2013 Holiday Cards

Ok, so I can't leave 2013 without some of the Holiday Cards from this year. I hope you enjoy and maybe even an idea or two will be sparked from viewing.

1

 
University of Maryland 2013 Holiday Card from University of Maryland on Vimeo.

If you want more check out The College Web Editor's 2013 List

Goodbye 2013

2013 is about to wrap up and 2014 is just days away. It has been a busy time at ODCTE, so busy in fact I did not blog in November or December and this year I have posted the least amount in the seven years I have been blogging.

Maybe it is because I am spending more of my blogging time on Twitter (If you don't follow our agency you should, lost of good CTE related content is shared almost everyday at @okcareertech) or maybe it is because we are all participating in a reorganization of our agency. What ever the excuse I choose to use I am going to make a better effort in 2014 to blog and share with you.

Even though there was not as much content shared this year I am appreciative of you listening. Together we have learned a lot about career and technical education and I hope that some of the content that I have shared has been valuable to you.

I hope you had a great 2013 and that you plan on finishing it strong. Here is to an even better 2014 and I look forward to working together with you to move CTE forward for our students.

Congratulations Letter to Counselors

This week I spent some time at the 2013 NACPL and NCPN Conferences. One idea that I came across was a letter from schools to counselors. I thought this was a great idea and one that could easily be implemented.

In this letter was a congratulations to the counselor for having students that earned college credit at the local technology center.

As an example:

Ms Smith
The Cooperative Alliance Program at your local technology center is pleased to inform you that 20 student from your high school earned a total of 120 hours transcripted college credit through our courses.

A college transcript is generated for each student from one of our partner colleges or universities. These courses will result in substantial savings in the cost of your students' education and allow them to progress towards degree completion at an accelerated pace.

On behalf of your local technology center I would like to thank you for your continued support of career and technical education and congratulate you and your teaching staff on the excellent results from your student.

Sincerely

Technology Center Superintendent

CC
Principal

Moving from POS to RPOS at NCPN Conference 2013

Thank you for attending my presentation today. I appreciate you taking the time to listen and learn. Here is a link to the presentation as well as a link to resources from today.

RPOS in Oklahoma

2013 NACPL Innovation in Career Pathways National Award

Today we received notification that we have been recognized as the 2013 NACPL Innovation in Career Pathways National Award winner!

Oklahoma is being recognized for the unique and innovative components of Career Pathways implemented through the “Moving Oklahoma from Programs of Study to Rigorous Programs of Study” initiative. This initiative indicates a commitment to the goal of supporting student achievement through RPOS. 

We are very excited to again be recognized by NACPL on a national level. This is the third time we have received recognition including the 2009 Promotion of Tech Prep/Career Pathways National Award and the 2011 Innovation in Tech Prep/Career Pathways National Award.

You can learn more about Oklahoma's RPOS movement by visiting our RPOS page. 

You can find out more about the National Association of Career Pathways Leadership by visiting them on their website - www.nacpl.org

PowToon of Dr Sommer's video

In this weeks Monday Memo, Dr Sommers shared a video created by Francis Tuttle Technology Center covering some of the idea that have been generated lately and are being implemented in Oklahoma.

I thought it was a great video and that you could have some use from it.

It was made with a website called  PowToon. Check it out and share videos that you come up with covering CTE below.

Cooperative Alliances and Why They Should Matter to You

My final presentation for the 2013 Summer Conference was to the STEM Division and covered Cooperative Alliances.

Many times in our rush to get students college credit we may not help the student make their best decision. The STEM programs (pre-engineering and biomedical academies) are designed to help students get prepared for a four year degree. The Cooperative Alliances are designed for a workforce degree.

Students who are going to a four year institution may not benefit from the Cooperative Alliances. Instructors and guidance counselors should take great care in how they encourage students to take courses and pushing STEM students to get these credits may hurt their financial aid in the future.

Cooperative Alliances and Why They Should Matter to You from Jeremy Zweiacker

Carl Perkins Supplemental Dollars

I want to send a shout out to the FACS Division of OKACTE and the FACS instructors that came and listened to my presentation over Carl Perkins Supplemental Dollars.

We had a great turnout and had some great conversations afterwords.

Carl Perkins Supplemental Dollars from Jeremy Zweiacker

Tweets and Word Clouds

This summer conference we were challenged to get creative during the general session. We introduced Twitter feeds three years ago and into the general session last year with great success. This year the Twitter feed was back and over 1,000 Tweets happened the first day!

This year we were challenged to do a word cloud. Not just a picture up once, but a live, interactive, moving word cloud. It was pretty awesome!

Thanks to the great people at TES Productions, a team of CareerTech folks and Sayzu, the word cloud went off without  a hitch.

It is fun working with a great group of people who enjoy trying new things. This year was a success and I can't wait to see how we will be challenged at SC 2014!

Moving from Programs of Study to Rigorous Programs of Study in Oklahoma

My first presentation at Summer Conference 2013 was given to the Career and Academic Connections Division and covered our movement from POS to RPOS. It is a continuation of the presentations given over RPOS in the past but includes some of the general data collected as a result of the RPOS survey we sent to all Perkins recipients.

Moving from Programs of Study to Rigorous Programs of Study in Oklahoma from Jeremy Zweiacker

Disruptive Innovations We Should Love

The State Director's Presentations are going to be flipped!

A series of four videos have been released with Dr Sommers presenting. All conference attendees, and anyone interested in the future of Oklahoma CareerTech, should view the following videos before the conference.

Attendees will be able to interact with the state director during the Opening General Session by tweeting questions regarding the content of the video and using the #okacte hashtag. You can also email questions to ideas@okcareertech.org before the conference. Below is the fourth and final video.

The Department of CareerTech's Future

The State Director's Presentations are going to be flipped!

A series of four videos will be released with Dr Sommers presenting. All conference attendees, and anyone interested in the future of Oklahoma CareerTech, should view the following videos before the conference.

Attendees will be able to interact with the state director during the Opening General Session by tweeting questions regarding the content of the video and using the #okacte hashtag. You can also email questions to ideas@okcareertech.org before the conference. Below is the second video.

Purpose driven, Customer focused

The State Director's Presentations are going to be flipped!

A series of four videos will be released with Dr Sommers presenting. All conference attendees, and anyone interested in the future of Oklahoma CareerTech, should view the following videos before the conference.

Attendees will be able to interact with the state director during the Opening General Session by tweeting questions regarding the content of the video and using the #okacte hashtag. You can also email questions to ideas@okcareertech.org before the conference. Below is the second video.

The Renaissance of CareerTech

The State Director's Presentations are going to be flipped!

A series of four videos will be released with Dr Sommers presenting. All conference attendees, and anyone interested in the future of Oklahoma CareerTech, should view the following videos before the conference.

Attendees will be able to interact with the state director during the Opening General Session by tweeting questions regarding the content of the video and using the #okacte hashtag. You can also email questions to ideas@okcareertech.org before the conference. Below is the first video.

Vision 2020 Conference

This week I had the opportunity to present at the Vision2020 Conference hosted by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

I had the privilege to share about our CareerTech System and talk about our offerings in comprehensive schools, technology centers, business and industry and our Skills Centers.

Thank you SDE, I enjoyed the opportunity to share and am sharing the presentation below with my readers if you are interested.

CareerTech Did You Know - Vision 2020 from Jeremy Zweiacker

CAP Q&A - Non credit courses

Question

If a course is offered at the technology center that does not apply to degree requirements for an approved AAS or certificate program at the college must it be articulated and available for college credit through the Cooperative Alliance Program?

Answer

No.  If the course does not apply to degree requirements in the associate in applied science or certificate program in an approved Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP), then under the policy it cannot be articulated and transcripted by the college.  

In policy 3.6 Cooperative Alliances Between Higher Education Institutions and Technology Centers, section 3.6.2 defines a Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP) as “a formal, academic program offered by institutions in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education that includes approved courses taught by a CareerTech technology center and leads to an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree or a college-level certificate in a technical or occupational field.”   

The term “leads to” refers to degree requirements at the college, so only courses that will ensure a student’s completion and graduation from the program are allowed to be articulated under the CAP.

If the college offers the course, but not for college credit, this is another indication that it would not be allowed to be articulated for credit from a technology center if it has no credit bearing impact on the degree requirements of the AAS or certificate program.

 

Dr Sommers' Flipped Summer Conference Presentations

If you have not heard, Dr Sommers is flipping his summer conference address!

There will be a series of four videos produced and posted to the summer conference website. You are responsible to watch (and share) these videos. At summer conference you will have the opportunity to ask questions, via Twitter, which will show on the screen at conference and randomly may be selected to be presented to Dr Sommers via the moderator for an answer.

The first video is shared here and all videos will be located here: http://www.okcareertech.org/summer-conference/general-sessions 

New videos will be posted later this summer as we get closer to conference. They will also be announced via the official Oklahoma CareerTech Twitter account: http://twitter.com/okcareertech

Skills to Rebuild

This week CareerTech rolled out our Skills to Rebuild webpage. On it you will find numerous resources for recovery including information on counseling for students, safety training, construction training, hiring a contractor and training handouts.

Here are some tips on counseling after a disaster

 

We are in the process of collecting donations and a putting together a series of volunteer opportunities to help fellow Oklahomans under the CareerTech CARE banner. 

The response to the Oklahoma tornadoes from across Oklahoma and the nation has been tremendous. We are excited to play a small part, with our partnerships and employees, in helping our friends and neighbors recover.

http://www.okcareertech.org/about/skills-to-rebuild

Verizon Mobile Learning Lab

CareerTech has a mobile health lab and there is a mobile manufacturing lab - what about a mobile technology lab?

Check out this video on Verizon's Mobile Learning Lab, does it spark any ideas?

Help us to recognize our hard working staff.

The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education will host its all-staff meeting June 3. 

This year, in addition to professional development, the agency will recognize employees through the new CareerTech Staff Performance Awards program. The agency will present five awards: Innovation, Customer Focus, Team, Rising Star and Unsung Hero.

The agency is asking customers and stakeholders (agency personnel, field personnel and employees of other agencies with which ODCTE works) to nominate ODCTE staff members they feel deserve recognition. Nominations, which include a short questionnaire about why an employee deserves recognition, can be made at:

 http://www.okcareertech.org/about/state-agency/careertech-awards. 

Nominations are due May 14. 

ODCTE values its employees and their customer and stakeholder relationships. Thank you for helping recognize deserving CareerTech employees.

To .EDU or to not .EDU

It has been a few years since we checked technology center websites and tracked the .edu trend. In fact, it was Feb. 4, 2009 that I first did the To .EDU or to not EDU post. 

At that time only four .EDU dominas existed. The largest was the .ORG with 12 followed by .COM with nine, .TEC.OK.US with three and .NET with one. 

Today I am excited to announce that we are up to 25 tech centers being reachable through a .EDU domain. Green County, High Plains and Wes Watkins are the latest.

With these changes comes the retirement of the .NET and the .TEC.OK.US as High Plains and Mid Del move to new domains.

Back in 2009 I asked if you will change and many of you have. Will the last four switch?

.EDU
Autry: http://www.autrytech.edu
Canadian Valley: http://www.cvtech.edu
Central Tech: http://www.centraltech.edu
Chisholm Trail: http://www.cttc.edu
EOC: http://www.eoctech.edu
Francis Tuttle: http://www.francistuttle.edu
Gordon Cooper: http://www.gctech.edu
Great Plains: http://www.greatplains.edu
Green Country: http://www.gctcok.edu
High Plains: http://www.hptc.edu
Kiamichi: http://www.ktc.edu
Meridian: http://meridiantech.edu
Metro Tech http://www.metrotech.edu
Mid America: http://www.matech.edu
Moore Norman: http://mntc.edu
Northeast Tech http://www.netech.edu
Northwest: http://www.nwtech.edu
Pioneer: http://www.pioneertech.edu
Pontotoc: http://www.pontotoctech.edu
Red River: http://rrtc.edu
Southern OK: http://www.sotc.edu
Southwest Tech: http://swtech.edu
Tulsa Tech http://www.tulsatech.edu
Wes Watkins: http://www.wwtech.edu
Western http://www.westtech.edu/

.ORG
Tri County: http://tctc.org

.COM
Caddo Kiowa: http://www.caddokiowa.com
Indian Capitol: http://www.ictctech.com
Mid-Del: http://www.middeltech.com/

Career Advisor Newsletter

If you have not heard about the Career Advisor newsletter, you need to check it out!

Career Advisor Newsletter

The newsletter is out out by ODCTE and has short bits of helpful information to those working with students. Information on the upcoming Counselors Only Conference, helpful tips on getting students ready for a college visit, Twitter and Pinterest resources and more.

Go and check it out, you will be glad you did.

GuidanceFest 2013

GuidanceFest 2013 is here!! We are excited to announce the new dates and show off our new logo!

Sept 25 - Autry Technology Center

Sept 27 - Mid America Technology Center

Oct 3 - Kiamichi Technology Center, Poteau

Oct 8 - Red River Technology Center

Oct 10 - Tri County Technology Center

You can get more information by visiting our page on okcareertech.org The link to registration will be put up soon at this site as well.

We hope you will be able to join us!

Oklahoma Programs of Study Summit Held

Approximately 140 educators gathered at the South Penn campus of Moore-Norman Technology Center to hear from national and state experts as they spoke on rigorous programs of study.

Robert Shumer, research associate/lecturer from the University of Minnesota, kicked off the summit, sharing a national perspective with attendees and speaking on behalf of the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education. Presenters included ODCTE staff as well as participants from the Oklahoma Programs of Study Institute.

“Oklahoma students must be prepared to participate in a 21st century economy that is fast-paced, technology-driven, knowledge-based and global,” said Becki Foster, associate state director of careers, innovation and academic services for CareerTech. “Oklahoma Rigorous Programs of study will be a critical piece of connecting academic and technical coursework to the world of work.”

The summit is the result of more than a years’ worth of planning, research and development. The Department of CareerTech was an active participant in the National Research Center for Career and Technical Educations’ first National Programs of Study Institute beginning in January 2012. Using the national model, ODCTE developed an Oklahoma Programs of Study Institute to help local institutions move from programs of study to rigorous programs of study.

Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center, Choctaw High School, Claremore High School, Meridian Technology Center, Mid-America Technology Center, Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, Redlands Community College, Tulsa Community College and Tulsa Public Schools participated in the three-month institute beginning in September 2012.

The summit was developed to help institutions start planning for local Carl Perkins implementation. The participants from the institute presented to their peers what they were doing to move from programs of study to rigorous programs of study on their campuses. Participants were given an introduction to the RPOS framework and given the opportunity to self-evaluate where their schools were in implementation.
ODCTE will continue to provide technical assistance as local schools and consortiums prepare to implement RPOS.

More information on rigorous programs of study can be found here.

(This news item was originally posted at www.okcareertech.org)

Ok Programs of Study Summit

We will hold the Oklahoma Programs of Study Summit as scheduled on Feb 27, 2013. We will move the start time to 9:30 am in order to allow extra travel time and will work to conclude the summit at the advertised 12:30 ending time.

As with any travel, please plan locally as road conditions may vary across the state. Please plan on allowing extra travel time to reach the South Penn Campus of Moore Norman Technology Center. If your local conditions are not safe please do not travel to the summit.

Click here for more information

Happy CTE Month

Check out the video Passion Into Paycheck

Happy CTE Month

February is National CTE Month and we hope that you will join in the celebration!

Check out this awesome clip from the National PSA contest entitled What Your Future Sound Like?

Head over to the official CTE Month webpage and check out the other events happening across our country.

How are you celebrating CTE Month?

Cooperative Alliances - Parent Persmisison Form Statement

 At the Superintendents meetings in Lawton this week ODCTE presented information on the Cooperative Alliance and Financial Aid impact.

In lieu of technology centers developing a statement that is different from location to location, this statement was presented to be added to the Parent Permission Form that should currently be be in use with students and parents.

"Participation in the Cooperative Alliances may affect future financial aid. Please consult your financial aid counselor for details."

The orignal Oklahoma CTE blog celebrates five years!

Who knew that on Jan 9, 2007 an experimental blog, the Oklahoma Tech Prep Tech blog, would develop into the Oklahoma CTE blog and serve as an avenue to share ideas and thoughts on CTE for so long?

470 post and 30,000 visitors later, the conversation continues! Whether you have found this blog as a result of a presentation, stumbled upon it or just simply are new today, thank you for reading! It has been my pleasure to share and grow with you through the years.

These last five years have seen a lost of change and there has been a lot of information shared. I hope that our next five years will be just as great and that you will continue to follow along and join the conversation supporting career and technology education in Oklahoma.

Thank you for reading!