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UW-Madison School of Education Online News - January 2006
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Welcome to the UW-Madison School of Education Online News, a monthly update on School and campus news and resources.

IN THIS ISSUE: JANUARY 2006

• PEOPLE Program Expands its Reach
• Students in EPICS Course Offer Expertise to Nonprofits
• Research: “Before Every Child Is Left Behind: How Epistemic Games Can Solve the Coming Crisis in Education”
• Forum to Examine Affordability and Access in Higher Education - Feb. 1
• Dance Program Offers High School Workshop - Feb. 18
• U.S. Commissioner of Education Research to Speak - Feb. 23
• 2006 International Education Conference - March 20-21
• CIMC Provides Links to Online Resources
• Professional Development Opportunities Abound for Educators
• Campus: UW-Madison Named the Nation’s 15th Best Value
• Web Gem: Distance Learning - Wisconsin

PEOPLE PROGRAM EXPANDS ITS REACH
UW-Madison’s influential PEOPLE program, which has helped prepare hundreds of Wisconsin students of color for college admission, is now reaching into the elementary grades. Begun in 1999 to assist high school students, the program has expanded over the years to include middle school students. This fall it launched PEOPLE Prep, designed for elementary school children and developed through a partnership between the University and Madison’s north-side residents. The program runs after school for two hours, two days a week, with tutoring provided by undergraduates from the School of Education, which administers PEOPLE.
Read more

STUDENTS IN EPICS COURSE OFFER EXPERTISE TO NONPROFITS
Students from the School’s Department of Art joined their peers from engineering, journalism, and business last semester to provide services to 12 nonprofit “client” organizations. As part of the e-Projects in Community Service (ePICS) course, students worked on interdisciplinary teams to develop marketing plans and create websites, logos, videos, and other materials for their clients, which included the Wisconsin Community Fund and a unit within the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services.
Read more

RESEARCH: “BEFORE EVERY CHILD IS LEFT BEHIND: HOW EPISTEMIC GAMES CAN SOLVE THE COMING CRISIS IN EDUCATION”
In this thought-provoking paper, education professors David Williamson Shaffer and James Paul Gee look at the educational implications of the new global economy. Beginning with Thomas Friedman’s assertion in The World is Flat that a nation’s competitive edge increasingly comes from how well it produces products, services and technologies that are new and non-standard, Shaffer and Gee argue that schools must change from preparing students for “commodity jobs” to preparing students for creative thinking and innovative work.
Read the paper

FORUM TO EXAMINE AFFORDABILITY AND ACCESS IN HIGHER EDUCATION - FEB. 1
You’ll need to register soon because spots are filling fast in this forum featuring Dean Julie Underwood, Spencer Foundation president Michael McPherson, and a number of other education leaders. The daylong event, sponsored by the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE) and the Department of Educational Policy Studies, will be held at the Pyle Center on campus. There is a $10 registration fee; pre-registration may be completed online.
Get the details

DANCE PROGRAM OFFERS HIGH SCHOOL WORKSHOP - FEB. 18
The Dance Program invites high school students to participate in this daylong workshop of modern, ballet, and world-dance master classes taught by faculty, staff and guest artists. During the workshop, incoming freshmen pursuing a dance degree may also audition for a Dance Program scholarship for the upcoming academic year. The workshop is free, but online pre-registration is required.
Get the details

U.S. COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION RESEARCH TO SPEAK - FEB. 23
“Will Standards-Based Reform in Education Help Close the Poverty Gap?” is the topic of discussion for this free, public forum featuring Barbara Foorman, U.S. Commissioner of Education Research at the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. The event will take place from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. in the Pyle Center on campus. Foorman’s presentation is sponsored by the School of Education, the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, and the UW Institute for Research on Poverty. All are welcome; no registration is required.

2006 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE - MARCH 20-21
“Making Connections in a Diverse World” is the theme of this year’s conference. The event will offer stimulating sessions, thought-provoking keynote speakers, and a full Tuesday afternoon of workshops in the sciences, arts, and humanities that are linked to social studies and international/global education. Conference site is the Marriott-Madison West Hotel in Middleton. Please register by March 1.
Get the details

CIMC PROVIDES LINKS TO ONLINE RESOURCES
The School’s Center for Instructional Materials and Computing (CIMC) compiles a monthly list of online resources for educators, parents, children and young adults, and others. Its January selection includes resources that range from a site about children’s television rules to a digital library for health educators. The names of the websites, alone, may peak your interest: AmoebaWeb, AwesomeStories, Gamequarium, and Math Hunt, to name just a few.
Visit the CIMC website

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND FOR EDUCATORS
Workshops on truancy, censorship, and assessment are just a few of the opportunities for K-12 educators offered by the School’s Office of Education Outreach (OEO) this semester. Details on all the workshops are available online.
Visit the OEO website

View the OEO spring catalog

CAMPUS: UW-MADISON NAMED THE NATION’S 15TH BEST VALUE
Comparing measure of quality against cost, UW-Madison ranks as the 15th best value in American public higher education, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. UW-Madison was second overall among Big 10 universities, behind eighth-ranked University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was first overall.
Read the UW article

WEB GEM: DISTANCE LEARNING - WISCONSIN
If you’re looking for an educational program that can adapt to your busy lifestyle, you’ll want to check out distancelearning.wisconsin.edu. It provides a comprehensive listing of courses and degree or certificate programs offered via distance learning from the University of Wisconsin Institutions.
Visit the site

HAVE YOU MOVED OR CHANGED YOUR NAME?
You can easily update that information via the School’s website. And we’ll make sure that your University records are updated as well as ours. See “Staying in Touch” on the School’s alumni page. Update your record

NEXT ISSUE
The next issue of the School of Education Online News will be delivered in February.

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