|
Coming Soon...
| |
These topics will be among those included in upcoming issues of the Action Bulletin:
· August release of 2011-12 curriculum
· Year-end assessment reports
· Counselor conferences
· Master Teacher training
|
|
Action Bulletin Archive
| Past issues of the Action Bulletin are available on the PLTW Web site.
|
|
|
Welcome to the latest edition of the Action Bulletin, your source for up-to-date information and reminders to successfully implement and sustain your PLTW program.
In this issue you will find these new items that require your attention:
- A review of PLTW's policy on the improper use of curricular and assessment materials.
- A reminder for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that submitted an LEA Interest Form to partner with PLTW on our i3 Grant Application to complete the Pre-Qualification Survey by the end of the week.
The end of the month is just around the corner. We encourage you to submit your purchase orders by Thursday, June 30 for courses starting in the fall. This will help ensure timely delivery before the start of the new school year.
As a school year comes to a close, it's typically a busy time for teachers, administrators and district personnel. If you haven't been following the Action Bulletin, we encourage you to visit our past issues to catch up on new information and reminders about the program.
An Action Bulletin archive is available in the Virtual Academy under the Welcome section as well as in the Program Support section of the PLTW Web site.
As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome. Please email them to Action Bulletin Editor Trevor Sparks. |
|
Improper Use of Protected PLTW Materials
| | The PLTW STEM Agreement and STEM Program Requirements between a school district or institution and PLTW expressly states that no PLTW curricular or assessment materials may be posted on an unsecured Internet page or Extranet site.
Why does PLTW need to be vigilant about enforcement of this policy?- PLTW is a public charity that is committed to improving the quality and success of STEM education for our students.
- PLTW has made a significant investment in curricular and assessment materials (which would include items such as the curriculum, teacher training materials, assessments, answer keys and all other such materials) in order to achieve this mission.
- These materials are developed in accordance with rigorous standards.
- If PLTW curricular and assessment materials are not appropriately protected, this would:
- Compromise the integrity of these materials.
- Increase costs.
- Impair the viability of the PLTW STEM Education Program and PLTW's charitable mission.
If you have posted these PLTW materials on the Internet so that they are accessible to the public, you must remove them immediately.
Thank you for your attention and understanding. If you would like to discuss alternatives for providing students with access to materials or, have any questions or concerns about this policy, please contact School Relations at (877) 335-7589. |
|
Submit Your Pre-Qualification Survey for i3 Grant Partnership
| | PLTW will submit an i3 Validation Grant Application with the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) competition.
- We are currently identifying Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that will be partners on our application.
- In order to be considered as a partner, LEAs, which are typically school districts or a consortium of schools, needed to submit an LEA Interest Form on the PLTW Web site earlier this week.
The next step for these LEAs is to complete a Pre-Qualification Survey, which was emailed upon submission of the interest form.
LEAs must complete this survey no later than Saturday, June 25 to be considered for an interview with an independent, third-party evaluator.
For more information on our grant application and timeline, visit pltw.org/i3. If you have any questions, please email i3@pltw.org.
|
|
Reminders: Orders, Parts Lists & Curriculum
| | Purchase Orders
If you haven't done so already, we strongly encourage you to submit purchase orders by the end of the month (this coming Thursday) for equipment, supplies and software that are needed for your fall PLTW courses.
- Visit the Purchasing Manual to order your equipment, supplies and software.
- Some items may take six to eight weeks to ship, so please plan accordingly.
- Contact Product Sales if you have questions or need assistance.
PLTW VEX Parts Lists
Parts lists for the PLTW VEX kits (AE, DE, POE and GTT) as well as the VEX Classroom Lab Kit upgrades (for GTT and POE) are now available on the Purchasing Manual Web page and Virtual Academy.
Core Training Curriculum
Core Training Curriculum is now available to the PLTW network through the Virtual Academy (VA).
- It is imperative and required that all Core Training Instructors and participants use the updated Core Training curriculum.
- All teachers, regardless of their participation in Core Training, are encouraged to review this release as they prepare for the upcoming school year.
- All curriculum CHM files have been updated from the previously posted 2010-11 academic year version and most have undergone slight revisions since Core Training Prep in April.
- On August 1, the 2011-12 academic school year curriculum CHM files will be released to the PLTW Network through the VA.
- To ensure program quality, including exam alignment, all PLTW teachers are required to use the August release for course instruction at their schools throughout the 2011-12 academic year.
- If you are offering GTT, POE, CIM, DE and/or AE -- or plan to for the first time in the 2011-12 school year -- it is imperative that you closely review the VEX Robotics Equipment and ROBOTC Software Transition Fact Sheet to understand equipment and software options.
- If you are offering courses from the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) program -- or plan to for the first time in the 2011-12 school year -- closely review the Biomedical Sciences Software Update Fact Sheet to understand your software options.
|
|
|
|
|
