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