MRVED Business
MELT Recap
MELT evaluations came back in and the reviews were quiet positive. About 85% of people that participated in MELT gave it an overall rating of a 4 or 5. This is awesome! Many thanks to the people that presented and made the day what it was.
Senators and Representatives Meet with MRVED Superintendents
The MRVED Superintendents met with local Senators and Representatives on Wednesday, January 24. The legislators that were in attendance were Senators Dahms & Lang and Representative Miller. The group spent the time discussing future legislative issues. It was a great opportunity for both the legislators and superintendents to discuss issues pertaining to education in a smaller, intimate environment.
MRVED Meetings:
February 2, 2018 Title III Teachers
February 7, 2018 MRVED Board (7 p.m.)
February 22, 2018 TAC
February 23, 2018 Principals' Council
February 28, 2018 Superintendents' Council
MRVED Meetings:
February 2, 2018 Title III Teachers
February 7, 2018 MRVED Board (7 p.m.)
February 22, 2018 TAC
February 23, 2018 Principals' Council
February 28, 2018 Superintendents' Council
Teacher Licensure Rulemaking Comment Period
Tech Tip of the Week - Google Story Speaker
Make interactive, talking stories without coding. Play your story instantly on Google Home.
Story Speaker lets anyone create talking, interactive stories with no coding required. Just write your story in a Google Doc, push a button, and every Google Home device linked to your account can play it.
You don't need to know how to code.
Basic and advanced templates get you writing quickly.
There's a lot Story Speaker can do, including respond to what players say, give random responses, and remember what the player said.
You can even export your story and so anyone with a Google Home can hear it. (Experimental!)
This is not an official Google project. It's just a fun little experiment.
A great article came across my Twitter feed this past week. It really makes you think and question your own grading habits. It is a very quick read and well worth your time.
Article Link
Couros paints a picture at the beginning of the chapter that kids today have endless opportunities to learn, even before they enter school. This statement is so true! I think about my 5 year old, her favorite app is YouTube and she loves watching tutorial videos. We have this information at our fingertips and yet, have not fully embraced the idea.
However, it takes more than just throwing devices into the classrooms. There needs to be a shift in the mindset of teaching and learning. We can't continue to do what we did prior to the devices being in the room. Couros says that technology is not only a tool, but a "transformational" tool. On top of it being a transformational tool, it should be a "personalized" transformation tool. Think about the power of the device in the hands of our students. With the tools we have we should be personalizing learning for our students in a way in which transforms the teaching and learning process.
Couros also talks about the importance of balance. The balance between the learner and the technology. Although we have all this power, we need to remember that the learner has something to learn in the process. Sometimes we get fully wrapped up in learning the device and wanting to know the full potential of the device and we forget the learning process for the kids.
To end the chapter, Couros gives us four questions to guide our technology:
Will Letter Grades Survive?
Article Link
Innovator's Mindset - Powerful Learning First, Technology Second
Chapter 9 in Innovator's Mindset by George Couros is on the use/role of technology in our schools. As the previous chapters, this one does not disappoint. Couros writes some remarkable things that really make you think and question what you are currently doing.Couros paints a picture at the beginning of the chapter that kids today have endless opportunities to learn, even before they enter school. This statement is so true! I think about my 5 year old, her favorite app is YouTube and she loves watching tutorial videos. We have this information at our fingertips and yet, have not fully embraced the idea.
However, it takes more than just throwing devices into the classrooms. There needs to be a shift in the mindset of teaching and learning. We can't continue to do what we did prior to the devices being in the room. Couros says that technology is not only a tool, but a "transformational" tool. On top of it being a transformational tool, it should be a "personalized" transformation tool. Think about the power of the device in the hands of our students. With the tools we have we should be personalizing learning for our students in a way in which transforms the teaching and learning process.
Couros also talks about the importance of balance. The balance between the learner and the technology. Although we have all this power, we need to remember that the learner has something to learn in the process. Sometimes we get fully wrapped up in learning the device and wanting to know the full potential of the device and we forget the learning process for the kids.
To end the chapter, Couros gives us four questions to guide our technology:
- What is best for kids?
- How does this improve learning?
- If we were to do ____________, what is the balance of risk vs. reward?
- Is this serving the few or the majority?
