MRVED Business

FitnessGram Webinar
The MRVED will be assisting in hosting a FitnessGram webinar for all Phy Ed teachers on Monday, May 9th from 3:15-4:00.  The purpose of the webinar is to dig deeper into the software and ask questions of the FitnessGram presenter.  If you need a refresher or just have a few questions, participate in the webinar on May 9th.  Contact Brandon before May 1st if you would like to participate and he will send you the webinar information.

Summer Professional Development
Due to decreasing participation numbers the last few summers, the MRVED will not be offering any summer professional development opportunities.  If you are in need of a relicensure area, contact Brandon and he can provide some assistance in finding other opportunities.

MRVED Meetings
May 16, 2016  Principals' Council & TAC (11:30 a.m. combined meeting)
May 25, 2016  Superintendents'  Council

June 15, 2016  MRVED Board (7:00 p.m.)
June 22, 2016  Superintendents' Council

Better Conversations - Life-Giving

Life-Giving Conversation
The last of the six beliefs from Jim Knight's book Better Conversations will be discussed this week.

6 Beliefs to Better Conversations

1. I see others as equal partners in conversations.
2. I want to hear what others have to say.
3. I believe people should have a lot of autonomy.
4. I don't judge my conversation partners.
5. Conversation should be back and forth.
6. Conversation should be life-giving.

Life-Giving Conversation

"When I believe conversations should be life-giving, I go into the conversations expecting that my conversation partners and I will leave conversations feeling more alive for having experienced them" (Knight, 57, Better Conversations Companion Book).  The prime example of this is when you have a conversation with someone and you walk away thinking you learned so much and you have that feeling like you really were into that conversation.  During these conversations time seems to fly by.  It's really a culmination of the five previous beliefs.  If all these pieces come together, more often than not the conversation is life-giving.

Life-giving conversations are engaging and energizing and they increase your sense of well-being.  If the topic at hand is something we are invested in, then we are more likely to engage in deep conversation about it.  Again, if we are equals, and truly listen to others, give them autonomy, not judge, and the conversation is back and forth, the conversation will more than likely be life-giving and we will walk away energized.

On the opposite end, we have all had conversations where we walk away physically and mentally exhausted.  These conversations are the opposite of life-giving conversations.  Sometimes these types of conversations are necessary, but if we engage in conversation like this on a daily basis, it will likely burn our desire to have a better conversation.

Next week we will wrap up this series on better conversation.

5 Practices That Provoke Misbehavior

5 Practices That Provoke Misbehavior
It's the end of the year, the weather is getting nice, everyone can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  This is a prime time for student misbehavior.  Sometimes the misbehavior is on the kids, but other times it can be our classroom management, or simply the way in which we do things in the classroom.  ASCD published a great article in Educational Leadership from the October 2015 edition.  It is well worth the read as well as the time to reflect on our own practices.

5 Practices That Provoke Misbehavior by Eric Toshalis

Minnesota ArcGIS Map Contest

Taken from https://sites.google.com/site/minnesotamapcontest/home

What: An online GIS map making contest

Dates: March 15, 2016 to May 27, 2016

Who is eligible: Minnesota public, private, or homeschooled students are eligible to enter the contest. Maps can be submitted individually or as a team of two students. Limit of one entry per student or team.

Challenge: Your challenge is to create an original Minnesota based map on a topic of interest or concern to you. The area mapped can range from the entire state to a smaller area, like a county or city.

ArcGIS Online Requirement: You must use ArcGIS Online to create your original map. Your final map must be submitted in one of the following formats:

• ArcGIS Online Presentation
• ArcGIS Online Web App
• ArcGIS Online Story Map

ArcGIS Online is available to any K-12 school in the United States free of charge from Esri; see https://esri.app.box.com/connectedpdf for access to software and guidance. Your school will need to sign up for a free ArcGIS Online organization account so you can create and submit your final map. 

Prizes: The five maps judged the best in each division will be awarded a $100 prize. ALL participating students and their teachers will also receive GIS Map Competition t-shirts.

Middle School Division - grades 6 - 8
Senior High Division - grades 9 - 12 

Note: Teams spanning grade levels will be entered in the division of the student at the upper grade.
Award-winning maps will remain visible to the public for one year.

Tech Tip - Osmo

Osmo
If you have an iPad in your room, this is a must-have!  Osmo offers a unique way to interact with your iPad. You have to watch the video to see what it can do.  I will be ordering one for my family!

(The 50% off is no longer available)

What do I need to use Osmo?

You just need an iPad with a camera. Osmo is compatible with: iPad 2, iPad (3rd Generation), iPad (4th Generation), iPad Mini, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, iPad Mini 4, iPad Air and iPad Air 2.

How much does it cost?

The Starter Kit is $79, the Genius Kit is $99. The Numbers game (if you already have a Starter Kit) is $29.

What exactly will I get when I buy Osmo? (What’s in each kit?)

A Starter Kit includes a white iPad stand, a red reflective mirror for the iPad camera, two sets of game pieces (two complete alphabet letter tile sets and wood tangram shapes). Masterpiece and Newton don’t require any pieces. All of these apps are available to download from the App Store free of charge but you need the Osmo system (base + mirror) to play them.

A Genius Kit includes all of those items, plus a set of high-quality number and dot tiles for the Numbers game.

What is the educational value of each game?

Osmo fosters learning in key areas such as: social-emotional skills, creative thinking, art, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and common core.
Tangram fosters spatial relational skills.
Words teaches spelling and critical thinking skills.
Newton fosters creative problem solving skills.
Masterpiece teaches drawing and creative confidence.
Numbers teaches counting, addition and multiplication.