NACTA Updates and Information: February 2010
To encourage better communication throughout NACTA this e-newsletter is sent on a monthly basis. If you have any items of interest to the membership of NACTA, please submit them via email to Rick, NACTA Journal Editor (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or Marilyn, NACTA Secretary-Treasurer (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
In This Issue:
- 2010 Calendar
- Last Call for Membership Renewal
- Registration for 2010 NACTA Conference Now Open
- NACTA Judging Conference
- NACTA/SERD 2010 Abstracts Due March 20
- 2010 NACTA Awards
- NACTA International Committee Survey Request
- Opportunities to Submit to the NACTA Journal
- Book Reviews
- Subject Matter Experts Needed
- New NACTA Website and NACTA on Facebook
- Writing for the NACTA Journal - Tips
- Position Announcements (Listings from the NACTA Website)
2010 Calendar
- March 14 - 20, National Ag Week, http://www.agday.org/
- March 17 - 20, National PAS Conference, St. Louis, http://www.nationalpas.org/conference/index.html
- April 15 - 17, NACTA Judging Conference, Redlands Community College, El Reno, OK
- June 22 - 25, NACTA/SERD Annual Conference at Pennsylvania State University, agsci.psu.edu/nacta
- July 13 - 15, Inquiry-Based Environmental Science and Natural Resources AgrowKnowledge Faculty Development Workshop, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA (http://www.agrowknow.org)
- July 20 - 22, Artificial Insemination/Biotechnology AgrowKnowledge Faculty Development Workshop, Redlands Community College, El Reno, OK (http://www.agrowknow.org)
- August 2 - 4, AgCareers.com HR Roundtable in Minnetonka, MN, www.agcareers.com
If you have items for the calendar that are of interest to the members of NACTA, please email them to either the editor or the secretary.
Last Call for Membership Renewal
It’s time to renew your NACTA membership for 2010. If you have not renewed your membership by February 20, 2010 you will no longer have access to the current issues of the NACTA Journal online at http://nacta.fp.expressacademic.org/. Membership forms can be found on the website under Membership Applications. If you have paid your 2010 membership and have not received the 2010 password please email the secretary.
Help NACTA grow. Remember that you could double the membership of NACTA if you encouraged one associate to join at the time you renew your membership. Make a copy of the form and encourage someone else to join!
Registration for 2010 NACTA Conference Now Open
Registration is now open for the 2010 NACTA Conference being held at Penn State on June 22-25. For details on the conference and to register online please visit: http://agsci.psu.edu/nacta. Register by May 1 to take advantage of the early registration discount.
We hope you can join us this summer in State College, PA for an engaging week of oral presentations, poster sessions, roundtable discussions and exciting tours as we "Collaborate, Communicate, Celebrate," teaching and learning around agricultural, human, and renewable natural resources.
For questions regarding the 2010 NACTA conference, please visit http://agsci.psu.edu/nacta, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 814-865-8301 or toll-free 877-778-2937.
2010 NACTA Conference Planning Committee, College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State
NACTA Judging Conference
The annual NACTA Judging Conference is being hosted at Redlands Community College in El Reno, OK, April 15-17, 2010. The contest that will be hosted includes: Ag Business Management, Computer Applications, Crops, Dairy, Horse Judging, Livestock, Quiz Bowl, and Soils.
For registration questions:
Annie Pearson
COE Conference Facilitator
405-422-1486
405-708-3943
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For general questions:
Cynthia Patterson
Administrative Assistant
405-422-1423
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For complete details go to the NACTA Judging Conference website.
NACTA/SERD 2010 Abstracts Due March 20
The 2010 NACTA conference will be held at Penn State University, June 22 – 25. This conference will be a joint meeting with National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Science and Education Resources Development (SERD) unit. The theme for the 2010 NACTA/SERD Conference is “Collaborate, Communicate, Celebrate.”
All abstracts must be submitted at this website: http://abstracts.nacta.expressacademic.org/login.php
If you have any questions contact the NACTA Journal Editor, Rick Parker, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Deadline: March 20, 2010. The author submitting the abstract will be notified of its status within three weeks of its submission.
You can view and download photos taken at the 2009 NACTA/SERD Conference at this URL: http://picasaweb.google.com/nactaeditor .This website contains a number of photos from past NACTA conferences. Also you can find examples of posters from past NACTA Conferences.
2010 NACTA Awards
NACTA offers many awards that recognize excellence in the scholarship of teaching and learning. The NACTA Teaching Awards Nomination processes are now on the new http://www.NACTAteachers.org website. The Award nomination process needs to be completed by March 1, 2010 for an individual to receive an award at the Penn State Conference in June.
NACTA International Committee Survey Request
The International Committee - Phil Hamilton - is reopening the survey. Please complete as much as possible and do not worry about what you are not able to answer. All information collected should help out those of us who are trying to create a better globalization environment on our campuses. If you have already completed the survey then you do not need to complete the survey again
The 21st Century is bringing many changes, including globalization of markets, economies, and even higher education. Members of NACTA will be better prepared to embrace the advantages of globalizing their own institutions by sharing with their colleagues across the country the types of international involvement that is occurring on other campuses.
NACTA’s International Committee is asking that you complete the survey on how your institution is currently globalized. By comparing our programs with peer institutions across the country, proven ideas can be replicated and collaborations occur as we discover new globalization possibilities. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and can be accessed at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=A5AMZmaBweFZNP8nbFPmFg_3d_3d
Opportunities to Submit to the NACTA Journal
You can help make the NACTA Journal better by taking advantage of the many opportunities to submit. The NACTA on Campus section is always looking to recognize members of NACTA or the institutions of NACTA that have achieved something notable. Submit these items directly to the Editor.
Teaching Tips/Notes are welcome. These are short articles of 500 to 1500 words that provide some insight into teaching help to others. These are not reviewed and the turnaround can be rather quick. Teaching Tips/Notes are submitted through the FastTrack system (http://expressacademic.org/~nacta/login.php) with a note indicating “Teaching Tip/Note.”
For many years now book reviews have been an important feature of the Journal. We try to publish six reviews in each issue. Books to review can be obtained through Greg Pillar (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) - (or sometimes the Editor - see below). Also, if you are aware of or are using a new book that you would like to review you can submit a review of it. Guidelines for reviews can be obtained from the Editor. Book reviews are also submitted through the FastTrack system (http://expressacademic.org/~nacta/login.php) with a note indicating “Book Review.”
Books Available to Review
Currently, the NACTA Journal Editor has the following books available for review:
- William H. Miner: the Man and the Myth, (2009) by Joseph C. Burke, Langdon Street Press
- Harnessing America's Wasted Talent: A New Ecology of Learning, (2010) by Peter Smith, Jossey-Bass
If you are willing to review this book send an email to
Subject Matter Experts Needed
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are needed to help formulate national certification examinations for the following: introductory animal science, introductory plant science, and geospatial technician. This is a joint project of AgrowKnowledge, a national resource center and NOCTI. SMEs evaluate examination content and compare to content standards (objectives/competencies). SMEs also help develop examination content. SMEs receive a stipend for their work. If you are interested in being an SME, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
New NACTA Website and NACTA on Facebook
The old NACTAteachers.org website is the new NACTAteachers.org website. It is completely redesigned. The new website is the new communication tool for members of NACTA and those interested in NACTA. It also links directly to electronic issues of the NACTA Journal on FastPress (http://nacta.fp.expressacademic.org/) and to our manuscript submission site (http://nacta.ft.expressacademic.org/login.php). We are certain that you will be pleased with NACTA's new look on its new website. Check it out and submit any suggestions that you might have. Forward any content that you would like on the website to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Writing for the NACTA Journal - Tips
This section of the E-newsletter will feature helpful tips on preparing a manuscript for the NACTA Journal. All of the information featured here is available in the "Instructions for NACTA Authors" which can be downloaded from the NACTA website.
Quotations. Limit quotations. Use of lengthy quotations is seldom necessary and adds excess verbiage to the manuscript. Further, copyright law does not allow use of extensive quotations without written permission from the copyright holder. If you choose to use them, you must submit to the editor, along with your manuscript, an original written document (letter, official form) from the holder of copyright granting permission for use of the passage in the manuscript. Failure to submit a “permission to use” form or letter with the manuscript may result in rejection of the manuscript for publication.
Use ellipsis to indicate you omitted words from a quotation. If the quote contains a misspelled word, acknowledge this with [sic] following the word. You have no legal right to alter misspellings in a quote. You are responsible for making sure your quote is accurate.
Your readers are professionals. Paraphrase important passages and cite their source without quoting them verbatim.
Do not use lengthy testimonials to illustrate points. Suffice it to paraphrase student reaction to a study, etc. Testimonials are not refereed and their authenticity cannot be confirmed.
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENTS
Here are the listings currently on the website:
Applications accepted now or may be closed
- College of the Ozarks / Agricultural Teaching and Assistant Dairy Farm Manager
- College of the Ozarks / Full-time Agricultural Teacher and Feed Mill Manager
February 2010
- Western Illinois University / Assistant Professor-Urban Forestry
- Kansas State University / Assistant Dean-College of Agriculture
- Texas A&M University / Assistant Professor - Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communications
March 2010
April 2010
- University of Georgia / Assistant Professor-Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication
- Tarleton State University / Department Head Position-Animal Science
Reminder: Visit the NACTA website for position announcements (www.nactateachers.org). New announcements are continuously being posted and are not always listed in the E-newsletter.
NACTA – Advancing the scholarship of teaching & learning -- Encourage a friend to join and double the membership of NACTA.
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