Education is Innovative?

This week on the Iowa Journal Update:
Innovations in Iowa Education
Sailing Around the America’s
Beer, music ed and obesity
Healthcare Recap

Innovations in Iowa Education
What makes innovations in education? Is there any school in Iowa doing innovative things in the classroom and with Iowa students?

We recorded the discussion earlier this week, so now I can tell you a few more of the fun things to see Thursday night at 8p on IPTV. The show will also live forever on our website at http://www.iptv.org/IowaJournal

This week’s Iowa Journal tries to get into the innovation in education issue, in just 15 minutes. I know, not much time, but you’ll be surprised how much ground we cover in our discussion with Judy Jeffrey, Director of the Iowa Department of Education and John Carver, Superintendent of Van Meter schools.

We’ve expanded some topics to include 4 guests, but this time we went with 2 to give everyone a chance to flush out my crazy question list. What exactly does innovation look like? Is it different in each school district? What role will the Iowa Core Curriculum play in innovation? Will it help Iowa schools? How about the budget cuts to schools, will innovation be restricted because of tight budgets? Or is this crisis a great opportunity?

This discussion covers many changes coming in education.

Our feature includes a look at two schools in Iowa and their innovation efforts. Sigourney Community Schools looks more like a community college. Todd Abrahamson is about to complete his fourth year at Sigourney after stops at West Central of Maynard and Manson Northwest Webster to name a few of his journeys.

Todd says his district stands out with four innovations: eSEAL the East Sigourney entrepreneurial Academy for Leadership, the Keokuk County Career Academy for Advanced Manufacturing and Technology, 1:1 computers for every 70-12 student and the Virtual Reality platforms.

Abrahamson meets often with economic development leaders in Keokuk Country trying to make sure there’s a workforce for the manufacturing jobs in the region. Mr. Abrhamson is looking out beyond his district and the community. Major employers are Vermeer, Pella Corp, and Kinze to name a few in the region.

Sigourney HS just took delivery on a new virtual reality welder that is the only one like it in the country. Instructors from Indian Hills Community College are in the school to deal dual credit classes.

About 100 miles to the west is Van Meter. They too are a 1:1 school and also have a virtual reality program. This is the first year for that leased set up of computers. Teachers and students are interacting and on many levels. Students are creating the content and seem to be enjoying and learning at every level. We talk with Deron Durflinger, the secondary principal at Van Meter. He’s helping lead a big on-line experience and is hoping to have the biggest class catalog available for his students. Here’s his website with his links. Shannon Miller is also featured in the piece. Van Meter set up their own Twitter hash tag called #VanMeter and is quite popular in the education’s Twitter circles.

Both schools are smaller. Does that play into their abilities to try new things and quickly turn their ship and head in an innovative direction?

I had asked for several ideas and tips for this story. I appreciate each and every one of them. It also means a lot to have so many people engaged and invested in this program. Thank you for that. There will be a post with some of those comments to follow.

Sailing Around the America’s

From Around The America

We also set sail Around The America’s as West Okoboji’s David Thoreson is in the middle of a nearly 26,000 mile journey. There are some amazing pictures that are shown. You can view many more here after this background on his adventure. If this picture is any teaser for you, this may seem like a big job, but it’s quite a pretty journey. We talked to David just days before the earthquake in Chile where he and the crew just left port.

Next week we’ll get into quality of life issues in Iowa. This will piece together some of our work from previous topics and thread them together for you.

Beer, music ed and obesity
And coming up in the last few episodes before cancellation of The Iowa Journal, we’ll look at the beer industry and law changes, is music education important for fundamentals of education and childhood obesity.

Healthcare Recap
If you want to view our discussion the healthcare bill that’s now law, go here for our panel discussion. Our coverage also includes an interview Iowa Public Radio’s Dean Borg did with University of Iowa Vice President of Medical Affairs, Dr. Jean Robillard. You can view that here.
See you Thursday night at 8p, Friday at 630p and Saturday at 830a (IPTV World) on Iowa Public Television and The Iowa Journal.

If you have things you want us to look at, send us an email to IowaJournal@IPTV.org
We love hearing from you. Let our bosses know you appreciate this show and the discussions by sending them a note as well.

Press Release for Innovative Education in Iowa

We are recording Thursday’s show today, so this week may seem a bit out-of-order. So, please, bear with me.

I will post more this week about the show, but here’s a little background from earlier this month.

Here’s the official release on Thursday’s program from the IPTV press release shop.

Innovative Education in Iowa:

On the Thursday, April 1 edition

of The Iowa Journal

(Johnston, Iowa) –Thursday’s episode of The Iowa Journal will look at how some Iowa schools are using innovative ways, including the use of virtual reality technology, to help children learn. This program airs Thursday, April 1 at 8 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television and Saturday, April 3 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD. It will also be available online at iptv.org/iowajournal.

For this episode, The Iowa Journal visited the middle schools and high schools in Van Meter and Sigourney to see how the use of virtual reality equipment, personal computers and online programs engages students and prepares them for the future.

In the studio to discuss the effectiveness of such innovations are: John Carver, superintendent of Van Meter schools; and Judy Jeffrey, director of the Department of Education.

The Iowa Journal will also present an update on the travels of Iowan David Thoreson who is on a 25,000 mile sailing trip around North and South America. Thoreson, from West Okoboji, is a watch captain, photographer and videographer on this voyage that has a mission to educate those they meet along the way on ocean conservation. The Iowa Journal caught up with Thoreson via Skype, while he was in Chile just days before the earthquake there.

For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.

Innovative Education in Iowa: On the Thursday, April 1 edition of The Iowa Journal
(Johnston, Iowa) –Thursday’s episode of The Iowa Journal will look at how some Iowa schools are using innovative ways, including the use of virtual reality technology, to help children learn. This program airs Thursday, April 1 at 8 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television and Saturday, April 3 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD. It will also be available online at iptv.org/iowajournal.For this episode, The Iowa Journal visited the middle schools and high schools in Van Meter and Sigourney to see how the use of virtual reality equipment, personal computers and online programs engages students and prepares them for the future.In the studio to discuss the effectiveness of such innovations are: John Carver, superintendent of Van Meter schools; and Judy Jeffrey, director of the Department of Education. The Iowa Journal will also present an update on the travels of Iowan David Thoreson who is on a 25,000 mile sailing trip around North and South America. Thoreson, from West Okoboji, is a watch captain, photographer and videographer on this voyage that has a mission to educate those they meet along the way on ocean conservation. The Iowa Journal caught up with Thoreson via Skype, while he was in Chile just days before the earthquake there.For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.

Final Panther Points

Maucker Union store still selling UNI Panther gear. Photo by Paul Yeager.

We know the UNI Panthers run in the NCAA is over and that Cinderalla’s slipper broke. Regardless, thie 2009-2010 season will be talked about for a long time in Cedar Falls and beyond.

A few points of interest from my world.

No cable or internet

This one popped up during the game via Twitter. Erik Ullestad posted during the game that his parents lost cable and internet during the game. That meant no live tweeting from the hometown of the Panthers or commenting on Panther Fan Forums.

Luther over Wartburg?

We’ve talked about Ali Farokhmanesh and his connections to Wartburg. His mother is working at the W in Waverly and his father was an assistant volleyball coach. Cindy Fredrick was recently named head volleyball coach at Luther College. That is the enemy for Wartburg. During Friday’s game, Cindy’s new job was mentioned during the national telecast. Clear as day Luther College was uttered and not Wartburg. So, that was fun to watch go back and forth between Iowa Conference fans/alums during the game.

Campus calming down

And finally, I was on the University of Northern Iowa campus Sunday night. I’ll be here Monday for the Iowa High School Individual All-State speech contest. The pre-dinner was on campus in the Maucker Union. Friday night, that was the site of the on-campus watch party. If the Panthers would have won, our evening would have had some excitement. Instead, the Union was fairly empty and the March Madness is starting to wear off. But, you could find some t-shirts and SI’s for sale with Ali on the cover.

Monday’s event is in the McLeod Center. Maybe I’ll sneak onto the court to practice some 3-pointers.

Levi and Noah on Spring Break

Levi on stage, waiting for his cue to go into the IPTV Kids Clubhouse. Photo by Paul Yeager.

The boys really weren’t on spring break this week like much of Ankeny, including our neighborhood, is.

But the boys did have some fun anyway.

Noah watches a pledge break from off stage at IPTV. Photo by Paul Yeager.

Wednesday was a chance for a IPTV Kids Clubhouse visit.

The kids were needed for a promo to run after Festival 2010 is over. Noah will be on your right in the front, you know, the short one.

The kids got to stick around to be a part of a pledge break.

This was fun as Dan Wardell included the kids, Noah is in the back row in a green shirt. Then some of the adults were included and so was the TV debut of Levi. I think you’ll know when he’s on TV.

Levi, Paul and Noah Yeager with Dan Wardell. IPTV Studios, March 17, 2010.

And always, we got a picture with Dan during a break. Always fun times with our friend Dan.

You still have a chance to support IPTV by going here.

Hope you enjoyed the fun times with Dan in the clubhouse. This is the only locally produced kids show left in Iowa.

Where did all this UNI purple come from?

To say that the state of Iowa is seeing purple is an understatement.

Panther-Mania is everywhere

Earlier this week I wrote about a battle in the Erickson household. Father Virg, now that’s funny to see in print, was the color analyst for the UNI Panther’s Men’s basketball team for years. He gave up the job around the turn of the century. Daughter Lis, worked for UNI’s Sports Information for a time and later at Michigan State. The two aren’t speaking to each other leading up to Friday’s game.

But, they do know how to exchange pictures.

This is the purple coat Virg had from his radio days working with Gary Rima. You know, Kaboom Rima? Thanks to our source for the picture. Those who know Virg, which goes beyond his Wartburg, Waterloo Columbus and Denver networks are enjoying this shot.

—UPDATE— Check the comments from Lis about the coat. The story goes WAY back into Panther radio history. Good stuff, Lis.

–Further update– The picture of the purple coat may be gone, but we still haven’t forgotten. Maybe someday he’ll retire and we’ll publish the photo again, but knowing Virg, he’ll work until the pine box arrives.

What pajamas does Superman wear?

Of course, the UNI Panther story is everywhere. And when the public radio folks do a story on you, that’s when you know you’ve made it as a sports story. During the National Public Radio show “All Things Considered” on Thursday, the UNI story was shared with the NPR audience. The story was reported by my former radio production teacher Pat Blank of Iowa Public Radio. Most of the story you know, but it is the last part of the piece you need to hear. It is a take on a classic Superman joke and Ali Farokhmanesh. Here’s Pat’s story.

Panther Nation grabs attention with their big heads

From the Sports Casualties blog, UNI players and their big heads.

And finally I got a comment after the last Panther Post about the SI cover jinx. Robbie at Sports Casualties wanted me to know about the Sports Casualties jinx. He called his piece the Cinderella Series: Dancing Panthers. This is a view from outside of Iowa and may be a little critical of the Panthers in spots, but overall is a fun read and different perspective on the team. There’s also a fun link you need to click into. Let’s say it is close to the picture of Leon Costello, from rival HS Wapsie Valley. If you like the Iowa State Fair, you may like the link that’s written about in the piece. Enjoy.

Game time is Friday night. Will be writing about this story on Saturday?

Live Coverage of President Obama to Iowa City on IPTV

Big day for the state of Iowa on Thursday. President Barack Obama is coming to Iowa to talk about the newly signed health care reform bill. Candidate Obama unveiled his healthcare plan in Iowa City in May of 2007. The President will make a speech in Iowa City which you can see live as it happens on IPTV World or on IPTV.org.

If you miss it during the day, we’ll rebroadcast it on our main IPTV service at 730p, followed by a special discussion to follow. We will talk about the healthcare bill and what this means to Iowans. Questions you may be interested in having our panel discuss? Drop them in the comments below.

Here’s the official release with details.

Iowa Public Television to Broadcast President Obama’s Speech on Health Care Reform in Iowa City Thursday
Speech will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. on IPTV WORLD and online at http://www.iptv.org/live and rebroadcast at 7:30 p.m. on IPTV
(Johnston, Iowa) –Iowa Public Television will broadcast live coverage of President Barack Obama’s health care reform speech from the University of Iowa Fieldhouse on IPTV WORLD, Thursday, March 25.

The President on Health Care: An “Iowa Journal” Special airs live on IPTV WORLD and online at Iptv.org/live at 1 p.m. on Thursday, with hosts Paul Yeager and Dean Borg. A rebroadcast of the speech will air on IPTV’s primary channel Thursday at 7:30 p.m., followed by a panel discussion on The Iowa Journal with some of the various organizations and individuals affected by the new plan. In the studio to discuss the impact of the health care reform law will be Jim Swift, chairman and CEO of Holmes Murphy and Associates; Jennifer Vermeer, director of Iowa Medicaid; and Bill Leaver, president and CEO of Iowa Health Systems Kirk Norris of Iowa Hospital Association.

The panel discussion portion of the program will be rebroadcast on Friday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. on IPTV and Saturday, March 27 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD.

For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.

–Update 230p Thursday—
Kirk was an add for Bill Leaver.

You can view video here of President Obama’s speech in Iowa City March 25, 2010 right here.

If that link doesn’t work, check out our show page here.

Even More UNI Panther Points

Front banner from the UNI Athletics site http://www.uni.edu/ncaa

The hits keep coming for the UNI Panthers and their men’s basketball team. Some good, some maybe not so good.

Radio Rocks
First, a few radio promos that you might enjoy, including Gary Rima. Sorry, I’m not able to pull out the individual clips. I don’t think Learfield would like that. Enjoy.

SI Cover Jinx?

Upcoming cover of Sports Illustrated featuring Northern Iowa.

The Panthers were in Sports Illustrated earlier this season. It was a nice piece about the team. But this time, it may be more than Panther nation can handle. Here comes the cover. Will the cover jinx be in place?
Ali Farokhmanesh is on the cover with that same great photo as seen in Monday’s More UNI Extra Points.

Here’s a link to the Des Moines Register’s Ultimate Ali gallery.

Any of these story lines come true yet from Saturday’s UNI Panthers Extra Points post?

Hitler Gets the News of UNI’s win
And finally, what good story would not be complete without a Hitler – Panther/Kansas YouTube video. This one does get a little spicy, so be warned.

Or if that one doesn’t play, try this one. It is a bit different. This is the Hitler response to the Kansas loss to UNI. Again, pronounce that U-N-I.

And maybe I can teach Noah how to say Kaboom instead of this tired joke.

Presidential Healthcare Reform on the next Iowa Journal

Senator Harkin looks on as President Obama signs the Healthcare Reform Act into law. AP Photo

President Barack Obama’s visit to Iowa City is causing a little change in plans for this week’s show.

We will get to education innovation next week. This week, we’ll be carrying the President’s 1p speech live on our IPTV World channel. That is .3 over the air. Then we’ll be holding a panel discussion on the health care reform and what exactly this means for Iowa. That will all take place Thursday night on Iowa Public Television on The Iowa Journal time slot.

Details are still in the works, but plan to watch the speech live at 1 and an encore of the speech at 730p prior to our panel discussion around 830 Thursday night.

The President will make his remarks the Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Iowa.

Who should we have on our panel?

What will this new healthcare plan mean for Iowa?

Join us please on Thursday for “President on Health Care: An Iowa Journal Special”.

More UNI Extra Points

Here we go. A week of national attention for the UNI Panthers. By the way, if you’re not from Iowa, you can call them U-N -I, not uni like uni-cycle. Apparently, this team is being called all sorts of No. Iowa, No. IA. N IA, North Iowa, you get the picture.

Lots of good stuff over the weekend. I’ll post some links here, but there’s plenty to add on to this post from Saturday night.

Virg and Lis

For the Erickson clan, this will be a tense week. Father Virg is the former color analyst for the Panther Radio Network. Daughter Lis worked for UNI and Michigan State sports information. Lis spent time getting to know many of the Spartan Nation and their men’s team. Lis has often told me, Coach Tom Izzo knows how to coach in March. So, I think there will no phone call between Virg and Lis this week and Lis won’t say who she’s pulling for in fairness to both camps.

SoundOff full of Panther Calls

SoundOff on WHO-TV was good Sunday night with Keith Murphy and Chris Hassel. Chris was on the team charter that arrived home to Waterloo at 230 AM Sunday.

JT “The Nutt” is the show’s in-booth producer on Sunday nights. Keith said it best at the end that JT was the bandwagon for UNI before anyone knew one existed. JT is an alum who’s extremely excited, to say the least about his team. I think JT just got his lifetime dream, to have all callers on SoundOff be talking about the Panthers.

SO did their normal Look A Like segment. Here’s my own.

NBC 26 reporter Chad Doran

Chad Doran of NBC 26 in Green Bay. Chad is a former news photographer in Davenport at KWQC-TV. He did cover the Illini in the Final Four which was in St. Louis. I’m just saying.

or

Adam Koch of UNI. 

Adam Koch of UNI

Rima on the Radio
Here’s some audio from the UNI Panther Radio Network. Oh Baby, I love this team from Gary Rima. I think he uses every cliché in the book. Enjoy. Thanks to our north Iowa friends for the feed. Sorry, Kaboom, not included.

Ali Farokhmanesh's late three-pointer helped Northern Iowa upset Kansas 69-67. Darren Carroll/SI Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/

Ali in the DaNation

Ali Farokhmanesh is living the dream, doing interviews on national programs. One such interview was on the Dan Patrick Radio Show Monday morning. Ali was good and continues to show why the nation is starting to pull for this team.

Here’s part of the interview in text form:

Q&A with Ali Farokhmanesh

DP:The shot with just over 30 seconds to go against Kansas … did you ever think, what if I don’t make it?
AF:Honestly no. If that would have crossed my mind, I probably wouldn’t have made it. I just went into the shot with confidence and luckily it went in.

DP:But the shot defied logic, didn’t it?
AF:Uh, yeah probably. I just think once he backed off so far, I thought there was probably enough differential between the clock that they’re probably going to play off the possession. We had turned the ball over three times in a row, so I was just thinking it was probably going to be a turnover or that wide-open shot.

DP:When did you know it was going in?
AF:Honestly when I let it go, it didn’t feel that good. … Just because the previous five shots before that I hadn’t made.  Once I let that go, it was kind of iffy.

DP:What did coach [Ben Jacobson] say to you?
AF:Great shot.

Read More:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/#ixzz0ixuwHfrW

Here’s the full interview and the audio/video to go with it. Enjoy.

UNI Panther Extra Points

UNI defeats Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament. Courtesy: Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.

The University of Nothing Impossible did it again. They shocked the nation with their upset of number one overall seed Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament.

What does this mean?

A few questions to ponder tonight or Sunday as you are already celebrating in Panther Nation, which, I’m guessing just got a lot bigger.

Is Maurice Newby pushed to the curb as most clutch Panther to make way for Ali Farokhmanesh?
What about the most famous Panther ever, Kurt Warner?
Does this win help bring Warner closer to his alma mater?
Did the end of the UNI baseball team mean a win for basketball?
Does Ben Jacobsen need to leave Cedar Falls to be a winner?
Did distance make Iowans grow fonder for Steve Alford?
What are Mike Hlas’ best Iowa coverage moments?

Will Ali’s parents claim Wartburg or Luther by this time next year?

Here we go, a few thoughts.

Maurice Newby was playing for a re-tread coach in Eldon Miller back in 1990 when his shot shocked the nation against Missouri. The Tigers spent time at number one during that season before being beaten that day in Richmond. I remember that team well and what that meant to UNI. That was big, but so 20 years ago.

Kurt Warner really only played a year of football for Northern Iowa. But he dominated that season and somehow made it to the pros and will make it to the Hall of Fame. However, you don’t seem him around Cedar Falls much. There’s been stories about how one didn’t appreciate each other at various times during Warner’s time in CF and his retirement from Arizona. Now that both are big time, can you two kiss and make up now?

Kurt Warner first went to the Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams. Courtesy: http://www.17wks.com/blog

St. Louis was sweet to Kurt Warner as he was the QB for the Rams that made it to the Super Bowl. He led the Rams to their first and his first Super Bowl. Will it be a sweet city to the Panthers to go all “George Mason” on the world and continue to shock the nation? UNI advances to play in St. Louis next week.

A previous cinderella, Valparaiso played their in 1998 in the Sweet 16.

Lucas O'Rear. Photo courtesy: UNIPanthers.com

Lucas O’Rear was a great baseball player for the UNI team, before the program was given the ax. O’Rear was the starting pitcher in the program’s final game. Did the end of baseball mean there’s more of the scrappy guy to go around to dive after loose balls or earn tough fouls or get clover leaf tattoos?

Will kids everywhere start growing mutton chops to be like Lucas? Or, would O’Rear still be playing both sports and not have as much energy to devote to basketball?

Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson (WCF COURIER FILE PHOTO)

Prior to the tournament, basketball fans in Iowa were wondering, is Ben Jacobson heading south an hour to Iowa City? Would the University of Iowa take another chance on another mid-major coach? Is Jacobson the real deal that everyone thought his previous boss, Greg McDermott, was before he went to Iowa State?

The UNI fans we watched the game with Saturday night said Jacobson may be too big for the University of Iowa now. Oregon? Nah, he’s a midwest guy. Maybe Minnesota, closer to Jacobson’s home of North Dakota, may be a better fit if Tubby Smith gets a call to go somewhere else. Many Iowa State fans think Jacobson was the man behind the curtain during the McDermott/Jacobson years in Cedar Falls.

Then again, if you’re Ben J, why leave a team returning so many great players and good recruits coming next fall? Anyone see this Doug McDermott kid play with Harrison Barnes? Plus a few of the guys playing now are freshman. Yikes. Why leave a stocked pantry at the Mcleod Center to go to the cold fridge of Carver Hawkeye Arena?

Speaking of Hawkeye fans, while you were cheering for the in-state team, you also were watching that New Mexico score in the corner as Steve Alford‘s boys fell flat and were asked to leave the dance.

Were there any Hawkeye fans sad at this loss tonight? I didn’t think so.

Mike Hlas - Cedar Rapids Gazette: @Hlas

Veteran Cedar Rapids Gazette sports reporter MIke Hlas called Saturday’s win by UNI in his top 5 Iowa events he’s covered. Here’s his list: “Zach’s Masters, Warner’s Super Bowl win, Cap One Bowl probably, maybe Orange Bowl, Iowa-Mich in ’85 … I’m too dazed to think.”

And finally, Ali Farokhmanesh. Where do you begin? Clutch shot to beat UNLV, clutch first half against Kansas, then missed 5 straight to only sink a 3 pointer with under 40 seconds to play. That put the Panthers up 2 possessions.

Jess with Ali. From Jess Fredrick Beranek's Facebook page.

Ali’s cousins Andre Fredrick and Jess Fredrick were both Wartburg grads and friends in college. Both have been super proud of their cousin as they should be. Ali prepped at Iowa City West. Played a year at Indian Hills CC, then transferred to Kirkwood and then to UNI. His parents are volleyball coaches. His mother Cindy Fredrick, was the W’s manager at Wartburg before getting hired at Luther College to be their new volleyball coach. She also coached at the University of Iowa and Davenport Central, so the Quad City Times can officially lay claim to the story as well.

Where do you rate this UNI team? Best story of the 2010 Tourney? Will they make One Shining Moment now?

Even if you had Kansas winning the whole tournament in your bracket, you still must cheer for them the rest of the way.