Fordham’s RETC—Center for Professional Development will participate in “Lights on After School,” the official celebration of after-school programs, on Thursday, Oct. 21, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“We will be celebrating along with communities nationwide in order to raise awareness about the importance of after school programs for students,” said Theresa R. Lupo, a professional developer with the RETC. “We are excited to share the success of our students with the community!”

The open house event, which is for parents, community partners and the Fordham community, will include a presentation about the RETC’s Community Learning Center (CLC). Attendees will also participate in raffles, enjoy refreshments and even see CLC students at work.

In Manhattan, the Empire State Building will light up in honor of this event and after school programs across the city will sponsor exciting events that allow students and families to express what these programs have meant to them.

Across the country, some 7,500 events are scheduled to take place. This nationwide rally for afterschool programs is organized by the Afterschool Alliance.

According to the Afterschool Alliance:

• More than 15 million school-age children (26 percent) are on their own after school.

• Among them are more than 1 million are in grades K to 5. Only 8.4 million K-12 children (15 percent) participate in afterschool programs.

• An additional 18.5 million would participate if a quality program were available in their community.

• The hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex.

For more information about the RETCs 21st Century Community Learning Center, visit their website.

—Gina Vergel

The average high school prom is no longer held at the school gym, which means a typical dress for the event has also stepped up in style and price. A survey conducted by the Hearst Company in 2009 found that teens spent an average of $220 on a dress and nearly $900 on the total prom experience.

It can’t be easy for teens from economically depressed communities. But thanks to staff from Fordham University’s 21st Century Community Learning Center, Bronx-area high school seniors had some help finding the perfect dress for next to nothing.

Staff and volunteers from Fordham’s RETC – Center for Professional Center, which operates the 21st Century Community Learning Center, took 23 of their students (some pictured above) to Operation Prom, an event that gave young women access used prom gowns, cosmetics and accessories. The event, held at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall on April 17, was organized by the New York City chapter of the WGIRLS, a national nonprofit organization in cooperation with Operation Fairy Dust.

High-end designers, such as Oscar de la Renta, donated hundreds of dresses. Even reality show star Kim Kardashian gave a dress to the cause. The event drew more than 2,200 teens.

“It was really a wonderful way to end the school year for our students,” said Holly Lemanowicz, a rising junior at Fordham College at Rose Hill, who volunteers at the RETC. “It was special because both the girls and us chaperones were able to talk about how amazing going to the prom is and how it serves as a last hurrah to end senior year.”

And since the cost for attending prom is expensive, Lemanowicz added, receiving a prom gown at no cost surely provided the teens with relief.

“Every student from our program walked away with a beautiful dress and I can honestly say that I have never seen any of them happier.”

Theresa R. Lupo, senior professional developer for Fordham’s RETC, agreed.

“They were ecstatic,” she said. “It was an amazing experience for us all.”

Established through a $2.4 million grant from the New York State Department of Education in 2008, the 21st Century Community Learning Center allows middle and high school students to recover school credits while training their parents and other area adults in technology skills needed in the workforce.

-Gina Vergel

Youngsters surf the Internet faster, send text messages more often and create videos and blogs on just about anything. Now, a partnership between Fordham and a local charter school is set to find out if technology can make students more interested in reading.

The Amazon Kindle—a popular electronic book reader from online media retailer Amazon.com—is at the heart of the program. Amazon recently told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that it is selling 48 Kindles for every 100 physical books.

So why shouldn’t it be used in schools?

That was the question that prompted the partnership between Fordham’s RETC—Center for Professional Development and the Carl C. Icahn Charter School. Using a $670,000 federal Department of Energy grant awarded to Fordham last year, Amazon Kindles were purchased for use by students at the South Bronx school.

“We started thinking about the educational applications of this device and wondering if it would have some noticeable affect on the students’ reading habits, comprehension, or motivation to read,” said Steven D’Agustino, Ph.D., director of the RETC.

“So far, they’ve turned out to be a perfect fit for the Icahn School, which already had a longstanding emphasis on the integration of technology,” D’Agustino said.

The sleek electronic tablets are being used to foster reading among seventh and eighth graders in English language arts (ELA), one of the classes offered during the school’s special-interest period. Other special-interest courses include foreign language, algebra, history, and robotics.

Principal Daniel Garcia admits that robotics and ELA are the popular classes right now because of the technology.

“We’re looking at making the other areas equally exciting,” he said.

Icahn, which opened in 2001, saw 99 percent of its third- through eighth-graders ace this year’s state math exams, and 94 percent do the same in reading. It’s something to be proud of at a school where 90 percent of children come from low-income households.

“There was a successful formula already in place when I came here some years ago. I didn’t need to fix anything,” Garcia said of Icahn’s recipe for success—class sizes that are capped at 18 students and an enriched curriculum known as Core Knowledge.

“To continue the good results, we had to offer students something different. We need to keep pushing the envelope all the time,” he said.

Technology works, Garcia added, because, in most cases, it fosters immediate student engagement.

“If each kid at this school had a Kindle, they would all be engaged,” he said. “I can’t say that would happen if they all had a book in front of them.”

The Kindle uses a display technology called electronic ink, meant to mimic the experience of reading a book. It is easier to read in bright light and uses less electricity than displays on laptop computers and cell phones. It also has a built-in dictionary that defines words on command, as well as a highlighting feature.

“They can even flip back and forth between two books if they are comparing two pieces of literature,” Garcia said. “It’s wonderful.”

Eleven-year-old Isani Castro agrees.

“It’s cool,” said the seventh-grader, who, along with a small group, chose to read a Shakespeare comedy.

Eighth-grader Joshua Irizarry, 13, also reading Shakespeare, initially didn’t know what to make of the Kindle.

“I thought it was a mini-laptop. I didn’t know it was actually something you can read,” he said. “It’s really good and holds a lot of books and is very high-tech.”

ELA teacher Dana Halber said the trick was in the technology.

“They say, ‘I’m so much more interested. It’s so exciting,’” Halber said. “Their level of engagement is up because they are part of a much more technological generation. They go home and play video games and hop on the computer to use the Internet. So this is another piece of technology that fits into their lifestyle.”

The grant that helped fund this project was obtained with the help of Congressman José E. Serrano, D-NY, said Leslie Massiah, assistant vice president for government relations at Fordham.

“The purpose of the grant is to provide science and mathematics expansion not only at the University, but within area middle and high schools,” Massiah said of the grant, which has helped to fund robotics programs at other area schools.

“We wanted to expose students and teachers to new technology and be able to bring students up academically and to help them in terms of developing pedagogy.”

The money will be used to purchase equipment for the University’s Robotics and Computer Vision Laboratory (in the Department of Computer and Information Science), the RETC—Center for Professional Development, and the Science and Technology Entry Program/Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP/C-STEP).

“I am very pleased to support the great work that Fordham is doing both in the classroom and the community,” said Rep. Serrano. “This grant is an investment in scientific education which will have short and long term results. I look forward to watching as it exposes students to new areas of study and challenges them to reach for new achievements. I also look forward to continuing to partner with Fordham in new ways to serve our community.”

“We are deeply grateful for Rep. Serrano’s help in securing this grant,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “His leadership in this is an example of what Jesuits mean when they say ‘men and women for others.’ By securing these funds, Representative Serrano ensures Fordham can continue to support critically important science and mathematics education in Bronx high schools.”

Local high school students and their teachers will be introduced to new technologies that will support them in teaching and learning the New York State Regents’ standard STEM disciplines. In particular, the teachers will be trained in using robotics technology to help their students get a ‘hands-on’ feel for STEM topics.

“Each program seeks to enhance its education and research capabilities, providing opportunities for teachers and students in Bronx area high schools to become involved with the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math),” said Damian M. Lyons, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and director of the Robotics and Computer Vision Laboratory.

The proposal came about as Fordham sought federal funding for programs that would further the University’s mission of service. Fordham’s intention to expand its existing science community on campus to the surrounding communities coincided with the Congressman’s desire to address the educational needs of local students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Two months into the contract, Lyons has used $119,000 to buy the first set of robots and control computers for the program. Lyons has already organized a preview of the program for the RETC’s Annual Bronx Technology Collaborative for Bronx parents, students and teachers.

Eventually, the University hopes to build a state-of-the-art science facility, of which computer and information science will be a vital component.

“Fordham’s commitment to addressing teaching, research and student learning allows the University to demonstrate academic ingenuity that currently exists on campus,” said Lesley Massiah, assistant vice president for government relations, who developed the proposal for the grant.

The money will be used to purchase equipment for the University’s Robotics and Computer Vision Laboratory (in the Department of Computer and Information Science), the RETC—Center for Professional Development, and the Science and Technology Entry Program/Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program(STEP/C-STEP).

“I am very pleased to support the great work that Fordham is doing both in the classroom and the community,” said Rep. Serrano. “This grant is an investment in scientific education which will have short and long term results. I look forward to watching as it exposes students to new areas of study and challenges them to reach for new achievements. I also look forward to continuing to partner with Fordham in new ways to serve our community.”

“We are deeply grateful for Rep. Serrano’s help in securing this grant,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “His leadership in this is an example of what Jesuits mean when they say ‘men and women for others.’ By securing these funds, Representative Serrano ensures Fordham can continue to support critically important science and mathematics education in Bronx high schools.”

Local high school students and their teachers will be introduced to new technologies that will support them in teaching and learning the New York State Regents’ standard STEM disciplines. In particular, the teachers will be trained in using robotics technology to help their students get a ‘hands-on’ feel for STEM topics.

“Each program seeks to enhance its education and research capabilities, providing opportunities for teachers and students in Bronx area high schools to become involved with the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math),” said Damian M. Lyons, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and director of the Robotics and Computer Vision Laboratory.

The proposal came about as Fordham sought federal funding for programs that would further the University’s mission of service. Fordham’s intention to expand its existing science community on campus to the surrounding communities coincided with the Congressman’s desire to address the educational needs of local students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Two months into the contract, Lyons has used $119,000 to buy the first set of robots and control computers for the program. Lyons has already organized a preview of the program for the RETC’s Annual Bronx Technology Collaborative for Bronx parents, students and teachers.

Eventually, the University hopes to build a state-of-the-art science facility, of which computer and information science will be a vital component.

“Fordham’s commitment to addressing teaching, research and student learning allows the University to demonstrate academic ingenuity that currently exists on campus,” said Lesley Massiah, assistant vice president for government relations, who developed the proposal for the grant.

Almost.

“I wouldn’t say (science) is my favorite, but I learned a lot,” the 11-year-old said, “especially interacting with the robots. It made science fun.”

Velez was referring to the Lego Robotics MINDSTORMS RCX robot she and about 40 other students from MS 45 Thomas C. Giordano School learned to design, build and program as part of the Advanced Math and Science Institute.

The institute is run by the middle school in conjunction with Fordham’s RETC—Center for Professional Development. It featured six weeks of classroom lessons at the school and hands-on technology training at RETC.

Theresa Lupo, senior professional developer at RETC, designed the institute’s curriculum, and Kraig DeMatteis, the center’s technical and curriculum developer, guided the students through the robotics program.

“We used concepts from math and science to come up with the program for the robots, which—let’s face it—is more fun than just studying math and science,” DeMatteis said. “The students loved it.”

The developers, too, learned there is a lot to love about the world of robotics, Lupo said.

“For example, while developing the curriculum, we found out about RoboTuna, a submarine robot designed to study how underwater vehicles move,” Lupo said. “The (institute) gave the children exposure to things they normally wouldn’t get in their regular curriculum.

“Who knows? We might have inspired future robot scientists right in this room,” she added.

Students presented their finished projects on Aug. 6 at the Flom Auditorium in the William D. Walsh Family Library before an audience of parents and middle school teachers. “Ooohs” and “aaahs” filled the room as the small robots followed their programmed courses.

Neil Aliberti, assistant principal of the Giordano School, was just as wowed by the robots, which were created by some of his top students.

“We wanted to challenge them further and expose them to a wide variety of programs made available through Fordham,” Aliberti said. “We appreciate the University’s outreach to us because it allows us to expose our students to top educational resources.”

“The kids have enjoyed themselves tremendously and the proof is in their final presentations,” he said.

The RETC will provide professional development services in IT to public and non-public school personnel as part of a two-year, $1 million federal grant.

The grant was awarded to the New York City Department of Education’s Bronx Office of Instructional Technology (OIT), which had partnered with the RETC and National Staff Development Council.

“In collaboration with OIT, the RETC is going to train assistant principals, teachers and school technology coordinators how to improve instruction through the integration of technology,” said RETC director Steven D’Agustino, Ph.D. “If classes are more integrated technologically, students will be more engaged in their learning, which will take place in a more project-based way and be more effective.”

The first training session, attended by nearly 60 teachers, administrators and technology coordinators, occurred May 9 on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. Over the next two years, professional developers from the RETC and OIT will make site visits to the schools as part of the program, titled Transforming Leadership into 21st Century Schools: Inclusive, Innovative and Interdisciplinary (I3).

While one benefit of the grant program is that administrators and staff will receive Internet and Computing Core Certification, known as IC3, its success will be measured by whether the test scores of English language learners improve, said Crystal Lindsay, director of the Bronx OIT.

“The entire school building will be transformed into a 21st-century environment,” Lindsay said. “Administrators and teachers will be empowered to teach using technology, but we must improve academic achievement.”

The public and non-public schools participating in the program are those that have been deemed “in need of improvement” by the New York State Department of Education as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (Title IID), which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2001.

Lindsay, who began her teaching career in the Bronx 15 years ago, said many borough schools are lagging when it comes to technology. Her office and Fordham RETC have made efforts to change that, however.

A Title IID grant obtained by both offices about four years ago allowed for nearly 200 teachers and administrators from public and non–public schools to be trained in ways to make their schools more technology–ready, Lindsay said.

“With this new grant, again, the teams are thrilled and passionate that they have a place to share what they are learning,” Lindsay said.

Teachers also will get other incentives, D’Agustino said.

“Each participant will get a laptop and an iTouch, a handheld device, and each school will get an LCD projector,” D’Agustino said. “Also, the National Staff Development Council will train and certify the school teams so that they can train their colleagues so the project will have sustainability.”

School administrators will learn what hardware and software to purchase for their schools as well as what professional development is relevant for their teachers.

“We’re very pleased because we’ve developed a great deal of expertise over the past four years working on these grants,” D’Agustino said, crediting the research of former RETC director Kathy King, Ph.D., now professor of adult education, for providing the theoretical framework that played a large part in obtaining the grant.

RETC hosted two “Bots in the Bronx” events in 2005, with more than 700 students showcasing software programs and robots. RETC also has a Robotics Professional Development Training Auxiliary Services for High Schools program implemented at six New York City schools, which aims to introduce robotics as an interdisciplinary project connecting math, science and literacy.

FIRST LEGO is an international program for children ages 9 to 14 (9 to 16 in Europe) that combines a hands-on, interactive robotics program with a sports-like atmosphere. Teams consist of up to 10 players with the focus on team building, problem solving, creativity and analytical thinking. Fordham’s 2005 events were the first-ever LEGO programs in the Bronx.

The book, published in December, includes autobiographies of 50 acclaimed adult educators, who chronicle their visionary work and accomplishments in the field of adult education.

King has been on the Fordham faculty since 1997. At RETC, she oversees projects designed to provide professional development in educational technology to educators. In 2005-2006, the center reached more than 3,000 learners through local programs and over 100,000 through distance learning.

In August 2005, King and Mark Gura, coordinator of outreach programs at RETC, created Techpod, a weekly educational technology professional development podcast for educators, which has drawn some 450,000 listeners.

“Theory is wonderful but if it remains by itself it becomes stale. It gathers its lifeblood in research and practice.”

— Kathleen King

If back in the day, say 1995, you were unreasonably distraught when you were forced to trade your Smith Corona for Microsoft Word, or maybe pulled your hair out trying to figure out how to use e-mail, you probably could have used the advice and support of Kathleen P. King, Ed.D., professor of education at Fordham University.

As director of the University’s Regional Educational Technology Center for Professional Development (RETC), and recent director of the Graduate School of Education’s program of Adult Education and Human Resource Development, King has made it her mission to help educators cope with rapid change, technological and otherwise. Her core work, founded in the principles of a theory called “transformative learning,” of which she is a major proponent, seeks to turn challenges—or “disorienting dilemmas”—into opportunities for both learning and personal growth. Transformative learning, as King puts it, “describes how people react when they come across difficult points in their life, how they cope and what they learn from it.”

And, as she is quick to emphasize, “Teachers are learners, too.”

King’s approach to adult education takes in several disciplines, most notably technology. She is a techie by nature, well versed in computing and at ease with the general onslaught of technological innovations that have changed the way we live and work in the past 15 years. The resources available at RETC reflect that: podcasts for teachers, computing testing and certification, online education, and a host of other resources devoted to helping teachers and other adults to innovate, teach, and learn. It is a source of knowledge she believes educators sorely need.

As an educator, King said, “technology will throw you into these conflicts,” posing challenges, and sometimes crises. “In the ‘70s,” she says, learning about new technologies was, “a nice thing to do. Today, it’s survival.”

King has a book out this year, Harnessing Innovative Technology in Higher Education: Access, Equity, Policy, and Instruction (Atwood, 2006), edited with Joan K. Griggs. In its conclusion, written with Susan Biro, Ed.D., associate director of RETC, King says, “In the process, we learn that the pathway [to integrating technology into higher education]is not linear, and that as we are learning about technology along the way, we are also learning about our learners, our organizations, and ourselves.” An insight that might have been gleaned from King’s own non-linear career.

There is a spiritual component to King’s work. Before she began her academic life in the early 1990s, King served as a nondenominational missionary in New England. In her research, she is keen to draw lessons from the religious and ethical traditions of many cultures. A recent article she authored looks at transformative learning from the viewpoint of Confucianism.

Her record of accomplishment since she came to Fordham in 1997 is sort of disorienting itself: she has secured, and now oversees, more than 20 grants, several million dollars worth, for the University; she has received several awards for her work in the field; she has authored dozen of articles for journals; and edited, contributed or authored dozens of books, many on technology and learning. Her latest, written with Victor Wang, Ed.D., California State University, Long Beach, Comparative Adult Education Around the Globe, includes observations of educators from Asia and the Middle East, and will be published in both Germany and China in a few weeks.

The idea of transformative learning, she said, “has been dominated by Western interpretation. We need to open it up to our colleagues around the world.”

King—who has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, a master’s in theology, and a master’s and doctorate in education—sees adult education as a perfect fit for someone like herself, naturally drawn to and inspired by a number of different ideas and disciplines. “The theme running through all these interests,” she said, “is how adults learn and change their lives.”

She also believes she ended up at the right university to undertake this work. “Fordham is a very good fit for me. They value theory and research, but also put great value on people and practice.”

Though King’s unconventional ideas have often forced her to take a radical stand with her colleagues, she remains committed to the idea of helping others learn and change for the better.

“I am not to here to promote my political view,” King said. “We are trying to provide a platform where people can step forward into their voice. Transformative learning is about opening up opportunities.”

The conference is designed for administrators in New York City public and private schools who are responsible for one-to-one laptop learning in the coming year. RETC will help educators find resources, research, and design strategies for implementing laptop computing in schools.

DATE:      THURSDAY, JULY 20
TIME:        9 A.M.
PLACE:    REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER
557 E. FORDHAM ROAD, RM. 302, BRONX, NEW YORK

Marina Leight, vice president for the Center for Digital Education and publisher of Converge magazine, will deliver the keynote address. RETC’s educational technology partners include the Center for Digital Education, Dell Inc., Apple Computer Inc., PowerIT, and Promethean Technologies Group.

Licensed school administrators and teachers in New York City may attend the conference free of charge. For information on conference registration and Fordham’s RETC, visit the One-to-One Laptop Learning web page. Advanced registration is required and seats are limited.