Spring 2008

Call the 800# or use:

Technical Services Manager:

Tom Buckheister -  tomb@mossent.com

Sales Phones & Faxes:

Tracy Doherty: Marshall, MN  507-532-3888

Tom Farmer: Oelwein, IA 

(Cell Ph 319-360-1157)

 Last Updated: 05/14/08 

     Welcome to the latest Moss Enterprises, Inc. Newsletter!  We would like to make a complete new issue every few months. We will still give you some nuggets of information mixed with stories and anecdotes.

We have moved the list of demo products and special-priced products to the "Demo List" button.

We also will keep you up to date on workshops and other news as it occurs. You can also click on the Training button on our Home Page for workshops, etc.

We hope you like this new idea of how we can keep in touch.    

            We continue to support Synergistic Systems outstanding K thru 12 products for career preparation, including the new science modules and the pre-Algebra and Algebra one.  Amatrol continues to dominate industrial technology in the high school and community college markets with well-designed curriculum to match their industry standard equipment.  Their eLearning and Virtual programs have been proven to solve the distance learning void as well as save money for the strangled budgets.  We continue to have excellent success with the Z-Corp 3D printers and Scanners in schools and industry.  They have proven to be fast, accurate and the least expensive product for rapid prototyping and modeling applications.  They are also being used in medical, graphic arts, mold making and many other programs including building full color caricatures for the video gaming industry.  A new powder has been developed recently, which after printing is dipped in water to seal the part.  This has been great for schools that don’t want to have students working in the classroom with dangerous chemicals and cutting off support structures that competitive printers require. 

            A new product that needs to be mentioned is the ISM filmmaking program.  This is a great new cross curricular training program which focuses on the complete realm of filmmaking arts.  Students learn to write the scripts, use the technology for cameras and sound and build the storyboard, then produce, act and direct a film or short subject (fact or fiction) of their choosing with professionally written curriculum on-line, and teachers having the opportunity to go to Hollywood to learn this trade side by side with the actual filmmakers themselves.  What a great opportunity for learning in this growing industry. 

            Health Occupations is one of the hot topics of the year.  There is no question that we have a real shortage of healthcare providers in this country.  Everywhere you go it seems to be a crisis.  We need to have more young people acquainted with the educational needs for these careers.  We have a society that seems to have taken the easy road to success in previous years and that meant avoiding math, science and technology and emphasizing the softer skills.  Consequently, many jobs have left the country not just because of cheaper wages and governments that ignore safety and the environment, but because their educational skills are more focused on engineering, science, math and technology.  Unlike many countries in the world today, our population is growing rapidly. This is, in large part, because our health care has been successful in stretching our life span or life expectancy far beyond most other countries of the world. 

That is the good news; that we can live longer and more productive lives.  Retirement communities are growing and with that a need to care for this aging population.  Good health care and scientifically developed medicines have contributed to this longer life span, but the older we get the more we need care and assisted living programs.  We have had to battle some major killers along the way, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, influenza, polio and others.  Not to mention the safety in the work place, on the roads and the cleaning of the environment which have cut those tragic deaths considerably.  MIT just recently announced a possible cure for autism.  For these things we need to be proud, but to sustain the growth in population we need more doctors, nurses, technicians, scientists.  Since many of these occupations depend on a lot of math and science we can’t have young people dropping out of these areas at a young age.  So the bad news is that we have a crisis that is based on a lack of math related skills.  We have some programs that will point that out at an early age to young people and will also help them to develop those skills and even enjoy learning math and science. 

Biotechnology is a huge new field that is not only related to health occupations, but also the fuel and energy needs of the nation.  Here again math, science and technology are working together to make us less dependent on oil from the war-torn Middle East and other unfriendly nations that would use oil to try to hamstring our economy.  We must be careful also to continue to feed our nation and the other nations of the world that depend on us for food and fiber.  This will be a delicate balance in the near future and we must have the educational tools in place for the generations of the future. 

It is always a pleasure to work with all of our customers and we hope to be able to help you find the tools you will need for 2008 and beyond.

Thank you,

PITSCO, through its Synergistic Systems Division, has announced a new year-long program called Pre-Algebra.  The product is being tested in some really disadvantaged schools in the East and Southeast United States.  Students are required to take some teacher-directed and software-initiated programs in Phase I (33 class periods) which are used to position them in Phase II of Prescriptive and/or remediative courses (70 class periods).  These courses are taught through use of hands-on nine-day units that are both fun and full of rigorous learning.  Every four to five days they are tested to see what they retained to go on to the next learning unit or enrichment activity or be remediated.  Phase III is similar, but in a more rigorous activity (63 class periods).  No one can compare with the hands-on curriculum that Pitsco writes and how it meets standards.  The program will start shipping in June of this year.

     Moss Enterprises, Inc., has long been an advocate of changing how we teach to coincide with how students learn.  We also think there is a lot of resistance to change.  As teachers, we grow up in a system and are taught that system in college, and quite naturally, we think that is the way to teach.  Why then should we change?  There are a number of reasons.

1. The system is not keeping us competitive with the rest of the world.  We are falling behind countries like India and China, which we once considered backward or emerging nations.  Those two countries alone represent a population nearly ten times that of the U.S.A.
2. The children are adapting to today’s technology faster than we are.  If you don’t believe it, try to beat a ten-year-old at one of his/her computer games.
3. When we were growing up, there were not as many things necessary to learn.  Technology today has expanded what is necessary for students to know to compete in various careers.
4. Students need to know not only how to do something but also where they will need to have that skill, knowledge or technology ready to apply.
5. There is tremendous competition for students’ time and attention.  They have their focus too much on things that aren’t important for success in life.

Consequently, we have a big problem to solve in the classroom.  We say it’s discipline that is needed or the teacher can’t manage the class when it’s really a change in how we present and what we present.  The fact is we have new ways to teach available that could solve all of the above problems and in some cases the solutions are not as expensive as trying to cram the same old, boring textbook delivery system down their throats.  If students are bored and uninterested in what they are doing, they are bound to have problems.  If it doesn’t seem relevant to what they believe is the real world, they really don’t care.  Programs need to be interesting with videos, sound, hands-on activities and real projects that make it meaningful and even rewarding in what they are able to accomplish.  Textbooks need to be purchased for every student, but a hands-on classroom is purchased for many classes or groups of students during the day.  In addition students come together and learn to interact with other students to solve problems and help one another achieve an objective.  That’s the opposite of being chastised or suspended for looking at someone else’s paper.  We would be happy to show you how to change for the better.

Technical Skill Shortages Training Solutions

Extending the reach of real industrial skill training beyond the borders of a traditional classroom has become essential as the skilled worker shortage continues to grow. Modern industry increasingly requires a technically sophisticated worker at a time when supply falls far short of the demand. In our fast-paced society, developing new skills requires flexible, easily accessed educational material that is available whenever and wherever a student needs it.

            Amatrol’s e-Learning program meets the challenge for flexible technical training by offering superb technical content depth as well as breadth, strong interactivity for skill development, and excellent assessment and student tracking through an intuitive, easy-to-use web portal. With 24 x 7 access, Amatrol’s e-Learning program creates easy access to educational opportunities for technical skill development previously restricted to the classroom. The material is self-paced, making it ideal for individual use, traditional class settings, or a blended approach. Amatrol’s proven curriculum is problem-solving oriented and teaches technical skills in a wide range of industrially-relevant technologies.

A NEW LEVEL OF INTERACTIVITY AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT…

            Amatrol’s e-Learning program invites students and teachers alike into a highly skilled world where understanding and application integrate seamlessly. Amatrol’s interactive multimedia curriculum uses a competency-based instructional design that teaches industry standard skills. The material meets students where they are in their understanding and leads them forward. Eye-popping graphics, 3D simulation, video and complete explanations combine with strong interactivity to develop technical skills.

            Modern manufacturing involves solving complex problems. Amatrol integrates troubleshooting concepts throughout the e-Learning modules. Problem solving within each topical area starts with the basics and then gradually builds to incorporate the complexity found in real world situations. Students can practice sophisticated troubleshooting techniques with confidence that they can translate it to the workplace.

VIRTUAL TRAINERS – THE NEXT GENERATION OF           e-LEARNING

            Amatrol is bringing industrial realism to on-line learning through our new virtual trainers. Students can now get the look and feel of using real equipment via their computer. The virtual trainers replicate hands-on equipment in such great detail that students will feel like they are using the actual equipment. Students perform essentially the same industry-based tasks using the virtual equipment that they would perform using equipment hardware. With strong market pressure to gain skills quickly, virtual trainers let students develop skills at the speed of business.

LEARNER FOCUSED

            A key challenge of every learning environment is to match learning material to different learning styles. In Amatrol’s interactive multimedia, visual, auditory, and text-based learning styles reinforce each other in well organized learning segments. Repetition, active problem solving, and self-reviews all provide feedback to students to build confidence in the skills they develop.

            Each topical area starts with basic concepts and then leads the student into a layered learning process of increasing depth. Practical application of the knowledge is central to all Amatrol learning materials. Students develop knowledge and then learn how to apply that knowledge to modern industry.