Current News
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May 11 - Summer tuition due / Intro class & orientation begins
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May 18 - Summer semester for SL&IT begins
May 22 - Deadline to drop summer classes
Jul 9 - Deadline to withdraw from summer classes
Aug 7 - Summer classes for SL&IT end
Aug 12 - Fall tuition due (anticipated date)
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Aug 31 - Fall Semester begins (Intro class/orientation begins Aug 24)
Nov 5 - Gate 1 Registration for Spring 2010 (Thursday)
Nov 9 - Gate 2 Registration for Spring 2010 (Monday)
Nov 12 - Gate 3 Registration for Spring 2010 (Thursday)
Nov 15 - Registration for Spring 2010 Ends (Sunday)
Dec 18 - Fall semester ends
New Versions of Required Texts
The two required texts for all SL&IT courses both have new editions. Below are the old and new reference items that all SL&IT students should own by fall 2009:
Old:
American Association of School Librarians. Information Power. Chicago: American Library Association, 1998.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2003.
New:
American Association of School Librarians. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs. Chicago: American Library Association, 2009. [order directly from the ALA Store: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=2682]
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2009.
Notable for the new edition of the MLA manual is a greatly simplified citation style. The fall newsletter will feature an article highlighting changes, but if you are interested in reviewing the differences right away, see Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) chart summarizing the major changes in MLA 7th ed.
As a heads up, the new style no longer requires URLs for web documents or identification of libraries from which you retrieved articles from subscription databases. The new edition also prescribes italics for titles rather than underlining.
New Scholarships for 2009-2010
Given the economic hardships that many of our students now face, SL&IT faculty have raised $15,000 to assist seven deserving students. One student will receive a $3,000 award, while six will receive $2,000 scholarships. Students can use the funds for Fall 2009 and/or Spring 2010 tuition, education fees and technology fees. Funds may be used to pay past balances only for students within two semester of graduation.
The deadline for application was April 8, and by mid-May we will notify a degree-seeking SL&IT student who has not previously received one of the federal grant scholarships (Building Leaders, LAPIS, REAP or SCALE).
We hope to offer additional scholarships in 2010. For details and procedures see the SL&IT Faculty Scholarship page.
New Special Education Requirements for PA Certification
Please note this important information regarding new rules for PA certification. Educators who receive their primary certificate after January 1, 2011, and who wish to add an endorsement (e.g. in Library Media), must meet the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Chapter 49 requirements for Adaptations and Accommodations for Diverse Learners and ELL.
Satisfaction of the new requirement requires the following undergraduate special education courses:
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Foundations in Special Education (SPE 1001)
Graduate equivalent SPE 5501, Educating Children with Exceptional Learning Needs
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Instructional Strategies for English Language Learners (SPE 2276)
Graduate equivalent SPE 5530, Diverse Cultural and Linguistic Learners
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High Incidence Disabilities (SPE 3291)
Graduate equivalent SPE 5590, Teaching Learners with Mild Disabilities
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Assessment and Evidence Based Behavior Supports for Inclusion (SPE 3352)
Graduate equivalent SPE 5542, Assessment and Behavior Management
These special education courses will be phased in and offered online over the next two years from Mansfield University and will be taught by Special Education instructors. If you do not plan on graduating before 2011, you will need to begin to take these courses as soon as they are offered. We will keep you posted as to when the courses will be available online. For additional details see PDE's Frequently Asked Questions. If you still have questions, contact Cindy Keller (ckeller@mansfield.edu or 717-816-6995).
Video Tutorials via Atomic Learning Now Available
To help strengthen technology skills we have subscribed to a web service called Atomic Learning. This resource provides dozens of video tutorials and curriculum materials on a large variety of software products and technical skills. To login enter your 7-digit student ID from the link above. Links are also available from the Portal, under the Help or Resources tabs.
Besides helping all of us learn new software skills, Atomic Learning provides a treasure trove of ideas for projects that integrate technology in your own K-12 curriculum. Check out their Workshops and Lesson Accelerators, tutorials that show how to create classroom technology projects that align with state or NETS-S standards. You can even browse for standards by state. As we stress in the Intro course, regardless of your skill and comfort level with technology you can always learn something new or improve existing skills (or perhaps just learn to work faster or more efficiently).
If you wish to learn some tricks in Microsoft Word, you may also find helpful Larry's series of Video Tutorials. Though based on the older Word 2003, these videos demonstrate various formatting features of Microsoft Word that work in most versions. Part One consists of one 23-minute video on margins and basic formatting, and Part Two (43 minutes) consists of four videos on page setup and layout, section breaks, headings (levels), and tables of contents.
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