Weblog: April 2007
Increase in Cost of GED Materials
From Debbie Bergtholdt, State GED Administrator
GEDTS has announced a price increase for 2008 that you need to know about for budgeting purposes.
You are currently paying $70 for 15 uses of the test battery and $8.50 for each first time test taker. In 2008, those fees will increase to $80 for 15 uses of the test battery and $10 for each first time test taker. The site license will increase from $150 to $175.
Online Course Registrations
Due to an upgrade of the Blackboard server here at VCU, we will be unable to process any online course registrations after Friday, May 4 until Monday, May 21. You may still submit your registration during that time, but it will not be processed until Monday, May 21. If you have any questions regarding this shutdown, please contact Lauren Ellington at courses@valrc.org.
FREE GED Lessons and Learning While You Wait
Good news for GED teachers and distance learners. Here are some recent developments and resources that you might find useful.
FREE GED lessons for download and print.
The California Distance Learning Project (CDLP) has developed 39 extensive GED lesson plans and activities and made them available online. They were originally intended to parallel the 39 sections of PBS LiteracyLink's GED Connection television programs and to serve as a substitute for the GED Connection workbooks. However, most of the material is useful on its own, and it is available for anyone who wants to use it.
These GED worksheets are featured at the CDLP website where you can open any or all of the 39 documents (MS Word or Adobe Acrobat required) and print as many copies as you need for class. Teachers can use the lessons in class, or copies (or just the link) can be given to distance learners who are self-directed, and they can use the material on their own.
- Each of the 39 lessons consists of 10-25 pages of activities
- Prepares class for videos
- Terms and concepts to look for while watching GED Connection
- Offers GED format practice questions
- In-depth analysis of the skills necessary to pass the GED Tests
Learning while you wait: An invitation from eLEARN Virginia
eLEARN Virginia is a new distance learning program for adult Virginians interested in improving their GED and workplace skills online. We are currently piloting this new program with a limited number of adult education centers around the state with plans to go statewide in the near future.
Students on waiting lists: If your program currently has a waiting list for GED classes, we would like to offer this online option to any of these students who want to work online until they are accepted into class. If you are interested in this option for your qualified wait listed students, please contact Richard Sebastian toll-free at 1-877-376-9433 for more information.
Summer break: Are your adult students interested in continuing their studies during the summer months? If your program will not be offering summer classes or offering them on a limited basis, your students may be able to continue their studies--online, at eLEARN Va. To find out more, contact Richard Sebastian toll-free at 1-877-376-9433.
Adult Reading Components Study
John Strucker just paid a visit to Richmond on April 19 and 20. In one of his excellent seminars, he discussed a new research project that is now an interactive website for teachers. It is the Adult Reading Components Study (ARCS). In this study, nearly 1000 adult learners were assessed in 5 areas of reading, and the resulting scores were grouped into 11 basic profiles, or groups. You can take the mini-course to learn more about reading, or you can download the quick, free assessments, post your student's scores in "Match a Profile" and receive instructional information instantly for your student's profile. It is fascinating and will help us understand our students better, to meet their needs. Try it out.
Problem Solving with a Graphic Organizer
According to USDOE's Mathematics Training Institute, our students often have difficulty with problem solving because they neglect to read the problem carefully, define the type of answer required, identify key words, use a graphic organizer, estimate, and/or check for reasonableness. The attached graphic organizer is a tool that may help you help them hone their problem-solving abilities and come up with the right answer. Give it a try by clicking on this link.
MoneyWi$e Financial Literacy Training
A MoneyWi$e Financial Literacy Training is scheduled at Capital One's state of the art training facilities on the beautiful West Creek Campus in Goochland, Thursday, May 3, from 10 am to 4 pm. This is the third of four trainings paid for by Consumer Action. To register, please contact Marianne Baker at 800-237-0178 or vdesk@vcu.edu. You will receive a confirmation and directions. If you have any questions, please contact Catherine Norrell at 800-237-0178 or norrellch@vcu.edu.
Consumer Action and Capital One first launched the MoneyWi$e partnership in April 2001. Since then, the program has produced and distributed a six-part series of MoneyWi$e educational materials to provide consumers with the building blocks for developing and honing personal finance skills, from saving and budgeting to balancing a checkbook, understanding the basics of credit and credit repair and how parents can talk to teenagers about money.
By providing free brochures in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese), the MoneyWi$e program is able to address financial literacy across both income and ethnic barriers.
MoneyWise is a financial education project of Consumer Action and Capital One.