Oklahoma CTE

OKLAHOMA ASSOCIATION OF MINORITIES IN CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION (OAMCTE) ESSAY CONTEST 2016-2017

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 17:42:00 -0600

Information for you on the OAMCTE Annual Essay Contest – Early March Deadline for Students

Who is eligible to enter the essay contest?

Students must meet all three of the following criteria:

Currently enrolled and attending a Career and Technology Education class or program.
A high school junior or senior.
A member of a minority race.

What are the criteria for writing the essay?

Essay theme is “Why I Chose Career and Technology Education as Part of My Career Pathway”.
Papers should be typed double spaced; font size 12.
Length of essay is 500 words minimum and 700 words maximum.
Include a cover sheet with your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, school name, program name, grade, the name, phone number, and e-mail address of your Career Tech instructor.
Include a color picture with your name printed on the back. Pictures will not be returned.
Postmarked deadline to submit essay is Friday, March 3, 2017. No emailed essays will be accepted.

What are the winning categories?

First Place - $250.00
Second Place - $175.00
Third Place - $100.00

Where are essays to be sent?
Mail completed essays to:
Carolyn Leach
OAMCTE Essay Chair
9017 E. 40th Place
Tulsa, OK 74145

When will winners be notified?

Winning essay writers will be notified by Friday, April 7, 2017

Who to contact if you have questions?

Carolyn Leach at (918) 746-8533; leachca@tulsaschools.org or
Cliff Harris at (918) 519-4233; mrcliffharris@yahoo.com

10 Years of Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Mon, 9 Jan 2017 16:32:00 -0600

Happy Monday!! Today is the 10th birthday of the Oklahoma CTE Blog and I thought there was not a more appropriate thing to do than say thank you.

I never thought when I started this blog January 9, 2007 that it would last this long, or that I would have that much to say! You have inspired me through allowing me into your classrooms, your schools, by sharing your Tweets and more. Without you I would not have made it this far.

So, a lot of post later (some years more frequent than others) I have made it and I wanted to send a quick thank you to everyone who has read my thoughts. I appreciate you allowing me to have this outlet and hope that there may be something good that has come from it.

Keep up the great work and I will see you around!

Oklahoma Nontraditional Student Institute

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Mon, 9 Jan 2017 16:14:00 -0600

I am very excited to be working with NAPE to bring the Oklahoma Nontraditional Student Institute to educators across the state. This should be a great series of professional development events that will help push Oklahoma forward as a leader in nontraditional student success.

The Oklahoma Department of Careerand Technology Education is partnering with the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity to present the Oklahoma Nontraditional Student Institute. The institute has been developed as part of the state’s failure to meet or exceed the local levels of performance in relation to the nontraditional core indicators. The institute consist of one-day professional development sessions at regional locations, conference calls/webinars and the two-day Oklahoma Nontraditional Student Summit.

The regional workshops will introduce participants to the NAPE-developed Explore Nontraditional Careers Toolkit, and the conference calls/webinars will provide opportunities for continued professional development in the toolkit’s implementation. The summit will serve as the culmination of the institute and will bring all participants together to share experiences and learn from each other. The second day of the summit will feature an afternoon session on how sites can implement the strategies they have learned through the institute into their local Carl Perkins applications for FY18.

You are encouraged to send representatives from Rose State College to the institute. The regional workshops are limited to 30 participants at each site. The workshops will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. ODCTE is covering the cost of registration for sites, and lunch is on your own.

Jan. 26, 2017 – Tulsa Technology Center, Owasso Campus
Jan. 27, 2017 – Kiamichi Technology Centers, McAlester Campus
Feb. 16, 2017 – Canadian Valley Technology Center, Chickasha Campus
Feb. 17, 2017 – Northwest Technology Center, Fairview Campus
Feb. 23, 2017 – Moore Norman Technology Center, South Penn Campus
Feb. 24, 2017 – Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Cross Timbers Campus

The two-day summit will be March 28-29, 2017, at Moore Norman Technology Center, Franklin Road Campus. Participants are expected to participate in one one-day workshop, the conference calls/webinars and the two-day summit.

More information and registration can be found at http://www.okcareertech.org/about/state-agency/divisions/federal-legislation-assistance/onsi

Welcome to our school, new student

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 2 Sep 2016 07:21:00 -0500

We visited a school that mentioned an interesting (at least to me) policy for their new students.

When a new student comes to the high school one of the orientation stops that they make is with the principal. They get to know each other a bit and they get to talk expectations of the student while they are a member of the school system.

This may be something that you do and everyone else does or it might be a best practice that needs to be shared. Either way I thought the process of sitting down with a student, talking about expectations and welcoming them to their new school was a good one and one that I want to remember if I am ever in that position.

Young Professionals of CareerTech

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:57:00 -0500

Monday night of summer conference I had the opportunity to attend something that I believe will be special, the first event of the Young Professionals of CareerTech.

I am excited about this new initiative from OKACTE and honored to be a part of getting it off the ground. We have only held an organizational meeting to get it started and the first social but I think it has the potential to engage those new to our system and empower them and ignite them and their passions.

I hope you will look for us as we grow this new organization and will consider being a part. Together we will continue to make our system of career and technical education in Oklahoma one of the premier systems in the world.

PS - There is an ACTE Young Professionals group as well: https://www.acteonline.org/youngprofessionals

49th Annual Summer Conference Wrapup

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 5 Aug 2016 09:48:00 -0500

This week was a great week to catch up with old friends, make a few new and be reminded that I am a part of something great! Why, because earlier this week was the kickoff to our year – Summer Conference!

This year was the 49^th annual conference held at the beginning of August each year. It is the largest professional development of the year for our teachers, administrators and staff. Annually educators from comprehensive schools, technology centers, colleges, Skills Centers, the state agency and retires gather to begin another year and to learn how to make the educational opportunities our students are engaged in more meaningful.

The first day was filled with opening sessions, general sessions, closing sessions, breakout sessions and more. Those in attendance heard from legislators, Duane Cummings, awesome “TED” style presentations from students and more. We had the opportunity to hear remarks from the state director and the executive director of OKACTE. We celebrated with our colleagues as they were recognized with various awards and we Tweeted!

The second day I spent with the Student Services Division and had a great time learning and gaining new insight. The morning kicked off with Andy Masters as he shared how we can Stress More, Be Late for Everything and Die Young! Then I attended sessions on Time Management, Learning Styles, Economic Development in the 21^st Century and Employability Skills. Each session provided me with an opportunity to bring something back personally or professionally and I think my work will be improved because of what I was able to pick up.

In 2011 I started the #OKACTE hashtag and each year it seems to grow. Again this year we trended in Oklahoma City and Oklahoma! 2011 was also the first year we added the live Twitter feed and it has gotten better every year. Recently we added a social media wall before and after the sessions and we fill it with pictures from Twitter and Instagram that have been hashtagged. A couple of weeks ago a trip to Texas and a stay in a hotel sparked an idea for this years newest addition - the Summer Conference frame! Numerous pictures shared this week included those taken in the "selfie booth" and and everyone who took a picture in it looked amazing!

It has been great being a part of helping you interact with your colleagues at conference and I look forward to doing it for years to come. Watch for something great next year as we celebrate the 50th annual summer conference and share our fun with the world!

Cell Phones in Class

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 20 May 2016 10:41:00 -0500

How do you manage cell phones in class?

One school that I recently visited decided it was time to open up the school wi-fi and give students open access. Of course they still use filters and social media is not accessible but students can now use the school resources when they are in class.

If a teacher needs time without the cell phones they have a card system. Red is teachers time - put up the cell phone and pay attention. Green is student time - students can have their cell phones out and use them in class. They simply printed some cards with a cell phone on them, put the red and green sides together and laminated them. Some teachers tape them to the dry erase board, others use a magnet to hold them up and others have other ways. The cards can switch back and forth several times throughout the day.

This has cut down on "discipline problems" related to students having their phones on them at all and has allowed staff to concentrate on teaching and learning instead of who might have a cell phone in their pocket.

What do you think about this policy? What is your school policy? What do you think a good cell phone policy should include?

Red = Teacher Time, No Cell Phones

Green = Student Time, Cell Phones Allowed

STEAMmaker and Girls Coding - No Cost Professional Development

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Thu, 19 May 2016 09:38:00 -0500

CareerTech is offering two camps in June for teachers to learn strategies on implementing project based learning in their classrooms.

We are offering our third STEAMmaker Camp and introducing Girls Coding. These camps are being offered at no cost to instructors and students that they bring with them. Teachers must apply and commit to attending the entire camp. Teachers who attend receive high quality and immersive professional development and get to implement strategies that they learn into practice immediately with their students who get to attend a cool summer camp.

Teachers do not have to be STEM teachers and we are encouraging anyone who has a desire to do project based learning to apply.

STEAMmaker Camp

WHERE: Francis Tuttle Technology Center’s Portland Campus located at 3500 NW 150th Street in Oklahoma City

WHEN: June 7-10, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (optional)

June 7-9 with teams of students
June 10 - teachers only for a one-day project based learning training (no optional evening portion)

WHO: Teams of 2 teachers and 5-8 students, in grades 6-10 (rising)

WHAT: Come learn, play, and invent in this super-awesome camp using littleBits, Makey Makeys, ArtSnacks (and more), and kids’ awesome summertime imaginations!

WHY: It’s super fun to geek out with your friends and a have great summer camp experience! And teachers will get high-quality, hands-on experience on how to make and run their own MakerEd space.

More information and application available at https://www.okcareertech.org/about/state-agency/divisions/innovation-research-and-quality/steammaker

Girls Coding

WHERE: Metro Technology Center's Springlake Campus located at 1900 Springlake Drive in Oklahoma City

WHEN: June 13-15, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

June 13 - teacher teams of two for a one-day project based learning training
June 14-15 - teachers teams with teams of five students

WHO: Teams of 2 teachers and 5 students, in grades 7-10 (rising)

WHAT: Come learn, play, and code in this super-awesome camp.

WHY: It’s super fun to geek out with your friends and a have great summer camp experience! Teachers will get high-quality, hands-on experience on how to implement coding into their classroom.

More information and application available at http://www.okcareertech.org/about/state-agency/divisions/federal-legislation-assistance/non-traditional-careers/girls-coding

High School Z - Whole School Improvement

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 09:48:00 -0500

Our team had the opportunity to visit a site who was using The Leader in Me, from FranklinCovey, to implement whole school improvement.

What struck me about this process is the way that it is implemented. Many times in a school each teacher will have their classroom rules and it differs from grade to grade and class to class.There may be no consistency and expectations may be different.

This site was implementing The Leader in Me across all classes, across all grades and all sites. The "rules" and "expectations" for the kindergarten class are the same as for the seniors in an agriculture education program!

Throughout the school instead of different posters showing different rules they had banners, "street signs" in the hallway (see picture above) and posters in the cafeteria that serve as a reminder for the habits that they are supposed to be developing.

But what happens when teachers retire or move to another system and new ones are hired to replaced them? As part of their hiring process newly hired personnel must take the same training that everyone else has received in order to be introduced into the culture of the school system and understand the whole school philosophies.

I am not saying that you must use the same program but I really liked the concept of the entire school system using the same base and that they have a process for on-boarding that includes training the new hire in the way that the site does whole school improvement.

High School Z - Turn off the Noise!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 10:22:00 -0500

As we were touring an academic center we were discussing how the site helps students concentrate on the task at hand - testing.

In the center there was a speaker that was connected to the site's communication system. They installed a switch on the speaker, a light switch in particular, that they could use to turn off the speaker if they are testing.

As a student I was very easily distracted and very willing to chase a "squirrel" when I should be concentrating. Having class interrupted by an announcement was a sure fire way for me to not concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing anymore.

So there you have it, a switch that turns off the announcement speaker so that students will not be interrupted with the lunch menu. Seems like a pretty good idea to me!

High School Z - Counseling After Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 07:30:00 -0600

At a high school our team visited we had a great discussion with administrators who bragged on their counselors as one was staying after hours to reach those students and parents who could not make it in during the normal school day.

The counselor stayed until 8pm every Tuesday so that students could be served. This happened in two different ways. Students and parents could drop in or they could set up an appointment.

Currently the time is being paid by a grant that the school applied for and received. Their plan for sustaining the program is looking at flex time for the counselor and letting them come in later the next day or take longer lunches.

The concept I believe has multiple benefits. It allows an opportunity to engage a specific segment of the population that might not be engaged any other way. There may be students or parents who have to work until 5 or after that can now see a counselor and get the needed career guidance and other services a counselor provides. It allows for relationships to be built and has the opportunity to engage parents, on their time, increasing parental involvement.

I am sure there are many other ways that this program enhances the academic success at the school. There are most likely other schools that have implemented this or a similar program with success. This is the first school I have heard about a program in place and having success and thought it would be something that I should share and something that I would strongly consider if I was an administrator at High School Z.

High School Z

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Wed, 9 Mar 2016 07:30:00 -0600

Over the past several months I have had the privilege to lead multiple teams in travels to numerous schools across Oklahoma. I can't wait to total up the miles since I have started and see how far I have gone. I feel like I might be close to reaching 24,901 miles, or the distance around the earth!

One thing that has remained consistent is that at each visit our team has made, whether visiting a middle school, junior high, high school, technology center or college, is that we are able to find at least one thing that should be shared as a best practice with the rest of the educators out there.

Allow me to introduce you to the High School Z label in the Oklahoma CTE Blog. Here I will gather thoughts on schools and highlight some of the neat things going on in #OklaEd. I will not name the schools, but those that attend may figure it out. All credit goes to the schools but I do not want to "call" anyone out or start a "that was our idea first" argument.

So here it is, if I was an administrator, the ideas, concepts and applications of educational practices that stick out that I would further explore and possibly implement at High School Z

Renewed Commitment

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 8 Jan 2016 10:44:00 -0600

Wow, looking back since my first blog post on Jan 9, 2007 I have shared a lot of infomration with you, my readers.

Unfortunately 2015 was not a good blogging year and even though I have posted pretty regulaly I only made three attempts! Not good.

For 2016 I am going to renew my commitment to blogging and sharing with you. A lot has changed but one thing I will continue to try to do is provide you with new, fresh and relevant information about career and technology education. There is a lot of great things happening in #OklaEd and beyond and I am excited to share with you.

I hope you had a great 2015, that you have an even better 2016 and that you will come back to the blog regularly and learn with me.

Women’s Equality Day - August 26

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 08:52:00 -0500

Women's Equality Day is a day proclaimed each year by the United States President to commemorate the granting of the vote to women throughout the country. Women in the United States were granted the right to vote on August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was certified as law. The amendment was first introduced many years earlier in 1878. Every president has published a proclamation for Women's Equality Day since 1972, the year after legislation was first introduced in Congress by Bella Abzug. This resolution was passed in 1971 designating August 26 of each year as Women's Equality Day. - Wikipedia

Non-Traditional Fields

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 08:51:00 -0500

Non-Traditional Fields - The term 'non-traditional fields' means occupations or fields of work, including careers in computer science, technology, and other current and emerging high skill occupations, for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals from one gender comprises less than 25 percent of the individuals employed in each occupation or field of work. - Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006

This blog has covered a variety of topics and those topics continue to expand as my experiences change. Recently to those experiences I have added the opportunity to be involved in the promotion of non-traditional fields in career and technical education as defined by the Carl Perkins legislation.

As such I am adding a new label, Non-Traditional Fields, and will start providing resources, thoughts and sharing opportunities under this new area. I hope that some of them you will find useful.

In addition to these postings we now have made available a new page on our website where some of the resources will be shared as well.

http://www.okcareertech.org/about/state-agency/divisions/federal-legislation-assistance/non-traditional-careers

Have a resource that will help improve our efforts? Please share in the comment section below.

Firing up the blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Thu, 2 Jul 2015 08:42:00 -0500

Well, it looks like it has been awhile since I have blogged and I am way behind. I apologize for not keeping up with this and want to reconnect with those that viewed what I posted over the last 8 1/2 years.

So starting with the new fiscal year (that was July 1 in case you were wondering) I am making a commitment to sharing and blogging with you. Just like always the blog will center around what we are doing at CareerTech to further career and technical education in the state, random ideas and other things.

Thanks for following along and I look forward to sharing with you again!

Student Guarantee Tutition Refund Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Tue, 9 Dec 2014 07:40:00 -0600

How confident are you in the training that is provided from your institution? Francis Tuttle is pretty confident and in fact will retrain you under certain conditions!

From their course catalog -

If your employer determines that specific technical competencies identified on your transcript are lacking after completing one of our programs, we will provide retraining to you at no cost.

See page 20 for the policy

Does your institution have a similar policy?

2014 Holiday ECards

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Mon, 8 Dec 2014 07:36:00 -0600

As has become one of my favorite traditions I present to you cool holiday ecards!

I can't embed this one, but it is pretty cool and very interactive from Ashland University

UConn

Don't have the time or the staff to design and create your own card? Have your students do it! Check out the 2014 Alamo College Holiday ECard Contest to get your own contest started.

Here is one of their 2013 winners

There are of course many more examples that you can find. I just wanted to share a couple ideas to get your thought process moving.

Handibot

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Mon, 1 Dec 2014 08:33:00 -0600

Ever been in a classroom and thought hey, I need a CNC machine and this would be a much more awesome concept to present to my students? Well wish no more!!

Check out Handibot (https://handibot.com/).

It is a portable CNC machine capable of working on numerous materials.

Would you like to see a demo?

Education Resources for Digitial Fabriaction

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 13:20:00 -0600

http://100kschools.org

Immersive Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 13:10:00 -0600

Today we had the opportunity to demo zSpace, an immersive, virtual reality that has endless possibilities in education!

Imagine, holding a beating heart in your hand that you can peel back the layers and even go inside while watching the electrical impulses go around. Being able to interchange batteries and diagnose issues with a rotocopter and getting all eight motors to run.

You can do these things and more with your students and the best part is you can do it all virtually.

Check out the video

How would you use this in your classroom?

MotionSavvy UNI: 1st sign language to voice system

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 07:47:00 -0500

This morning I was listening to the radio and heard a story on a new piece of technology that I thought might be a game changer in education.

Watch the video and decide for yourself...

All I can say is WOW!! The ability for students to sign at a tablet and then have that tablet speak for them would tear down barriers in education! I hope to that this product gets the funding and support it needs to come out at their estimated shipping date of September 2015.

This would be an awesome addition to a program like the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program at Moore Norman Technology Center

Check out their website. What do you think about the UNI?

Innovation Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 10:49:00 -0500

From time to time I am going to start sharing some of the blog posts, innovative ideas, websites, and stuff that I have read about. I hope you enjoy.

How the Maker Movement is Moving Into Classrooms

Google Glass use in Education

Boundless - A textbook alternative. It is pretty low cost and the site provides supplemental material to help you prepare for class.

5 Free STEM Courses - A blog post from Edudemic covering some innovative STEM courses.

Flipped Classrooms - A blog post from Free Technology for Teachers sharing some great flipped classroom resources.

GroupSpot - A place for students at UT at San Antonio to come together with resources to facilitate collaboration.

10x10 - A website to graphically show the news.

ClassTools - Tools you can use in the classroom or make your own.

Creative Commons Guide - A graphical representation of creative commons.

Learn to Program - A blog post with tools to help students learn to program.

I like to use Flickr for my presentation pictures. Great video helping to explain how to give proper credit.

The Education of Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 09:34:00 -0500

by aleksandarsavic.

Summer Conference Cooperative Alliance Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Zweiacker) — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 13:57:00 -0500

My presentation from OkACTE Summer Conference

Cooperative Alliance Update from Jeremy Zweiacker