Masters in Adult Education
Advanced Certificate in Training of Trainers
Vol. 3, No. 6, June, 2000 A Bi-Monthly Newsletter Roger Hiemstra, Editor
Summer Time, Summer Time!
You can't beat summer in New York. When Janet and I first moved here, we imagined asphalt jungles, millions crowded together, cars everywhere, pollution, etc. Well, some of that exists, but little did we know the beauty of our lakes, great state parks, the many museums, places like the Adirondaks, etc. Wow!, plus you seldom need air conditioning and just harness a few giant mosquitoes to your car and save gas mileage.
We do enjoy our summers here and hope you can find time to do so, too, even needing to work around very busy schedules, classes you will take or teach, and all the other hecticness that still exists. Take time to watch the butterflies, smell the roses, and have a picnic. Have some ice cream, too. Rog
Speaking of Summer…
Yes, we know you're busy, but we do have a great summer of courses. Check your summer schedule or the web page. REGISTER NOW! For those taking a course in Elmira and need a room, here are some possibilities:
Congratulations T/T Graduates!
The following recently completed the Advanced Certificate in Training of Trainers (sorry if we accidentally left your name out):
Laura Acuto | Debra Hover |
Jennifer Lynn Bozek | Kenneth Hull |
Lisa A. Brown | Laurine D. Jones |
Spencer Carter | Joni A. Koegel |
Jun-Wei Chen | Chin-Parn Kwan |
Diana Cima | Shauna L. Malta |
Diana Cleary | Mary T. Panek |
Mark Dailey | Janette M. Philpot |
Julie Dick | Chryl Saidel |
Jill Dungey | Corine Wallace |
Michael Grimshaw |
All graduates, some alumni, and several faculty/staff participated in the annual T/T luncheon, April 15, on campus. AED Masters and T/T alum, Jim Henion, gave a great keynote presentation. To see a summary of his materials go to henion presentation
Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared to believe that something inside them was superior to circumstances. ~ Bruce Barton ~
Adult Education Tri-State Retreat!
Put the 2000 Retreat on your calendar now and let's have a great Elmira College turnout; Sept. 22-24, Camp Arnot, south of Ithaca near Newfield. Great fun, great program, and a relaxing weekend. Volunteers are needed to help plan our program (we have about two hours for a training session, workshop, etc. for the other retreat participants--they can be educational, challenging, fun, etc.) and be responsible for one of the meals (we plan that menu, buy the food, prepare the meal, and clean up).
It is great fun, builds tremendous camaraderie among Elmira College students, and gives you a chance to meet fellow Adult Educ. Students/faculty from NY, NJ, and PA. More info. via a flyer in the next newsletter.
Screen Capture Program
Have you ever wanted to capture a screen, even manipulate it with a neat "paint" program, and then print it out. I found a great little program that I used to capture some software screens and place them as instructional pages in the workbook for AED 5220. The Analogx Screen Capture Program is a Windows 95/98/NT utility that by clicking on a camera, a picture is taken and stored. Then if you right click on it, you bring up the menu of options so that you can erase part of it, add symbols, add text, etc., and then print it (and in color, too). Go to http://www.analogx.com/ Rog
Congratulations & Best Wishes!
Let us know your achievements, family news, etc. so we can share in your life happenings
The Virtualizing of Education
In the Computer Mediated Distance Education course we had considerable discussion on virtualizing education and what this means for adult educators. In the March-April, 2000, issue of The Futurist, Dunn presented related views of the future. Here are a few of his predictions that have relevance for adult and distance educators:
True or not, these predictions are worthy of our consideration. Think about them, discuss them with colleagues, and constantly consider how they will impact on your professional life.
Guest Book Review
Argyris, C. (1999). Flawed advice and the management trap. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. 262 pgs. By Ted Pietrzak. This book attempts to show how much advice and counsel offered by management experts and books is "unactionable" because of inconsistency and lack of specificity for non-routine situations. As examples, we hear things like "we must empower people, but not lose control" or "be creative and take risks - but don't make any bad mistakes." Part of the problem is that people's "theory-in-use" (versus their espoused theory) has governing values such as be in control, maximize the chance to win, suppress negative feelings, and don't allow testing of any claims we make. He believes all of this is typically not discussed and deeply ingrained as personal defensive routines in organizational settings. We often give advice or direction that does not have proper criteria that are predictive, lasting, and testable.
Argyris offers excerpts from gurus such as Stephen Covey, John Kotter, and several better-known management authors in areas of leadership, learning, and change. He gives many examples of what happens when flawed advice is used and why its use persists. Real situations are analyzed throughout the book. Ways of doing it right are also discussed in such areas as human resources, individual and group performance, gaining internal commitment, and implementing strategy.
Argyris has been working with organizational learning and effectiveness for over 20 years. His work on defensive routines is seminal. While his books and articles are challenging to read and understand at a practical level, they often provide deep insights on how organizations and the people within them can be more effective if defensiveness and resistance are overcome. This book is valuable for internal and external consultants, educators, and HRD professionals trying to improve organizational outcomes.
Book
Reviews
For your summer reading, here are two books I recently discovered and devoured. Rog
Courtenay, B. (1989). The power of one. New York: Ballantine Books. 518 pgs. A great story of how one person from age 6 on, growing up in South Africa in the 40's, searches for love. Such rich characters as Peekay, Doc, the Judge, Hoppy, Big Hettie, Geel Piet, Morrie, Rasputin, and even Granpa Chook (a rooster) make for spell-binding reading. Peekay works hard to triumph over a tough world with his brain, wits, fists, musical skills, and enduring friendships. Adult educators pay special attention to the power of Miss Bornstein's Correspondence School. I predict you'll have a hard time putting it down.
Nuland, S. B. (2000). The mysteries within: A surgeon reflects on medical myths. New York: Simon & Schuster. 283 pgs. Nuland takes us inside our bodies to debunk many myths and superstitions about the body, various organs, and disease. Laced with stories of operations he or colleagues have performed, Nuland uses medical history to help readers understand more about themselves. Everything you ever wanted to know about the heart, stomach, liver, etc. You have to have a stomach (no pun intended) for jargon, but its fascinating.
[Note: Send Roger professional conference or other notices you have so they can be included the next time.]
Want to be Published?
Working on a scholarly article related to adult education or wanting to write one? Gary Dean and Trenton Ferro, co-editors of the PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, are seeking manuscripts. For information see www.iup.edu/ac/journal.html (email trferro@grove.iup.edu).
Listserv Possibility
Alum Diane Berry recommends the following listserv for those involved with computer or internet training: Nettrain@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu
Information Sessions!
You are our best advertiser so tell friends and colleagues about our information sessions:
104 McGraw Hall Elmira College (6-7:30) | OCM BOCES Liverpool, NY (6-7:30) |
Thurs., Aug. 10, 2000 | Tues., Aug. 8, 2000 |
Thurs., Nov. 30, 2000 | Tues., Dec. 5, 2000 |
Murphy Doesn't Have all the Laws
Okay, you've heard of Murphy's famous law, but there are many other related laws:
It has never been, and never will be, easy work! But the road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination. . ~ Marian Zimmer Bradley ~
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AED REPORT is a newsletter for students and faculty involved in the Elmira College Graduate Program of Adult Education. The Editor is Roger Hiemstra. Please send any correspondence to him at 318 Southfield Dr., Fayetteville, NY 13066. His phone is (315) 637-0029; fax is (315) 637-0029. Email is rhiemstra@elmira.edu. The Web Page is http://home.twcny.rr.com/hiemstra or the back-up site is /. Your Elmira College contacts are Dr. Ronald Sundberg, Dean, Assistant Dean Dr. Gina Bisagni, and Graduate Advisor Joan Swanson. Their phone is (607) 735-1825; fax (607) 735-1150; email graduate@elmira.edu; address is Office of Continuing Education, Elmira College, One Park Place, Elmira, NY 14901. This newsletter is YOUR vehicle for networking, news, tips, and information. Its value is enhanced by your active support and involvement in reading it, contributing to it, and critiquing it.
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