Wednesday, August 11, 2010

ICSPS Announces FY11 New Look Informational Webinar

The Illinois Center for Specialized Professional Support is pleased to announce the opening of the FY11 New Look Project Application. The New Look Project assists community colleges and their partners in improving services for Career and Technical Education Special Populations learners, especially students preparing for non-traditional careers. Applications are due October 8, 2010.

Information about completing a successful application will be available during the New Look Informational Webinar on August 26, 2010 from 2-3pm. The New Look Informational Webinar or its archived format is required for a successful application; this webinar takes the place of the New Look Launch, which had been scheduled in previous years. For resources to assist in the application process and for further information about the New Look Project, visit the New Look section of the ICSPS website.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Building Effective Green Energy Programs in Community Colleges

Workforce Strategy Center
This report discusses the challenges and the benefits of the millions of dollars of stimulus money being spent on creating "green job" training. The report highlights the role community colleges will need to play training low-income/low-skilled individuals to become part of this emerging workforce. At the core of the problem, however, is that green jobs don't yet exist in significant numbers; educational standards are not yet uniform and continually changing; and most green jobs will be beyond most low-skilled/low-income workers. Learn More.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Surgical Tech Careers in High Demand

The latest issue of ACTE's Techniques magazine highlights a surgical techology program that allows students to "immediately enter the workforce making $12 to $16 per hour, [and] can also serve as a starting point for any number of medical careers" including nursing.  Surgical technology is a field that is non-traditional for males, as is nursing. Read more about this "high demand" program.  Learn more about non-traditional for gender careers, or view a list of careers non-traditional for males.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Program Schools Minority Students in Science, Technology

For Minority Boys, a Chance to Get Hands-on STEM Exposure
(WJLA-TV, Washington, DC)
Minority boys at a Maryland elementary school are getting more exposure to the fields of science, technology, engineering and math through a program sponsored by the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Boys at William Beanes Elementary School practice hands-on learning by spending their Saturdays building balloon rockets and flying helicopters through the program, which has improved student test scores and will expand next year.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0310/719087.html

Sunday, April 25, 2010

All-female team pours heart and soul into car-building contest

By Eric Stevick, Herald Writer
GRANITE FALLS — The ShopGirls, as they call themselves, wanted a name that had some heft.

Neither Gertrude, Betsy nor Edna was substantial enough.

For the nine Granite Falls High School students, the forest green and hot pink car they designed, engineered and built from scratch needed a bold name. They wanted something with an attitude that would reflect the hours they spent molding metal and the pride they have in being an all-girl team.

Their car would be called the Iron Maiden.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100321/NEWS01/703219917/-1/NEWS#All-f

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Why So Few? AAUW Report


A report on the underrepresentation of women in science and math by the American Association of University Women, to be released Monday, found that although women have made gains, stereotypes and cultural biases still impede their success.
http://www.aauw.org/research/whysofew.cfm

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Study Finds that Female Teachers May Pass on Math Anxiety to Girls

After a year in the classroom with female teachers who say they are anxious about math, girls are more likely to share that attitude -- and score lower on tests, researchers say. Girls have long embraced the stereotype that they're not supposed to be good at math. It seems they may be getting the idea from a surprising source -- their female elementary school teachers.

http://www.educationnews.org/ednews_today/35118.html

Thursday, February 18, 2010

ADHD and Inclusity Workshop

ILAVESNP presents "Inclusion: Teaching to Embrace Every Student" and "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Understanding and Working with Those with ADHD in the Classroom" on March 26 at Illinois Central College. The presenter will be Julia Ann Oglesby, Special Populations Coordinator at Wilco Area Career Center. Visit the ILAVESNP website for more information and to register.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Florida Schools Continue To Add Green Education Programs.

Schools across Northeast Florida are becoming increasingly "green," both in terms of the learning and the schools themselves. Jacksonville University, for example, "will offer a major and minor in sustainability in three different tracks - business, science and sociology," while the University of North Florida has introduced "a course in green building that analyzes how cities can reduce environmental impact by analyzing water consumption and alternate-energy sources." The University of Florida, meanwhile, "has an interdisciplinary minor in sustainability studies and a campus office devoted to environmental concerns." According to Paul Rowland, executive director of the nonprofit Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, "the field of 'green education' has been expanding exponentially for the past five years," and its expansion has been "driven largely by demand."

For more information, click here.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Pennsylvania College Expanding Sustainable Energy Technology Certificate Program

Luzerne County Community College is planning to expand its Sustainable Energy Technology certificate program in the fall. "The one-year, 32-credit program provides a foundation of college math and science, but expands to specific technical areas about technologies used in the industry. The program is better than going to a trade school because it trains for more than just a single job, said Mark Rutkowski, an engineering technology professor."

For more information, click here.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Obama Announces "Educate To Innovate" STEM Training Initiative

President Obama launched his $250 million "Educate to Innovate" campaign "to train math and science teachers and help meet his goal of pushing America's students...to the top of the pack in those subjects in the next decade." According to the President, "teacher quality is the most important single factor" influencing students' success or failure in STEM subjects. Educate to Innovate, he added, "will help train more than 100,000 teachers and prepare more than 10,000 new educators in the next five years." The AP listed "Intel Corp., the National Math and Science Initiative, PBS and the National Science Teachers Association" as investors in the initiative. Obama also "called on the 200,000" scientists employed by "the federal government to help by speaking at schools and participating in hands-on projects to help stoke a youngster's curiosity in science."

For more information, click here.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

$250 Million Initiative For STEM Instruction Announced.

President Obama "will announce a $250 million public-private effort Wednesday to improve [STEM] instruction, aiming to help the nation compete in key fields with global economic rivals." The effort "seeks to prepare more than 10,000 new math and science schoolteachers over five years and provide on-the-job training for an additional 100,000 in science, technology, engineering and math." The Post points out that "it's unclear how much federal spending can grow in a time of rising budget deficits." For this initiative, however, there has been "mobilization on several fronts," with "high-tech businesses, universities and foundations" contributing. The Intel Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, UTeach, NASA and PBS are all contributing in some respect.

For more information, click here.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Geeks Drive Girls Out of Computer Science

The stereotype of computer scientists as geeks who memorize Star Trek lines and never leave the lab may be driving women away from the field, a new study suggests. And women can be turned off by just the physical environment, say, of a computer-science classroom or office that's strewn with objects considered "masculine geeky," such as video games and science-fiction stuff.

For more information, click here.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Women in Green: Opportunities in Environmentally Responsible Occupations


On March 9, 2010 and again on June 2, 2010 the Illinois Center for Specialized Professional Support, in partnership with the Illinois Community College Board, the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor, and the Illinois State Board of Education will examine the programs and initiatives which are in place to support the development and advancement of green occupations in Illinois. Please join us for as we explore the unique role of women in “greening” many existing careers and examine examples of effective practices in “going green.”

To learn more and to register visit http://www.icsps.ilstu.edu/services/pd/green/index.html

10 Tips for Success for Engineering Students

According to a recent survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, one third of college freshmen plan to major in science and engineering, while about 8 percent of all first-year students intend to concentrate in engineering proper. Some of these engineering students are destined to land major leadership roles in the United States and worldwide, while others are . . . well, every field has its "lesser lights."



For more information, click here.