January, 2006 Dear Students in the EDSE 192 Mainstreaming Class on the Web, Welcome to the SJSU on-line version of EDSE 192, Mainstreaming the Exceptional Student ! I hope you will find the readings, activities, video segments on CD, and interactions a useful way to learn, and I look forward to participating with you in this different way of learning. We will be using two texts for the course: Friend, M. and Bursuck, W. (2002) Including students with special needs. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Male, M. (2003). Technology for Inclusion. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. We will also be using the Allyn and Bacon Special Education Video Workshop CD and a video from PBS, entitled "Misunderstood Minds" These materials can be purchased from either Roberts Bookstore or the Spartan Bookstore or ordered on the internet. You may order "Misunderstood Minds" from www.wgbh.org. You MUST have the materials when the class starts, because the pace of the class moves very quickly. Please e-mail me as soon as you enroll! You must attend a face-to-face orientation on Tuesday, February 7, 4:00-6:00 pm in Sweeney Hall 431 in order to take the class. At the orientation, you can get acquainted with your fellow students and the instructor, ask any questions about the content or technology part of the course, and make sure you understand how the course works. In addition, you will be completing the first assignment for the course! You will post your journal entries on a "Discussion Board" and get input from your fellow students as well as your instructor, and you will submit your assignments through the web site itself via e-mail. No postage due! I would recommend that you review the course syllabus below , so you can find out about the course expectations and familiarize yourself with the course format before we begin. You will be visiting classrooms in your area and observing teachers and students in classrooms close to home. It will be important for you to identify those teachers and classrooms right away and to look through all of the assignments so that you can accomplish several class goals in one interview or visit. You will also be doing a 15 hour service learning project to increase your understanding of inclusion and to increase inclusion opportunities in a school or community. You will be presenting the results of your project during a "live" class at the end of the semester (Tuesday, May 9, 2006, 4:00 pm SH TBA). I look forward to working with you! Valerie Pitts, Office Hours: Tuesday 6:00-7:00 pm/or TBA Sweeney Hall 221 vpitts@marin.k12.ca.us