Tech Tip - Google Classroom Updates

Google Classroom Updates
Google announces updates once a month and the August update was a significant one for Google Classroom.  You can read all about the updates in this Google Blog.  The two updates that look to be really promising is the annotation feature in the Classroom App and the new Inbox.  If you use classroom, check out these updates today.

There is also a plug about the new update to Google Expeditions as well.  So even if you don't use Classroom, the Google Blog post is worth looking over.

MRVED Business

MRVED Mussel's Field Day with CURE with Bernard Sietman
Today is the last day to register!

About Bernard Sietman

You will be hard pressed to find anyone as passionate and as knowledgeable about mussels as this transplanted Missourian. Since 2002, he has worked across Minnesota surveying mussels. One of the more exciting aspects of his job is the potential discovery of a new species in the Minnesota River Basin, the Mapleleaf.

Bernard received his Master of Science degree in Biology from the Emporia State University where he studied the ecology and genetics of freshwater mussels in two local rivers. After graduation he worked as a Natural History Biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation surveying freshwater mussels, conducting landowner interviews and assisting with stream fish surveys. Sietman spent time as an Aquatic Ecologist and Assistant Technical Scientist with the Illinois Natural History Survey. Here he assisted with overseeing of a nationally renowned mollusk and fish collections.

When: October 9, 2015 from 9:00 - 2:30

Where: Meet at Yellow Medicine East High School Board Room at 9:00 for an introduction and presentation by Bernard.

Who: All K-12 Teachers. There will be many applications to science and history.

Lunch: Provided

Transportation to the River from Granite Falls: Provided

What to bring: dress for water, bring boots or water shoes and an extra set of dry clothes. Other things to consider are a walking stick to support you while walking in the water, sun screen and bug spray. There is an outdoor bathroom facility available on site.

Cost: Free - Funds provided by CURE and MRVED

(Nonmembers of MRVED $10 per person - covers lunch and transportation)

Registration: Register by September 25. Space is limited. Click here to register.

MRVED UPCOMING MEETINGS
October 1, 2015  Agriculture - CANCELLED - WILL BE RESCHEDULED
October 2, 2015  Title III Paraprofessionals
October 7, 2015  Music
October 9, 2015  CURE Event - Mussels in the River

MRVED Business

MRVED Mussel's Field Day with CURE with Bernard Sietman
There is still time to register!

About Bernard Sietman

You will be hard pressed to find anyone as passionate and as knowledgeable about mussels as this transplanted Missourian. Since 2002, he has worked across Minnesota surveying mussels. One of the more exciting aspects of his job is the potential discovery of a new species in the Minnesota River Basin, the Mapleleaf.

Bernard received his Master of Science degree in Biology from the Emporia State University where he studied the ecology and genetics of freshwater mussels in two local rivers. After graduation he worked as a Natural History Biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation surveying freshwater mussels, conducting landowner interviews and assisting with stream fish surveys. Sietman spent time as an Aquatic Ecologist and Assistant Technical Scientist with the Illinois Natural History Survey. Here he assisted with overseeing of a nationally renowned mollusk and fish collections.

When: October 9, 2015 from 9:00 - 2:30

Where: Meet at Yellow Medicine East High School Board Room at 9:00 for an introduction and presentation by Bernard.

Who: All K-12 Teachers. There will be many applications to science and history.

Lunch: Provided

Transportation to the River from Granite Falls: Provided

What to bring: dress for water, bring boots or water shoes and an extra set of dry clothes. Other things to consider are a walking stick to support you while walking in the water, sun screen and bug spray. There is an outdoor bathroom facility available on site.

Cost: Free - Funds provided by CURE and MRVED

(Nonmembers of MRVED $10 per person - covers lunch and transportation)

Registration: Register by September 25. Space is limited. Click here to register.

MRVED UPCOMING MEETINGS:
September 22, 2015  Teachers' Advisory Council
September 23, 2015  Superintendents' Council

October 1, 2015  Agriculture
October 2, 2015  Title III Paraprofessionals
October 7, 2015  Music
October 9, 2015  CURE Event (all day) - Mussels in the River

Tech Tip: Google Classroom Updates

Google Classroom
When Google Classroom was introduced a year ago, it was minimalistic.  Over the summer, Google updated Classroom with a variety of updates.  The interface is still minimalistic, which is a good thing, but the features that were added will create a much better user experience.  Check out the blog post from Google on the updates to see what is new.  If you looked at Google Classroom last year, now is a good time to jump in and try again.  If you are using Google Classroom, you may not be aware of some of the updates, so I suggest a quick glance through the post.

MRVED Business

MRVED Email Change
The MRVED has changed email addresses, please update your email address book to reflect the change.

Mary:  mbrown@mrved.net

Karen: kjacobson@mrved.net

Brandon: braymo@mrved.net

Pam: pbruns@mrved.net







ECFE Meeting Update
The Early Childhood educators gathered at the MRVED on August 8 for their annual best practice meeting.  The day started with a phone conference with the Minnesota Department of Education about the new Parent Aware 4 Star Rating program as well as the Early Childhood Scholarships available.  Next, the group split into educators, parent educators, and coordinators to network.  There was some great discussion in both groups, and all walked out with some ideas that can be used in their classroom.  Brandon spent a little time talking about technology and the group participated in an activity that really made them think.  It was an awesome time with some awesome people!


Meet the MRVED Staff

Meet Brandon Raymo. Brandon is the Assistant Director of the MRVED. Brandon joined the MRVED in the summer of 2011. Previous to coming to the MRVED, Brandon taught 7-12 grade social studies at Yellow Medicine East and was their tech integrationist. He has a strong background in educational technology, obtaining his masters in educational technology from Minnesota State Mankato in 2011. Brandon enjoys spending time with his wife Katie and 2 girls Adelyn (5) and Gretta (9 months). In his spare time he has been involved with amateur baseball for the past 12 seasons and also coaches the Montevideo Junior Varsity baseball team. If he's not on the baseball field, you can find him broadcasting sporting events around the area for KDMA/KMGM/KKRC.

Summer Update

June has flown by and four classes have been held at the MRVED thus far.  All four have been very well received!

The summer professional development started with Karina Berzins from the BCA talking about internet safety.  She once again handed out her Netsmartz binders with tons of great information!  It was also a great opportunity for people to ask questions of one of the experts on the front lines in internet crimes in Minnesota.  Be on the lookout for kids that are using the Snapchat and Vine apps on their phones or iPods.

The next day we had 2 wonderful ladies from Chippewa County Family Services in to talk about child abuse.  It was a very informative session, one any school could benefit from.  Again, it was nice to hear from the people that are on the front-lines living this every day.  We had the opportunity to hear what the latest trends are and what to be on the lookout for.

The following week, Miranda Schornack was with us to talk about language development in the classroom.  She was a very knowledgeable presenter and everyone walked away with at least one strategy they can use in their classroom this upcoming school year.  For those that were not in attendance, you missed out on a great opportunity.

Brandon also presented on using social networks to grow your professional network.  Twitter was the hot topic and the group spent a majority of the time learning how to use it as a professional development tool.  Other networks that were discussed, but not as in-depth were YouTube, Diigo, Pinterest, and Teachers Pay Teachers.

The MRVED offices will be running on limited staff next week due to the 4th of July schedule, if you need anything you can reach all of us by email, or leave a message on our phones.

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.