Business Meeting Recap
The Business teachers met at the MRVED on Thursday. The day started with a presentation from Julie Redepenning from DEED on business trends in Southwest Minnesota. After the presentation the group had an opportunity to digest some of the information from DEED and network. Lunch was great as usual. In the afternoon the group had the opportunity to meet with Gail Polejewski to talk Perkins. The day ended with a little curriculum work. Overall it was a great informational day.
Upcoming Meetings
March 13, 2015 Community Ed
March 17, 2015 Guidance Counselors
March 19, 2015 Social Workers
March 20, 2015 Title III Paraprofessionals
March 24, 2015 FACS (Willmar field trip)
March 25, 2015 Superintendents' Council
Communication Briefing
Home in vs. hone in. Home in means "to direct attention toward an objective." Hone means to "to sharpen with a hard stone." Note: If you have trouble remembering which is correct, think of a homing pigeon who is flying toward a specific place or said another way, toward an objective.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Hormel Foundation Gifted and Talented Symposium
Hormel Foundation Gifted and Talented Symposium
If you are looking for summer professional development, there is a great opportunity to learn more about Gifted and Talented programming. More information can be found on the MDE website by clicking here. There are excellent keynotes throughout the days as well as top-notch breakout presenters from around the country.
The Seventh Annual Hormel Foundation Gifted and Talented Education Symposium provides an opportunity for educators, administrators, counselors, psychologists, school board members and parents to gain a greater understanding of the unique needs of gifted and high potential learners.
A generous grant from the Hormel Foundation and collaboration between the Minnesota Department of Education and Austin Public Schools makes possible this intensive educational experience. All are welcome to register and attend the symposium. Invited speakers include many of the field’s finest regionally, nationally and internationally known presenters, focusing on foundational knowledge, creativity, curriculum strategies, social and emotional needs. Attendance is limited and early registration is encouraged.
If you are looking for summer professional development, there is a great opportunity to learn more about Gifted and Talented programming. More information can be found on the MDE website by clicking here. There are excellent keynotes throughout the days as well as top-notch breakout presenters from around the country.
The Seventh Annual Hormel Foundation Gifted and Talented Education Symposium provides an opportunity for educators, administrators, counselors, psychologists, school board members and parents to gain a greater understanding of the unique needs of gifted and high potential learners.
A generous grant from the Hormel Foundation and collaboration between the Minnesota Department of Education and Austin Public Schools makes possible this intensive educational experience. All are welcome to register and attend the symposium. Invited speakers include many of the field’s finest regionally, nationally and internationally known presenters, focusing on foundational knowledge, creativity, curriculum strategies, social and emotional needs. Attendance is limited and early registration is encouraged.
Tech Tip - Photo Hiding Apps
Photo Hiding Apps
This is not a typical tech tip that we have become accustomed to, but this information is worth sharing. This is not a post about an app you can use in the classroom, but rather informing you on helping kids stay safe in the online world. If you feel you have control over the content on your child's phone or iPod, think again! Since the emergence of SnapChat, a plethora of other camera apps has emerged. The popularity of photo hiding apps has skyrocketed. Unlike SnapChat, these photo hiding apps allow for students to either password protect their pictures, tell photos to not show up in the camera roll or native photo app, and/or disguise the app as something else. For example, one of the apps listed on this list from Mashable looks and acts like a calculator. To get this app to display the pictures it has hidden beneath it, the user needs to punch in a certain "code" on the calculator to open the "secret" folders of pictures.
What is scary: You don't know what pictures could be in those compartments. You also don't know where those pictures are being saved to. Are they saved to the actual phone, or are they saved on a server somewhere and a company has control of them?
What can you do. If your son or daughters account is linked to yours, check under the purchased apps section. You can also take their device and look under the settings, privacy, camera or photos, and see which apps have requested permission to either the photos or camera (Apple devices). I'm sure there is a way to check on Android too, but I am an Apple junkie :-) You can also have a conversation with your child about having hidden things on their phone.
This is not a typical tech tip that we have become accustomed to, but this information is worth sharing. This is not a post about an app you can use in the classroom, but rather informing you on helping kids stay safe in the online world. If you feel you have control over the content on your child's phone or iPod, think again! Since the emergence of SnapChat, a plethora of other camera apps has emerged. The popularity of photo hiding apps has skyrocketed. Unlike SnapChat, these photo hiding apps allow for students to either password protect their pictures, tell photos to not show up in the camera roll or native photo app, and/or disguise the app as something else. For example, one of the apps listed on this list from Mashable looks and acts like a calculator. To get this app to display the pictures it has hidden beneath it, the user needs to punch in a certain "code" on the calculator to open the "secret" folders of pictures.
What is scary: You don't know what pictures could be in those compartments. You also don't know where those pictures are being saved to. Are they saved to the actual phone, or are they saved on a server somewhere and a company has control of them?
What can you do. If your son or daughters account is linked to yours, check under the purchased apps section. You can also take their device and look under the settings, privacy, camera or photos, and see which apps have requested permission to either the photos or camera (Apple devices). I'm sure there is a way to check on Android too, but I am an Apple junkie :-) You can also have a conversation with your child about having hidden things on their phone.
Horizon's Report - Evolution of Online Learning
Online Learning
Last week we highlighted learning spaces. According to the Horizon's Report, both learning spaces and online learning are "fast trends". Meaning these will likely take hold in the education world in the very near future.
Online learning continues to grow and evolve at both the K-12 level as well as higher ed. As our technologies advance, our online courses will also advance. The typical online course is no longer only offered in the university, but also in high school and elementary. Other advances in learning analytics and synchronous and asynchronous communication have allowed online classes to meet the needs of a variety of learners. Examples of the online growth can be seen with the Khan Academy. One can learn almost anything in a personalized manner without the aid of a teacher. Everything is driven by learning analytics. What do you know? What don't you know? What should you learn next? Is all driven by algorithms. It's a very interesting concept to see where we have been, where we are now, and the possibilities of tomorrow in online learning.
I don't think we need to fear losing our teachers to computers, but we do need to understand and grasp the online world. How can we use it to organize our content and help our students grow and learn.
Last week we highlighted learning spaces. According to the Horizon's Report, both learning spaces and online learning are "fast trends". Meaning these will likely take hold in the education world in the very near future.Online learning continues to grow and evolve at both the K-12 level as well as higher ed. As our technologies advance, our online courses will also advance. The typical online course is no longer only offered in the university, but also in high school and elementary. Other advances in learning analytics and synchronous and asynchronous communication have allowed online classes to meet the needs of a variety of learners. Examples of the online growth can be seen with the Khan Academy. One can learn almost anything in a personalized manner without the aid of a teacher. Everything is driven by learning analytics. What do you know? What don't you know? What should you learn next? Is all driven by algorithms. It's a very interesting concept to see where we have been, where we are now, and the possibilities of tomorrow in online learning.
I don't think we need to fear losing our teachers to computers, but we do need to understand and grasp the online world. How can we use it to organize our content and help our students grow and learn.