Geri Muller is a middle school ELA/Title 1 teacher in Mellen School District. Geri uses Maze Generator tool to progress monitor her students for growth in reading. Maze Generator is a resource from Intervention Central. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) Maze passages are timed measures that measure reading comprehension. They are better predictors of future reading performance than CBM oral reading fluency probes for students in grades 4 and higher (Hosp, Hosp & Howell, 2007). Students read Maze passages silently during assessment, so Maze can be administered to a whole class at one time. Passages used for Maze should be at least 300 words in length. The first sentence of the Maze passage is left intact. In the text following the first sentence, every seventh word from the passage is selected to be incorporated into a response item that consists of the original word plus two foils (words that would not make sense if substituted in the passage in place of the original, correct word). These three choices are randomly arranged and inserted back into the text. During a timed Maze administration, the reader silently reads the Maze passage; whenever he or she encounters a response item, the reader circles the word from the three choices that best restores the meaning of that segment of the passage. The reader continues until time expires. A good description of Maze passages and administration can be found in the manual Using CBM for Progress-Monitoring in Reading (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007).
teacher feature
e-Courier
*Teacher Feature * STEM Conference *LMS/Tech *Technology * IMC *Ransomware * Special Education * G-WOW *Writer's Workshop * Upcoming Events * Save the Date
in this edition
Monday, May 16, 2016
stem Conference
STEM Conference One hundred and six students from nine area school districts participated in this year’s Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) Conference at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College-Ashland Campus & Northland College. Topics covered this year were: What Can You Learn From A Skull? Introduction to Earth Materials & Resources Simulating the Climate System What are Genetically Modified Foods? Bats in the Neighborhood: Friend or Foe? Exploring Plastic Robot Obstacle Course Building a Wind Turbine Simulation in Nursing Hydration Survival The conference was part of the CESA #12 Gifted & Talented Grant.
Senator Janet Bewley and Representative Beth Meyers spent the afternoon with the Library Media Specialists and Technology Coordinators at CESA 12 on April 14, 2016.
Lms/tech
Technology
Tech Training's Friday, April 29 Graphic Organizers & Infographics- Graphic representations of your information can help your student understand information. Great for teachers and students. K-12. Graphic organizers and infographics will show teachers how to use graphics organizers and infographics with students to help improve understanding of difficult concepts as well as to provide a variety of ways to demonstrate and evaluate learning Tuesday, May 3 StoryJumper- Creating digital storybooks with your class. Learn how to set up your class, use the story-board and make awesome online books. Good for 3-12. StoryJumper - Create storyboard stories and digital storybooks easily with your students and manage your classroom with ease! We will set up classrooms and create our own storybooks. Friday, May 6 Badgerlink Exploration Day- Get the best resources for the situation using BadgerLink and other open resources for education. K-5 Friday, May 20 iPads for Beginners- (elementary & special ed) k-5 Participants gain experience using iOS devices such as iPad or iPod touch. They learn basic navigation and explore key accessibility features and apps as they apply to teaching and learning. Learning outcomes for this workshop include: Explore basic navigation, native apps, and accessibility features of iPad or iPod touch Learn how iOS devices can be used as personal tools for teaching and learning Discover how to personalize learning with iOS devices, apps, and iTunes U Monday, May 23 Coding in Schools Collaborative Workshop- This workshop will be a day for teachers to explore different coding activities and plan for their coding lessons. 4-12. Coding In this shareshop we will explore different apps that can be used in the classroom to teach students coding and programming, from elementary to high school. Tech Camp- June 21-23, 2016 in Park Falls (2 credit course) -- $300 per registration Tech camp is already taking shape. This is a full 3-day event. The sessions will be in two categories: Web 2.0 tools: Using Graphic Organizers, Assessment Tools, Digital Storytelling, Chromebooks, Flipped Classrooms, Weebly Website Creation, Coding Apps for Students, Graphs and Charts, Chrome Extensions, iMovie and Green Screen, Grab Bag, Social Apps, Digital Safety, Common Sense Media, Flipped classroom apps Google: All things Google for beginners to advanced. On the last day, participants will be ready to take the Google Certified Educator Level 1 test online.
IMC
Incidents of Ransomware on the Rise Protect Yourself and Your Organization 04/29/16 Hospitals, school districts, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, small businesses, large businesses—these are just some of the entities impacted recently by ransomware, an insidious type of malware that encrypts, or locks, valuable digital files and demands a ransom to release them. The inability to access the important data these kinds of organizations keep can be catastrophic in terms of the loss of sensitive or proprietary information, the disruption to regular operations, financial losses incurred to restore systems and files, and the potential harm to an organization’s reputation. And, of course, home computers are just as susceptible to ransomware, and the loss of access to personal and often irreplaceable items—including family photos, videos, and other data—can be devastating for individuals as well. Ransomware has been around for a few years, but during 2015, law enforcement saw an increase in these types of cyber attacks, particularly against organizations because the payoffs are higher. And if the first three months of this year are any indication, the number of ransomware incidents—and the ensuing damage they cause—will grow even more in 2016 if individuals and organizations don’t prepare for these attacks in advance. In a ransomware attack, victims—upon seeing an e-mail addressed to them—will open it and may click on an attachment that appears legitimate, like an invoice or an electronic fax, but which actually contains the malicious ransomware code. Or the e-mail might contain a legitimate-looking URL, but when a victim clicks on it, they are directed to a website that infects their computer with malicious software. One the infection is present, the malware begins encrypting files and folders on local drives, any attached drives, backup drives, and potentially other computers on the same network that the victim computer is attached to. Users and organizations are generally not aware they have been infected until they can no longer access their data or until they begin to see computer messages advising them of the attack and demands for a ransom payment in exchange for a decryption key. These messages include instructions on how to pay the ransom, usually with bitcoins because of the anonymity this virtual currency provides. Ransomware attacks are not only proliferating, they’re becoming more sophisticated. Several years ago, ransomware was normally delivered through spam e-mails, but because e-mail systems got better at filtering out spam, cyber criminals turned to spear phishing e-mails targeting specific individuals. And in newly identified instances of ransomware, some cyber criminals aren’t using e-mails at all. According to FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director James Trainor, “These criminals have evolved over time and now bypass the need for an individual to click on a link. They do this by seeding legitimate websites with malicious code, taking advantage of unpatched software on end-user computers.”
ransomware
Tips for Dealing with the Ransomware Threat While the below tips are primarily aimed at organizations and their employees, some are also applicable to individual users. Prevention Efforts - Make sure employees are aware of ransomware and of their critical roles in protecting the organization’s data. - Patch operating system, software, and firmware on digital devices (which may be made easier through a centralized patch management system). - Ensure antivirus and anti-malware solutions are set to automatically update and conduct regular scans. - Manage the use of privileged accounts—no users should be assigned administrative access unless absolutely needed, and only use administrator accounts when necessary. - Configure access controls, including file, directory, and network share permissions appropriately. If users only need read specific information, they don’t need write-access to those files or directories. - Disable macro scripts from office files transmitted over e-mail. - Implement software restriction policies or other controls to prevent programs from executing from common ransomware locations (e.g., temporary folders supporting popular Internet browsers, compression/decompression programs). Business Continuity Efforts - Back up data regularly and verify the integrity of those backups regularly. - Secure your backups. Make sure they aren’t connected to the computers and networks they are backing up. https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2016/april/incidents-of-ransomware-on-the-rise/incidents-of-ransomware-on-the-rise
The FBI doesn’t support paying a ransom in response to a ransomware attack. Said Trainor, “Paying a ransom doesn’t guarantee an organization that it will get its data back—we’ve seen cases where organizations never got a decryption key after having paid the ransom. Paying a ransom not only emboldens current cyber criminals to target more organizations, it also offers an incentive for other criminals to get involved in this type of illegal activity. And finally, by paying a ransom, an organization might inadvertently be funding other illicit activity associated with criminals.” So what does the FBI recommend? As ransomware techniques and malware continue to evolve—and because it’s difficult to detect a ransomware compromise before it’s too late—organizations in particular should focus on two main areas: Prevention efforts—both in both in terms of awareness training for employees and robust technical prevention controls; and The creation of a solid business continuity plan in the event of a ransomware attack. (See sidebar for more information.) “There’s no one method or tool that will completely protect you or your organization from a ransomware attack,” said Trainor. “But contingency and remediation planning is crucial to business recovery and continuity—and these plans should be tested regularly.” In the meantime, according to Trainor, the FBI will continue working with its local, federal, international, and private sector partners to combat ransomware and other cyber threats. If you think you or your organization have been the victim of ransomware, contact your local FBI field office and report the incident to the Bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Special Education
How Do You Measure Success? Success can be measured in a vast number of ways. As Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI), our students have unique needs. Our students may have a slight visual loss, or may be totally blind with no light perception. Our students may be newly turned three year olds just hitting the public school system, or they may be aging out of the public school system as they turn 21 years old. A successful vision services program individualizes the services to the educational needs of each student. One of our students is David from the Hayward Community Schools. David was blind at birth, but with two brain surgeries at four months and six months of his optic nerves, some sight was restored. One of David’s goals was to learn a functional use of braille. With David’s learning challenges, it wasn’t clear if he would be able to learn braille. Not only has David mastered the braille alphabet, he had gone on to learn so much more braille! David has mastered nearly all of the the alphabet contractions, literary and Nemeth numbers, and, for the first time in his life, he is reading and spelling - not in print, but in braille! David’s TVI is very impressed by the way he attacks new braille skills. “David demonstrates a ‘thirst’ for braille. His concentration during braille time is complete as he works though how to shape the letters on his braille writer or when he is reading from his braille book.” (Buvala, TVI). David has never been a successful print reader. Even with enlargement, print is often still too small for David to read. Also, with David’s cognitive abilities, print reading was never something he was very successful at. “David seems to have gained access to language in a new mode. He is gaining skills at a rate never seen before. His success with braille has given him the confidence to try new skills in other areas of his education.” (Seiler, Special Education Teacher for Students with ID (Intellectual Disabilities))
For David, success can be quantified in the braille skills he has learned, but also in the way he learns these new skills. As you glance up at the question on the top of the article and compare the braille cells to the resource sheet, you will quickly identify not all of the braille cells are represented on the sheet. What is represented is uncontracted braille. David has mastered uncontracted braille and has moved on to contracted braille. For example, the first word has a three cells. The dot 6 represents the capital letter. Dots 1,2,5 represent the letter h. The next cell has dots 2,4,6 which represent the -ow contraction. The second word is a braille -d, which represents the word do. David has not yet learned all of the braille contractions, but with several repetitions, he is able to retain the meaning for the contractions as he learns them. David has recently learned a new, highly developed skill. He is now able to read braille tactilely, and not with sight. Learning to read braille by touch is a very difficult skill for print readers. For a student who it was unclear if he would be able to master the braille alphabet, David has far surpassed his original braille expectations. As a TVI, I measure success by a new standard, for David, I measure success by needing to write new braille goals!
Applications now being accepted for G-WOW ‘Hear the Water Speak’ Institute, July 18-21 in the Chequamegon Bay area Here’s a professional development opportunity designed to increase climate literacy and ability to engage learners in culturally relevant climate service learning. Teachers (all levels), community leaders, and youth leaders will gain skill & confidence in teaching about climate change and taking action to make a difference! In this Institute you will: · Learn how to find and use climate research, and integrate it with place-based evidence of change. · Investigate how climate is affecting the Lake Superior Ojibwe, as an indicator of how climate is affecting all cultures. · Take home activities and tools to create culturally relevant climate service learning to engage learners, no matter what the culture or location. Applications for the “Hear the Water Speak” Institute, July 18-21 are now open. The Institute is based at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland, with field experiences in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Stockton Island, the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Bad River Watershed, and neighboring Bad River and Red Cliff tribal communities. This year’s Institute will focus on climate impacts on “nibi” (Ojibwe for water) and aquatic ecosystems. G-WOW integrates Ojibwe traditional ecological knowledge and language to demonstrate how to create culturally relevant, place-based climate education. Cost to attend is FREE with teacher stipends offered. Lunches, one dinner, all instruction, materials, and transportation is provided. Enrollment is limited to 30 participants. Application deadline: June 10. (Alumni from past Institutes are welcome). The 2016 G-WOW Institute is sponsored UW-Extension, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the US Forest Service, with funding support from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. For more information, agenda, and application form please see http://fyi.uwex.edu/nglvc/2016-hear-the-water-speak-climate-institute/
g-WOW
Ashland
writer's workshop
Drummond
Chequamegon
Maple
South Shore
Winter
CESA #12 Writer's Workshop!
BOC-PAC meetings
upcoming events
BOC- Tuesday, May 17th 7:00pm @ CESA #12 PAC- Friday, May 20th @ Maple District Office BOC- Tuesday, June 21st Annual Convention @ CESA #12-7:00pm PAC- Friday, June 17th Location- TBD
http://elearninginfographics.com/
MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Northern Wisconsin Special Education Conference 2016 August 2 & 3, 2016 Legendary Waters - Bayfield, WI More information coming out soon Para-Professional Conference August 16 & 17, 2016 Hotel Chequamegon - Ashland, WI More information coming out soon
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