MRVED Business

Upcoming Meetings
November 20, 2015  Principals' Council (11:30 a.m. start)
November 25, 2015  Superintendents' Council

December 1, 2015  Industrial Technology
December 3, 2015  English Language Arts
December 4, 2015  Title III Teachers
December 7, 2015  District Assessment Coordinators (DAC)
December 8, 2015  World Languages
December 11, 2015  Social Studies

MELT Networking Facilitators - Last Chance

The MRVED is looking for facilitators of networking groups.  As a facilitator you are not expected to be the expert in the room, but rather move the discussion along.  The goal of a networking group is to share resources and ideas with people who have the same interest.  They are meant to include a give & take. Bring something to share and take something away that someone else shared.  The only networking groups that will be offered are those that have a willing facilitator.  If a networking group does not have a facilitator, it will not be held.  If you would like to sign up, please click the link below and add your name to the list next to the group you would like to facilitate.  The networking sign up will close at 3:00p.m. on Friday November 20.  If you have any questions or cannot access the form, please contact Brandon (braymo@mrved.net).


MELT NETWORKING FACILITATOR SIGN UP LINK



Best Practice Meeting Updates
Title I
The Title I teachers came to the MRVED on November 3rd.  The Title I teachers get a treat every year as Brandon and Karen both run the meeting.  In the morning the group spent some time with Karen discussing Mindset.  The conversations were awesome!  After Mindset, the group read and discussed an article on learning styles.  Lunch was amazing as usual.  In the afternoon the group networked and shared a wealth of resources.   Brandon then talked about how to search Google effectively and efficiently and the day was over.  A very productive day for all.

Phy Ed & Health
The Phy Ed and Health teachers gathered at the MRVED in early November for their annual best practice meeting.  The morning was centered around a great conversation on grading practices in the classroom.  It has been really neat to see how each content area approaches this topic.  The activity has expanded the thinking of many.  Then the group aligned their curriculum with the standards using a Google Doc.  In the afternoon, the group networked and finished the day with aligning the health standards.  It was a very productive day with some great conversation.

FACS
The MRVED meeting with the FACS teachers was combined with the Southwest West Central Service Cooperatives meeting this year.  The two meetings were scheduled so close together that it was in the best interest of the teachers to combine.  The teachers had the opportunity to hear from their state specialist as well as an introduction to the Frameworks for FACS Education.  In the afternoon we heard from Neal, who works at the U of M as a researcher in the field of food defense.  Yes, food defense!  Basically defending our food supply from any terrorist attacks, both foreign and domestic.  It was another awesome day with a great group of ladies!

Agriculture
Brandon and the Ag teachers ventured to Hutchinson on a beautiful Friday afternoon.  The morning was spent on the Ridgewater campus, touring and meeting with faculty in the manufacturing department.  In the afternoon, we toured MITGI on the Hutchinson Technology Campus.  After a short meeting with the President of MITGI as well as the HR and Safety Director, we had the opportunity to tour the building.  MITGI is a precision carbide cutting tool manufacturer.  Not only was the process amazing to watch, but the atmosphere at MITGI and the way the business is ran is awesome.  Overall it was a great day of learning about what higher ed is looking for as well as employers in the industry.

SAMR Series part 5 of 6

Climbing the Ladder
Over the past 2 months, we have looked at the SAMR model of integrating technology into your classroom. We started talking about Substitution and then worked our way through the ladder to Augmentation, then Modification, and finally ended with Redefinition.  It's great to learn about these steps to the SAMR ladder, but how do we effectively move up the ladder?

1. Examine you tasks
As the SAMR model is task-oriented, it only seems logical that in order to climb the ladder, we need to examine the tasks we are having our students do in the classroom.  If you can answer Dufour's first question of, "What do I want my students to know and be able to do?"  Then you are well on your way to climbing the SAMR ladder.  By answering that first question, look at the verbs in your answer.  This will guide you to any tasks you will have your students do.  Be sure to achieve the level at which the standard is asking you to go to.  For example, if I want my students to "recall" information versus "create" something, my task will look totally different.

2. Examine the Apps and Websites
This is where many teachers fall into the traps and struggle to get out of the Substitution level.  The reason they struggle is because they are using content specific apps or websites.  In essence all these sites and apps are, are digital worksheets.  It becomes very difficult to climb "above the line" into transformational practice if we are doing the same thing we were doing before, but only with technology.  There is nothing transformational about having a student sit on an iPad and do flash cards versus taking a stack of note cards and doing flash cards.  Use the Apple slogan "Think Differently"!

3. Always, Always Start with your Learning Objective
This will be discussed a little deeper next time, but not matter what you do in your classroom, always keep that learning target (objective, outcome, etc...) in the forefront.  Don't be blinded by cute activities or flashy technology.  We are in the business of school.  We are here to teach kids.  We teach kids content (and then some).  We can easily become blinded by the newest greatest piece of technology, but if it doesn't fit our learning objectives, we are wasting time.

Resources to Teach About Thanksgiving

Here are a couple great resources to help you teach about Thanksgiving in your classroom.

• Scholastic - First Thanksgiving
• Library of Congress
• Pinterest - Thanksgiving Math Ideas
• Thanksgiving Lesson Plans

Free Science Professional Development

KnowAtom
KnowAtom has tons of great resources for Science teachers.  They have everything from Evaluating your Science Curriculum for the Next Gen Standards to Understanding your Team Teaching Culture.  They also offer a variety of free webinars related to Science.  Check out this great resource today.

Also, don't forget about the Minnesota Math and Science Frameworks!

Tech Tip - Symbaloo

SymbalooEDU
SymbalooEDU is the visual resource management tool that helps educators and students organize and share the best of the web. Users save their resources in the cloud and access them from anywhere with any device. But it doesn’t stop there! With features like embedded content, group tiles and sequenced tiles, educators around the world are creating lesson plans, research assignments and personalize learning in many different ways. SymbalooEDU is used in schools to support:

• 1:1 Classroom
• Blended Learning
• Flipped Classroom
• BYOD

Symbaloo is a great way to organize the resources for your classroom.  You can make a general page or use it for different content areas or units.  Direct your students to it to help them navigate through the world wide web.  You have to check it out today!  It's Free!

The Growth Mindset is the Only Way to Learn

Mindset Article
I stumbled across this article from Edudemic about a Growth vs Fixed Mindset and thought it worthy to share.  It does a nice job of breaking down each Mindset and then providing an argument as to why the Growth Mindset is the only way to learn.  If you have not read the book Mindset by Carol Dweck, I highly suggest it.

Edudemic Mindset Article
Mindset Works

MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings:
November 10, 2015  Counselors
November 11, 2015  Community Ed
November 12, 2015  FACS (meet in Marshall with Gail Polejewski)
November 13, 2015  Ag (Hutchinson tour)
November 20, 2015  Principals' Council (11:30 a.m. start time)
November 25, 2015  Superintendents' Council


MELT Update
The Call for Proposals has closed.  If you submitted a proposal, but did not receive an email either confirming or rejecting your proposal, please let Brandon know (braymo@mrved.net).  If you have any ideas for MELT, the planning stages are winding down.  Contact Brandon and let him know of your idea.  MELT registration information will be coming out the 2nd week of December.

Also, the MELT Networking Group facilitator sign-up is located in this update.  If you feel the need for your group to network, please sign-up as a facilitator or urge someone to.  If your group does not have a facilitator, your group will not network.  You can network as a content area, grade level, or even around a topic.

Best Practice Meeting Updates
Art Meeting
The Art teachers embarked on a special day on October 22.  The teachers had the opportunity to meet with local artists throughout the day.  The first stop was to AtoZ Letterpress in downtown Montevideo.  After hearing about the letterpress process, the group ventured to Milan to visit Celeste Suter's Fiber Arts studio.  Then the group spent the rest of the morning at Tokheim Stoneware learning new tricks and watching a true artist create clay pots.  Over lunch, the group made their way to Granite Falls to meet with David Hall and talk more letterpress and see different ways to do that process.  The last stop was to the Peterson's to see scrimshaw art.  The day was nicknamed the "MiniMeander".

Math Meeting
The Math teachers gathered at the MRVED on October 27.  The morning was spent in conversation and thought about grading practices.  After a great conversation, the group then split into district teams and tackled the process of vertically and horizontally aligning to the the math standards.  After a catered meal, the group then split into grade alike groups and networked and the day ended with Brandon talking about integration of technology.  Overall it was a great day.

Business Meeting
The Business teachers met at the MRVED on October 29 with Karen.  Much like the math group they had the opportunity to talk about grading practices within the business classroom.  Karen then took the group through a formative assessment activity and discussion.  Gail Polejewski met with the group over lunch and discussed Perkins updates.  The group networked in the afternoon and shared ideas.

Minnesota Earth Science Conference and Website

Minnesota Earth Science

For those of you that teach any Earth Science, here is a great opportunity for you.  The Minnesota Earth Science Teachers Association is holding it's annual conference on February 5 in Plymouth, MN.  Check out the resource below for more information.

Minnesota Earth Science Teachers Association

Tech Tip - Thanksgiving Resource

Thanksgiving Resource
As a former history teacher, I love finding resources that pertain to historical events.  I have used many Scholastic web resources with my students.  Scholastic always has great teacher resources, and this is no exception.  Scholastic's First Thanksgiving is appropriate for PreK-8th grade.  There are tons of activities, teacher guides, and virtual field trips.  The activities and resources available on this site are amazing.  Your kids will love it!  As you plan for Thanksgiving in your classroom, this is a great opportunity to also do a web scavenger hunt, or let your students explore this great site.

Grading Practices Books

Grading Practices Books
One of our focuses this year in the best practice meetings has been on grading practices.  The groups spend time discussing and reflecting on their own grading practices.  Each group has had stellar conversation over this topic, and many people have walked away from the MRVED with a different view on grading.  With that being said, here are some book suggestions to support your learning on grading practices.

Guskey, Thomas R. On Your Mark, Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2015. Print.

Guskey, Thomas R., and Jane M. Bailey. Developing Standards-Based Report Cards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2010. Print.

O'Connor, Ken. A Repair Kit for Grading, 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2011. Print.

Reeves, Douglas. Elements of Grading, A Guide to Effective Practice. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2011. Print.

    

   

MELT Networking Facilitator Sign Up

MELT Networking Facilitator Sign Up

The MRVED is looking for facilitators of networking groups.  As a facilitator you are not expected to be the expert in the room, but rather move the discussion along.  The goal of a networking group is to share resources and ideas with people who have the same interest.  They are meant to include a give & take.  Bring something to share and take something away that someone else shared.  The only networking groups that will be offered are those that have a willing facilitator.  If a networking group does not have a facilitator, it will not be held.  If you would like to sign up, please click the link below and add your name to the list next to the group you would like to facilitate.  The networking sign up will close at 3:00p.m. on Friday November 20.  If you have any questions or cannot access the form, please contact Brandon (braymo@mrved.net).


MELT NETWORKING FACILITATOR SIGN UP LINK

SAMR Series Redefinition

Before we talk about the last step of the SAMR ladder, let's recap the previous three steps.

• Substitution - Technology is a direct substitute for what you are currently doing.  Example: Typing a paper versus handwriting a paper
• Augmentation - Technology acts as a substitute with functional improvement of the task.  Example: Using spell check on your word processor.
• Modification: Technology allows for significant task redesign.  Example:  Using Google Docs to collaborate with someone on a document.

The SAMR model should be used as a lens when reflecting on a lesson.  Look back and think about how you used the technology in the classroom and ask yourself, "Do I need to climb the ladder with my task?"

Redefinition

Redefinition in the SAMR model is the top wrung to the SAMR ladder.  On this step, your task is completely transformational.  If you were to take the example of writing the paper through the SAMR model, it may look like this.

S - Type a paper versus write it

A - Use the word processor and formatting features of the word processor

M - Using Google Docs to collaborate with others on the same paper

R - Create a short film about the topic from your paper

As you can see there is very little of the original task remaining.  The goal of learning about a topic is still there, but the assessment of that learning becomes different.  Also, think about how much deeper a student must understand a topic to create a short film about it.  The higher order thinking skills have increased as the task was taken up the ladder.  The opportunity for cross-curricular work has also increased.

Summary

Our next post will not be about SAMR, but about lesson planning with technology.  To summarize the SAMR model, it should be used as a tool to reflect and plan the use of technology in the classroom.  How am I using the technology?  Do I want to transform my tasks?  If so, how do I do it?