MRVED Business

Call for MELT Presentations & Session Ideas

The MRVED is once again looking for people to present at the annual MELT conference in January.  The 2014 installment of the MELT will be held at Lac Qui Parle Valley High School on January 20.  This is a great day to showcase some of the great things you are doing in your classrooms.  Presenters will be paid a small stipend for their efforts.  If you are interested in providing a session, please click on the link below and fill out the form.  Filling out the form does not guarantee or bind you to providing a session.  If you don't want to present, but have great ideas for possible sessions, please click on the correct link below to provide the MRVED with your suggestions.

If you are willing to present and provide a session click HERE

If you do not want to present, but have ideas for sessions, click HERE

TAC Meeting Update
The Teacher Advisory Council met on Tuesday, September 24 for their first meeting of the year.  The morning was spent doing a "big picture" activity and evaluating where our districts are with certain initiatives.  There was great educational conversation around each one of the initiatives.  The afternoon was spent brainstorming possible MELT sessions.  Overall it was a great day with awesome conversation!

Meet the MRVED- Pam Bruns

Pam is an office assistant for the MRVED and ALC offices.  She returned to MRVED in 2004 following a 13 year retirement to be home with her children. Pam maintains the Independent Study program records for MRVED/Montevideo Valley Area Learning Center, and the Adult Basic Education records for our region.  Pam and her husband Gary have two children Molli, a senior at Minnesota State Mankato and Derek, freshman at University of St. Thomas, St. Paul.  She enjoys time at Lake Florida with family and friends, playing a little golf and reading. Pam is an active member at Trinity Lutheran Church with Worship Team and the annual Trinity Drive-In committee.

October 16 MRVED Common Day

October 16 MRVED Common Day

There are a number of events planned for the October 16 MRVED common professional development day.  A number of schools are sharing their offerings for this day.  Please see the link below for a flyer describing all the events in detail.  Pay close attention to the contact person for registration and register soon as there are limited seats available for all sessions.



Google Drive, Calendar, and Chromebook Training held at LQPV @ 7:45-9:30
MCIS Training held at the Area Learning Center @ 8:30-3:00
Middle School Math Data Mining held at MRVED @ 8:30-2:30
Diversity Day held at Prairie's Edge Casino in Granite Falls @ 9:00-2:40

If you would like to register for any of these offerings, please see the flyer for more information.

October 16 Flyer Link

Interactive Math Websites for Primary Teachers

Are you a primary teacher looking for ways to engage your students in math?  Try this great list of interactive math sites compiled by a fellow teacher.

List of Interactive Math Websites for Primary Teachers by Mrs. K. Morris

There is also an EverySchool website from the United Kingdom that has some awesome interactive games on them.  The website is broken down by content area.  Many of the games would be a great addition to a SmartBoard library!

12 Touchstones of Good Teaching

3. Use Performance Rubrics

What it looks like: "Teachers use rubrics to guide student improvement and shift the role of the teacher away from a "giver outer" of grades to a coach who is helping them accomplish their learning goals" (Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 196)

Why it's important: Research shows that using rubrics in the classroom improves student achievement.  If a student has a clear expectation of what is expected of them, it will guide their learning.  Rubrics can also be an intrinsic motivator. (Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 196)

Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD - See more at: http://www.mcrel.org/products-and-services/products/product-listing/100_199/product-111#sthash.NJswMvKe.dpuf

Resources
RubiStar
Rubric Machine
Rubric Generator

12 Touchstones of Good Teaching Series

Touchstone 2: Ensure Students Set Personal Learning Objectives for Each Lesson

Why it is important: "By setting and achieving small goals, students develop fate control, learned optimism, and willingness to take on new challenges. Research suggests teacher effectiveness largely boils down to deliberate teaching of learning objectives" (Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 196)

What it looks like: Teachers help students create learning goals and short-term learning objectives.  Students then have a clear picture of what the end looks like and can develop a plan to meet their goals.

Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD - See more at: http://www.mcrel.org/products-and-services/products/product-listing/100_199/product-111#sthash.NJswMvKe.dpuf

MRVED Business

Week Ahead
We will have a busy week at the MRVED next week as the Teacher Advisory Council will be in on Tuesday, the Superintendents on Wednesday, and agriculture instructors will be touring K&M Manufacturing on Thursday.  Please be sure to check the MRVED calendar for all the meeting dates this upcoming school year. We look forward to working with all of you.

Meet the MRVED

Meet Mary Brown. Mary is the Administrative Assistant for the MRVED. She is originally from the Iron Range, spent several years in the Twin Cities area, and moved to Montevideo in 1992. She joined the MRVED in 1993 and has seen many changes over the years. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Northern Michigan University and in a former life worked as a probation officer (who knew???). She and her husband have a daughter, Lana, who is an athletic trainer in northern Minnesota, and a son, Matthew, who owns Prairieland Builders in Montevideo and is married with two “beautiful” daughters with a third baby on the way. Mary enjoys playing with her grandbabies, cooking, baking bread, and spending time 320 miles north at their cabin on Lake Vermilion.

October 16 Common Day

October 16 MRVED Common Day

There are a number of events planned for the October 16 MRVED common professional development day.  A number of schools are sharing their offerings for this day.  Please see the link below for a flyer describing all the events in detail.  Pay close attention to the contact person for registration and register soon as there are limited seats available for all sessions.



Google Drive, Calendar, and Chromebook Training held at LQPV @ 7:45-9:30
MCIS Training held at the Area Learning Center @ 8:30-3:00
Middle School Math Data Mining held at MRVED @ 8:30-2:30
Diversity Day held at Prairie's Edge Casino in Granite Falls @ 9:00-2:40

If you would like to register for any of these offerings, please see the flyer for more information.

October 16 Flyer Link

Resource

MN Video Vault

The MN Video Vault is a project of Twin Cities Public Television. The Vault contains hundreds of programs from the tpt archives: classic interviews and performances from Nighttimes Variety, Newsnight Minnesota and Almanac as well as a broad cross-section of tpt documentaries. Also included are current tpt productions, as well as programs from other regional public television stations. And soon, the MN Video Vault will feature new web-only tpt productions.

All of the material in the MN Video Vault is fully searchable. Programs have been broken into segments and tagged with key information to make specific videos easy to locate. In addition, all of the material is closed-captioned and, through advanced search functions, these captions can be searched to locate any word spoken within a program. Finally, many of the video segments will be tagged to relevant Minnesota State Academic Standard benchmarks, to facilitate classroom use.

Ultimately, the MN Video Vault will provide a platform for the preservation, digitization, cataloging, tagging and presentation of video material from the archives of regional museums, educational institutions, historical societies and other institutions.

Make You Think

All your apps should fit on one screen!

Karen came across this great article from eSchool News about using the iPad as a tool for the 4 C's, consumption, curation, creativity, and connection.  It is a great reminder that our tools are not always about content specific applications, but rather should be used for a broader purpose.  Once you realize the capabilities of the device, whether it be an iPad, Chromebook, Desktop, etc..., it can be seen as so much more than just a "drill and kill" device.  The article provides great examples of how an iPad can be used as a device for the 4 C's.  It's another reminder that our devices are merely just tools for education.

The Evergreen iPad: Why all your apps should fit on one screen by Tom Daccord

MRVED Business

MRVED Email Change
The MRVED has changed email addresses, please update your email address book to reflect the change.

Mary:  mbrown@mrved.net

Karen: kjacobson@mrved.net

Brandon: braymo@mrved.net

Pam: pbruns@mrved.net







ECFE Meeting Update
The Early Childhood educators gathered at the MRVED on August 8 for their annual best practice meeting.  The day started with a phone conference with the Minnesota Department of Education about the new Parent Aware 4 Star Rating program as well as the Early Childhood Scholarships available.  Next, the group split into educators, parent educators, and coordinators to network.  There was some great discussion in both groups, and all walked out with some ideas that can be used in their classroom.  Brandon spent a little time talking about technology and the group participated in an activity that really made them think.  It was an awesome time with some awesome people!


Meet the MRVED Staff

Meet Brandon Raymo. Brandon is the Assistant Director of the MRVED. Brandon joined the MRVED in the summer of 2011. Previous to coming to the MRVED, Brandon taught 7-12 grade social studies at Yellow Medicine East and was their tech integrationist. He has a strong background in educational technology, obtaining his masters in educational technology from Minnesota State Mankato in 2011. Brandon enjoys spending time with his wife Katie and 2 girls Adelyn (5) and Gretta (9 months). In his spare time he has been involved with amateur baseball for the past 12 seasons and also coaches the Montevideo Junior Varsity baseball team. If he's not on the baseball field, you can find him broadcasting sporting events around the area for KDMA/KMGM/KKRC.

The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching Series

For the next 12 weeks, we will share a "touchstone of good teaching" as defined by Bryan Goodwin and Elizabeth Ross Hubbell in their book The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching.  In their book Goodwin and Hubbell present 12 daily touchstones—simple and specific things any teacher can do every day—to keep classroom practice focused on the hallmarks of effective instruction and in line with three essential imperatives for teaching:

• Be demanding
• Be supportive
• Be intentional

Touchstone 1: Use Standards to Guide Every Learning Opportunity

Why is it important: "Aligning lessons and units to standards ensures students are challenged and no gaps or redundancies exist in their learning experiences" (Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 196)

What it looks like: Teachers unpack and align the standards so they know what the big ideas are and guide lesson planning.  "They view standards not as a one-size-fits-all approach but as a platform for creative lesson planning and self-directed student learning." (Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 196)

Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD - See more at: http://www.mcrel.org/products-and-services/products/product-listing/100_199/product-111#sthash.NJswMvKe.dpuf

Resource

New Teacher Survival Guides
Are you a new teacher looking for any help you can get.  Scholastic has put together some awesome survival guides for first year teachers.  The survival guides are not only good for new teachers, but any teacher.  They are jam packed with great ideas from first week activities to time management advice.  Check out the August and September guides today!

• August Survival Guide
• September Survival Guide

Tech Tip of the Week

Augmented Reality Resources
The 2013 Horizon Project lists Augmented Reality as one of the new and upcoming technologies that will impact education in the next 3-5 years.  With the emergence of tablets and smartphones into the classroom, augmented reality can become a reality in your classroom.  If you have a tablet or smartphone, you have to check these out!  Most will work on both Android and iOS platforms.

• Aurasma
• AR Flashcards
• AR Player
• ColAR App

MRVED Business

Welcome back to a brand new school year!  We hope your summer was a time of relaxation and rejuvenation. It has been another busy summer at the MRVED.  Here is a recap of all the exciting things that went on this summer at the MRVED

• Summer professional development courses
• Internet Safety
• Chippewa County Family Services
• Language Development
• Web Tools
• Google Docs
• Social Networking
• Drug and Gang Trends
• Summer school at the ALC
• Karen and Brandon attended the National Learning Forward Conference in July
• MRVED was approved as an online learning provider and will be delivering 10 courses throughout this school year
• Chromebook and Web Tools training for a handful of Dawson/Boyd staff
• Hired a new Adult Basic Education coordinator, Katie Raymo

All summer professional development trainings were very well received and lots of learning occurred in the conference room of the MRVED.  If you missed a training and are curious as to what was handed out or taught, don't hesitate to contact Brandon.

We look forward to seeing all of you over the next school year and are excited to help you and your schools meet your goals.  As always, if you need anything, please let us know.  The candy dish is always full!


MRVED Email Change
The MRVED has changed email addresses, please update your email address book to reflect the change.

Mary:  mbrown@mrved.net

Karen: kjacobson@mrved.net

Brandon: braymo@mrved.net

Pam: pbruns@mrved.net








Best Practice Meeting Date Changes
There have been a couple meeting date changes since the list of dates was sent out last Spring.

Music Best Practice Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 9, NOT Friday, September 27.  This is to accommodate the band instructors who have pep rally's and football games on Friday night.

Business Best Practice Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 23 to accommodate Jean Kyle, MDE Specialist who could not make it on the previous meeting date.

Fall Conference Opportunities

Jim Knight- High Impact Instruction

Date: September 26, 2013
Topic: High Impact Instruction

Learning Forward Minnesota's Fall Forum will be with Jim Knight on September 26, 2013 at the TIES building in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. You can register by going to the Learning Forward Minnesota Website.

Jim Knight is a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and the president of the Instructional Coaching Group. He has spent more than a decade studying instructional coaching and has written several books on the topic including Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction published by Corwin Press & NSDC (2007). Knight co-authored Coaching Classroom Management. He also edited Coaching: Approaches and Perspectives and his newest book, Unmistakable Impact: A Partnership Approach to Dramatically Improving Instruction is due for release in mid-November.

Minnesota ASCD Teacher Leader Institute

Date: October 2-4, 2013Location: Maddens Resort, Brainerd, MN
Topic: Motivating Reluctant and Resistant Learners

Information Link

Robyn Jackson will be the keynote presenter for these three great days of learning.

In this HIGHLY INTERACTIVE workshop, teacher leaders will learn how to:

• Motivate reluctant and resistant learners.
• Create a classroom environment worth investing in.
• Motivate 21st century learners.
• Identify what students’ currencies are and how to leverage those currencies in the classroom.
• Navigate the divide between your agenda and your students’ agenda and find a way to meet both in the classroom.
• Analyze your own practice and think through site-specific applications you can take back to your school.
• Develop an overall plan for motivating reluctant and resistant learners in your entire school.

Tech Tip of the Week

Feedly
Now that Google Reader is dead, do you need something to help you keep track of all the education blogs you follow? Try Feedly. Feedly is a news aggregator application for various web browsers and mobile devices running iOS and Android, also available as a cloud-based service. It compiles news feeds from a variety of online sources for the user to customize and share with others (Wikipedia).

New Look

We hope you will like the new look of the MRVED Update for 2013-2014.  It was time for a change in the way it looked, so we decided to try a blog format.  Any feedback would be appreciated on the new look.  What do you like?  What would you like to see?