From NCCAT Director of Programming Dr. Jonathan Wade - An example of gamification in Higher Education. Ivanhoe is a Wordpress blog based "game" that can be customized for multiple subject matter areas. If any of you are "game" to try, I'd love to hear about it.

Click here for the link to the blog.

Let us know if you are game for gamification with a comment below!

The Literacy Programs at NCCAT are a perfect opportunity for school teams (including administrators and counselors) to cultivate their plans for addressing reading problems at their school. Our approach is unique in that you will have time to work collaboratively with our program faculty to develop strategies to implement reading programs in your school. We also cover successful strategies for engaging parents and suggest ways to locate funds (MONEY) and reading resources for your classroom.

We wanted to pass along some links about NCCAT from North Carolina news sources ...

The Hon. Willis P. Whichard of Chapel Hill with a radio commentary about NCCAT on WCHL and teacher professional development - "For our children to get the best, their teachers must get the best." Click here to listen.

The Sylva Herald story - NCCAT to offer legal advice for teachers Click here to read.

We here at NCCAT love dogs, so this was an easy story to want to pass along from Edmodo's blog.

From Edmodo ... This is a guest post from Kate Baker, a high school English teacher at Southern Regional in Manahawkin, NJ. In honor of National Pet Day, we asked her to share how one cuddly canine has redefined “creature comfort” for her classroom and school. Click here for full story.

Thank you to all of the educators who joined us for the first round of #nccatchat. We're happy to say more chats are on the way! This Wednesday we are glad to have Elizabeth Beck Wiggs (@e_wiggy),Instructional Coach in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, moderating with the topic sharing of best practices.

Join us for #nccatchat! Click here for a Storify from the chat on how to Create and maintain a positive, productive classroom.

Every year, a significant number of teachers leave the profession because of ethical and legal issues. In some cases, the departure is due to a misunderstandin​g. In other cases, it is due to a lack of knowledge about specific standards. And sometimes, it is a result of deliberate illegal or unethical behavior on the part of a student or a teacher.

Thank you to the Durham Public school blog for highlighting Fayetteville Street Elementary’s Tomika Altman-Lewis recently received the Simon Terrell Honored Educator Scholarship through the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Congrats Tomika! Click here for the blog post.

Kudos to Joshua Gaskill on being named District Teacher of the Year and receiving the George R. Brinson Honored Educator Scholarship this morning at Pamlico County Schools.

NCCAT honored retired superintendent of Pamlico County Schools, George R. Brinson, on June 13, 2012, with the presentation of an Honored Education Scholarship in his name. At the time, Lisa Lachman, president of the Pamlico County Education Foundation, stated, "Mr. George and the word 'education' are synonymous."

We wish you a happy beginning to the school year and hope you will visit us at NCCAT this year. There are plenty of great resources available like this story from Edutopia - Click here for a list of 7 questions to ask parents to begin the new year.

Again have a great year and let us know your plans or tips for the new year with a comment below.