HomeFOLAC
North East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC) is proud to provide through the Just Read, Florida! Office, an online professional development to help teachers meet the requirements for the Reading Endorsement Competency 1, called Foundations of Language and Cognition (FOLAC). The 15-week, 60-hour FOLAC online professional development will enable participants to develop an understanding of reading as a process of student engagement in both fluent decoding of words and construction of meaning. This online professional development will provide substantive knowledge of language structure and function, as well as cognition for each of the five major components of the reading process. This professional development meets the requirements for Competency 1 of the Reading Endorsement Add-on Certification Program and will provide participants with skills and knowledge in Foundations of Language and Cognition.
Professional development and follow-up activities will build expertise through understanding of:
- reading as a process of student engagement with text;
- the development and role of language in literacy development;
- how that process is reflected in fluent decoding of words;
- how that process is reflected in construction of meaning; and
- how that process is impacted by sound language acquisition and disabilities.
FOLAC consists of four (4) instructional units, each containing a series of lessons. Upon completion of this course, successful participants will demonstrate proficiency related to the K-12 Reading Endorsement Competencies, Competency 1: Foundations of Language and Cognition and the Florida Educators Accomplished Practice #8, Knowledge of Subject Matter. Instructional materials, applications, quizzes and tests are delivered seamlessly via the Internet with minimum system requirements for participants. The online instructor is the guide for participants to discover and synthesize content while providing feedback and reinforcement. Participants have 24/7 access to the course content and receive timely feedback from the online instructor. Technical assistance through online tutorials and a NEFEC technical support contact is also provided to ensure participants are successful. Review the FOLAC Goals and Objectives.
Assignments and Training Schedule: The FOLAC online training is NOT self-paced. FOLAC offers flexibility to work at your convenience during the week but assignments are due each Sunday. Each week participants will spend approximately 4-6 hours to complete one or more lessons. New lessons are released automatically each Friday which gives participants 10 days to complete the lesson. All assignments should be completed by the given due date. Because threaded discussions are used throughout this professional development, it is important for participants to stay current each week so communication is maximized and discussions develop fully between participants. In order to successfully complete the FOLAC professional development, participants must complete all assignments by the ending date of the course. Review a sample FOLAC Training Schedule.
Recommended Textbook: There is NO required textbook for FOLAC. A recommended textbook is 'Literacy for the 21st Century, 4th Edition,' written by Gail E. Tompkins published by Prentice Hall (ISBN 0-13-119076-8). To order a book from NEFEC, submit payment of $88 to the address below. Shipping charges are included in the book fee. Once payment is received it will be shipped to the address provided. Send payment with request to purchase a book to Heather Symonds' attention at NEFEC at the address below.
NEFEC
Attn: Heather Symonds
Distance Learning Program
3841 Reid Street
Palatka, FL 32177
Orders will be processed and shipped within 24 hours of receiving payment. Contact Stephanie Saxby, NEFEC Secretary, for additional information about book orders.
Inservice Points: Upon successful completion of all assigned tasks, a certificate of completion will be provided within two weeks following the end date of the professional development. This certificate should be turned in to one’s district staff development office to receive 60 inservice points for this professional development. Follow-up activities are incorporated in the professional development and no additional work is needed in order to receive inservice points. Participants will submit the certificate of completion along with a district-specific inservice credit form to the staff development office to be awarded 60 inservice points. College credit is not available for the FOLAC professional development.
Registration for the FOLAC course: Online registration will be implemented through the NEFEC Regional professional development Calendar and Registration System. Registration for Online Training's will end on Monday, one week prior to the course start date at 11:59 p.m. Priority will be given as follows:
- Tier 1 is for teachers who are currently teaching reading courses in grades 6-12 during the 2007-2008 school year and are required to earn the reading endorsement, because they are "out of field".
- Tier 2 is for all other Florida Educators.
Teachers on leave of absence from their school districts can register as well but would initially go on a waiting list to ensure all educators are served first. Use the links on the right to access the registration for the desired session.
When the link to a session is clicked, a page with additional information about the professional development will appear. At the bottom of the page is a link to register by creating a MyNEFEC account. Follow the registration prompts through the next series of screens to provide contact information. When asked for payment information, if you fall into one the tiers as explained above please indicate payment type of “Other” and enter the payment number of Tier 1 or Tier 2. A series of questions will be asked as part of the registration to determine and verify the priority level. For those who do not qualify for one of the Tiers, indicate payment type of “Other” and enter the payment number of “Other.” Once registration is complete, a confirmation will be sent by email indicating registration has been received. After registrations are processed and approved based on the priorities, a final confirmation will be sent no later than one week before the start date of the professional development.
Getting Started with FOLAC: Three days (Friday) before the scheduled start date of the professional development (Monday), an email will be sent to each participant with login information and directions for accessing the FOLAC professional development through Blackboard, NEFEC's course management system, at http://bb.nefec.org. Sometimes legitimate email messages are filtered by Spam filters within an email program. If you have not received login information by the close of business on the Friday before the professional development starts, please check first to see if the message is in a junk or spam mail folder within your email program. If you do not find it, contact Heather Symonds, NEFEC Secretary, to verify your email and to have the information resent.
Cancellation Period and Policy: There is a two-week cancellation period during which participants can withdraw from a professional development without penalty and receive a full refund if a professional development fee has been paid. If you wish to cancel your registration, please email Heather Symonds, NEFEC Secretary, with your request by the 14th day of the professional development (end of the second week). Cancellations can be requested anytime but refunds will only be given if one cancels by the end of the second week of the professional development. Please Note: Participants who have not logged into the professional development and completed all assignments during the first week will be dropped from the professional development by the end of the second week. Participants who have not completed all assignments through Week 2 will be dropped from the professional development at the end of the fourth week. The FOLAC professional development is NOT self-paced and participants are expected to stay on schedule and submit assignments by the given due dates as outlined on the professional development schedule. Participants who are dropped may register for another session only if space is available.
Code of Professional Conduct for Online Participants: Commitment to ethical and professional conduct is expected of every participant in a NEFEC online professional development. Before access is given to the FOLAC online professional development, participants must agree to abide by NEFEC's Code of Professional Conduct for Online Participants.
Links
FOLAC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Reading Endorsement Information from Just Read, Florida!
NEFEC Online professional developments for Reading Endorsement (Competencies 3, 4 and 5)
- Competency 3 - ADAPT: Foundations of Assessment Online professional development
- Competency 4 and 5 - FADI: Foundations and Applications of Differentiated Instruction Online professional development
Distance Learning Technical Support Information
Questions?
Email your questions to the contact below.
Distance Learning Contact:
Garnette Knapp, Distance Learning Program Specialist
