
gifts for teachers!
This colorful business card holder will make a great addition
to a teacher's desk expressing both professionalism and creativity.
Each card holder fits approximately 50 cards based on average
thickness of business cards. Business card holder size: 4"
Wx 1 1/2" Dx 1 3/4" H. Styles vary.
Stationary
Studio from FableVision: Stationery Studio is an
easy-to-use software program that lets students and teachers
customize and print motivating writing paper for stories,
letters, reports, shape books, mini-books and countless other
creative projects.
FableVision is accepting teacher-written lesson plans and
detailed extension activity submissions for its product websites.
Lesson Plans should include grade level, curriculum focus
if any (i.e. how to apply BrainCogs to Math), and other relevant
information on the students you are teaching (i.e. gifted
and talented, learning difficulties, ESL, etc). Every teacher
who submits his/her work will receive a free DVD, “Stories
that Matter, Stories that Move” collection of animated
films written and directed by FableVision.
Email Entry Instructions: Please send along
your name, school/institution name and address, daytime telephone,
email address, and lesson plans (attached or within body of
email) to dawn@fablevision.com. Entries must be received by
June 30, 2005.
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7.
New Inside Ticket Feature! - Tip of the Month
Grant Writing (Techlearning.com
– May 27, 2005)
When you write a grant proposal, consider the goal. If the
focus is writing as part of community projects, then consider
the culminating products students will create to demonstrate
their understanding of the topic being studied. Some products
you might be considering include:
- Brochures or pamphlets
- Posters or flyers
- Story writing
- Newsletters
- Presentations
- Videos
- Public Service Announcements
For each product, consider the writing process or strategy
used to teach writing. Justify how this project and the product
students will create will meet the standards and encourage
writing.
Example
Fourth-grade students will interview senior citizens and write
a newspaper relating experiences about the person they interviewed.
(California LA Fourth-grade standard 4.2.2)
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Issue #9-April 2005
- Member Spotlight- Tara Covington
- Featured Projects and Resources
- What’s New in My eCoach®
Online
- New Members
- Grants and Contests
- Featured Product in Store
1. Member
Spotlight – Tara Covington, Technology Teacher,
Carter G. Woodson Public Charter High School’s Independent
Study Program in Fresno, CA
Tara first started teaching in May of 1994 as a computer teacher
in a private elementary school in Van Nuys, California. She
currently teaches in Fresno and will be completing her Master’s
Degree in Education from Walden University. When Tara isn’t
busy in her classroom or coaching other teachers, she enjoys
drawing, painting, singing, and writing.
Read more about Tara and check out her projects here
If you would like to nominate a member to be a Featured Member,
please email us.
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2. Featured Projects
and Resources
The Fibonacci Sequence by Pam Lowe,
Corning, Arkansas
Essential Question:
Can you recognize numerical patterns when looking at a series
of numbers?
Activity Description:
In this Activity, students learn about Leonardo Fibonacci
and his number theory. Students apply what they learn by recognizing
and creating their own patterns and explaining their research
findings to their partners. See project here.
The Water Project – Collaborative student project
in Washington and the Virgin Islands (article by eCoach, Meredith
Blache)
Did you ever wonder how it could be 80 degrees in January
or how a Salmon can live in both Fresh and salt water? That
is what the students in St. Thomas US Virgin Island and the
students in Western Washington are researching together.
With the use of On-line workspace (My eCoach Online) and Palm
handheld computers two schools (Wesleyan Academy and Moravian
School) in St. Thomas USVI (under the guidance of Julie Cruz
and Angele Warner) are working on a research project together
with students from Evergreen Elementary in Fort Lewis, Washington
(under the guidance of Kenton Morrison). The project is referred
to as "The Water Project" as all of the topics being
researched have something to do with Water in their respective
environments.
Teams of 2 to 5 students from each school have
chosen topics that are being researched in both locations,
documented and will be brought together into Web Quest housed
on My eCoach Online. More details about project coming soon.
Featured Collections
- Patti Kennamer, an 8th grade science teacher and My eCoach
Online Player from Texas donated photos from Texas, New
Mexico and Germany and other places. While in Germany, she
took photographs of Dachau, a former concentration camp.
(Keyword search term in eLibrary: Patti Kennamer)
- Peggy Benton, Professor of Education at San Francisco
State University, CA and an eCoach donated pictures of tide
pools, wild flowers, and ocean scenery from Bodega Bay,
CA. (Keyword search term in eLibrary: Peggy Benton)
How to submit pictures and great website
links to our eLibrary
The power of our learning community is that we can share and
collaborate with others. The eLibrary is a place where our
members can share pictures that other teachers and students
can use copyright-free. Members can also recommend websites
that may be helpful to other teachers or their students. To
submit a resource in the eLibrary, sign into My eCoach Online,
and click the “Submit a Resource” link.
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3. What’s
New in My eCoach® Online
- New Home Field Design
We have our new Home Field based on feedback from our members
and our efforts to make navigation within My eCoach Online
easier. The biggest change is the placement of the "My
Community" items that used to be found on the right
side of your Home Field. These items are now on the left-side
menu.
- New Standards Viewer
You can now view the standards right from your Home Field!
The Standards Viewer allows you to browse standards that
you selected in your profile.
- Chat
Members can now "chat" in real time with others
on their team(s). Simply click on the "Chat Room"
link on the left side menu, then select the team you would
like to chat in - it defaults to the All Community Chat
Room - open to any member online. Members have access to
All Community Chat Rooms and Chat Rooms for any teams they
are players on or coach for.
TIP: Schedule a time to "Chat" with other
members on your team to discuss projects or other topics
that you would like immediate feedback on. Use the Discussion
Boards or the Internal Message Center to communicate with
your team for less urgent matters or asynchronous discussions.
- Team Up!
Team Up! is intended to provide a place for teachers to
look for others to collaborate with on projects. You can
post a project idea of your own or search through postings
from others. The idea is that you can find other members
who share an interest in a topic and are able to collaborate
on a project using My eCoach Online. Find the link to the
Team Up! feature on your Home Field under My Community.
If you want to collaborate with another teacher from anywhere
in the country, add a post inviting others to join you to
Team Up! Current projects in Team Up! are: Extending Open
Court and Research and Development in Education.
- Improved Discussion Boards
You can now access your Team Discussion Boards and the Community
Discussion Boards together in a Discussion Boards page that
includes total number postings for each board and a time
stamp of the last posting. Check it out a post a message!
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4. New Members
Woodring College of Education, Western Washington University,
WA
Joanne Carney and Leanne Robinson have designed a class using
My eCoach Online for their IT 503 course on Instructional
Design. Students use the discussion board to identify learner
needs, performance and behavior objectives, and reviewing
research on dynamic modeling and mindtools. Several of the
students will be joining Barbara at the NCCE conference in
Seattle in March.
Horrall School in San Mateo-Foster City School District,
CA
Horrall Elementary School’s Technology Integration Magnet
Education program focuses on project-based learning as an
instructional approach that engages students in multi-faceted
real world activities. Horrall teachers and team leaders will
collaborate and coach each other using My eCoach Online to
develop PBL activities that integrate technology and enhance
the curriculum.
ITEC 816 Course, San Francisco State University, CA
Peggy Benton developed a course for the ITEC 816 course for
Curriculum Technology Integration Specialists using My eCoach
Online. The fifteen week course was developed using the Custom
Builder. Students are referring to the course to collaborate,
share ideas, do research, and use the builders to create an
ePortfolio and curriculum projects.
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5. Grants, Contests,
and Fundraising
Check this updated WRL
for new grants and contests for teachers and schools. Some
of the new grants are large grants for educators. There is
one award program from the Tech Museum for an educator who
uses technology for $50,000. Lots of others that might be
right up your alley. We can help you if you write My eCoach
in.
6.
Featured Product in Store
The Traditional
Africa Culture Kit was designed to teach students about
African traditions and culture. The artifacts in this kit
are imported from East Africa and include a teacher’s
guide with ethnography and lesson plan ideas. Artifacts: sisal
bag, batik art, hut, ebony comb, drum, and mask.
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Issue
#8 December 2004
- Member Spotlight- Linda Ullah
- Featured Projects and Resources
- What’s New in My eCoach® Online
- Chat, Message Center, Standards & Products
- New Members - Doddridge County (WV),
Patterson Unified (CA)
- Grants and Contests
Greetings everyone! Have
a safe and restful holiday break!
1. Member
Spotlight – Linda Ullah, Foothill College Krause
Center for Innovation, Los Altos Hills, CA
Linda started teaching in 1967 in Belpre, Ohio. She is currently
an eCoach and the Director of the Earn While You Learn Institute
at the Foothill College Krause Center for Innovation. In her
program, which she describes below, her teachers use My eCoach
Online to plan projects and collaborate with each other.
Describe what you are doing now as a teacher educator.
I run a technology integration staff development program
at the Foothill College Krause Center for Innovation. We offer
LINC (Learning in New Media Classrooms) short courses for
educators in technology skills and technology integration,
and we have two year-long programs: Earn While You Learn (EWYL)
and EWYL Fellows. These institutes involve intensive face
to face institutes coupled with year-long support and follow
up... this is where My eCoach comes into the picture--to help
both with the institutes and the online follow-up. I'd like
to think I'm making a positive difference in the lives of
many students though the work I do with teachers.
How is coaching making a difference with the teachers
you are working with?
I strongly believe, and research backs me up, that a one
shot workshop or even a one shot institute does not create
positive change in practice. It is the ongoing mentoring and
coaching that creates real, systemic and sustainable change
in instructional practices. Our surveys of our EWYL teachers
have indicated that we are making a positive difference. As
one of my EWYL teachers recently told me, "Earn While
You Learn has been invaluable for me and my students!"
Linda continues to support her EWYL participants both online
and face-to-face as they develop engaging projects. One EWYL
teacher, Stephanie Lewis from Hyde Middle School (Cupertino,
CA) was recently awarded a $5,000 KCI Innovation Award for
her Mapping with ePortfolios project. Congratulations Stephanie!
Visit this WRL
for links to projects created by Linda’s EWYL participants:
If you would like to nominate a member to be a Featured Member,
please email us.
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2. Featured Projects
and Resources
Featured Project for December 2004 –
January 2005
Who's
Who in the Neighborhood? - Mary Ann Skold (WI)
Essential Question: What contributes to making a community
a nice place in which to live?
Overview: In this project, second grade students will research
and learn about workers in their community and create a brochure
about the places in their neighborhood.
ESC Region XV eCoaches (Shanna Byrd, Traci Terrill,
and Robin Howell) are working with 8th grade Social Studies
teachers and technology teachers many who have returned for
the second year to expand their use of My eCoach Online as
part of their curriculum. Last year there were 62 teachers
(2 from each district) who created collaborative Activities
that link to a WRL based on the TEKS (TX standards). This
year they reviewed the TEKS to see which areas students need
a deeper understanding and are creating WebQuests that involve
students working in teams and using inquiry and research to
determine the answer to their essential question. Most of
the WebQuests are still in development, but a few are almost
ready to share:
Featured Resources - Holiday Collections
How to submit pictures and great website
links to our eLibrary
The power of our learning community is that we can share and
collaborate with others. The eLibrary is a place where our
members can share pictures that other teachers and students
can use copyright-free. Members can also recommend websites
that may be helpful to other teachers or their students. To
submit a resource in the eLibrary, sign into My eCoach Online,
and click the “Submit a Resource” link.
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3. What’s New in
My eCoach® Online
New Features: Message Center and Chat Room
- The Message Center is a new internal communication
tool that will be added to My eCoach Online next week. In
the Message Center members will be able to send messages
to other members, organize messages in folders, search for
other members to collaborate and communicate with, and more.
Stay tuned!
- We are happy to announce our new Chat Room feature!
Starting next week, members can communicate with other logged-in
members using the Chat Room. To enter the Chat Room, members
click on the Chat Room link located in the My Community
area in their Home Field.
New and Updated Standards Sets
To add any of these sets to align to your projects, go to
your Profile>Edit>My Standards.
- National Geography Standards
- National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
- National Council for Social Studies (NCSS)
- South Carolina Standards
- Information Literacy Standards (ALA)
New Products in the My eCoach Store
Check out our store for new teacher products: My eCoach Gear
(hats, bags, whistles, shirts), teacher business card holders,
and 3rd party products from Crick Software, Inspiration, Tech4Learning,
Ethnic Arts & Facts, and FableVision.
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4. New Members and Partners
Doddridge County Schools (West Virginia)
Pre-K through 4th grade teachers are participating in an EETT
and Reading First grant. They are using My eCoach Online to
enhance their textbooks and curriculum with technology and
online resources.
Patterson Unified School District (California)
John Hawksworth-Lutzow is using My eCoach Online to deliver
a technology integration class for Patterson Unified School
District. There are 10 teachers as players in the class where
they will be learning pedagogy, strategies for technology
integration, and create an online project that supports their
curriculum.
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5. Grants, Contests,
and Fundraising
Visit
this WRL: Grants, Contests, and Fundraising (updated frequently
by Barbara Bray)
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Issue
#7 October 2004
- Member Spotlight- Kimberly Benedict
- Featured Projects and Resources: Lewis
and Clark, Campaign 2004, 100th day of School
- What’s New in My eCoach® Online
- New Members and Partners
- Grants and Contests
- Don’t forget!
1. Member Spotlight
Kimberly Benedict - Elementary School Teacher
Greenfield, WI
Kimberly teaches 3rd grade students in Edgewood Elementary
School. She served on the district technology and math committees
where she and other teachers revised district curriculum and
assessments. Last year, Kimberly was chosen as the technology
mentor for her school and used My eCoach ® Online to develop
projects and collaborate with other teachers. She recently
earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Computing
this past summer.
We asked Kimberly a few questions to learn more
about Kimberly and her teaching:
When did you first start teaching and how long have
you been a teacher?
I started teaching in 1999. I taught for one year in a
Charter school in
Milwaukee. The past five years I have been a third grade teacher
in the Greenfield School District. This will be my sixth year
of teaching.
Why did you become a teacher?
I decided to become a teacher because I love working with
children. I enjoy learning from children, watching them grow,
laughing with them, and challenging them. I consider it an
incredible privilege to be a part of my students' lives.
How has technology been used in your classroom? Has
it impacted the way your students learn?
I have used technology in a variety of ways in my classroom.
Last year I feel that integrated the use of technology and
our district curriculum well. Thus, I was able to maximize
the use of the computers in my classroom and our time in the
computer lab. My students used the computers in our classroom
to practice reading skills, practice math facts, type stories
they wanted to publish, and as enrichment for the students
who needed to work ahead. During the year my students created
a Power Point slideshow of our field trip, completed several
district assessments using Publisher, created a book for Mother's
Day using Publisher, e-mailed other third grade students in
different states to learn about their communities, made a
brochure about Milwaukee using Publisher, created various
graphic organizers using Kidspiration, and learned to type
with two hands.
My students see technology as a tool for learning, creating,
and practicing skills they have been taught. My students are
quick to pick up new computer skills and love the activities
we do on the computers. I am proud to say that I have gone
from being a teacher that didn't know what I was going to
do with my students during our computer lab time each week
to being a teacher that is always wanting more computer lab
time to work on projects with my students.
Visit this WRL
to for links to Kimberly’s projects.
If you would like to nominate a Featured Project
or a member to be a Featured Member (you can nominate yourself!),
please email us with the following information:
- Who you wish to nominate
- Why this person or the project
should be a Featured Member/Featured Project
- Links to projects created
by the member (both My eCoach® Online projects and other
projects)
- Your name and contact info
(email, phone)
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2. Featured Projects
and Resources
Lewis
and Clark Explore America by David Cross
(My eCoach Home Page Featured Project)
David Cross, a middle school teacher in California designed
this project to motivate and help his students learn about
the Lewis and Clark expedition. Grade 8
100th
Day of School by Leilani Carbonell Pedroni
The 100th Day of School marks a time for both celebration
and reflection. Many teachers like to celebrate this day with
activities surrounding the number 100. This WRL links to specific
sites with activities you can implement in your classroom.
Grades K-5
2004 Presidential Election Projects and Resources
Elementary:
Decision
2004 Mary Ann Skold, WI
In this project, 4th grade students will create an example
of the democratic process. Students will divide into political
parties, choose a candidate and a platform, campaign for the
office, and participate in an election. Grade 4
Middle School:
Presidential
Race 2004 by Tommy Howard
An Activity where each student will research the 16 major
campaign issues for the candidate they have been assigned
and make a tri-fold brochure that could serve to introduce
their candidate to others who wanted information about the
Presidential race of 2004. Grades 7-8
My
Candidate- Presidential Election 2004 by Linda
Dano, MA
Students at the middle school level will review the powers
and responsibilities of the Presidential office, research
the prime party candidates stance on issues of concern, and
select and promote their candidate of choice in a digital
format. Grade 7
Presidential Newsletter by Tommy Howard, TX
An activity where students create a newsletter about one of
the Presidents of the United States. Grades 7-8
High School:
Campaign
2004 by Barbara Bray
With this WRL, your students can evaluate how each party's
website promotes their ideologies, their candidates, and how
specific information may affect the voters' decisions. Grade
10 and up
Voter
Research by Staci Carney and Andrew Wren
Students will work in small groups to research specific issues
or candidates for upcoming election. Grade 11
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3. What’s New in
My eCoach® Online
The Inside Ticket – My eCoach Newsletter
If you haven’t figured it out yet, the staff here at
My eCoach like to have fun with our sports theme. Our re-vamped
newsletter will be emailed to you on a bi-monthly basis covering
the following: featured member, featured projects and resources,
grants, contests and fundraising, new My eCoach news, products
and offerings, plus any feature stories from our members.
Submissions for The Inside ticket can be sent to ecoach@my-ecoach.com
Submitting Resources in the eLibrary
My eCoach members can now submit recommended web site links
and images to the eLibrary. Once approved, submissions are
added to the eLibrary so that others can have access to even
more quality resources!
Check out these new collections:
Emmy
Butko donated beautiful close-up pictures of flowers and animals.
Keyword search in eLibrary: Emmy
Sheryl
Huang donated pictures from Spain and Machu Picchu. Keyword
search in eLibrary: Sheryl
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4. New Members and Partners
eMINTS Partners with My eCoach®
eMINTS, a collaborative education
program sponsored by the Missouri Department of Elementary
and Secondary Education and the University of Missouri System
Office of Academic Affairs, will work with My eCoach®
to build a pilot coaching program that sustains the eMINTS
2-year professional development program so that eMINTS teachers
have a full ongoing support system.
My eCoach® will support eMINTS Area Instructional Specialists
(AIS), and Cluster Instructional Specialists (CIS) as they
use My eCoach® Online curriculum builders and communication
tools to develop eMINTS instructional modules as online tracks.
Two CIS will then be selected as eCoaches to coach veteran
eMINTS teachers using My eCoach® Online’s environment
as they receive on-going support in the form of resources,
tools, and feedback from My eCoach® staff. This will allow
for the extension of eMINTS professional development and collaboration
among eMINTS veteran teachers and their coaches well beyond
the intensive two-year program that eMINTS provides. Read
full press release.
Multicultural Products from Ethnic Arts & Facts
added in My eCoach® Store
We are excited to announce our partnership with Ethnic
Arts & Facts, an educational company that provides
teacher-created educational multicultural kits containing
authentic artifacts (masks, dolls, everyday materials) and
resources. Ethnic Arts & Facts will be adding copyright
images from around the world to the Free eLibrary. In our
store, you can find some of Ethnic Arts & Facts kits including
The Maya of Guatemala, Huichol Indians of Mexico, China, Africa,
and Peru.
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5. Grants, Contests,
and Fundraising
AlphaGrants
program from AlphaSmart: Designed to help K-12 schools
implement classroom technology solutions that improve the
teaching and learning environment in math, science and language
arts. The program is valued at $50,000 this year, and applications
are being accepted through November 15.
The Shell Science Teaching
Award recognizes one outstanding classroom K-12 science
teacher who has had a positive impact on his or her students,
school, and community through exemplary science teaching.
Deadline: November 15, 2004
Best
Buy Children's Foundation te@ch Grants recognize programs
within 25 miles of a Best Buy and where inventive technology
integration is used. Award of $2,500 (1200 awards) must be
used to enhance or expand an existing program. Deadline: December
31, 2004
2005 Inspired
Teacher Scholarships from Inspiration : The scholarship
program will support professional development activities for
teachers who integrate visual learning and technology into
the curriculum. Deadline to apply is January 27, 2005.
More
Grants, Contests, and Fundraising (updated frequently
by Barbara Bray)
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6. Don’t forget…..
- Communicate and collaborate with other members!
Use the Community Discussion Boards to connect with other
members who are not on your team. Email other members to
suggest any collaborative projects. (Unless
members choose to hide their emails from the Profile section,
other members can email them by checking their Profile page
from the Who’s Logged-in Now box, or from the Meet
the Author Page when looking at any member’s projects.)
Issue #6 August
2004
- Member Spotlight- Phyllis Bartosiewicz
- Using My eCoach® Online for Professional
Growth
- What’s New in My eCoach® Online
- My eCoach® Online Survey
- New Members
- Don’t forget!
1. Member Spotlight
Phyllis Bartosiewicz, Middle School Computer
Teacher
Galesburg-Augusta, MI
Phyllis teaches 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in the Galesburg-Augusta
Middle School computer lab. She serves on the district technology
leadership team where she provides technology training for
district staff, is spearheading development of a coaching
and mentoring program for all schools in the district, and
developed an information literacy course for 8th grade students
with another teacher in the building. Phyllis completed her
master's degree in educational technology at the Western Michigan
University this year.
Phyllis was one of six practicing teachers to win the Michigan
COATT (Consortium for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching
with Technology) 2004 Award. Congratulations Phyllis! Her
portfolio is available on the website below.
Phyllis continues to find ways to support her teachers and
provide resources that will make their job using technology
easier. Phyllis found My eCoach® Online through her connection
on my listserv for professional developers. It wasn't long
after she joined our community that she started using the
different builders to create websites. Some examples of how
she used My eCoach® Online are below. Thanks Phyllis for
continuing to be innovative and create activities that other
teachers can use!
Visit this WRL
to for links to her portfolio and projects using My eCoach®
Online
If you would like to nominate a Featured Project
or a member to be a Featured Member (you can nominate yourself!),
please email us with the following information:
- Who you wish to nominate
- Why this person or the project
should be a Featured Member/Featured Project
- Links to projects created
by the member (both My eCoach® Online projects and other
projects)
- Your name and contact info
(email, phone)
top
2. Using My eCoach®
Online for Professional Growth
My eCoach® Online is a professional development tool that
you can use for your own professional growth. Some of our
community members have taken the program to highlight their
work, reflect on their teaching practice, and to collaborate
with others. You don't have to have an eCoach to do this.
Phyllis Bartoseiwicz used My eCoach® Online to create
projects for her portfolio which she submitted for an award
she won. Other members use My eCoach® Online to develop
projects for Master’s coursework or credential programs
as evidence of work. Think about using your locker as a place
to store your work and then create a WRL to link to your projects.
Give this link to your administrator, a prospective employer,
or just to show off.
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3. What’s New in
My eCoach® Online
eCoach News
Now when you log on, you will find the eCoach News box on
the right side above the My Community box. Here you can learn
about the latest news with My eCoach®.
If you have any suggestions or requests to
post an announcement for the general My eCoach® Online
membership, feel free to email us at ecoach@my-ecoach.com
Feedback Form
We have included a Feedback Form that users can fill out with
suggestions or to notify us about any issues you encounter
in our site. You can also let your eCoach know by using the
Ask eCoach feature.
New Guide: Be Inspired – Kidspiration 2.0
Hot off the press! Download the new Kidspiration
guide (need to log-in to My eCoach® Online first)
Please keep in mind that the Guides are for
My eCoach® Online members. Members who are K-12 teachers
may use the Guides with their students for classroom use only.
If members would like to duplicate the guides or share them
with other teachers or university students, please contact
us for licensing or purchase them from our online store.
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4. My eCoach® Online
Survey
In our continued efforts to improve My eCoach® Online,
we found our program only gets better with input from the
community. We developed two quick ten-question surveys for
either players (teachers) or eCoaches (mentors) to give us
feedback on our system. To fill out the online survey, log-in
to My eCoach® Online and click on the My eCoach® Survey
link in the eCoach News box.
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5. New Members
Foothill College Krause Center for Innovation –
Earn While You Learn Institute (EWYL) 2004
Led by Director Linda Ullah, the EWYL Institute is a program
where teachers from the Northern California Bay Area learn
to use technology tools, create technology rich projects,
and gain an understanding of the pedagogy and issues involved
in effectively educating students using technology and project-based
learning. Teachers use My eCoach® Online to plan and design
their projects and as a means for ongoing coaching and collaboration
throughout the school year. Linda Ullah hopes to expand on
the EWYL program to create a Fellowship program for EWYL Institute
graduates where they become mentors and use My eCoach®
Online as a venue to support the mentoring process.
Fresno Charter Schools: Woodson-DuBois
Eight mentors will become eCoaches to support the teachers
at both Woodson and DuBois charter schools. Starting in August,
My eCoach created an online coaching and mentoring course
through Cal State Hayward where the mentors will work online
and on-site learning adult learning strategies, coaching techniques,
and creating and implementing a model project. After 3 months
of working with their teachers, they will receive 4 CEUs.
The teachers will participate in a Technology Integration
course through Cal State for 2 CEUs. The principal, Linda
Washington, is very much involved in the process and is encouraging
her teachers to find effective ways to use technology that
will engage their students.
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6. Don’t forget…..
- Log-in and fill out our online survey (go to
eCoach News box to find link to survey).
- Help us populate the eLibrary with images, video
clips, sound files, and materials for teachers and students
to use! We need images, places of interest, and plants and
animals from your area. You can send them with descriptions
to ecoach@my-ecoach.com.
- Communicate and collaborate with other members!
Use the Community Discussion Boards to connect with other
members who are not on your team. Email other members to
suggest any collaborative projects. (Unless
members choose to hide their emails from the Profile section,
other members can email them by checking their Profile page
from the Who’s Logged-in Now box, or from the Meet
the Author Page when looking at any member’s projects.)
Issue #5 June
2004
- New Home Page for My eCoach®
- Featured Project: All Around the World
- New My eCoach® Online Members
- What's New in My eCoach® Online
- Contest! Tell a Teacher Campaign
1. New Home Page for
My eCoach®
You might have noticed our new Home Page look. You can now
easily read information about the new things happening with
My eCoach. Our home page highlights our featured member of
the month, projects, and eLibrary collections. Check it out!
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2. Featured Project
All Around the World – Stephanie Scott, 3rd grade
teacher, Louisiana
The All Around the World project was designed using the Inquiry
Leading to Understanding model. Students worked in groups
to research and present information on another country using
web research. The focus of the research was on the cultural
differences and similarities between international communities.
See
Stephanie’s project
If you would like to nominate a Featured Project or a member
to be a Featured Member (you can nominate yourself!), please
email us with the following information:
1. Who you wish to nominate
2. Why this person or the project should be a Featured Member/Featured
Project
3. Links to projects created by the member (both My eCoach®
Online projects and other projects)
4. Your name and contact info (email, phone)
top
3. New My eCoach Online
Members
North Central Educational Regional District, Wenachee,
WA
NCESD serves 29 school districts in Chelan, Douglas, Grant,
and Okanogan Counties, which include 12,600 square miles or
approximately 20 percent of the geographical area of the state.
Karen Schmitten will work with teachers in the Teaching American
History Grant Project and support them as they use My eCoach®
Online to collaborate and develop curriculum activities for
their students on the Pacific Northwest.
Alameda Unified School District, CA
Media Specialists, Roxanne Clement and Diana Kenney, are now
eCoaches ready to coach teachers in the Literacy Team to develop
projects aligned with the themes in SuccessMaker from Houghton
Mifflin. The Beginning Teacher Assessment program (BTSA) is
investigating strategies for My eCoach® Online to support
new teachers and provide an online area for them to post evidence
and reflections.
California Technology Assistance Program (CTAP) Region
IV, CA
Several of the CTAP Region IV staff are eCoaches so they can
support teachers in their region from anywhere at anytime.
Last year’s summer institute participants will have
access to My eCoach® Online with support from Technology
Specialists Sandy Oliver and Jason Sutter. At this summer’s
Literacy Academies at Alameda and Solano County Offices of
Education, Adrienne DeWolfe and 3 other eCoaches will coach
the participants as they create and post lessons, reflections,
and share ideas and discussions.
John O’Connell High School, San Francisco, CA
John O’Connell’s Curriculum and Technology Integration
Specialist Connie Hendrix has used My eCoach® Online with
her graduate students at San Francisco State University in
the past. As part of a mini-grant Connie will be using
the system again with teachers at John O’Connell to
develop model curriculum projects and increase their technology
skills.
No Limit Math Training Course, Bellingham, Newport, and
Grandview, WA
David Tucker and Ken Bakken attended our eCoach institute
in 2003. They have adapted My eCoach® Online as a staff
development program. Teachers in rural and remote areas of
Washington State will be guided with support from David, Ken
and two other eCoaches through a focused training model to
improve their instructional competence in math. Teachers will
create an exemplary lesson (in eCoach) guided by 'best practices'
research and participating in year-long, classroom-based training.
Kenosha Unified School District, Kenosha, WI
Suzanne Chernik and a team of eCoaches used My eCoach®
Online with their elementary teachers as part of Apple training
this past year. The team plans to continue using My eCoach®
Online to support more elementary teachers and to develop
and post lessons and activities that enhance their curriculum.
Check out Joan Roehre’s project on distance learning
resources:
http://my-ecoach.com/online/webresourcelist.php?rlid=26064.
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4.What’s New
in My eCoach® Online
Recently added Collections:
Marilyn
Kircus from Texas has donated bird, kayaking, and nature images
from around Texas, Louisiana, and great pictures from her
trip to Italy
Native
American and Pioneer Images donated by eCoach Gaye Lewis
Science Projects and Resources including images, video clips,
and web links
Help us populate the eLibrary with images, video clips, sound
files, and materials for teachers and students to use! We
need images of your area, places of interest, and plants and
animals from your area. You can send them with descriptions
to ecoach@my-ecoach.com.
top
5. Contest! Tell a
Teacher Campaign (contest extended!)
Win prizes from My eCoach® and our partners! Help us spread
the word about My eCoach®! Let teachers at your school,
district, and university know that we have thousands of copyright-friendly
resources available for FREE in our public eLibrary that they
and their students can access anytime, anywhere. (no log-in
required to use Public eLibrary)
Contest Details:
Prizes: My eCoach® gear (polo shirt, hat, bag), and software
from MovieWorks, and FableVision
Contest Deadline: open
Directions:
1. Send your teachers to our public eLibrary
to search for relevant resources.
2. Ask them to send us feedback by clicking on the “Submit
Feedback” link at the bottom of any page in the eLibrary.
All fields must be filled in especially the “How did
you hear about My eCoach®” field.
3. For every completed form filled out with your name listed
in the “How did you hear about My eCoach®”
field, you will be entered into our prize raffle.
4. Monthly winners will be contacted.
Issue
#4 April 2004
- Featured Member: Jeffrey Taylor, 6th Grade
Language Arts and History Teacher, California
- Community Discussion Boards
- What’s New in My eCoach® Online:
Technology Tutorial Guides, New Resources in the eLibrary
from Business Partners
- Contest! Tell a Teacher Campaign
- Upcoming Events
1. Featured Member
Jeffrey Taylor, 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies
Teacher – California
Jeffrey Taylor teaches 6th grade English/Language Arts and
Social Studies core classes plus one Language Arts Enrichment
class at Lowell Middle School in Oakland USD, Oakland, CA.
Jeffrey was a former student at Lowell and through teaching
he believes he can give back to his community.
Jeffrey knows every child can learn. His classroom has technology
in every corner where all activities are project-based with
students actively engaged. Teachers in his school call him
“Mr. T” for Technology. He realizes that most
of his students have had little exposure to technology and
its uses especially in the curriculum. So Jeffrey spends all
waking hours designing projects and activities that use technology
to meet content standards and improve student achievement.
He has been recently honored with an award for his teaching
and use of technology in the classroom through the California
Technology Assistance Program (CTAP). Congratulations, Jeffrey!
Jeffrey also encourages other teachers to use his activities
and collaborates with them. He teams with Lila Morris, another
6th grade core teacher at his school and also a My eCoach®
Online member, so more students have access to the resources
in his classroom and projects developed on the Internet. Both
he and Lila are a wonderful resource and examples for other
Lowell teachers where they are now redesigning their professional
development time to include team teaching strategies and the
use of technology in all curriculum areas. Teachers at his
school and others in the district are using his projects.
See Jeffrey’s
Projects
If you would like to nominate a member or yourself to be a
Featured Member, please email us with the following information:
- Who you wish to nominate
- Why this person should be a Featured Member
- Links to Projects created by the member (both My eCoach®
Online projects and other projects)
- Your name and contact info (email, phone)
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2. Community Discussion
Boards
Collaborate with Others in the Community Discussion Boards!
Did you know that you can connect with other My eCoach®
Online members from all over the country through the Community
Discussion Boards? Tap into this valuable resource to share
ideas, create professional networks, collaborate outside your
classroom, and make new friends. Post a message in any of
the boards to get a discussion started or to join one in progress.
To go to the Community Discussion Boards, log-in, go to your
Home Field, then click on the All Community Boards link located
on right side My Community box. From there, choose a board
to participate in. The more members use the boards, the more
everyone can benefit!
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3. What’s New in
My eCoach® Online: Technology Tutorial Guides, New Resources
in the eLibrary from Business Partners
My eCoach® Technology Tutorial Guides
Members now have access to most of the My eCoach® Guides
to build their skills or use the Guides as handouts in the
classroom (K-12 teachers only). If you would like to use the
Guides with other teachers, staff, university students, or
others, please contact us for licensing information.
To access the Guides, go to the eLibrary and type “guide”
in the search box or go to the Teaching and Learning directory
to Technology Integration category to find the topic you need
resources for. The Guides are not available in our public
eLibrary. Non-members can purchase our Guides for 99¢
to $2.99 each from our store.
New Resources in the eLibrary from Business Partners
To add more quality resources to the My eCoach® eLibrary
collection, My eCoach® has formed partnerships with several
educational companies including:
- Interactive Solutions (MovieWorks): donated various clip
art, photos, and video of animals, plants, places, people,
backgrounds, buttons, and more
- FableVision: donated clip art of each of the U.S. Presidents
- Crick Software: donated sound files of animals, words,
phonemes, and more
- School Technology Resources: donated scientific images
taken from SCALAR microscope cameras
To find the resources donated by our partners, type the company
name (e.g. MovieWorks) in the search box in the eLibrary.
Request for Contributions to eLibrary
Help us populate the eLibrary
with images, video clips, sound files, and materials for teachers
and students to use! We need images of your area, places of
interest, and plants and animals from your area. You can send
them with descriptions to ecoach@my-ecoach.com.
Coolest Tips and Tricks Handout
From Palm Springs to your desktop! Barbara’s popular
session, Coolest Tips and Tricks, at the CUE Palm Springs
Conference is available in the eLibrary
to download. The Coolest Tips and Tricks handout includes
tips on using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, Adobe
Reader 6.0, Inspiration 7.5, Kidspiration 2.0 and more. Download
the handout here.
MovieWorks Guide
Fresh off the press! My eCoach® has created a MovieWorks
guide available to our members. MovieWorks
is a multimedia authoring program with tools to create web
movies, analog and digital videos, dynamic slide shows, mulitmedia
presentations, and interactive CDs.
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4. Contest! Tell a Teacher
Campaign
Win prizes from My eCoach® and our partners! Help us spread
the word about My eCoach®! Let teachers at your school,
district, and university know that we have thousands of copyright-friendly
resources available for FREE in our public eLibrary
that they and their students can access anytime, anywhere.
(no log-in required to use Public eLibrary)
Contest Details:
Prizes: My eCoach® gear (polo shirt, hat, bag), and software
from MovieWorks, and FableVision
Contest Deadline: June 1, 2004
Directions:
- Send your teachers to our public eLibrary
to search for relevant resources.
- Ask them to send us feedback by clicking on the “Submit
Feedback” link at the bottom of any page in the
eLibrary. All fields must be filled in especially the “How
did you hear about My eCoach®” field.
- For every completed form filled out with your name listed
in the “How did you hear about My eCoach®”
field, you will be entered into our prize raffle.
- Winners will be contacted.
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5. Upcoming Events
NECC Conference, New Orleans, LA – June 21-23, 2004
School is out! Wear your party beads and come down south to
New Orleans to attend the National Educational Computing Conference.
Visit us in booth #419. Barbara Bray and Leilani Carbonell
Pedroni will present a poster session titled “A Model
Virtual Coaching and Mentoring Program,” on Monday,
June 21, 2004 from 1:30-3:30.
Coaching and Mentoring Retreats
We have scheduled two retreats this summer focused on developing
and implementing a coaching and mentoring program that builds
capacity and supports ongoing professional development. Sign
up now for one of our 3-day retreats in the San Francisco
Bay Area:
July 26-28, 2004 and August 9-11, 2004
More
information
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Issue
# 3 February 2004
- Featured Member: Tommy Howard, 7th and 8th
grade History Teacher
- What’s New in My eCoach Online: community
discussion boards and improved home field
- Public and Community eLibrary and Request
for Contributions
- Online Guides Store
- Internship Program
- Upcoming Events
1. Featured Member
Tommy Howard is participating in the Texas Educational Service
Center Region XV Target 2 grant where 8th grade Social Studies
teachers team with another teacher from their district who
is a technology leader to create curriculum projects. His
partner, Kirk Chastain teaches Computer Applications at the
same school with Tommy in Early Middle School.
Using My eCoach Online, Tommy and Kirk created a project called
"Weakness to Strength" on the US Constitution where
students were asked to conduct investigations and research
in answering the essential question, "how did the weaknesses
of the Articles evolve into the strength of the Constitution?"
In a recent mentoring workshop, Tommy shared how his students
used the online project to create graphic organizers using
Microsoft Word and researching the websites he provided in
a Web Resource List. Using the rubric provided, his 8th grade
students (103 students) followed the criteria to complete
the project and presented their organizers to each other.
Tommy said, "this was the first time that all my students,
including my 21 special education students, completed their
work and were excited about actually learning history."
He stated that having everything on one website including
all the files to download made it easier for him and more
convenient for his students.
To view his project, go to Weakness
to Strength.
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2. What’s New in My eCoach®
Online
Community Discussion Boards
Based on requests from players and eCoaches, we have developed
a Community Discussion Board area for all My eCoach® Online
members to communicate with one another. Our Discussion Boards
are broken into 6 Areas:
- My eCoach Online Lounge
- Project Based Learning
- Curriculum Integration, Teaching Practice
- Technology
- General
Each area features topics for members to post messages for
other My eCoach® Online members to view and reply. To
see the discussion boards, go to your Home Field to the All
Community Boards link. Please take a moment to check these
boards and add some messages!
Improved Home Field
Our design team has created a new Home Field for members once
they log in to our system. The new Home Field features:
- Easy navigation to recent projects players work on/create
- Recent resources added to locker
- Recent eCoach responses from Ask eCoach feature and eCoach
Project comments for quick reference
- Community Box that shows player team(s), link to Community
Discussion Boards (see info below), and lists of players
logged on currently in system
- eLibrary search
- Project builder link to initiate creation of a Web Resource
List, Activity, Inquiry Project, Custom Project, or Unit
of Practice Project
- Field to ask your eCoach a question
If you have any suggestions for improving My eCoach®
Online or comments about our system, please tell us by logging
in to My eCoach® Online, go to the Community Discussion
Boards > My eCoach® Online Lounge > Features in
My eCoach® Online.
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3. Public and Community eLibrary
New Public eLibrary
Now your students and colleagues can easily access many of
the resources in our eLibrary by visiting our free public
eLibrary.
Members of the My eCoach® Online community have access
to even more resources that are exclusive to our community.
New eLibrary Contents
Rosalie Ritz, a former courtroom artist who has covered famous
trials from 1968 through 1994 including the trials of Patty
Hearst, O.J. Simpson, and Black Panthers, has generously donated
several original sketches of historical figures such as drawings
of Harriet Tubman, Sacagawea, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass,
and Robert E. Lee to the My eCoach Online eLibrary collection.
Read our press
release for more details.
Request for Contributions to eLibrary
Help us populate the free eLibrary with images, video clips,
sound files, and materials for teachers and students to use!
We need images of your area, places of interest, and plants
and animals from your area. You can send them to us with descriptions
to ecoach@my-ecoach.com.
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4. Online Guides Store Now Open!
Visit our new Guides Store
and choose from over 150 technology tutorial guides. The Guides
start for as low as 99¢ for individual use. Volume pricing
for schools, districts, organizations, and companies available
by contacting store@my-ecoach.com
or 1-800-633-2248.
5. Internship Program
Are you a graduate student or an instructor/professor? We
are seeking graduate student interns who would like to gain
professional experience with our company. For details, please
go to our Internship
page.
6. Upcoming Events
TCEA Convention, Austin TX - February 2-6, 2004
Visit us in Booth #1952 to learn about My eCoach® and
chances to win prizes from our daily raffles! Details about
the conference at www.tcea.org.
Log in to My eCoach® Online and go to the Community Discussion
Board > My eCoach® Online Lounge > Current Events
and Happenings to let us know if you will be attending!
eLibrary Launch Party, Oakland, CA - February 27 5:00
p.m.- 9:00 p.m
Exclusive event to celebrate the launch of our Free eLibrary!
Rosalie Ritz, former courtroom artist and eLibrary contributor,
will be our guest speaker and will showcase her artwork. Appetizers,
prizes, and entertainment will be provided.
Coaching and Mentoring Retreats
Develop and implement a coaching and mentoring program that
builds capacity and supports ongoing professional development.
Sign up now for one of our 3-day retreats in the San Francisco
Bay Area:
July 26-28, 2004 or August 9-11, 2004
More
information
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Issue #2 December
2003
Greetings and Happy Holidays!
In this issue:
- New My eCoach Online Features –
Individual Learning Plan, Auto Image Re-size
- New Resources – Video clips
and images of animals, book resources
- Upcoming Events – FETC 1/22-1/24
2004, TCEA 2/2-2/6 2004
- Moving to New Office
- Recent Press Release – Region
XV in Texas Coaching and Mentoring Program
1.
New My eCoach Online Features
Individual Learning Plan
My eCoach Online now features a customized assessment rating
tool and an online Individual Learning Plan (ILP) form in
your Profile under a new tab called My ILP. Teachers can type
in their current technology proficiency, curriculum integration
goals, and steps to reach their goals. eCoaches use this information
to better support their players. The ILP is automatically
recorded with the date created and archived in their profile.
Teachers can update it or add a new ILP so they can compare
how much they have grown professionally.
Automatic Image Re-sizing
My eCoach Online community members can now easily re-size
images to fit project builder specifications with a click
of a button! When you are creating a Web Resource List, Activity,
Custom, Inquiry, or Unit of Practice Project you can upload
a picture without worrying about its size because the system
will automatically size your picture(s) appropriately.
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2. New Resources
Animal Video Clips and Images
Check out the eLibrary for copyright-free animal images and
video clips that include animal facts. Animals include: African
elephant, giraffe, squirrel monkey, green monkey, chimpanzee,
meerkat, antelope, lion, siamang, and gibbon plus more!
Book Resources
Go to the eLibrary and browse some of the books listed. Many
books include vocabulary, essential and discussion questions,
extensions, and activities. Check back often as we are creating
more each day!
Model Curriculum Projects
Check out the eLibrary for great projects designed by the
My eCoach Online community! The projects found through searching
in the eLibrary have been recommended by eCoaches and/or Head
eCoaches for other members in the community to view. If you
have designed a project that you would like to be added to
the eLibrary, let your eCoach know or email Leilani at leilani@my-ecoach.com.
Projects can be created using any of the My eCoach Online
builders. To ensure that projects are of high quality for
teachers, make sure your projects meet our publication guidelines.
Go to the eLibrary and type in "Checklist" in the
Resources Keyword field. Here you will find checklists for
each of the builders to help you with designing your projects.
More Resources
Make sure to search the eLibrary for other resources that
are added everyday including websites, handouts, and model
My eCoach Online projects created by our community! Please
send us images, materials, and websites that you would like
to share and will benefit the community for their projects.
Looking for images of your area, places of interest, and plants
and animals from your area. You can send them with descriptions
to Leilani at leilani@my-ecoach.com.
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3. Upcoming Events
Florida Educational Technology Conference - January
22-24, 2004:
Start making your plans for fun and learning in Orlando! We
will be at booth #1111, go to http://www.fetc.org for details
about the conference.
Texas Computer Education Association Convention and Expo
– February 2-6, 2004.
This year, the convention takes place in Texas’ capital,
Austin. So, put on your cowboy hat and visit My eCoach in
booth #1952. See http://www.tcea.org for details.
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4. We’re
Moving!
By January 2004 we will be moving our headquarters to a bigger
office space in Oakland, CA. Our phone and fax numbers will
remain the same. Our new address will be:
My eCoach, a Division of Computer Strategies, LLC
7700 Edgewater Dr. Ste. 600
Oakland, CA 94621
5. Recent Press
Releases
Education Service Center XV in Texas Uses My eCoach Online
with Mentors from Thirty-One School Districts
Oakland, CA-November 10, 2003-Under the Technology Applications
Readiness Grant for Empowering Texas (TARGET2 Grant), a No
Child Left Behind funded program, Region XV in Texas will
begin using My eCoach Online today to support their mentoring
program. The TARGET2 program includes sixty-two participants
from thirty-one districts in Texas.
Read more
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Issue
#1 -October 2003
Greetings!
Just as the leaves change color during the Fall, My eCoach
Online is going through some changes too! Please read below
to find out the latest!
In this issue:
- Barbara’s Professional Development
Quick Tip
- My eCoach Online expands to Florida,
Wisconsin, California, Massachusetts, Texas, Louisiana,
and New Jersey
- New features and updates in My eCoach
Online - Discussion Board, My Profile, Ask eCoach, and Team
Page
- New Resources
- Upcoming Events
1.
Professional Development Quick Tip
When teachers are designing how they will reach their technology
goals, they can create an individual learning plan (ILP).
Their ILP:
* Is aligned to their student learning goals.
* Establishes goals and indicators of success.
* Offers diagnoses of their strengths and weaknesses.
* Offers suggestions on learning opportunities that will
help meet their goals.
Joan Richardson's article on Individual Learning Plans:
http://www.nsdc.org/library/tools/tools2-02rich.html
To download an Individual Learning Plan template and model:
1. Log -in at www.my-ecoach.com
2. Go to the eLibrary and search resources for “Individual
Learning Plan”
Do you have a professional development tip to share? Email
Barbara at barbara@my-ecoach.com and let her know!
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2. Expansion
We are proud to announce that we are working in more and
more districts and organizations nation-wide. Districts
and organizations that recently joined our community include:
-Kenosha USD and South Milwaukee USD, WI
-Miami-Dade High School – FL
-Pajaro Valley USD – CA
-Cranford Public Schools – NJ
-Lowell Public Schools – MA
-Louisiana Teacher Practitioner Program – Louisiana
-Region ESC XV – TX
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3. New features
and updates in My eCoach Online - Discussion Board, My Profile,
Ask eCoach, and Team Page
Discussion Board: We redesigned the discussion board
so that it is easier to use. You can sort discussion board
items by topic, author, date posted, and latest activity.
eCoaches can now edit/delete discussion board messages that
do not have replies to.
My Profile: So that eCoaches can better help their
players, we added teaching environment questions in the Profile
area that target: teaching philosophy, community, school/district
environment, and classroom/teaching assignment.
Ask eCoach: eCoaches can now ask their Head eCoach
a question, while their players can ask their eCoach a question
still.
Team Page: Visit your Team Page to see a roster of
all the players and eCoaches on your team, the 5 most recent
discussion board replies, and new “Post a Resource”
feature where you can upload a file or website for your players
to easily access.
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4. New Resources
eLibrary: Check out the eLibrary for new images, documents,
handouts, projects, and more added everyday from the community.
We have artists and graduate student interns creating animated
images, watercolor art, and more.
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5. Upcoming Events
Going to Fall CUE in Santa Clara? Make sure to visit Barbara
Bray at her Tips and Tricks session and other sessions. See
our Events
page for details.
Going to the NSBA or the AECT Conferences in Anaheim? Stop
by Leilani Carbonell Pedroni ‘s Friday presentation
(10:45) at the AECT conference.
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