LISD Ed Tech Connection

 MDE and Michigan LearnPort Announce Stipend Opportunities For Online Professional Development

Michigan LearnPort® is the statewide professional development portal developed through a partnership between Michigan Virtual University® (MVU®) and the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).  To encourage teachers, administrators and other instructional personnel to experience the value and effective nature of online learning first-hand, Michigan Virtual University is offering $150 stipends for enrolling in and completing selected curriculum content courses and requirements through Michigan LearnPort.

Enrollment is now open and limited to the first 30 participants for each section. The goal is to meet the needs of ISDs and their constituent districts, professional organizations and individual educators through expanding the use of Michigan LearnPort.

The courses for which stipends will be provided are the following:

MMC Algebra 1 for Teachers
MMC Algebra 2 for Teachers
MMC Geometry for Teachers
MMC English Language Arts for Teachers
MMC Biology for Teachers
MMC Chemistry for Teachers
MMC Physics for Teachers
MMC World History and Geography for Teachers
MMC U.S. History and Geography for Teachers

These courses are instructor-led and provide teachers with resources and strategies to meet the needs of the diverse students required to meet the Michigan Merit Curriculum. Upon completion, participants will earn between 1 – 3.5 State Board Continuing Education Units (SB-CEU).

Eligibility for the stipend requires completion of the course and the submission of one lesson plan using one or more of the strategies or activities described in the course. This lesson plan must be accepted by the course instructor as part of the course completion requirements. This lesson plan may become a resource for Michigan teachers through Michigan LearnPort.

Teachers must apply for the stipend after completion of the course on the course form provided by the instructor or downloadable from the course community room. This stipend is paid from and governed by requirements of and provided through ESEA Title II, Part (A) funds. Payment will only be made for full course completion and submission of an accepted lesson plan. A course session will be offered beginning August 1, 2009. An individual may only take one course under the stipend program each session.

Interested educators who wish to enroll in one of the online courses should log into Michigan LearnPort®, http://www.learnport.org , and search for the keyword “MMC” in the Courses Catalog. Specific course content details are available in a syllabus embedded in each course, accessible by clicking on a course’s information icon in the Catalog. For more information about the Michigan LearnPort 2009 Online Stipend Program, please contacteelliott@mivu.org.

What videoconference opportunties did you find in the Berrien RESA Videoconference Program database? Were you pleased or disappointed? Did you find someone or some place you’d like to connect with in the future?

 If you could videoconference with any site, organization, or person for educational purposes, who or where would it be and why?

Many Michigan tech-using educators and students are gearing up for the annual MACUL conference this week. Some speaker handouts can be accessed online. On Thursday the Opening Keynote will be provided by Alan November, a thinker who is familiar to many educators in Lenawee County. A student RoboFest will be on Thurs. March 19 from 1:00 to 5:00. The conference Program Book (pdf) can be downloaded.

Word just came out that there will be two Michigan Moodle conferences for educators to participate in this school year:

December 12, 2008 at St. Clair RESA
January 30, 2009 at Muskegon ISD

Stayed tuned for further details.

Many are familiar with Daniel Pink’s thought provoking book, A Whole New Mind (if not, it may prove to be worth your time). Some Lenawee ISD staff members have had a chance to read portions of the book and jigsaw it in a professional setting. Those who have not read the book or just want more media about the thinking behind it may want to view streaming video of Daniel’s keynote address at the 2008 Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) Conference: http://webcast.kzonetworks.com/plugins/webcast/regform.php?id=155 (Viewing from KZO Networks is free, but one must register with a name and email)

Pink’s central ideas in an insufficient nutshell:
Routine work in the USA is disappearing, and right brain abilities (see below) are becoming more critical to our economy. The “write-right” rule applies: If you can write down the steps of a process and there is a right answer, then the task will go to the place that can supply providers of the task at the lowest cost. Right-brain abilities can be nurtured and developed.

Pink claims that the 3 questions that matter now can help determine who gets ahead and who gets left behind:
Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
Can a computer do it faster?
Is what you are doing in demand in and age of abundance?

He says that the 3 factors contributing to the offshoring of logical left-brained tasks are:

Abundance
We’ve experienced huge changes in middle class living standards in the last couple of generations. Example: We now have more automobiles than licsenced drivers. We need self-storage units for our extra stuff outside of our homes which translates into an industry that is larger than the motion picture industry.

Asia
The highly educated fraction of the people in India and China overwhelm entire populations in other regions of the world. By 2010 India will become the world’s largest English-speaking country.

Automation
Routine work that can be done by computers (ie. some kinds of legal work, preparing taxes, etc.) cuts into our need for certain professional services.

There are 6 right-brain abilities that are hard to outsource and automate and matter most in an age of abundance (read the book for detailed definitions and suggestions for exercises):

• Design
• Story
• Empathy
• Symphony
• Play
• Meaning

A big take-away for education:
In schools we now have relatively good access to hardware (computers, camcorders, cameras, headsets, mp3 players/recorders, etc.) and software (Photo Story, iMovie, Audacity, Inspiration, Garageband, web 2.0 apps) that allow students to exercise and grow their right-brain capacities, however it is clear that we need to change our instructional practices and expectations so that students are engaging with these tools in meaningful ways.

Michigan Department of Education, Office of School Improvement, in collaboration with MITESOL (Michigan Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) through Title III funds, is sponsoring a series of professional development workshops June through September, 2008, Education English Language Learners (ELLs).  Session titles include:

• Accommodating Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for ELLS in Elementary and Secondary Schools (Grades K-5 & 6-12)
• Designing Curriculum in Elementary ESL Programs: Level 1 (basic) and Level 2 (low intermediate)
• Designing Curriculum in Secondary ESL programs: Level 2 (low intermediate) Grades 9-12
• Designing Sheltered Instruction for Secondary ELLs: Science and Social STudies
• Developing & Enhancing Title III ESL/Bilingual Programs: A Basic ToolKit and Beyond for School Distsricts
• Teaching Reading and Writing to ELLs: Promoting Effective Literacy Skills for ELLs in Secondary Classrooms (Grades 6-12)

Workshop days and locations vary.  Cost for each is $10.00 per workshop and includes lunch and materials.

For more information go to the MITESOL site (www.mitesol.org) register at : http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=157169 or go to MDOE’s online registration site at: http://mdoe.state.mi.us/fs_registration

Questions?

Content:

Jackie Moase-Burke, MITESOL Coordinator,

248.209.2070

General:

Melinda Garza Moran, 248.209.2315

PD opportuntity from Oakland Schools:

Power UP! 2008 Educational Technology Conference
Fri. April 11, 2008 – 8:00 am to 3:30 pm – Oakland Schools

Power UP! 2008 will feature discussions about Web 2.0, Michigan School  Technology Requirements, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and survey  information from the Pew Internet & American Life Project (conference brochure)

LISTEN to national and local professionals speak about  technology in education!
OBSERVE student demonstrations showcasing technology use!
VIEW an extensive technology vendor area!
Conference content questions? call Mike Souden at 248.209.2287

COST: $35 per person, which covers food and meals
Registration (online) accepted through 5 PM, Friday, April 4, 2008.
For registration questions please call Event Management at 248.209.2500.

The 2008 MACUL Conference is March 5 -7 in Grand Rapids, MI.  Conference participants will learn about innovative, technology-related programs and have access to an extensive exhibit area which highlights hardware, software, computer-related materials, and other educational technology. There is still time to register under the early bird rate (until Feb. 19).  After 2/19, rates go up $30.

Special offer: A complimentary conference registration (non-transferrable) is offered to a school board member or superintendent with each fully-paid, two-day conference registration from within a school district. There is no limit on the number of complimentary registrations per district, although the invitation is extended only to the superintendent and school board members. School board member(s) and/or superintendent(s) are welcome to come for one or both days of the conference. This offer excludes pre-conference and hands-on workshops and does not provide membership in the organization.

Conference highlights:
Pre-conference Workshops (3/5)
Conference Kickoff Reception (3/5)
RoboFest (3/5)
Opening Keynote with Mary Culliane (3/6)
Student Technology Showcase (3/6)
21st Century Model Classroom (3/6 and 7)
Featured Speakers/Breakout Sessions (3/6 and 7)
Closing Keynote with Hall Davidson (3/7)

PBS Frontline just aired an important episode called Growing Up Online.  It explores how the Internet is “transforming the experience of childhood” for some youths.  If you missed it, you can view the entire program online (high bandwidth needed) at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/
In addition to the episode, the site also offers extended interviews with experts, links to helpful resources, a chance for viewers to post their ideas to a discussion board (a fascinating read) and more.  The Growing Up Online Teachers’ Guide should be ready for people to access in February.

What are the implications of the topics explored in the episode for Lenawee County residents?