Praxis I: PPST Scheduling

Waylon is scheduled to take his two exams this week so that tells me two things: 1) If CEDAR paid for your PPST fees, you have received the voucher(s) in the mail; and 2) The process that I provided on this blog for registering to take the exams works. If you follow it, you will be able to get yourself registered.

Make sure you identify UTTC to receive your scores. The testing system will ask you to send them to a university/college so select UTTC. We will need those for your files.

Enjoy the week!

iPad Training This Week!

Remember the iPad training is held this next week from 2 - 4:30 PM on Tuesday, April 22. We will meet at 2 PM in the Reading/Math Center at Theodore Jamerson Elementary School. Brenda Rhone, our trainer, wanted us to meet there so she can show you some of the tools she has in her classroom.

Remember - Brenda asked you to set up a Dropbox account BEFORE the training so don't forget to do that. If you're in EDU 288 Tech in Education, you already have one. BUT BE SURE YOU REMEMBER YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD TO ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT!

Some of the apps we're going to learn about are as follows:

Audio Memos Free

Book Creator for iPad

Book Magic

Word Wizard

BrainPOP Jr.

Cash Cows

Coin Math Free

Dragon Dictation

Dropbox

Edmodo

Evernote

HootSuite

Math Ninja

Talking Ben the Dog

Pages

Pic Collage

Popplet lite

Puppet Pals HD

Screen Chomp

Skitch

We will bring the iPads for you to use for this training. It should be a lot of fun! (Attendance will be taken for EDU 288 Technology in Education.)

Praxis I Core Testing Information (Reading, Writing and Math)

By now most of you have received your vouchers in the mail for the Praxis I tests. This is what you'll need to do next:

• Go to the Praxis website at www.ets.org/praxis and register for the Praxis I: PPST tests on your voucher. You'll have to enter the voucher information to schedule the tests. 
• The Praxis Test Center is located at:
• Prometric Testing Center
• 2610 Old Red Trail
  Mandan, ND 58554
  (701) 663-5203 (If you call them, you'll get a recording, telling you to go to the website.)
• Be sure to take your voucher and an ID with you when it is time to take the test. You will not be able to take it without both of these items.
• I would suggest finding the test center BEFORE your scheduled time to take the test. You don't want to be driving around north Mandan, lost and looking for the testing building the day of your test!
• Some of you are taking one test and some of you are taking two. Your voucher lists which tests you will be taking that day.
• Remember that you cannot be interrupted during the tests. If you are, they will not be valid and you will have to take it over again at a later time. Be sure to tell family and friends you are going to be off the grid for awhile so you can get it done.

Any questions, please feel free to ask. If we don't know the answers, we'll find out! Have fun, relax and do well! 

UTTC Program Approval Site Visit

As you may have heard, there will be a team of people here next week (April 14-17) to evaluate and approve the bachelor degree program in elementary education. This process happens every few years. The purpose for this is to continue a state-approved program that benefits you - the teacher education candidates - so that you are assured you are participating in a program that has been evaluated for quality.

A few things:

• On Tuesday, April 15 at 9 AM, you are invited to join us in welcoming the team members at the Wellness Center conference room. This would be a way for you to meet the team members and be part of the Teacher Ed community, which you are. Coffee and rolls will be served.
• The computer lab in B06 will be closed all week. This is where the team will be meeting.
• Members of the team may be visiting your classes, particularly Leah's and Theresa's. So, if somebody walks in, you'll know who it is.

Remember: If anybody asks you, or conceptual framework is "Preparing Competent, Caring Teachers" and our symbol is the dragon fly. Just in case.....thank you and enjoy the week!

Parking Passes for Fargo Conference

The parking passes you will need to park your car (and not have to pay) in the parking lot at NDSU (ND State University) for the Preservice Teachers Conference have arrived and are available from either Lisa Azure or Jen Heid.

The parking lot system at NDSU requires you to have a parking permit, a parking pass, pay a daily rate for parking, or drive a car that is part of the state fleet (a ND government car). None of you drive state fleet cars. (Inside joke for Alicia.)

This pass is valid for one day only - for Friday, April 4th - the day of the conference. Make sure you display it on your rear view mirror on your vehicle, on your windshield, or you will get a ticket. I have five of them so there should be enough for all drivers.

App for iPad Training on April 22 at TJES

It's some time from now but here's the latest on the iPad training that will be held at Theodore Jamerson Elementary School (TJES) on Tuesday, April 22:

Brenda Rhone, who is conducting the training, has asked that you have a Dropbox account prior to this training. We have talked about Dropbox in Ed. Tech. but for those of you NOT in Ed. Tech, you will have to create your own account.

I love Dropbox (as you know) and use it all the time. I have the desktop icon installed on my office computer here at work and my laptop at home. When I leave for the day, I drag and drop things into Dropbox and then access them when I get home. No need to carry flash drives around anymore!

Go to www.dropbox.com and create an account. I suggest putting the icon on your desktop for easy access. Of course, you can still access Dropbox from any computer that has an internet connection. But it's easier if you have the icon on your desktop - and quicker.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask Jen Heid as she is also a frequent user. You can ask me, too - of course. Play around with it a bit before the training next month so you're ready to go with the resources Brenda is going to share with you.

Let technology work for you - have fun!

Fargo Conference Information

An update on the ND ACTE (Association for Colleges of Teacher Education) conference on Friday, April 4th, that a number of you are attending:

Stacy at NDSU is going to be mailing me parking passes for you to use for that day. As you may know, parking on university campuses requires a pass. Stacy is going to mail them to my home address to make sure we get them on time. I've requested 6 of them; one for me, one for Wylee and his family, and four others. I believe that should be enough. If it's not, I'll give up mine.

I also have a map of the campus that you'll need so you know where to park AND where the conference is located. NDSU is a huge campus so it's easy to get lost. Since I am driving in that morning, you will have to figure out the route from your hotel to the location of the conference. Be sure to do this ahead of time so you're not driving around lost the morning of the conference!

You will be staying at the Homewood Suites the night of April 3rd, checking out before you leave for the conference the morning of April 4th. The Homewood Suites is located at 2021 16th Street North in Fargo - Phone (701) 235-3150. Jen Heid has your confirmation numbers for your room reservations.

I will email you the NDSU campus map. Any questions, please ask Jen. She has all of the info you need.