REG Newsletter - Volume 27, Issue 2

Reading Educators Guild Newsletter
Volume 27, Issue 2 September/October 1997

REG GOES ONLINE

Can’t remember the title of the book that was recommended in the last newsletter? Having trouble finding the web site for International Reading Association? Soon you will be able to get this information and more simply by visiting the REG web site. A web site for Reading Educators Guild is presently under construction. The site will feature copies of present and past newsletters, as well as links to various reading organizations including IRA and CRLA (College Reading and Learning Association). REG is striving to provide easy access to information in the field of reading that may be interesting and beneficial to its members. REG members will be receiving a special announcement of this important Internet address, as soon as the web site is accessible. Anyone interested in assisting with the construction or maintenance of this web site contact JoAnne Greenbaum at: jgreenbaum@fullerton.edu We welcome all of your input.

IN LOVING MEMORY

Laurel Lee Smith
1950 - 1997

It is with great sadness that I write of the passing of a beloved friend and colleague, Laurel Smith. It is with the utmost respect and admiration that I remember her.

Laurel and I met during our graduate studies in the Reading Program at CSUF. Laurel was an exceptional student, committed to excellence, while always maintaining her perspective. In 1992 Laurel was named the "Outstanding Graduate Student."

Having completed her studies, Laurel began teaching at the college level. Students at Saddleback Community College, Irvine Valley Community College, and CSUF were privileged to have her as an instructor. Laurel’s enthusiasm and dedication were obvious and appreciated by both students and faculty.

Laurel balanced her teaching career with her home life, with husband Loren, and sons, Eric and Brandon, and her spiritual life as an active member of her church community.

Laurel left teaching last fall after being diagnosed with kidney cancer. She fought the disease courageously for 10 months, as she continued to minister to others in her church, who were in need. Laurel lost her battle with cancer on July 31st. She has been described as "Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Teacher and a Friend to All." She will be greatly missed.

REG extends its warmest condolences to the Smith Family. A contribution to the U.C.L.A. Kidney Cancer Center has been made in Laurel’s name. If you wish to contribute, send your donations in memory of Laurel Smith to:

UCLA Kidney Cancer Center
10833 Leconte
Room B-7-298 CHS
Los Angeles, Ca. 90095

Faculty Footnotes
by
Kathi Bartle Angus

The Reading Program has joined with another department. We are now officially the Department of Elementary, Bilingual and Reading Education, under the Division of Education, in the School of Human Development and Community Service. And we are growing! Interest in the field of reading education has caused our enrollment to increase by 50% in the graduate program.

Ash Bishop is continuing to keep very busy giving in-services in fascinating locations in and out of California. He is also coordinating the America Reads project (part of Goals 2000) for the CSUF campus. This program recruits CSUF students to work as tutors in local schools.

Norma Inabinette is also maintaining her busy schedule of in-services and consulting. She has been working as a consultant with Santiago MS, a magnet school, in Orange, and with the Placentia Yorba Linda USD’s middle schools.

JoAnn Carter-Wells recently published a chapter entitled, "Raising Expectations for Critical Reading Outcomes" in Preparing Competent College Graduates: New and Higher Expectations for Student Learning by Jossey-Bass. This invited chapter is based on the landmark national research with faculty, employers and policymakers which identified college reading as a competency expectation for college graduates. She will be a guest lecturer on critical thinking and communication skills in the MBA program at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, North Carolina, this fall and has been asked to be a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Santa Clara University and West Virginia University this spring.

Congratulations to Brenda Spencer on her appointment as full time professor for CSUF’s Department of Elementary, Bilingual and Reading Education.

Congratulations, also, to Toni Maya, who is now Toni Chambers, following her beautiful June wedding. Toni is now a resident of South Pasadena but will continue her position at CSUF and her graduate studies at CGS.

Job Opportunities

Fullerton College is looking for part-time instructors to teach developmental reading and study skills courses in the Spring 1998 semester. For more information contact jgreenbaum@fullerton.edu.

Recommended Reading

Contributed By: Carla thomson

written and reprinted with permission

by: Ed Wozniak

The Internet has much to offer teachers. We can use this powerful medium to access previously unattainable information and resources, to network with colleagues, trade information, problem solve, and to research a variety of subjects.

An interesting book that could prove useful as a resource for professional development, NetLearning: Why Teachers Use the Internet, provides a basic overview of the net and its terminology, the reasons for using the net, and suggestions for professional development and school use.

Its authors link the net with opportunities, "to break down the walls of isolation teachers have experienced in their classrooms and to gain access to resources which were previously unavailable." They illustrate how the net allows educators around the world to communicate on a regular basis about the types of issues that affect their teaching, students’ learning, and the way schools operate. By using case studies, they go beyond the theory of net use.

Each case study identifies the teacher and the particular use each has made of the resources of the net (e-mail addresses are included). Such "testimonials" provide a rich resource of possibilities for teachers who are considering or questioning the use of the Internet.

In a chapter on "The Innovative School’ the authors identify the Internet as a catalyst for reform - but one which relies on teachers and administrators for success. The authors suggest that advocates of this technology are instrumental in furthering its use in schools. This idea is corroborated in a JTE article" Expanding the Content Base of Technology Education" (http://gort.ucsd.edu) which identifies the roles of innovators and early adopters in the successful diffusion of technology in learning environments.

As a print resource NetLearning has the advantage of using a medium with which teachers are familiar and comfortable. However, be warned: as a print resource its reference to various sites on the net may be dated! Use the approach, not the examples for professional development purposes.

Ed Wozniak
Dept. HD. Social Studies
Bishop Carroll H.S.
(on sabbatical leave)

Serim, F.; Koch, M. NetLearning: Why Teachers Use the Internet, Songline
Studios, California, USA 1996

food for thought

"It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end."
-Ursula K. LeGuin

Concert Under the Stars

Twenty -five members and guests of Reading Educators Guild enjoyed an evening of food, fun and music at the annual Cal State Fullerton concert under the stars, held on Friday evening September 19th. The group gathered at three reserved tables to visit and relax while listening to music provided by the University Music Department.

Diane Urias was honored as REG’s volunteer of the year for her service to the organization as past President and Chairperson of the successful career conference held last year.

The evening ended with a fabulous fireworks display celebrating the CSUF community.

Reading Educators Guild Newsletter Staff

Editor: JoAnne Greenbaum

Faculty Footnotes: Kathi Bartle Angus



			California State University, Fullerton