This week's Hotline! includes the following articles:

• Owen to speak on gifted and talented education at museum on Thursday
• VCSU DECA’s Orthman qualifies for international competition
• Olson plays part in webinar re CAEP standards
• VanHorn article published
• Special Olympics College Club celebrates first year
• Viking sports update
• What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City…

The VCSU Hotline! online newsletter is published every Monday. Deadline to submit articles (photos encouraged) is 3 p.m. the Friday before publication.

Owen to speak on gifted and talented education at museum on Thursday

Jackie Owen, M.Ed., M.S., VCSU learning services coordinator, will present “Gifted and Talented Education: Why We Need It” on Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Barnes County Museum.

Owen will discuss the characteristics and needs of gifted and talented students, and why gifted education should be a part of school systems. The presentation will be geared towards parents, educators, administrators, and pre-service teachers.

Part of season 20 of the Barnes County Historical Society Lecture Series, the event is open to the public free of charge.

Scamming presentation to be held at museum Feb. 26

CJ Kotta, VCSU director of network services, will speak on “Phishing and Other Scams!” on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Barnes County Museum.

Kotta will present information on the various electronic methods criminals use in attempts to steal people’s personal information and money, including phishing methods, email scams and caller ID spoofing.

Sergeant Nick Horner of the Valley City Police Department (VCPD) will also present, sharing some of what the VCPD is seeing in the scamming arena.

Emily Fenster, Ph.D., VCSU associate professor of social science, will moderate the event.

Hosted by the community group “What in the World Is Going On?,” the event is open to the public free of charge.

VCSU DECA’s Orthman qualifies for international competition

Denise Orthman, VCSU student and DECA chapter member, qualified for the International Career and Development Conference and Competition at the North Dakota state competition, held at the Holiday Inn in Fargo Feb. 10-11.

Orthman qualified in the Restaurant and Food Service Management event through a written hospitality and marketing test along with a case-study role play. The case-study role play is a business problem or opportunity in which the student is put in the role of management and given 30 minutes to read the study and then present the case to a judge who plays the role of customer, upper-level management, or business owner/CEO.

She also received one of the state awards for Outstanding Member for her dedication to DECA, service to the university and community, and representation of DECA core values.

The International Career and Development Conference and Competition (ICDC) will be held in Orlando, Fla., April 12-17. Orthman will represent VCSU and North Dakota in the Restaurant and Food Service Management event there, along with participating in career development opportunities.

Amber Aberle, Ed.D, VCSU DECA advisor, will accompany Orthman at ICDC, as she did at the Fargo competition.

Olson plays part in webinar re CAEP standards

Al Olson, Ph.D., professor of education, was one of the presenters in a Feb. 13 webinar, “Examining the Reliability and Validity of Teacher Candidate Evaluation Instruments,” hosted by the Regional Educational Laboratory Program (REL) Central.

The webinar examined the CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation) standards, which require that educator preparation programs use evaluation instruments with evidence of reliability and validity.

Olson, along with Stacy Duffield (North Dakota State University) and Sarah Anderson (Mayville State University), shared the steps that members of the North Dakota Common Metrics Project took to develop and assess the reliability and validity of the Student Teacher Observation Tool (STOT), an instrument developed to measure teacher candidates’ performance.

Other presenters included Gary Railsback, CAEP vice president, and R. Marc Brodersen and Stephen Meyer, both REL Central senior researchers.

VanHorn article published

“Creating a Digital Community of Civility,” an article by Shannon VanHorn, Ph.D., professor in the School of Education and Graduate Studies, has been published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Speech, Communication, and Theatre Association of North Dakota.

VanHorn's article explores civility in online classrooms. Using three years of email and private messages from an institution on the East Coast, she conducted a content analysis based on 12 behaviors described by Galbraith and Jones (2009, 2010). The article provides examples of the categories found in the messages and email along with ideas for further study in this area.

The article has been forwarded by journal editor Christina Paxman (Minot State University) as the top article in the journal to the Central States Communication Association (CSCA). The journal itself was named the top journal by CSCA.

The journal issue including VanHorn’s article can be found online at https://bit.ly/2GzixkB.

Special Olympics College Club celebrates first year

Special Olympics College Club at VCSU recently celebrated their one-year anniversary. The club functions as an official club on campus by connecting college students and individuals with intellectual disabilities through sport to build friendships and help lead the social justice movement of Special Olympics.

VCSU, is one of five Special Olympics College Club chapters in the state. The current president is student, Trista Crimmins, and faculty advisors are Heather Anderson and Kathleen Bennett Zaun.

Viking sports update

Men’s Basketball
Wednesday: Dakota Wesleyan 93, VCSU 77
Saturday: VCSU 95, Mayville State 87 (OT)
The VCSU men’s basketball team ends the regular season with a 9-18 overall record and a 5-9 record in the conference. The Vikings are the No. 5 seed for the postseason and travel to No. 4 Dickinson State on Wednesday for a first round game at 8 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT.

Women’s Basketball
Wednesday: Dakota Wesleyan 80, VCSU 65
Saturday: Mayville State 72, VCSU 70
The Viking women’s basketball team ends the regular season with a 13-13 overall record and a 10-4 mark in conference play. VCSU is the No. 3 seed for the NSAA Postseason Tournament and will host a first round playoff game. The Vikings host No. 6 seed Dickinson State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to open the postseason.

Indoor Track & Field
Valley City State University athletes concluded the indoor track and field season by winning six conference titles Saturday at the NSAA Indoor Championships. The Vikings had a total of 17 All-Conference performances (Top 3 finishes). Conference champions for VCSU included Menkeh Mendin (600 meters), Dylan Olson (mile run), Garret Roemmich (weight throw), Allyssa Weitkum (mile run), Grace Miller (5,000 meters) and the men’s 4x800 relay team of Orin Rambow, Spencer Mattheis, Harley Knodel and Daniel Machado. Read more at http://www.vcsuvikings.com/article/3296.

Softball
Friday: VCSU 2, Dakota Wesleyan 1; VCSU 8, Dordt College 0
Saturday: VCSU 8, Mount Marty 0; VCSU 7, Northern State 0
The Viking softball team outscored its opponents 25-1 this weekend as VCSU picked up four more wins at the Presentation College Dome Tournament. VCSU is now 8-0 to start the season.

Upcoming Events
Feb. 19: WBB vs. Dickinson State, 7 p.m.
Feb. 20: MBB @ Dickinson State, 8 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT
Feb. 23-24: Softball @ Minot State Dome Tournament
Feb. 23-24: WBB/MBB @ NSAA Tournament Final Four (Watertown, S.D.)

What's happening at VCSU and around Valley City ...

Tuesday, February 19
Random Acts of Kindness Week
11 a.m. General student recital #1, Froemke
12:05 p.m. Rotary, Student Center Student Senate Room

Wednesday, February 20
10 a.m.–2 p.m. Engineering, Design, Science, and Technology Expo, Fargodome, Fargo, N.D.
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Knitting Day, Allen Memorial Library
noon Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club

Thursday, February 21
7 a.m. Optimists, Vicky’s Viking Room
noon Toastmasters, Student Center Norway Room
noon Lunch and Learn with presenter Mobility Plus, Rosebud Visitor Center
8:30–10:30 p.m. Vikings for Christ, Student Center Skoal Room

Friday, February 22
7:30 p.m. Choral concert, Vangstad Auditorium

Saturday, February 23
Viking softball @ Minot State Dome Tournament, Minot, N.D.
NDFMC Festival, Froemke Auditorium

Sunday, February 24
Viking softball @ Minot State Dome Tournament, Minot, N.D.

Monday, February 25

Tuesday, February 26
12:05 p.m. Rotary, Student Center Student Senate Room

Wednesday, February 27
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Knitting Day, Allen Memorial Library
noon Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club

Thursday, February 28
Pay Day
Viking women’s and men’s indoor track and field, NAIA Indoor National Championships, Brookings, S.D.
7 a.m. Optimists, Vicky’s Viking Room
noon Toastmasters, Student Center Norway Room
8:30–10:30 p.m. Vikings for Christ, Student Center Skoal Room

Friday, March 1
Read Across America Day
Viking women’s and men’s indoor track and field, NAIA Indoor National Championships, Brookings, S.D.
7:30 p.m. Instrumental concert, Vangstad Auditorium

Saturday, March 2
Viking women’s and men’s indoor track and field, NAIA Indoor National Championships, Brookings, S.D.
noon Viking baseball @ Mount Marty College, Yankton, S.D. (double-header)

Sunday, March 3
10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Sodexo Sunday Brunch, Student Center Cafeteria
1 p.m. Viking baseball @ Mount Marty College, Yankton, S.D. (double-header)

Go to www.valleycitynd.org/calendar.php to see more events happening in and around Valley City.