MRVED Update - January 23, 2019

MRVED Business

January 23, 2019  Superintendents' Council

January 25, 2019  Principals' Council - CANCELLED

February 1, 2019    Title III Teachers

February 13, 2019  MRVED Board (6 p.m.)

February 21, 2019  TAC

February 22, 2019  Principals' Council

February 27, 2019  Superintendents' Council

MELT Recap
Once again we couldn't fully escape the cold and snow, but overall it was a great day of learning.  Around 650 educators participated in the day and great collaboration occurred all day.  The MRVED would like to once again thank Lac qui Parle Valley for being such a great host.  The custodial staff does a fabulous job in preparing the building for 650 people and the kitchen staff prepares a wonderful meal for everyone.  Dave works hard to make sure all the technology is up and running not only throughout the day, but spends a couple hours the weekend prior getting everything ready.  Thank you to the administration and staff for allowing all the educators in your building.  It's not easy coming back into your classroom at the end of the day to see it torn apart.  The MELT committee thanks everyone and even those not mentioned.

MELT Evaluation
The MRVED hopes that all your MELT experience was a great one.  There were some awesome sessions presented throughout the whole day.  Please take a moment to fill out the MELT 2019 Evaluation.  Any and all feedback is appreciated.  The MRVED Teacher Advisory Committee (TAC) looks over the evaluations and makes adjustments to the day based upon the feedback.  The MRVED Principals and Superintendents also look over the evaluations.

MELT Evaluation

Rethinking Time in Schools

This past week I read a Tweet that asked the question, "What if our schools rethought the idea of time and scheduling?  What would it look like in your school?"  This really made me think and I started researching alternative scheduling in schools.  I came across this article on Reimagining the School Day by Meg Benner and Lisette Partelow from the Center for American Progress.  The article provides examples from elementary, to middle school, to high school.  I also stumbled upon this interesting resource as well. unlockingtime.org.  I think school schedules would be a neat PLC topic to investigate.  How do schedules impact student learning?

Testing 1,2,3 From MDE

Testing 1,2,3 is created by the Minnesota Department of Education as a resource to help district better utilize the data they are given.  The quote from the website is this:

"Test data is an effective tool for informing instruction. This website is designed to help teachers harness that data by providing helpful ways to understand, interpret and ultimately use test data in the classroom."

A quick browse through the website will give you a better idea of what it is all about.  This site has been in the works for the past couple years and brings many different aspects of MDE's website into one spot.  Bookmark it today!

Tech Tip of the Week - Tilt Brush by Google

In the "this is unbelievable" category, the Tilt Brush by Google is AWESOME!  The Tilt Brush allows you to paint in 3D.  The Tilt Brush itself is not too expensive, but the 3D goggles can get to be a bit expensive.  Check to see if your school has a pair of 3D goggles and then you will want to check out and purchase a Tilt Brush.  Imagine putting this in the hands of our kids and the things they can create!

Ditch That Textbook - Part 2 (Chapter 8-13) Ditch That Mindset

Last time we looked at the first part on "Why Go Digital" in the book Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.  If you still have not gotten the book, I highly, highly, suggest it!  There are SO many great ideas in this book, it really can help you transform your teaching.

We will now look at chapters 8-13 in the section titled "Ditch That Mindset".  Miller talks about a variety of things in these chapters so I'll do my best to summarize my learning.

Miller talks about making learning personal for kids.  Find a way to connect the content to something relevant in their world.  There are many parallels we can make in almost every content area.  Think about events in their worlds such as, birthday parties, prom, homecoming, jump rope for heart, etc...  Anytime you can personalize learning and connect real-life to content, kids tend to retain that information better.  It also makes learning interesting for kids.

Chapter 9 talks about making learning fun. Miller mentions the works of Dave Burgess, which the MRVED had the awesome opportunity to see this past fall.  Basically, do what you can to involve your kids in the learning and make it fun for them.  Think how boring life would be if school wasn't fun!

Miller continues to talk about building relationships with kids.  He mentions that some days you do need to be a kids friend because you are all he/she has.  Building positive relationships with kids really does make everything else in the book so much easier.  If kids respect and trust you, they will take risks with you.  They will help you when you fail.  They will encourage you, much like you encourage them.

The last part to these chapters talks about integrating the technology.  Chapters 12 & 13 go hand-in-hand with what I have been talking about the past five years.  Choose task over tool and utilize the SAMR model.  I compare the task over tool portion to the "Golden Why" by Simon Sinek with the learning objective in the middle as the "why" the tasks in the second ring as the "how" and the tools on the outside as the "what".  Lesson plan from the inside out...What is my learning goal?  Then, what task do I need to do to accomplish that goal?  Lastly, what tool will I use to accomplish both.

MRVED Update - January 9, 2019

MRVED Meetings

January 11, 2019 - Title III Paras
January 21, 2019 - MELT
January 23, 2019 - Superintendents' Council
January 25, 2019 - Principals' Council

NOTE:  Gloria Stotesbery has resigned and Mary Brown will be filling in until we rehire for the position.  Should you have any questions or needs, please email Karen Jacobson (kjacobson@mrved.net) or Brandon Raymo (braymo@mrved.net).

MELT Information

The MELT will soon be here.  An email will be sent in the next week with all of the details of the day.

MRVED Region Map

Someone recently asked a really good question; "How big is the MRVED?".  Below is a link to a map of the MRVED region as well as a spreadsheet that provides information about distance between the MRVED school districts.

MRVED Region Map
Spreadsheet of Distance

MRVED region - Google My Maps

MRVED region

Tech Tip of the Week - Microsoft Translator

It's been all Google the past couple years, so it's time to take a look at an innovative piece of technology from Microsoft.  Microsoft Translator is a website and app that does exactly what it says, it translates.  The technology in the translator website/app is really amazing and has awesome reviews.  If you are in need of a translator, or teach a foreign language, check it out and let me know how well it works.

Ditch That Textbook - Part 1, Why Go Digital

If you have not picked up your copy of Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller yet, do so today.  It is a great read and one that you will find picking up time and time again.  There are so many great ideas in this book that you will want to keep it close by when lesson planning.  Matt Miller also has a blog/website for Ditch That Textbook (DTT) that has even more great ideas!

My synopsis, by no means should take the place of reading the book.  These are simply my thoughts, ideas, and questions about the chapters as I read the book.

Part 1 of the book is a super-quick read and lays the groundwork for why we need to change the way we "do" education.  It's also the reason why we need to "ditch the textbook" and go digital.  I won't go chapter by chapter through part 1, but will share my thoughts over the whole part.

The question that I kept asking myself as I read this part was: Are we really preparing our kids to be successful in the world in which they are going to work?  Our industrial model of education needs to change.  There is a disconnect from what our kids are going to do for work/life and what they are learning in school.  I'm not talking about the content we are teaching our kids (math, science, social studies, reading, etc...), I'm talking about the disconnect with other skills.  Miller says it best, "A disconnect exists between what the workforce wants from graduates and what schools teach them to be and do.  Math, science, social studies, and English are important, but employers are also looking for communication, digital literacy, problem-solving, and creative-thinking skills (Miller, 43).

Miller also made me think when he talks about comparing our educational experience as a child to that of the children we are teaching.  Even a 1st year teacher, fresh out of college, had a vastly different elementary experience than that of our kids today.  Miller talks about, and I can vividly remember, taking the walk to the computer lab for your 45 minutes of computer time for the week and playing Oregon Trail, Number Munchers, or printing large banners on an archaic word processor.  Our kids today don't have to leave the classroom to go to the mystical world of the computer lab.  They don't even have to have "computer time".  They can pull out their device right in the comfort of their own classroom and access a million times more information than we could have even dreamed of during our 45 minutes of "computer time".  Stop and think for a moment about everything our kids today have access to that we didn't as kids.
Kids today can:

• Video chat with an astronaut in outer space
• Watch actual footage of the JFK assassination or the moon landing
• Research any question they have within seconds
• Create multimedia presentations in a day

This list could go on and on and on.  Sure, we had access to actual footage of the JFK assassination, but think about what it took in order to watch it.  We would need to go to a library, look up where the video is located in the library in the card catalog, locate the video, locate a player and TV that could play the video, then rewind or fast forward to the part we wanted to see.  All this is assuming our library even had a video on the JFK assassination, because if they didn't, we would have to request it from a neighboring library.  Then we would have to wait at least a week to get the tape.  Our kids today can go to YouTube and find the actual footage in less than 30 seconds.  Think about that access and what it has done in how we can educate our kids.  Amazing!

 I'm really looking forward to reading the next couple chapters as Matt Miller will fill our toolbox and arm us with ideas to teach the kids of today.  Come along on the journey with me.  In the next update, we'll look at Part 2 - Ditch That Mindset, chapters 8-13.