Education Division

CERTIFICATION

We are awaiting the final comments from Shannon to complete the CST Course.  There will need to be one more beta run at which time we can film the course and hopefully it will be ready to be announced that it is ready at the October Convention that it is complete and can be purchased.

Joe D. Webber, Jr.

Chairman

EDUCATION

The main and most interesting activity since the last Board Meeting in June 2007 is:

• In cooperation with the University Advisory Committee, a Survey Camp for High School teachers was held with TAMU-CC, June 10-13, 2007.  (See Joey Stanger’s report).  It was an AWESOME event for the teachers and surveyors.  This event should be held again and again and again…..

• Recruitment in high schools and below is being pursued.  We are beginning to look at educating all areas of the public about the benefits of good, old-fashioned surveying with awesome, up-to-date technology.  To that end, and through a connection arising from the above-mentioned 1^st Annual High School Teachers Surveying Retreat, TSPS is having a key hand in creating and establishing the first known High School Survey Program in Texas and probably in the USA.  Barton Burnett, Engineering instructor with Duncanville ISD and Skills USA Division 6 Director has found the necessary teaching aids and set up a program to begin AUGUST 27, 2007.  We will be asking for support from TSPS to help with this exploding initiative.  Excitement has been generated in presentations to the Dallas and Fort Worth Chapters.  On Monday July 16, Chapter 2 voted to support the invitation of the Skills USA group to the TSPS convention in Arlington.  Additionally, Chapter 2 voted to spend $500 for a sponsorship to the Skills USA Leadership Conference on October 24, 2007.  Mr. Burnett has requested a total of $7,500 to support the plan.  A detailed breakdown will be presented at the Board Meeting.  The main point to remember is that by May 2008, Duncanville ISD will have about sixteen high school students with a surveying background and possibly a LEVEL 1 CST, with or without our help.  Why, even today (July 17) at a TEA gathering Bart has found more teachers enthusiastically in support of this initiative.  Stay tuned; this could be big.

• While attending the Survey Engineering Summit at the ESRI gathering in San Diego, Ca., June 16-20, this High School Surveying initiative was mentioned during the Educators Summit Keynote Address and enlisted support from across the country, including ACSM and NSPS.

Other activities since the last Board Meeting in June 2007 include:

• The Course Development Workshop (CDW) 2007 is underway.  Chapters from Fort Worth, San Antonio and Midland have come forward to create courses along with the GIS Committee.  The first session was totally awesome, Fred Crawford and Shannan Carrozza have met with the teams and all seem to be on track.

• The 2007 Speaker Development Workshop (SDW) is schedule for August 24 and 25 in Austin.  The event will be in coordination with the CDW 2007 teams and participation will be by invitation.  If anyone has a desire to participate, please notify the Education Committee with information and we will put you on the list.

• The Common Ground joint seminar with TLTA spawned better communication between the Title industry and the Surveying industry.  The follow-up meeting was so enthusiastic; the seminar is being planned for another round on Saturday at our annual conference in Arlington.  It will be an all-day session, with lunch in the exhibit hall.

• “Locating Original Corners Seminar” in Concan, is scheduled Sept. 13-15, 2007.  Registration is currently underway.

• DFW area December seminar will be held Saturday, December 1, 2007, at the Westin DFW Airport Hotel.  Ken Gold will present.  On Saturday, December 8, 2007, Jim Gillis will present “GNSS, Geodesy and Map Projections for Texas Land Surveyors”, at the Omni Southpark Hotel in Austin, Texas. 

• The 2008 Symposium will be held at San Antonio Feb. 22 and 23.  The Alamo Chapter is planning several social events along with the educational workshops.  Stay tuned for exciting information.

• Several dates and locations for CST exams have been placed on the TSPS calendar.  CST preparation course are being developed and given whenever possible.  Our goal is to enlist more help from the chapter level about coordinating exam dates.

We are planning to continue with the structure plans outlined last quarter, along with dealing with the course and seminar work outlined above.  Anyone interested in participating on the Education Committee should contact Brenda Null or myself.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Austin on August 11.

Respectfully submitted,

Wm. M. Coleman, RPLS

TRIG*STAR

This quarter I attended the TSPS/TAMU-CC High School Educator’s Retreat on June 11 in Corpus Christi.  I gave a short presentation on the program.  I addressed the need for early administration of the exam in order to get more participation.  The program is well received and respected by the teachers.  In fact one of the attendees is the teacher of this year’s state winner. 

As of this time I have not received any information on how are state winner faired at the national exam.  Hopefully by the board meeting I can make that announcement. 

Respectively Submitted,

John F. Watson, RPLS

Trig Star Chairman

UNIVERSITY ADVISORY

The first annual high school teacher retreat was held June 10-13, 2007 on the campus of Texas A & M – Corpus Christi.  By all accounts it was a huge success.  There were 21 teachers attending, representing a large portion of the state.  The teachers were exposed to many different aspects of the surveying profession from professional surveyors, educators and surveying students. 

The teachers were given a packet of information developed by our Public Relations Committee including the brochure, poster and video.  Many thanks go out to Richard Worthey, Chris Freeman and others on the committee for making the deadline for the retreat.  The teachers were also shown the video from Garland ISD and given a copy to take back to their schools.

The teachers attended a reception on Sunday night and were addressed by Dr. Stacey Lyle and Mr. Bud Thompson.  On Monday morning presenters included Dr. Stacey Lyle, Bill Coleman, Robert Young, Shane Neally, John Watson, and Joey Stanger.  Presentations included applications of surveying problems as they relate to the TAKS test administered to high school students along with the career opportunities available in the surveying profession.  The afternoon session was headed up by Rick Smith, graduate student at Texas A & M – Corpus Christi.  He made a presentation on geocaching and its popularity around the world.  The teachers were instructed in the use of the handheld GPS unit and were off to the field to locate 10 caches on the campus.

Tuesday morning included more presentations to the teachers from Patti Williams - TJC, Rick Smith, Greg Hauger – TAMCC, Don Mulcare – NGS, Jane Crowson – TAMUCC, Randall Marshall – student – TAMUCC.  The teachers also participated in a tripod setting up competition in which winners of the first round advanced to the finals to determine a champion.

The teachers were on their own Tuesday afternoon but Tuesday evening they were taken to the Museum of Science and History for a presentation and tour from the curator of the museum.

Wednesday morning the teachers gathered for a wrap up and evaluation session.  The evaluations were generally very good and one teacher quoted: “This was simply the most worthwhile educator training experience I’ve had in 30 years as a high school math teacher”.

I want to thank the many individuals that helped make this event a huge success.  The list includes all of the presenters, sponsors, committee members, and TSPS staff.  A special thanks goes out to Dr. Lyle, his staff and students at the Blucher Institute.

Respectfully submitted,

Joey Stanger, Chairman

Copyright © 2007
All Rights Reserved, TSPS