3rd Annual GuidanceFest - That;'s How We Roll!!

The tentative dates for the 3rd Annual GuidanceFest have been announced...

October 26 - Canadian Valley Technology Center, Yukon

November 1 - Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center, Fort Cobb

November 3 - Northwest Technology Center, Alva

November 9 - Kiamichi Technology Center. McAlester

November 17 - Northeast Technology Center, Claremore

Watch for more details and we'll let you know when to start registering at the GuidanceFest website.

OKCIS for iPhone

You can now access the information that you need from OKCIS from your iPhone!!

The new OKCIS App for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad is now in the iTunes store, and it is free!!

You can use the App to find information on occupations, financial aid, scholarships, education, and career training information.

Are you in the classroom, encourage your students to download it to keep up on the go!

Here is one of the screenshots from the iTunes store and go here to download it: OKCIS App at iTunes

Thanksgiving Meal

Thanksgiving is less than 4 weeks away. On some campuses that means it is time to start thinking about how they will cook that 400 pounds of turkey and where they will store those 100 pies.

Last year we had a guest post from Carolyn LeGrand, a Culinary Arts instructor at Meridian Technology Center. She talked about Meridians Community Thanksgiving Meal and what goes into feeding 1,000 hungry Stillwater residents. She also discusses some of the benefits not only to students, but to the community as well.

What a great marketing and public relations opportunity. If you have thought about doing it, the time is right. You are giving students real world experience, getting people to visit your campus who might not otherwise and you get to do it all while eating!

Be sure to include this in your year round recruitment plan and let us know how your plans are coming along.

Financial Aid Night

Simplify the process!

The National Bureau of Economic Research released a report today in which tax preparers at H&R Block helped some low and moderate income customers complete the FAFSA using data from the IRS.

They discovered that helping these families boosted the rate at which they applied for financial aid, the number who received the aid and the amount they got, and ultimately it effected the transition from high school to college enrollment.

We have talked about developing a Financial Aid Night before and how the technology center can play a key role in helping families with obstacles become prepared to transition to higher education.

The National Association of Financial Aid Administrators provides much of the information that you need to start a Financial Aid Night on their website.

All that is left is for you to set the date and get the word out.

GuidanceFest 2009

We have been on the road again with GuidanceFest 2009!

This year we have made stops in OKC, Tulsa, Atoka, Altus and we are headed to Woodward for our last session.

It is always good to get out on the road and meet a lot of new faces. Getting to know those on the front line is fun and it helps us take back new information in the services that we need to provide and makes us think about how we can make CTE in Oklahoma better.

I thought I would share with you my presentation during GuidanceFest. It is the CTE to College and Career Transitions, and I hope that you like it.

GuidanceFest College And Career Transitions

View more documents from Jeremy Zweiacker.

If you want to view the other presentations, they are on the GuidanceFest page

Encouraging Students and Celebrating Failure

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend my daughters first dance recital.

During the course of the recital, one of the dance groups had a small flub. What they did was not important, or the point of this post, but what the crowd did as a reaction is.

When the mistake was discovered, the lights were dimmed and the music stopped, the class was brought back to the side.

When the lights came back on, the music started to play again and the students came on to start their routine again.

The crowd cheered! They just didn't politely clap, the hooted and hollered and brought smiles to the faces of the young girls as they started their routine once again. At the conclusion of the routine, the crowd cheered some more and the girls ran off the stage with huge smiles.

It was very cool to see parents be so enthusiastic in celebrating the mistakes and successes of the class. They could of been polite, and let them come back on stage to only politely clap at the end but they choose to be encouraging to the students and help build their confidence for what became a perfect routine .

How do you celebrate mistakes? Do you use it as an opportunity to teach and help students master the skill that they are having difficulty with, helping to build their confidence so that they can build upon those successes?

One last thought, my kids' teacher tells them that "If you can't make a mistake, you can't make anything!" What is the learning environment in your class?

Senior Plan Board

Saw this posted at NeverEndingSearch and thought it was a good idea to share with you.

2nd Annual GuidanceFest

Building on the success of our inaugural GuidanceFest, we are proud to announce the dates for our second annual event.

GuidanceFest 20009 will be held:

• September 1 - Moore Norman Technology Center, South Penn
• September 3 - Tulsa Technology Center
• September 10 - Kiamichi Technology Center, Atoka
• September 15 - Western Oklahoma State College, Altus
• September 22 - High Plains Technology Center, Woodward

We hope that we will see you at one of our locations. We are excited about bringing new information to you that you can use as we work to raise student achievement in Oklahoma.

You can get all your GuideanceFest news from the Tech Prep Blog or visit us here.

Web Alignment Tool

This past week I spent with Dr. Ann Benson participating in a Technology Centers That Work Technical Assistance Visit. TCTW is a program of SREB. Currently, Oklahoma's TCTW initiative includes 12 technology center districts participating in this initiative with that number expected to grow.

I have to preface that the experience was invaluable and will translate nicely to the Tech Prep Review and Improvement Process that will begin later this month.

During our classroom observation time we were given a Web Alignment Tool, a product of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

The tool gives 4 areas in which to observe classroom questions and asses at which level the instructor is engaged the students. The levels get into recall, skill & concept, strategic thinking, and extended thinking.

It helps guide your observation be letting you plot what types of verbs the instructor is using. Are they asking who, what, when, where and why questions (Level !: Recall) or are they asking students to analyze and synthesize (Level 4: Extended Thinking)

It's a great tool to use and share.

For Counselor's Only

Tomorrow (March 3) I will be presenting at the For Counselor's Only Conference. We will be talking about Cooperative Alliances.

Cooperative Alliances

View more presentations from jzwei. (tags: career technology)

Voice Thread

Thanks to the NeverEndingSearch this morning I came across a new toy, Voice Thread. Very quickly you can see applications for collaboration, sharing, commenting and a lot of other possibilities for the classroom.

Here is one that some younger children did about their experience with Oklahoma's Centennial.

Need ideas for students a bit older or faculty? You can visit the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Voice Thread page or listen to a student explain why he chose certain photographs for his final project here.

Myra Sadker Student and Teacher Awards

The Myra Sadker Foundation provides financial awards and scholarships for students and teachers committed to equity.

Student Awards fund projects or activities proposed by students of any age that promote gender equity goals.

Undergraduate Scholarships are designed to attract and reward students who plan to teach and are committed to educational equity.

Dissertation Awards are designed to financially support doctoral level dissertations that explore or promote educational equity.

Teacher Awards fund a lesson, unit, or project that promotes fairness and human dignity.

Deadlines

Undergraduate Scholarship and Dissertation Awards are due by December 1.

Student and Teacher Awards are given throughout the year.

For more information and applications, visit Scholarships and Awards.


If you have any questions, please direct them to ncwge@aauw.org
American Association Of University Women
1111, 16th Steet N.W.
Washington DC, 20036
www.aauw.org

Thanksgiving Luncheon

Thanksgiving Luncheon Provides an Education and Employability Skills for Technology Center Culinary Arts Students

More than 400 pounds of turkey, 300 pounds of ham, 250 pounds of whipped potatoes, and 100 pies and desserts, are required to provide a Thanksgiving luncheon for over 1000 community guests at Meridian Technology Center. The Meridian Culinary Arts students who are enrolled in the courses of culinary arts assistant and restaurant food and beverage serve management assistant gain education and employability skills. Students assist with the planning, organizing, production, and service of the event which provides a live and realistic learning experience.

The Thanksgiving luncheon requires the assistance of all 50 students and staff. Four student leaders from the previous year are chosen to assist with coordinating the students who are participating for the first time. The student leaders direct the student teams in the preparation and production prior to the event and during the event. They will serve as the leaders in the two dining areas on the event day. The student leaders are responsible for delegating tasks and making sure the event runs smoothly. Students learn about the skills and coordination required to host and serve the estimated 1000 people within a two- hour time frame. The interaction with the guests provides valuable lessons in being professional, providing outstanding service and meeting the needs of the customers.

The luncheon has been benefitting the students and community for more than 30 years. This year the Thanksgiving luncheon will take place on November 14, 2008, from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at Meridian Technology Center.

For more information on the Thanksgiving luncheon or to learn more about the Culinary Arts program, call 377-3333 or visit www.meridian-technology.com.

Carolyn LeGrand is a Culinary Arts/Lodging Management Instructor at Meridian Technology Center

(My note-What a great way to get the students involved with the community!! Marketing, public relations, recruitment and more can be rolled into one event included in your uear-round recruitment plan. Your students participate and get real world experience while doing something relevant, and everyone gets to eat!!)

(Picture-The First Thanksgiving by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris, hosted by wikipedia)

GuidanceFest 2008

Wednesday was our first event for GuidanceFest 2008. We held it at NWOSU in Enid and felt that it was a successful event.

The room was full with about 30 attendees. They got to hear from a variety of speakers about the Past, Present and Future of the CareerTech System. I think it was pretty informative!!

One thing to note, we did without the traditional handouts of power point presentations to the attendees. Instead, we are posting them to the GuidanceFest page on the Tech Prep website. It saved only 240 sheets of paper or about $1.40, but as we work to transition more presentations and more conferences online, it will start adding up and CareerTech will be helping the world be a little greener!!

Dalton Sherman's DISD Keynote

This morning I received a link to Dalton Sherman's moving keynote address for the Dallas ISD. Dalton is a 5th grader at Charles Rice Learning Center, home of the Tigers!! Thought you might enjoy.

GuidanceFest 2008

GuidanceFest is an opportunity to learn about the CareerTech System and where we are headed in the future. Speakers will talk about the impact of the programs to courses movement, how CareerTech aligns with Oklahoma’s Promise, and many more topics valuable to you as an education professional.

To learn more and to sign up for an event in your area, please go to http://www.okcareertech.org/techprep/guidancefest.htm

Pass this to your friends and co-workers. We look forward to seeing you there!!

Summer Conference Presentations

For those of you that made it to Summer Conference, or if you missed it and you want to catch up, here are some links that might help.

The Summer Conference Presentations for Tech Prep are posted here: http://www.okcareertech.org/techprep/presentations.htm

You can get the Guidance Division Summer Conference Presentation here: http://www.okcareertech.org/cac/Pages/guidance/SC2008/2008presentations.htm

In other news, the CAC Division has a new home on the www and you can go there here: http://www.okcareertech.org/cac/

Your Big Idea-Just Do It!

Sunday night the family and I braved the rain and went with church to the Cushing Aquatic Park for Family Fun Night. The Cushing Aquatic Park is not huge compared to major water parks, but the $1.5 million water oasis has all the essentials and offers a variety of activities for kids and adults alike. For the small ones you can head to the kiddy pool and slide down the frogs tongue, or you can head over to the main pool that features an incline pool, a couple of mini slides, and two multi-story water tubes-one full and one half tube.

Since we have kids that are 5 years old and don’t swim, we decided to stat out at the kiddy pool with the frog slide. That did not last long!! As my son watched the big kids go down the tubes, he started asking why he couldn’t do it.

At last, his aunt decided that she would take him up to the top of the tower, go down first and wait to catch him. Up the tower they went and down came his aunt. As she went down the tube my son eagerly awaited his turn atop the tower. Finally, the lifeguards said go and down the half tube a brave, excited 5 year old boy headed. No screams, no tears and just a huge smile as he came out the end into the waiting arms of his aunt. Back up they went to conquer the full tube!
What is stopping you from conquering your fears? Many times an idea or thought will pop into peoples heads and then they think of all the reasons why they can not implement it, who they should not share it with or why it will fail.

What is your big idea? Maybe you came to the Enrollment Management presentation at Summer Conference and have ideas you want to approach administration with like developing a plan for year round recruitment, but are afraid of bucking the status quo? Maybe you saw an ad during the Summer Olympics and you thought it could be applied to your technology center, but they have always done it this way? Perhaps you have been thinking about a strategy for retention and you need a few dollars to implement a new program, but don’t know who to ask? You have an idea. maybe the next great idea and you want to act on it, but you just don’t know how.

Just do it! Take the first step and share that idea with those around you and start heading up that ladder. If you stay at the bottom of the slide and don’t face your fears you might never know how much fun the ride can be.

2 Million Minutes on OK Horizon

OK Horizon recently showcased the movie 2 Million Minutes. Watch the videos from this weeks telecast.

FAFSA Night

January 1 is the first date that students can begin completing the Free Application for Student Aid for the 2008-2009 school year. Your seniors should complete the application as soon as possible as the more information that they have the better decisions they can make regarding their college future.

Why not turn the FAFSA into a recruitment opportunity? You can help students who might need a little assistance by hosting a FAFSA Night.

Hold an evening on the Technology Center campus inviting parents and students from your sending schools, regardless of if they are a current student or not, to attend an event where financial aid experts from the tech center, colleges and high school guidance counselors are in attendance and offer to assist in the completion of the FAFSA and provide other college advice. The evening could be a part of a larger college and career fair or a stand alone event specifically aimed at providing assistance where needed.

NASFAA provides some great resources for putting together a FAFSA Night. Visit their Financial Aid Night section of their website.

Take me to the FAFSA website.