SOUND & ACCURATE NUMBERS are just the beginnings of the VIRTURAL Big Picture

Folks:

Oakland Press Article 12-30-2004
City Needs to solve Mess Surrounding Annual Audit
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/123004/opi_20041230003.shtml

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best,

Jim

A VIRTURAL APPLE for the DAY

Folks:

Reseach says..........an apple a day.......

December 1, 2004
Blogging in the Big Apple
By Jeffrey Piontek

As an educator in the NYC Department of Education and a lifelong learner, technology has and always will be an integral part of my instructional life. But the idea of keeping an online journal was foreign to my vernacular and way of being. I kept thinking: "All of your innermost thoughts and feelings for all to see and read in the online log! Are they crazy?"

Although this is becoming more and more commonplace across the country, to me as an educator it seemed frightening. These Weblogs, or Blogs, have been described as the hierarchy of texts, images, media objects and data, archived chronologically and viewable in an HTML format. They are the newest way for students to voice their opinions and feelings online. While a few educators have already started using Blogs, many ask the potential for teaching and learning with students.

What could this new technology be used for and how does current research measure up to it?I will pose a few questions that draw on the social interaction of teaching and learning by using Vygotsky's theories (1978). Educators highlight the "knowledge construction" processes of the learners and suggest that "meaning making" develops through the social process of language use over time. As such, knowledge construction is discursive, relational and conversational in nature.Therefore, as students appropriate and develop language, they must have authentic opportunities for publication of their knowledge and understanding.

Through publication teachers can infer the process by which students transfer meaning and strategies appropriated within the social domain, making those strategies their own (Gavelach & Raphael, 1996). It makes materials accessible for subsequent reflection and analysis, allowing students to revisit and revise their artifacts; thus enriching their internal learning experience.

Publication will offer feedback which, in turn, scaffolds learning in his/her quest for knowledge construction.Blogs are, or can be, a useful tool for teaching and learning because they provide a space for students to reflect and construct their thoughts and understandings. Because they can be reflected and commented upon, they provide potential for feedback and thus allow the author to scaffold learning. Students can, after reading the Blogs, begin to construct meaning or ascertain knowledge about the subject or ideas in which they are interested.

Research has also shown that asynchronous chat such as on the Blackboard site (used in many schools across the country for online content delivery) allows the students to voice their concerns. The problem here is two-fold: asynchronous chat can be seen as a similar tool to the Blog.They both represent the student's ability to promote understanding, opportunity, higher-order thinking skills and the feasibility thereof to promote learning.

On the other hand Blogs are so much more than a single form of exchange of ideas. Blogs are a way for students to establish their personal and/or intellectual ownership of new concepts while they visualize and attempt to group abstract ideas. Blogs can become a student's online soapbox.

Unlike a discussion forum that can be shared by many, a Blog is personal with the students being in full control of their online content. It can be a place for all students to figure out who they are in a risk free environment.

Hope to be bloggin in 2005.

Best,

Jim

A VIRTURAL CHANGE FOR OUR FUTURE!

Folks:

ALL is not lost.....just hidden from plain view.

Detroit Free Press Article (with particular emphasis on the last paragraph)http://www.freep.com/money/business/genxy27e_20041227.htm

Best,

Jim

Meanwhile, Back to the Virtual Big Picture

Folks:

If you missed the Urgency Insurgency message at http://www.cherry.commission.org try the follow-on piece from the Tom Watkins, Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The report is titled Structural Issues Surrounding Michigan School Funding in the 21st Century at http://www.michigan.gov/mde

In summary, I found this compelling "How would 12 billion be invested to assure that children obtain the education necessary to thrive in a 21st Century knowledge economy?" In this case the end is the beginning.

What was that quote by Einstein regarding "you will not find the solution from those who were responsible for the problem," (sic) or something along those lines.

Best,

Jim

Virtual Incompetence and to all a Good Night

Folks: (Please say it isn't so)

Finance office blasted
Web-posted Dec 24, 2004

Auditor's letter sharply critical of city's fiduciary governance
By AL ELVIN
Of The Daily Oakland Press

Several City Council members -upset about a recent assessment of Pontiac's financial records -are questioning the credentials of employees and are worried about the future of the city's fiscal well-being.

The assessment came in the form of a letter written by a representative of Plante & Moran, PLLC, in Southfield. Excerpts from the letter were read during Wednesday night's council meeting.

"It says to me that there are non-qualified people working in our Finance Department," said Councilwoman Susan Shoemaker. "It says right in there that they are not qualified. The proof is in the pudding."

The letter questioned the city's audit readiness, saying staff members suffer from "a lack of urgency" in the audit preparation process. Furthermore, much of the audit process is being handled by just one city employee, Roger Warner, who only works part time.

The document was also extremely critical of City Comptroller Lawrence Feagin, who "was not familiar with the steps needed to run an income statement," it said. Later in the five-page document, Feagin's office was singled out again.

"At no time during the year does the controller print or reconcile any general ledger balances," the letter said. "He stated he was not even sure how to generate a revenue and expenditure report, mainly because he was never trained by his predecessor. He also stated that, due to budget constraints, he and his staff were not sent to any training on how to use the general ledger software."

Apparently, the only person in the city who is able to perform reconciliations is Warner, a former internal auditor, who did not train anyone before he was asked to resign by the city. Pontiac Mayor Willie Payne said he was not aware of Warner's unique skills when he was asked to leave.

"To me, it shows where there is a malfeasance on behalf of the financial director, that he's allowed this to take place for this long," said Councilman Koni Bowman.

Added Councilman Charlie Harrison III, "This document is quite alarming. It really spells out what my thoughts have been for quite some time, that the reason we don't have an audit from fiscal year 2002-03 is because of ineptness and lack of knowledge and urgency on the part of the administration."

Part of the reason the audit is late is because of new accounting standards that make for a more tedious process, said Payne.

"Because of (the new standards), it has made the accounting even more difficult," Payne said.

"Plante & Moran has told us that we're unique in that we're doing it without any outside assistance. We recognized the need to implement the new standards because we were consistently late with getting our audit report in on time."

The 2002-2003 audit is not the first one that was late, Payne said. In fact, the city's audits have been late for at least the past 10 years, Payne maintained.

The letter gives Pontiac a couple of options on what the city can do to rectify its problems with respect to paperwork blunders in the Finance Department.

Alternatives include continuing along the same course - "having a single person responsible for reconciling all accounts on a part-time basis." However, if this continues, the 2003-04 audit will be filed late, and "may end much as the 2003 audit, being (more than) a year overdue," the letter said. The second alternative is for Plante & Moran to perform account reconciliations and prepare the required audit schedules, albeit at an additional fee.

So far, the city has already paid $125,000 to Plante & Moran for its analysis of Pontiac's financial records status, Finance Director Ed Hannan said.

"This is just another step toward improving our Finance Department," said Payne, who remained optimistic that the department would continue to improve.

"The next step is addressing the problems, whether it involves firing individuals or outsourcing, allowing (Plante & Moran) to do our accounting for us."

Oh, the VIRTUALITY of it ALL

Folks:

I just wanted to share a little information regarding the future of scientific exploration and where K-12 education should be headed.

Wired Magazine Article
http://www.wired.com/wired/

Enjoy!

Best,

Jim

Virtually Amazing!

Folks: (It's Official)

'Blog' is dictionary's top word for 2004: A four-letter term that came to symbolize the difference between old and new media during this year's presidential campaign tops U.S. dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster's list of the 10 words of the year. Merriam-Webster Inc. said on Tuesday that blog, defined as "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinks," was one of the most looked-up words on its Internet sites this year. Eight entries on the publisher's top-10 list related to major news events, from the presidential election -- represented by words such as incumbent and partisan -- to natural phenomena such as hurricane and cicada. Springfield, Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster compiles the list each year by taking the most researched words on its Web sites and then excluding perennials such as affect/effect and profanity.

Best,

Jim

Yin & Yang / A VIRTUAL IMPASSE?

Mayor, council at odds over control of spending

Web-posted Dec 1, 2004
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Daily Oakland Press

A $5.1 million budget deficit has Mayor Willie Payne and the City Council in a tug of war over Pontiac's financial purse strings.

Payne announced Monday night he is going to begin spending money appropriated in the budget without seeking approval from the council. Under the Pontiac City Charter, he said, the mayor is authorized to supervise expenditures for city operation - not the City Council.

Upset over Payne's statements, Council President Everett Seay alleged, "This is all about ... spending all you want to spend. This is about the city in bankruptcy and we will probably end up in court."

The issue over the city's financial status has been brewing between the mayor and council for months. Council members are upset because they have not yet received an audit or letter of evaluation from auditors for the 2002-2003 fiscal year.

Consequently, the council approved a resolution months ago requiring Payne to get approval from the council Finance Subcommittee for expenditures more than $5,000 and for new hires. The administration has been complying with that request, until now, Payne said, in the spirit of cooperation - not because it is required to.

But on Monday night, Payne announced he will take back control of spending in reaction to a memo that stated Seay has instructed that no further Finance Subcommittee meetings be scheduled until the council receives the audit.

If the subcommittee holds no meetings, Payne said, he wouldn't be able to get council approval for expenditures and "It will stop day-to-day operations of the city. Does this indicate people who want to work together?"

Payne accused council of placing its own personal political self-interest before the interests of the residents of Pontiac, an allegation all council members denied.

The mayor continued that the fact council has retained an attorney to represent it in court on budget issues is the "epitome of hypocrisy to on the one hand preach the need for fiscal restraint and then on the other hand expend the limited funds of the municipality on the costs of litigation."

Councilman Charlie Harrison called the mayor's announcement "a hand grenade."
"You've had a long leash and we can't allow you to run around and wreak havoc," Harrison said.

Councilman Art McClellan said, "Something has to change. There is a systemic problem here. We have to change from top to bottom. I'm willing to work with anybody to improve this.
"We have to get this ship righted, right now."

Payne said there have been suggestions that the Finance Subcommittee may have violated the Open Meetings Act by approving hires without posting the meeting.

But John Bueno, council president pro tem and chairman of the Finance Subcommittee, said he has always followed the Open Meetings Act as far as he knows. He said he relied on City Attorney Mark Hotz to advise him to avoid any violations.

Payne submitted a deficit reduction plan and said the audit and management letter have been promised by the auditor at the end of next week.


Detroit Free Press Article
Letters to the Editor

Teach children how to learn
November 30, 2004

Your Nov. 29 article "School kids on payroll for learning" is another example of the effectiveness of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as instructional technology. External reinforcement such as play money to purchase desirable items aimed to select and increase students' academic behaviors works. We used a similar token economy to teach reading and mathematics to early elementary age students with disabilities at the Experimental Education Unit, University of Washington in Seattle in the late 1980s. However, young children who are typically developing need to learn more than discreet tasks within a teacher-directed curriculum. They need to learn how to learn to understand their world.

Young children enter the world with motivation to learn in all areas of development: social, emotional, language, cognition, self-care and physical. We as early childhood educators need to understand each child across these areas of development in order to design instruction that promotes the child's healthy development and learning in home and school. These areas of development and learning continue in elementary school and expand into academic content areas of reading and mathematics. We can provide developmentally appropriate instruction and learning that builds upon each child's natural motivation to explore, inquire and make sense of their world. Teaching is more than providing external reinforcement to increase academic behaviors. Our children need to learn how to learn about the complexities their world and be the leaders for tomorrow.

Mark J. Larson,
PhD Coordinator, early childhood education Assistant professor, early childhood education and early childhood special education Wayne State University Detroit