Please post the summary of your sessions at this site, starting with date ( mm/dd/yy ) your name and topic of evening.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 1998

Answers

Summary for October 7, 1998 On Wednesday October 7, 1998 the cohort met at the RRCC computer lab. We spent the first portion of the night talking about various questions and concerns that members of the cohort had. We compiled a list of 14 questions that I talked to Terry Anderson about. These questions will be answered at future class sessions and through postings on the web page. Tina Meyers led a session on basic Windows 95 navigation and did a great job. She had a very detailed handout that accompanied discussion. I think that even the people who were quite familiar with Windows 95 picked up a few pointers. I have extra copies for the members who were not present. Tina also discussed how to work with Windows Explorer. She had members create folders and save files into them. We then worked with the UMD web page. Most people were able to post the date that they would be facilitating and a number were able to post their grade contracts on the web page. We will be having another computer session on Wednesday October 21st when we will be working with cut, copy, and paste techniques. We will also be looking at the UMD web page and accessing the online library. If anyone missed the October 7th session, please give me a call and I will get you a copy of the handouts. My home phone number is 285-2096. Tim Everson

-- Anonymous, October 19, 1998

International Falls Masters of Education Cohort - Summary of October 14 class.

The Cohort watched two video presentations by Ben Wolfe. The first presentation addressed the topic of grief in children and adolescents, the second addressed signs of suicide and depression in youth and adolescents. It was followed by a parent (an elementary school teacher) sharing her personal experiences regarding the suicide of her teenage son. These presentations were followed when Dr. Bill Johnson, a licensed psychologist with the Koochiching County Counseling Center, hosted a question and answer session regarding some of his personal experience as well as experiences of cohort members.

Materials summarizing each presentation were distributed in class. Videos of the Ben Wolfe presentation are available through the UMD library via the web page. A video tape of the Bill Johnson portion of the class is currently being circulated through the cohort members who were unable to attend the October 14th presentation. Questions regarding the material can be directed to me at 285-2255 or 283-4752.

Tom West

-- Anonymous, October 27, 1998

International Falls Master of Education Cohort

November 11, 1998 Computer Review/ Family Systems: Specific Needs of Children from High Risk Families

The Cohort spent the first half of the evening understanding how the messages posted make their way onto the web page. Terry, Tim, and Tina explained how to create sub-categories under each members name, so that the page was better organized and easier to follow. Now, each person will be able to keep track of their assignments as well as read what other people have written to start the discussion forum. Our assignment that evening was to read through the groups Covey remarks and respond. We closed the evening with the video presentation by Kelly Ravenfeather from Lutheran Social Services. She explained how varying dynamics in each family affect the children we teach. She illustrated how each family member has a specific role in the family, and then went on to show how roles can be changed by a wide variety of circumstances (divorce, death, etc).

An updated Grading Contract and Time Line, William Glasserss book- The Quality School, and summary of Kelly Ravenfeathers presentation were distributed in class. The video tape of Ravenfeathers presentation is available through the UMD library via the web page. Questions regarding the material can be directed to me at 283-2571 or email: brownlpj@norshore.net.

Paul Brownlow

Asked by Paul Brownlow (brownlpj@norshore.net) from 209.32.48.225 on November 18, 1998.

-- Anonymous, November 19, 1998

December 9, 1998

Facilitator- Karen Rigdon

Video Tape  Kids Without Conscience

Presentation by David B. Rigdon on Interaction Management

The videotape included a workshop by Professor Lloyd of Duluth. We watched his portion of the tape for about one-hour. He lectured on the layers of the brain  the reptilian brain, the limbic brain, and the neocortex. His lecture addressed the questions, What makes us human? and What has evolved in the human brain and why? He also clarified the difference between empathy and sympathy. There was a brief segment on autism.

The second tape was a presentation by Judge Dale Wolfe. He touched on progressive consequences for adolescents committing crime, possible causes of behavior from early childhood deficiencies, and characteristics of high-risk children. Wolfe stressed the importance of early intervention programs.

David Rigdon, engineer from Boise Cascade, presented on overview of a program purchased by Boise entitled Interaction Management. The key principles of the program include:

 Maintain or enhance self-esteem

 Listen and respond with empathy

 Ask for help and encourage involvement

 Share thoughts, feelings, and rationale

-- Anonymous, December 20, 1998

Summary of Dec. 16 class: We met in the computer lab where Tim and Tina took us through various search engines and technical terms related to them. We discovered the vast resources available for online research as well as some of the frustrations we may encounter while trying to find exactly what we are looking for. They took us through filtered search engines that UMD has listed on our web sight which may be more helpful.

For the second half of the evening our guest speakers were Dr. John Frederickson, Superintendent, Chuck Johnson, Principal, and Dave Parmeter, School Board Member. They spoke on their vision of the future of education in Intl Falls. One of the issues that Chuck brought up was the issue of the arts. Statistics show that involvement in the arts helps to increase brain development which in turn has an affect on other academic areas. Dr. Frederickson compared and contrasted the changes in society over the years and how we as teachers need to adapt and change as well, but how difficult it is without the proper tools such as technology and training. Dave Parmeter shared a quote regarding the art of teaching and shared his concerns about individualized education. He felt that the graduation standards were going to address that need. He then opened the floor for discussion. Discussion included such subjects as graduation standards and retention.

The video is available from Jill Katrin, who will be facilitating the next class. Please try to view it before Jan. 6. If you have any questions, please call me at 283-4752 or E-mail rainy@norshore.net.

Lisa West

I was short 11 copies of the neuroplasticity hand-out that Mary Jean sent, so I will make sure to have those available for the next class. The people who did not get one are: Keith, Karen, Dawn, Jill K. Shelby, Pat, Beth, Shelby, Ladd, Jill H. and Kevin. (Kevin, I will have all the hand-outs available for you.)

Lisa West

-- Anonymous, December 21, 1998

FEBRUARY 10, 1999 Facilatator - Tina Meyers

Guest Speaker Paulina Nuhring from UMD was the guest speaker. The presentation was titled Laughing Matters: Using Humor in the Classroom. Handouts are available for those not present.

Dinner in the commons - Lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and cookies!

Mary Ann Rotundi spoke in the second half of the evening. Information was shared regarding the conference she recently attended on the Gifted and Talented.

Guest speaker Kyle Greenwalt from Indus High School discussed the Gifted and Talented program that their district has in place. Kyle shared information regarding budgeting, development of methodologies, strategic planning, curriculum issues, and student/parent concerns.

The video tape is available for viewing and it is in the mobile video bag in my office.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 1999

Summary for February 17, 1999

Facilitators: Tina Meyers and Tim Everson

On Wednesday February 17, 1999 the cohort met at the RRCC computer lab. Our guest speaker was Martha Eberhart Galinsky from the UMD library. We learned how to set up Netscape so that we can go through the proxy server at UMD. By going through the proxy server, we are asked to login to the system. By logging in, we are allowed access to Electronic Resources at the UMD library. Martha talked about and gave us a handout that covered what databases were available for us at the UMD library. We spent time looking at ERIC and how to use it. In the handout is a thesaurus of ERIC descriptors. Martha also explained a number of other sources of information that we can access via the Web. Martha explained that it was important to try different descriptors in order to find good information. Included in the session was the use of Boolean (and, or, not). I found the feature of having selected findings e-mailed to you very helpful.

Tina arranged a fabulous meal for us which included sub sandwiches and soup. Great job Tina!

If you have any questions or need handouts, please contact Tina Meyers or Tim Everson.

-- Anonymous, February 23, 1999

March 10, 1999

Anyone notice how light is was when we walked to our dinner? Just wait, before you know it, when we leave after class we will be having daylight. It's almost enough to get excited about. Just think about how our spirits will be a year from now :)

The evening began with the introduction of our youngest visitor. Beautiful(big)baby girl Jill! Mary Jean introduced our governace team and Tim Everson read notes about the last conference. More clarity was contributed to the concerns of our research paper. Everyone there agrees that we all want Frank to be apart of our cohort. We all felt comfortable about the way he advocates for his students. Mary Jean is going to check into how much he can be involved with us.

The remainder of the time was spent in the computer lab for more time with ERIC. It is important to know that the free time is only through April. So utilizing it now, let's get that "lit review" as cheaply as possible- especially with that unexpected potential tuition increase.

In additon, there was individual group discussions. It was even suggested that there is much learning that occurs when that happened. Anyone in favor of having it be apart of our classtime?

A collaborative effort of several cohort members continued the discussions beyond the classtime hours in an extended classroom. Good-time-was-had-by-all!

Looking forward to next week,

Patty

P.S. 5413 Portfolio due next week

-- Anonymous, March 11, 1999

5413 Portfolio Due March 24th

-- Anonymous, March 12, 1999

5413 Portfolios now due April 7th

-- Anonymous, March 26, 1999