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Traditional Courses • Email Courses • Internet Resource Courses

Newest Traditional Courses

SPECIAL ED TEACHERS ARE SPECIAL
This course delves into the world of the special education teacher and the myriad of problems he or she will encounter and how others have dealt with them. A number of issues are discussed in depth through the eyes of the families of the children afflicted. Included are many helpful tools and resources to aid in the success of a special education teacher.

BULLIES
Bullying is an all-too-common occurrence in schools. Now, it has even invaded cyberspace to spew its venom to the unsuspecting. This course looks at the causes, how to deal with them, and suggestions for both teachers and parents to help alleviate the problem. It also asks the educator to look into his or her own school’s situation and analyze it based on what it might be doing about the problem, right or wrong.

THE PRESIDENTS: Guts, Grit and Foibles
This course examines each of the 43 presidents up to Barack Obama, citing their acts of courage, times of doubt and moments of failure. It casts many in a new light for us, and perhaps will change your mind on some whom we have always regarded as our greatest leaders and others we perhaps have mistakenly disregarded. The course contains three DVDs suitable for classroom use.

TEACHING ESL
This is a very practical course for the ESL teachers, whether beginner or experienced. Through excellent books, a DVD and CD, it offers very practical tips, lesson plans, and thorough explanations. It includes ready-to-use life skills and academic activities for grades K-8, although it is adaptable for any level.

SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF CRUDE OIL
This course takes a look at all aspects of oil, the resource we are so dependent upon, and its predicted exhaustion of our supplies. It covers, with a DVD, what crude oil is, how it is formed, and why it is found where it is. It then covers what will happen when the supply begins to run dry. Can we solve the problem politically, or even peacefully? Alternative sources of energy are also examined.

COLONIZING SPACE
This course deals with what could be mankind’s next great adventure, the colonization of space. With the Earth and its resources being exhausted at an alarming rate, many scientists feel it is the only alternative if the human race is to survive. The course includes a classic text on the subject, plus a well-crafted DVD showing what life might be like on that new planet we may call home.

THOSE FIRST YEARS OF TEACHING
Teaching is an incredibly challenging profession, yet one that offers a wonderful opportunity for sharing a love of learning and helping guide young people through their formative years. This course will provide strategies and ideas for surviving the first few difficult years. It is intended to be a practical, hands-on course that will provide you with strategies and ideas you can use in your own classroom, rather than simply exploring educational theories.

TEACHING GIFTED CHILDREN IN THE REGULAR CLASSROOM
Have you ever considered gifted students as a part of the at-risk population? Are you assuming gifted students progress regardless of their learning environment? The discoveries you make within this course will provide confidence for the regular classroom teacher, enhance the survival risk of gifted students, and benefit all students in the regular classroom. This course will give you insight into the characteristics and needs of this population, as well as suggest methods for identifying academically gifted students. You will also learn practical strategies for servicing gifted kids

Newest Email Courses

AN INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS
Conducted entirely by email. Among the many challenges that face us in the 21st century, few are more important than an understanding and appreciation of the many different cultures inhabiting our increasingly shrinking world. This course is designed to help you understand the huge and often confusing world of religious thought and practice, and to provide some skills needed to deal creatively and productively with questions your students may have about religious life and spiritual practice. Each of the seven major religions of the world is introduced with specific details that can be immediately used in the classroom, along with exercises to enable you to effectively, creatively and in an academic context address student questions about religion. All assignments are submitted electronically and as they are performed.

WORKING WITH THE MASTERS IN WATERCOLOR
Conducted entirely by email. It has been said that watercolor came into its own in the twentieth century as the American Medium. A handful of artists were responsible for this new enthusiasm. Our instructor, Caroline Buchanan, had the good fortune to study with the best of them, This course is part art history as you learn about the thoughts and artistic convictions of three: Edgar Whitney, Rex Brandt and Millard Sheets. You will explore some of their most important concepts as you complete assignments that have stood the test of time. Links are supplied is you wish to build an art history class for your students. Or if you are interested in improving as a watercolorist and learning of its place in the 20th Century, you will enjoy the challenge of this course. Prerequisites: ARTX 9007, 9008, or 9009 with Buchanan or have a working knowledge of watercolor.

BLOGGING FOR EDUCATORS
Conducted entirely by email. Blogs were originally created to facilitate “personal” web communication sites whereby families and friends could communicate exclusively with each other. Businesses started using them as a way to keep in touch and learn from customers and product users. More and more, educators are starting to use them to reach and communicate with fellow educators in order to learn about each other and their shared profession world wide. In this course, you will learn how to create a blog, post text and images, and interact with the audience you choose. You may choose to post homework assignments to your students, photos of classroom activities and field trips, a class newsletter, lesson plans to share with teachers around the world...the possibilities are endless.

GLAZING IN WATERCOLOR
Conducted entirely by email. Watercolor is a complex medium where many things can happening at one time. You may better control what happens by understanding the technique you are using that will accomplish the end result you desire. In this course, you will be tackling ONE aspect of watercolor: glazing. A glaze is any time you put one layer of color over another layer that has already dried. However, in working with the assignments presented in this course, you will also be gaining a greater knowledge of watercolor and learning how to exploit some of its other unique characteristics. This course is not recommended to those unfamiliar with watercolor.

WATERCOLOR LESSONS FOR THE CLASSROOM
Conducted entirely by email. This is a course which may be used to gain confidence in painting in watercolor for the instructor and, at the same time, prepare a lesson plan or project on watercolor for the classroom. Projects may end up with a “product” made by the student or students - something that can be displayed or used - but the real learning occurs through experiments and learning how much is too much or too little with the water, the paint, the drying, the process.

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: The Science, Impact and Politics
of a World Environmental Crisis
This course is conducted entirely by email. There are a number of widely held misconceptions about climate change, and unfortunately, these are reflected in some of the educational materials available to educators. It is therefore crucial for teachers to educate themselves and their students with accurate information and be careful not to reinforce common but incorrect notions. Climate change is truly interdisciplinary and must be addressed in all grade levels. Therefore, this course is appropriate for teachers of all subject areas and grades. Email dialog with the instructor is not only advantageous, but is strongly encouraged. All assignments are submitted electronically and as they are performed.

SHARING OUR HUMAN WORLD WITH OTHER ANIMALS
Conducted entirely by email. Human interactions with our fellow animals have a major impact on other animals and on us. This course explores how these interactions can be included in our teaching. Topics include a debate about animals in schools, exploring literature, movies, tv and cartoon interactions as well as food, disease, communities and service learning.

PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS AND POWERPOINT
Conducted entirely by email, this course will help you take better digital photographs and manipulate the images in Adobe Photoshop Elements. You will also create Photo Albums as well as use your images to create interesting and engaging PowerPoint presentations that can be use in the classroom. This class is for those who have limited knowledge or experience with PowerPoint but have a basic understanding of computers, the Internet and a digital camera. You will need access to a digital camera to perform the assignments. Free trial downloads of the PSE and PP software will be provided if needed.

Newest Internet Courses

PHONICS PHOR READING
An Internet Course. The debate between the use of phonics vs. whole language to teach reading continues. This course guides you through the process of exploring the many Internet resources that can enhance your use of phonics. Research techniques are not limited to web sites. The course will lead you through a variety of Internet research resources including newsgroups, chatrooms, mailing lists, blogs, and instant messaging. The newer social networking and community learning systems like MySpace and Facebook are introduced as emerging learning systems. Learn how to use TeacherTube videos, develop a simple web page, use the Internet to dig out plagiarism, and more. The course project is a lesson plan/project that will bring these resources together in a product you can use with your students.

EXPLORING ANIMAL SCIENCE: It's Not Old McDonald's Farm
An Internet Course. Raising livestock is more science and less guesswork. Technology will be the future farmer’s ally in the world of raising animals. This course will help you find fascinating resources in Animal Science utilizing the Internet so you can engage your students with animal life on their level of interest. You will find the newest trends, research and experiments on the subject via numerous web sites, and share in discussions on the subject through newsgroups, chat rooms, blogs and mail lists. Your final lesson plan or project requirement will incorporate your findings and allow you to venture off in cyberspace to capture and incorporate additional information based on your students’ grade level.

GETTING IT WRITE: A Vital Skill
An Internet Course. When print came into being and writing became of paramount importance, it utterly changed the world. The impact of effective communication defines a society; and the desire to write well is developed by you, the educator. In this course, the teacher uses the Internet to explore, discover, and develop tools and techniques that will help them develop their students’ written communications. The teacher can select from the vast resources of the Internet to assist in developing writing skills. These include accurate usage, vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation. The course includes newsgroups, chat rooms, mailing lists, blogs, instant messaging, research for plagiarism, and how to develop a website. The lesson plan/project brings all this together in something the teacher can use with students..

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