MELT Registration Closes Today at 3:00 p.m.

MELT Registration closes today at 3:00 p.m.   If you don't see a session listed, it simply means it is at capacity and no additional registrants will be accepted.  There are still many great sessions available; so before you leave for the holiday break be sure and register.

MELT BROCHURE

MELT REGISTRATION

MRVED UPCOMING MEETINGS:

January 8, 2014  Principals' Council

January 10, 2014  Title III Paraprofessionals

January 20, 2014  MELT

January 22, 2014  Superintendents' Council

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DURING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

Karen, Brandon, & Mary

MELT Registration

MELT Registration

MELT Brochure

Registration Link

Registration for the MELT (MRVED Educators Learning Together) has begun!  Registration has been open for the past week and will close on  Friday, December 20th.  You will want to register now as sessions are filling up fast!  Once a session is closed, you will not see it when you register.  Please do not ask to get into closed sessions, as once a session is full, we will not let anyone else register.  With over 96 sessions to choose from throughout the day, there is something for everyone.  Please note that most sessions are 1 hour in length, but there are a couple that will be 2 hours and one that is 4 hours in length.  This is noted on the flyer as well as in the registration.

Lunch: The menu will be a barbecue or hot turkey sandwich on a bun, beans, chips, fruit cup, a bar, milk, and coffee. Should you decide to eat the catered meal, your home district will be collecting your lunch money.  The lunch cost is $5.00.

Special Notes (If your group is listed below, you still need to register for these sessions)

Special Education 

• MVCC Districts: There is an all day session offered by MVCC required of YME and RCW special education teachers to attend.  Attendance is not required of the other MVCC special education districts, but strongly encouraged.
• SW/WC Service Cooperative Districts (Benson, Montevideo, Ortonville): There is a 2 hour session that 4th-12th grade special education teachers are required to attend.

Elementary Music

• Elementary music teachers will be off site at Bert Raney Elementary in Granite Falls with Beth Jahn.  Jessica Leibfried from the Perpich Center will be working with the teachers in the morning.

Art/Band/Choir Teachers

• The Perpich Center will be continuing the work they began with you at your Best Practice Meeting.  Please register for the Arts in Cultural Context session offered in session 1.  In session 3, they will then break the group according to content area and that session is entitled "Implementing Arts and Cultural Context with Artful Teaching Practices."  Session 4, you will be able to network.

MRVED Business

Meeting Updates
World Languages
The World Language teachers assembled at the MRVED on Friday, December 6th for their annual best practice meeting.  The morning was spent discussing 21st century skills and how it relates to World Languages.  After a great discussion, the group reviewed and revised their local standards one last time before board approval.  Lunch at Pizza Ranch was filled with laughter, stories, and awesome discussion.  In the afternoon, the group shared some awesome resources, we did some rhythmic clapping exercises and we (excluding Brandon) even danced!  It was an awesome day, with an awesome group of people!


MELT Reminder
If you have not registered for the MELT yet, you should do so right now!  With over 500 teachers expected, sessions are filling up fast and we will close sessions when they reach capacity.

MELT Brochure

MELT Registration Link

MRVED Upcoming Meetings:

December 18, 2013  Superintendents' Council
January 8, 2014  Principals' Council
January 10, 2014  Title III Paraprofessionals
January 20, 2014  MELT (at LQPV High School)
January 22, 2014  Superintendents'  Council

Tech Tips of the Week

#TIES13
If you are on Twitter, you will want to follow the #TIES13 hashtag starting on Saturday as the conference gets underway!  Brandon will also be live tweeting the events, so follow him as well @braymo22.








Google Storybuilder
Google Storybuilder is a Google App that allows users to create a story or a dialogue and have it recorded.  It is a tool you must see to fully comprehend.  Below you will find an example.

12 Touchstones of Good Teaching

12. Help students do something with their learning

What it looks like: "Teachers use structured classroom discussions and writing assignments to help students extend their learning.  They use project-based learning and complex or heuristic problem-solving assignments to help students integrate and apply new knowledge in novel situations.  Such assignments do not replace but, rather, build on content knowledge."

Why it is important: "When students do not have opportunities to extend and apply what they have learned, their new knowledge tends to fade from memory.  The ability to solve complex problems or heuristic tasks is prized in the work world and by students, who are more engaged when given opportunities to learn through real-world application."

(Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 198)

MELT Registration

MELT Registration

MELT Brochure

Registration Link

Registration for the MELT (MRVED Educators Learning Together) has begun!  Registration will run from today until 3:00 on  Friday, December 20th.  You will want to register early as sessions fill up fast!  With over 96 sessions to choose from throughout the day, there is something for everyone.  Please note that most sessions are 1 hour in length, but there are a couple that will be 2 hours and one that is 4 hours in length.  This is notated on the flyer as well as in the registration.

Lunch: The menu will be a barbecue or hot turkey sandwich on a bun, beans, chips, fruit cup, a bar, milk, and coffee. Should you decide to eat the catered meal, your home district will be collecting your lunch money.  The lunch cost is $5.00.
Special Notes (If your group is listed below, you still need to register for these sessions)

Special Education 

• MVCC Districts: There is an all day session offered by MVCC required of YME and RCW special education teachers to attend.  Attendance is not required of the other MVCC special education districts, but strongly encouraged.
• SW/WC Service Cooperative Districts (Benson, Montevideo, Ortonville): There is a 2 hour session that 4th-12th grade special education teachers are required to attend.

Elementary Music

• Elementary music teachers will be off site at Bert Raney Elementary in Granite Falls with Beth Jahn.  Jessica Leibfried from the Perpich Center will be working with the teachers in the morning.

Art/Band/Choir Teachers

• The Perpich Center will be continuing the work they began with you at your Best Practice Meeting.  Please register for the Arts in Cultural Context session offered in session 1.  In session 3, they will then break the group according to content area and that session is entitled "Implementing Arts and Cultural Context with Artful Teaching Practices."  Session 4, you will be able to network.

MRVED Business

Meeting Updates
English Language Arts Best Practice Meeting
The English Language Arts Best Practice Meeting was held on Tuesday, December 3rd.  A large group of teachers gathered at the MRVED on a cold, wet/snowy day.  The morning started off learning what 21st century skills are and how they relate to the classroom.  After a great discussion on the 21st century skills, the group then broke into smaller groups and tackled creating a K-12 MRVED Academic Vocabulary List.  This was a great activity for teachers to do, and revealed some awesome discussion about teaching vocabulary in the classroom.  Lunch was great as usual.  The afternoon was a little more laid back and the teachers had the opportunity to share their own resources and ideas with each other.  Brandon showed some augmented reality technology at the end and the group parted ways for another year.  Again, overall a great bunch of teachers and an awesome day!


Health Best Practice Meeting
The Health best practice meeting was postponed due to the weather.  Look for a makeup date to be sent out soon.

MRVED Meetings
December 9, 2013  District Assessment Coordinators (DACs)
December 11, 2013  Principals' Council
December 12, 2013 Teachers' Advisory Council (TAC)
December 13, 2013  Title III Teachers
December 18, 2013  Superintendents' Council

Tech Tip of the Week

Emaze
Emaze is an interesting new way to create presentations.  It is a cross between creating a Prezi and a PowerPoint.  Emaze is still in beta testing, and can be buggy at times.  Overall, it is a great alternative for students who are sick of the PowerPoint or Google Presentation and Prezi might be a little too scattered for them.  Emaze gives you the Prezi look, but in an organized way.  Give it a try or have one of your students try it today!  Brandon created his TIES 2013 presentation using Emaze!

Emaze Example

12 Touchstones of Good Teaching

11. Coach students to mastery

What it looks like: "Teachers use frequent checks for understanding to know which concepts or skills students are struggling to master and reteach as needed to help students develop mastery.  They also provide students with opportunities for deliberate practice, focusing on developing the skills and knowledge they are struggling to master."

Why it is important: "Research shows one key to elite performance is having a coach pressing performers to concentrate their practice on areas where they're needed most.  Research has also found a much stronger effect for practice than homework, which suggests that homework assignments should be constructed as opportunities for deliberate practice."

(Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 198)