MRVED Update - February 19, 2020

Upcoming Meetings

February 20, 2020 - Teachers' Advisory Council
February 21, 2020 - Principals' Advisory Council
February 26, 2020 - Superintendents' Council
March 3, 2020 - Community Education Directors

Professional Development

Minnesota Kindergarten Association 2020 Spring Conference

Come to Jordan, MN May 1-2, 2020 for the Minnesota Kindergarten Association spring conference! We are looking forward to having Jessica Travis, Crystal Radke, Angie Bonthuis, and Jen Heyer as our keynote speakers. Start following these fantastic teachers and get excited to hear their wonderful ideas! Jordan is located just south of the Twin Cities metro area on Hwy 169. We can’t wait to welcome you to our town as we learn new things together! The Minnesota Kindergarten Conference on May 1 & 2 is going to be SWEET!

Click here to register for the 2020 MKA Conference.

No Small Matter - Documentary

No Small Matter is a feature-length documentary film and national engagement campaign that brings public attention to this vital question by sharing powerful stories and stunning truths about the human capacity for early intelligence and the potential for quality early care and education to benefit America’s social and economic future. This multifaceted project reveals how our country is raising its youngest citizens, why making the most of this time in their lives is so crucial, and most importantly, what we can do to change the perception of when learning begins. The first major theatrical documentary to tackle this topic, No Small Matter is designed to kick-start the public conversation about early care and education. The ultimate goal: to produce an entertaining, accessible, and inspiring film that redefines the audience’s understanding of the issue and helps drive it to the top of the political agenda. Or, as one advocate put it, “not just to make a documentary about early childhood education, but to make the documentary about early childhood education.”

There will be a screening of No Small Matter in Minneapolis on March 12, 2020.

Book Study - Sanctuaries - The 5 S's

There are some great tips and reminders in this section of the book Sanctuaries by Dan Tricarico.  Be sure to read these chapters, it's a quick read that could change your life!  In this section, Tricarico talks about the 5 S's: Silence, Stillness, Subtraction, Space, and Slowing Down.

Silence
Silence can be golden.  Think about all the sounds you hear every second of every day.  As a teacher, during your day, there are very limited, if any, times of silence.  Bells ringing, kids asking questions, kids making noise, movie next door, drums being played down the hall, etc...  What if you took 2-3 minutes every day and just sat in silence?  How would effect would that have on your mood?  Mental health?  Life?  This moment of silence can be done anywhere.  Your car as you travel to and from work.  Shut the door to your classroom.  Right when you wake up.  Whenever.  Just give yourself permission to find a place of silence.

Stillness
Along the same token as silence.  What if you just sat in stillness for a couple minutes.  No sound.  No movement.  Just you and your mind.  Tricarico says, "When we are still and quiet, we have to focus on what is; and sometimes that's not pretty" (Tricarico, 71).  Couple stillness with meditation and you can train yourself to let those thoughts travel through your mind.  Tricarico mentions starting small.  Find a couple minutes in your day for silence and stillness.  You don't have to be a monk and take a vow of silence for 10 years, just find a couple minutes.  If you find it beneficial, you will make time for it during your day.

Subtraction & Space
It seems like subtraction and space go hand-in-hand.  We all pack as much into everything as we possibly can.  That can be our calendars or our physical space.  Less can be more.  Give yourself permission to get rid of something, either from your physical space or schedule.  It's OK to not have everything or do everything.

Slow Down
Our world is so fast!  We let great opportunities pass by us every day.  Give yourself permission to slow down.  You can start by pairing this with subtraction and space.  If you clear things off your schedule, it will give you the time to slow down.

MRVED Update - November 7, 2018

MRVED Business

Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the October 17 Common Inservice Day Evaluation.  Our Superintendents, Principals, and Teachers' Advisory Council will be reviewing the evaluations from the day.  It is the hope of all these groups that we can provide something that is meaningful for all the teachers in the MRVED.  Our next Common Inservice Day will be MELT on January 21, 2019 at Lac qui Parle Valley High School.  Look for more information on the MELT in the next few updates. 

Upcoming Meetings

November 9, 2018  Joint mtg Principals’ Council & TAC

November 16, 2018  Principals’ Council

November 28, 2018  Superintendents’ Council

December 7, 2018 Title III Teachers

December 12, 2018  MRVED Board (6 p.m.)

December 13, 2018 TAC

December 14, 2018 Principals’ Council

December 19, 2018 Superintendents’ Council

MELT Call for Networking Facilitators

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 interests.  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 3:30 PM on November 15.  If you have any questions or cannot access the form, please contact Brandon (braymo@mrved.net)

MELT NETWORKING FACILITATOR SIGN UP LINK

TIES 2018 Conference

Don't forget to register for the 2018 TIES Conference held December 8-11 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis.  The TIES Conference is one of the best educational technology conferences in the midwest.  The sessions are great and the networking is awesome!  Jaime Casap, Educational Evangelist at Google and Kimberly Bryant, founds and Executive Director of Black Girls CODE are the keynote speakers this year.  The TIES Conference website is linked below.  Head over there and check out the lineup of breakout sessions, view the bios of the keynote and featured speakers, and get registered!

2018 TIES Conference

Snapchat for Teachers & Schools

In the previous MRVED Update we highlighted a great blog by Matt Miller entitled Ditch that Textbook.  He has a couple awesome blog posts on utilizing Snapchat in the classroom.  I know many of you are thinking that there is no place in the classroom for Snapchat, but I think you would be surprised.  Check out the blog posts today!

Snapchat 101 for Teachers

15 Ways to Use Snapchat in the Classroom

Teach Like a Pirate - Hooks

Over the next couple chapter Burgess highlights his "hooks".  Hooks are strategies to get kids engaged in the learning.  It's his take on Madeline Hunter's anticipatory set.  How do we get kids "hooked" into learning the content for the day?

After seeing Burgess, he went through many of the hooks in his presentation and demonstrated how to use them.  I'm not going to highlight the hooks in this post as I believe Burgess does it much better in his book.  The book does an awesome job of providing different examples on how to use the hooks in the classroom as well as reflection questions to think about as you are lesson planning.

The hook is probably one of the most important parts to the lesson.  If you don't have your kids engaged from the beginning, they aren't going to be with you at all throughout the lesson.  Too often we dive straight into our content without providing hooks for our kids.  I know I was guilty of starting my lesson like this; "Where did we leave off yesterday?  Oh yeah, turn to page 147 in your book." and that was the beginning of my lesson!  Talk about not engaging my kids at all!  The hooks in Teach Like a Pirate are great strategies you can use tomorrow!  Going a little deeper than the tangible hooks, we need to really examine our lessons and take a DEEP look into EVERY aspect of the lesson.

Hooks Resources
Thinglink of Ideas
Hook Ideas
TLAP Chat

#mrvedtlap gets better and better every week!

MCTM Spring Conference

MCTM Spring Conference
The Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics Spring Conference will be held April 28 & 29 in Duluth, MN.  This conference is a "must attend" for any teachers of Mathematics.  The conference includes a number of smaller breakout sessions with two nationally known keynote speakers.  There are always a handful of takeaways from this conference.  You can check out the information and register by going to the MCTM Spring Conference webpage.

Minnesota Educator Academy (MEA) Conference

MEA
The Minnesota Educator Academy (MEA) Conference is an awesome FREE education conference to attend.  This year is no exception.  There are many great sessions to choose from throughout the 2 day conference.  Click the link below to find out more!

MEA Conference Link

Minnesota Council for Social Studies Annual Conference

Social Studies Conference
Attention teachers of the social studies, or people that are interested in anything social studies.  The Minnesota Council for Social Studies is having their annual conference on March 6 and 7 on the campus of St. Cloud State University.  There are some great sessions, presented by some of the best social studies minds and teachers in the state.  There is still time to register on the MCSS website.

Tech Tip of the Week - TIES Twitter Hashtag

TIES Conference Twitter Hashtag

The largest educational technology conference in the state will be happening December 12-15 in Minneapolis.  This conference has the best lineup of educational technology sessions in the state.  If you can't make it this year, don't feel left out.  You can follow along with the Twitter hashtag #TIES15.  People will be sharing resources from the breakout sessions and great insights from the keynote speakers.  This is a great way to fill your tech toolbox without having to go to the conference.  You can check out the conference lineup by visitng the TIES conference website.

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

Parent/Teacher Conference Tips

Parent/Teacher Conference Tip
As a new teacher, I remember thinking to myself, "what do parent/teacher conferences even look like?"  "How do I conduct a conference?"  As a new teacher, I had never been to a parent/teacher conference in my life, either as a student, teacher, or parent.  I had no clue what to expect.  Edutopia has developed a great guide to walk you through a parent/teacher conference and offers some great advice for those who have participated in a "few" conferences.  As we approach the parent/teacher conference season, I suggest giving it a look today!

Edutopia Parent/Teacher Conference Article

Edutopia Student Led Conferences

The Works Museums E4 Conference

E4 Conference
When: Tuesday, November 3, 2015, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Where: University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center, 1890 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108.

What: Join hundreds of educators for our annual conference on the why, what, and how of elementary engineering education:

• Gain practical knowledge and share ideas with colleagues
• Get ideas for your classroom
• Workshops presented by K-6 classroom teachers and informal educators
• Over 20 workshops to choose from
• Earn 5 CEUs

Cost: Conference Fee: $125

Fee includes CEUs, lunch, and parking!

More Information

Registration Link

Education on Air Conference by Google

Education on Air Conference by Google
Google is hosting a 2 day Education on Air Conference.  All you need to do is register and enjoy the keynotes and sessions at the comfort of your computer.

Date: May 8 & 9
Cost: Free

Education on Air from Google

Education on Air

Come explore the future of education and technology with a community of teachers, students, researchers, Googlers and business leaders.

Education on Air is a free, online conference for educators, by educators. Register and you'll have the opportunity to:

• Reflect on and discuss how we can create an education system that prepares students for our always-changing world
• Learn new ideas from people in various roles across education, including students
• Get tips and tools from educators who have boosted student engagement, collaboration and productivity using technology and innovation

You won't even have to leave home to attend. You can take part right from the comfort of your computer, at no cost.

Date: May 8-9

Register for Education on Air today.

Summer Professional Development

Tonka Institute
If you are looking for some good, high quality, professional development this summer, the Tonka Institute is the place for you! This year they have a variety of speakers on 3 very important topics in education.  Below, you will find more information on the Tonka Institute.  More information can be found by going to the Minnetonka Institute for Educational Leadership website.

Please plan to join us for the 7th annual Minnetonka Institute for Educational Leadership! We hope that you can leverage this line-up of thought-provoking speakers to accelerate professional development and growth in your district. Each day of the institute will feature an important area of interest for educators as well as engaging experts who will offer keynotes, workshops, and other special opportunities. Here is the list of dates, themes, and speakers:

Monday, June 15, 2015 – Interventions and Achievement Gap
• George Batsche (from the RTI Action Network)
• Yvette Jackson (author of Aim High, Achieve More and The Pedagogy of Confidence)

Tuesday, June 16, 2015 – Innovation in Education
• George Couros (Blog: The Principal of Change)
• Heather Staker (author of the new book Blended with Michael Horn)
• Eric Scheninger (author of the new book Digital Leadership)
• Patti Drapeau (author of the new book - Sparking Student Creativity: Practical Ways to Promote Innovative
Thinking and Problem Solving)

Wednesday, June 17, 2015 – Assessment and Grading
• Doug Reeves (Director of Leadership and Learning Institute)
• Rick Stiggins (Director of the Assessment Training Institute – appearing via live feed)
• Nicole Vagle (national speaker on the topic of standards-based grading)
• Jeff Erickson (Minnetonka principal and author of scholarly articles on standards-based grading)

Wednesday, June 17, 2015 - Technology Half & Full Day Workshops
Thursday, June 18, 2015 – Technology Institute
• Tom Murray (leader of #edtechchat and Tech Consultant at Alliance for Excellent Education)
• Greg Kulowiec and Beth Holland (EdTechTeacher consultants)
• Area Technology Leaders and TIES Staff

Fall Conference Dates

Fall Conferences
Art Educators of Minnesota - November 7 & 8 in Rochester
Minnesota Business Educators - November 6 & 7 in Bloomington
Minnesota Association of Health/PE - November 3 & 4 in Wayzata
Minnesota Council of Teachers of English - Fall Workshop October 27 in Brooklyn Park
Education Minnesota - October 16 & 17 in St. Paul

Minnesota Learning Summit

The Minnesota eLearning Summit is the premier gathering place for K-12 and College/University educators and innovators committed to effective learning
and use of technology in the upper midwest!

Summit Dates: July 30-31, 2014

University of Northwestern - St. Paul

Open. Online. Opportunity.

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The Summit program includes:

• Relevant Keynote speakers addressing the needs of K-12 and College/University educators in the 21st Century.
• A variety of workshop sessions focused upon elearning tools, resources, services, eFolios, and best practices.
• Opportunities to network with professional colleagues and service providers through posters sessions.
• Exhibitors.
• Takeaways.

MN eLearning Summit is designed to emphasize:

• The importance of collaboration for K-12 and College/University educators.
• eLearning tools, resources, services, applications, and solutions.
• Networking opportunities for education professionals to meet, collaborate and contribute ideas for the effective use of instructional technology in and out of the classroom.
• A shared vision for utilizing resource-rich tools that reach 21st century learners.
• The importance of developing creative strategies when budgets and personnel are stretched in order to address the challenges of student learning, assessment, and student retention.

What to expect at the Minnesota eLearning Summit:

• We anticipate a gathering of 400+ educators, innovators, and presenters.
• Concurrent breakout sessions covering topics of eLearning including blended, flipped, digital learning.
• Specific tracks for all skill levels - entry level users to experienced practitioners.
• Vendors exhibiting the latest resources and tech solutions.
• Extended learning and hands-on sessions facilitated by expert practitioners.
• Opportunities to network effectively with professional colleagues Certificate of attendance for CEUs.
• On-campus overnight lodging in well-furnished housing facilities.

Registration and other pertinent information can be found on the eLearning Summit Website.

Upcoming Spring Conferences

Spring Conferences
Here is a list of upcoming spring professional development conferences from the different teachers associations.  If you have never been to one, make this the year!

Minnesota Science Teachers Association - February 21-22, 2014

Minnesota Council for the Social Studies - March 2-3, 2014

Minnesota Council of Teachers of English - April 3-4, 2014

Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics - May 2-3, 2014

If you know of any other Spring conferences, please add it in the comments below.

TIES 2013 Technology Conference

Don't miss out on the 2013 TIES Education Technology Conference, December 14-17.  The featured speakers this year are Marc Prensky and Dr. Mizuko Ito.  If you are a fan of educational technology, this is the conference for you!  There are 100's of breakout sessions to choose from throughout the day, and time to connect with some of the greatest minds in educational technology from around the state and world.  This year the MRVED is lucky to have a couple presenters in our midst.  Brandon will be presenting 50 Tools for 21st Century Skills on Monday morning at 8:00 AM and Krista Isaacs and Melissa Wilber from Lakeview will be presenting the Best Free Websites for the Upper Elementary Classroom at the same time.

Fall Conference Opportunities

Jim Knight- High Impact Instruction

Date: September 26, 2013
Topic: High Impact Instruction

Learning Forward Minnesota's Fall Forum will be with Jim Knight on September 26, 2013 at the TIES building in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. You can register by going to the Learning Forward Minnesota Website.

Jim Knight is a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and the president of the Instructional Coaching Group. He has spent more than a decade studying instructional coaching and has written several books on the topic including Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction published by Corwin Press & NSDC (2007). Knight co-authored Coaching Classroom Management. He also edited Coaching: Approaches and Perspectives and his newest book, Unmistakable Impact: A Partnership Approach to Dramatically Improving Instruction is due for release in mid-November.

Minnesota ASCD Teacher Leader Institute

Date: October 2-4, 2013Location: Maddens Resort, Brainerd, MN
Topic: Motivating Reluctant and Resistant Learners

Information Link

Robyn Jackson will be the keynote presenter for these three great days of learning.

In this HIGHLY INTERACTIVE workshop, teacher leaders will learn how to:

• Motivate reluctant and resistant learners.
• Create a classroom environment worth investing in.
• Motivate 21st century learners.
• Identify what students’ currencies are and how to leverage those currencies in the classroom.
• Navigate the divide between your agenda and your students’ agenda and find a way to meet both in the classroom.
• Analyze your own practice and think through site-specific applications you can take back to your school.
• Develop an overall plan for motivating reluctant and resistant learners in your entire school.

Resources

Archived MRVED Updates

If you missed an update this year, they can all be found on the MRVED website, or by clicking here.  Please note that some of the information will be dated and some of the links may not work.  There are still many great resources and tech tips to dive into this summer.  If you have any questions about certain resources, please feel free to contact us.

http://mrved.com

MRVED YouTube Channel

The MRVED YouTube Channel also has all the updates archived as well as many other videos.  Look for the library of videos to expand over the summer.  Take a couple minutes to browse through the resources available to you.

http://www.youtube.com/mnrved

Learning Forward National Conference

http://learningforward.org

Don’t forget to register for the national Learning Forward Summer Conference to be held in Minneapolis.  It’s not every year that Minnesota gets to host a national conference, so take advantage of this great opportunity to hear from some of the greatest minds in education.

When: July 21-24

Where: Minneapolis Hilton

Minnesota Career Pathways Website

http://www.mncareerpathways.org/pathways/index.html

The Minnesota Career Pathways website was created to help Minnesota adult students create career and training plans that will prepare them for a fulfilling career. The website can prepare high school students, college students, and working adults to enter the workforce by providing them with both the academic and technical skills needed to be successful. We accomplish this by partnering with business and industry leaders, providing professional development to teachers and faculty, and connecting students to online career and college resources through our connections to local consortia.