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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2007)
New College Navigator Now Online Since its creation in 2001, the De partment of Education College Oppor tunities Online (COOL) Web site has helped hundreds of thousands of stu dents and families learn about colleges and universities. Now, COOL's succes sor, called College Navigator and lo cated at http://collegenavigator.ed.gov, offers consumers even more informa tion in an easy-to-use format. College Navigator is a free consumer information tool designed to help stu dents, parents, high school counselors and others get information about nearly 7,000 post-secondary institutions in the United States. It offers a wide range of information previously found on COOL - such as programs offered, re tention and graduation rates, prices, aid available, degrees awarded, cam pus safety and accreditation. College Navigator, however, offers users valuable new information about colleges and universities, and it does so in a way that is vastly more user- friendly. Users can now: • Search by programs offered, de grees offered, institution type, price, selectivity, distance from home, school size, institutional mis sion (historically black colleges and universities, single-sex), extended • • • • • learning opportunities for adults (weekend and evening degree pro grams) and intercollegiate athletics programs offered Modify or change their search from anywhere within the Web site Use a simple and intuitive way of selecting keywords to search among programs at a general level (com munications, journalism, and related programs), drill down through a menu to a moderate level of detail, and identify highly specific courses of study (health communication) Make comparisons of up to four institutions in one view and main tain a list of favorite institutions from different searches Save their sessions and receive an e-mail with a link taking them back to where they left off Export search results to easily used formats, such as Excel The College Navigator was devel oped by the National Center for Edu cation Statistics (NCES) within the In stitute of Education Sciences. NCES plans continuing improvements in the content and function of the site, and there are plans for a Spanish version in com ing months. Visit College Navigator at http:// collegenavigator.ed.gov. NMAI Internship - Spring Program Nov. 20 is the deadline for the NMAI Internship - Spring Program, a learning opportunity for undergradu ate or graduate students in museum practice, program development, guided work and research using Smithsonian/NMAI resources. 3.0 GPA required. For more information, contact Intern Coordinator at 301-238-1541 or NMAI interns@si.edu; www.nmai.si.edu. Library of Congress Will Sponsor National Reading and Writing Contest State and National Winners Will Be Selected National Winners Will Earn a $10,000 Reading Promotion Grant for Their Library Have you ever read a book that changed your life? Has some author's words touched you in such a personal way, altering how you view your world or yourself? If so, the Library of Con gress wants to hear all about it! Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion pro gram for readers in grades 4 through 12, sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partner ship with Target. To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author explain ing how his or her work changed their view of the world or themselves. To obtain the guidelines and re quired entry form, ask your teacher or librarian, or download it from the Let ters About Literature Web site at www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/ aboutlit.shtml. The deadline for entries is Dec. 14, 2007. Judges representing the Oregon Center for the Book will select one win ner, one runner-up, and honorable men tions at each competition level - Level 1 for readers in grades 4 through 6, Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III for grades 9 through 12. Entries in each state will be as sessed on three criteria: content, use of language skills (exposition), and style and originality of expression (voice). The three Oregon winners will re ceive a $50 Target GiftCard and $100 in cash. They then will advance to the national competition. A panel of judges for the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will then select six national winners (two per competition level) and 12 national run ners-up (four per competition level). State’s Problem Gambling Program Introduces Electronic Messaging For growing numbers of people, picking up the telephone is so yesterday. Responding to that fact, the state of Oregon’s Problem Gambling Services program has introduced e-mail, instant messaging and live chat to its popular telephone helpline. “We see this as a way to reach people who aren't comfortable seeking help by phone and we expect it to be espe cially popular with younger, Internet savvy people who don’t often come into treatment for gambling issues,” said Bob Nikkei, Oregon Department of Human Services assistant director for addictions and mental health. "This is an excellent addition to a problem gambling program already recognized as among the nation’s best.” Oregon is one of a handful of ju risdictions worldwide that can invite people to communicate electronically with treatment counselors, Nikkei said. Like people who call the toll-free phone line, those who contact the pro gram electronically will communicate with qualified counselors trained in helping people with gambling addictions. People can send e-mail and instant mes sages or call the helpline at any time or, for live chat with a counselor, can call weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. As with calling the helpline, using electronic communication is confiden tial. Encrypted software protects personal information that is shared electronically. To connect, people can go to the Web site www.l877mylimit.org. From there, they can send an e-mail message or click on an icon to initiate live chat. People also can send an instant message using AOL, ICQ, Google, MSN or Ya hoo services. Services are available in both En glish and Spanish. Nikkei said the program expects inquiries such as what level of gam bling constitutes a problem, where and when local Gamblers Anonymous meetings are held, what happens in treatment, and how and where to enroll. The state's problem-gambling pro gram, operated by DHS as part of its addiction prevention and treatment ser vices, is paid for by 1 percent of Oregon Lottery revenues. Problem-gambling treatment is free, confidential and has been shown to be effective. For traditionalists who sti.II prefer to use the 24-hour telephone helpline, the toll-free phone number is 1-877- 695-4648 (MY LIMIT). More than 4,000 people call the helpline annually. Each national winner will receive a $5(X) Target GiftCard. In addition, they will win a Reading Promotion Grant of $1 (),()()() for their school or community library. National winners will be instru mental in deciding how the library funds will be spent. The 12 national runners-up will win a $100 Target GiftCard, plus they will win a Reading Promotion Grant of $1,000 for their school or community library. The Oregon Center for the Book. Oregon Reading Association. Oregon Association of School Librarians and the Oregon Library Association's Children's Services Division and Young Adult Network cosponsor Let ters About Literature at the state level. These organizations strive to pro vide experiences that encourage youth to develop lifelong reading habits. Through their support, more Oregon students know about and participate in Letters About Literature, and these groups provide the winners, runners-up. honorable mentions and semi-finalists with recognition for their reading and writing achievements. Target sponsors Letters About Lit erature as part of its commitment to sup porting education and early childhood reading. Target recognizes the integral role reading plays in shaping a child's future because reading is the founda tion for lifelong learning and success. Since opening its doors, Target has given 5 percent of its income to orga nizations that support education, the arts and safe families and communities. Today that translates to $3 million every week. The Center for the Book was es tablished in 1977 as a public-private partnership to use the resources of the Library of Congress to stimulate pub lic interest in books and reading. For information about its activities and na tional reading promotion networks, visit www.loc.gov/cfbook. OSAC Scholarships OS AC is again offering the “Early Bird Scholarship.” Applicants who sub mit their completed applications by Feb. 15, 2008, are entered into drawings for multiple $5(X) awards. These awards are grouped by a variety of college popu lations and GPA ranges to ensure all students have a chance at being selected. OSAC partners with numerous pri vate donors, foundations and banks to ad minister more than 370 private schol arship programs for Oregon students. It also manages the Oregon Opportu nity Grant and other financial aid pro grams for specific student populations. For more information, OSAC can be reached at 1-800-452-8807, ext. 7395, or www.GetCollegeFunds.org. November 2007 • Siletz News • 17
