MCLA has announced that the College will offer MCLA Education Community Online

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NORTH ADAMS – As a service for area educators, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) has announced that the College will offer MCLA Education Community Online, a free portal for teachers who want to use technology in their teaching and a communication hub for all graduate education courses and special projects.

Supported by a $40,000 grant from the Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative (CITI), the project included the development of online courses and the portal, as well as free Blackboard Vista online tutorials. Blackboard Vista, a leading provider of online course management systems, is MCLA’s online learning management system.

The set of free tutorials includes “Finding Digital Images,” “Using Wikipedia in the Classroom,” “Creating WebQuests,” “Copyright Basics” and more.

“This free service is for teachers who want to learn about new technology in the classroom but may not be ready to take a full course,” said Dawn Rodrigues, project director for the CITI grant. A gateway to educational technology courses and other graduate education courses, the portal also showcases special projects, such as the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative (BWLI) and the Berkshire STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Pipeline Network. Private discussion areas are available for posting questions, answers and teaching ideas.


The MCLA Education Community Online is offered as a public service to all teachers. However, those who wish to take advantage of the free tutorials must sign up by clicking on “sign up now” at www.mcla.edu/edcom to access the courses and the discussion boards. In addition, the online community is a gateway to a set of courses in Blackboard Vista that lead to a Certificate in Instructional Technology for teachers who want to take steps to become classroom technology leaders in their districts.

Fall courses include ITEC 603: “Teaching and Learning with Technology” and ITEC 717: “Information and Media Literacy.” Both courses will be offered in a hybrid format, with some classes meeting online and others meetings on the following Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Intermodal Education Center in Pittsfield: on Sept. 13, Oct. 4, Nov. 1 and Dec. 6. To register for fall courses, contact the Registrar’s Office at 413-662-5216.

For more information and a brochure describing the Instructional Technology Certificate Program, contact Dawn Rodrigues via e-mail, at dawn.rodrigues@mcla.edu. To access the MCLA Education Community Online site, go to www.mcla.edu/edcom. Click on “sign up now” to request a login and password to access a sample Blackboard Vista course with a set of free tutorials on topics of interest to teachers.
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Companion Corner Grey Boy at No Paws Left Behind

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There's a cat No Paws Left Behind still waiting for his forever home.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. He was previously highlighted but he now has new information.

Grey Boy is 10 years old and is a gray and white domestic shorthair and was previously highlighted on Companion Corner.

The shelter's Executive Director Noelle Howland introduced us to him and his long journey to be ready for adoption.

"He's been here a couple months. He was a transfer from a rescue in Bennington. They were out of space, so we had taken him in with a few other cats. So he's been here a couple months. He came in with what we believed was a respiratory infection," she said. "So it took us a little bit to get him ready, and then he also needed a dental. So he has nice, clean teeth. He had some teeth removed, and then he has to go back in and have one more dental. So he'll be all ready to go."

It was previously thought that he has feline herpes but he was recently diagnosed with a palette fracture because of how bad his dental disease was, which is what is causing his sneezing. He can now go home with cats, a cat-savvy dog and children.

"He has had two dentals since being with us. Due to the palate fracture he will be sneezy for the rest of his life, not contagious sneezing, but that doesn’t stop him from living a perfectly happy life. He should be on wet food with chunks due to this and since he has had many teeth removed," Howland said.

Grey Boy loves to play with toys and enjoy treats. He would also love to have a window to lounge or bird-watch in.

"He is not afraid of anything. He's very curious, so I'm sure he'd love if you have windows for him to look out of. He still plays, even though he's 10 it does not stop him. So any home would be a good fit for him."

Now that he is ready to be adopted, he is excited. When you walk into the room with him he will rub up against your leg introducing himself and asking to be pet.

"Usually, I would say, when you're walking, he'll bonk into you so he might catch you off guard a little bit. He constantly is rubbing against you," Howland said. "He really, I would say he's lazy when you want him to be, and he's active when you want him to be. He'll play with toys. He's usually lounging away. And then when he comes out he'll play. He loves it. So, very friendly, easy going cat."

He is now perfectly healthy with his dentals all done and veterinary care up to date and is ready to find his forever family.

"I would say the friendliest, easiest cat you could have. He's just, he's just gonna be a little sneezy sometimes, but that doesn't stop him from doing anything," she said.

Grey Boy's adoption fee is sponsored by Rooted in Balance Counseling LLC.

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