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.