Maine Learning Technology Initiative

Deconstructed TPCK Diagram

 

Now that folks have been introduced to SAMR and TPACK, its time to talk about how practitioners can apply what we know. The question might be, “How can I look at my curriculum and put SAMR and TPCK into practice in my classroom?” And, of course, we will ponder how technology can aid in the improvement of teaching and learning by giving a closer look at the tools that MLTI and the web have to offer. Finally, we will check out one more example of “building a ladder” of classroom practice and discuss how it might be applied to revamping lessons or units you already use.

 

This webinar will be offered twice, once at 3:15pm, and once at 7:15pm. You may find it useful to read some additional information about participating in our webinars; you can click here right before the start of the webinar for quick access.

When designing teaching projects using technology, it is important to employ frameworks that enable the best selection, planning, and use of the tools available. The SAMR and TPCK models have proven themselves in use in Maine’s classrooms and around the world. In 2010, over two thirds of Maine teachers familiar with the models found that they played a crucial or important role in their work.

In this webinar we will review the basics of the SAMR and TPCK models, using new examples that reflect evolving priorities and projects in Maine schools. We will also see how to use them in practice, introducing the concept of the “SAMR Ladder” — a concept that we will extend and develop further at our October 27 webinar.

This webinar will be offered twice, once at 3:15pm, and once at 7:15pm. You may find it useful to read some additional information about participating in our webinars; you can click here right before the start of the webinar for quick access.

The 9/11 Searchable Information Center, an open access collection of e-books and resources related to 9/11 will be made available at no cost throughout the month of September by ebrary, a member of the ProQuest family of companies.

Knowing that school, public and academic libraries may face numerous requests for information and resources as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches, ebrary developed a collection of 15 full text e-books. The collection is available at http://site.ebrary.com/lib/september11/home.action. This site is fully functional and also provides free access to ebrary’s research tools for the month.

Libraries are welcome to include this link on their homepages and to assist patrons with Internet access to download and read the titles at no cost anytime during the month of September. Titles included are Reclaiming the Sky: 9/11 and The Untold Story of the Men and Women Who Kept America Flying, by Tom Murphy; The Shock of the News: Media Coverage and the Making of 9/11 by Brian Monahan; Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11, by Damon DiMarco and Thomas Kean; and We Are All Suspects Now: Untold Stories from Immigrant Communities after 9/11, by Tram Nguyen.

Today’s Poster Session Schedule — please note changes (*) — Session Descriptions

Exploring Co-Teaching & Content Integration	Searles Hall – Room 126
Hands On History : Primary Documents, Oral histories & Connecting to the Community	Massachusetts Hall – 3rd floor seminar*
Maine OER Team Projects: Learnings, OER Sites, and Exploration	Searles Hall – Room 115
Free, High-Quality Online Science Resources for Your K-12 Classroom	Searles Hall – Room 313
Math Snacks – using technology to meet the needs of students	Searles Hall – Room 314
Multiplicity self-portraits using Acorn	Druckenmiller Hall – Room 20*
NAEP Data Explorer – Investigate the Questions Tool	Kanbar Hall – Room 109
Providing Challenged Writers The Tools to Success	Hubbard Hall – Room 22*
The Thousand Word Project-Maine Artists Inspire Literacy/Technology Skill	Druckenmiller Hall – Room 24
Vital Signs	Kanbar Hall – Room 107

Today’s Agenda
Wednesday July 27

7:00 – 8:15	Breakfast at Thorne Hall
8:30 – 10:30	Cohorts meet
9:30	Coffee/Water/Fruit break
10:45 – 12:00	Keynote at Daggett Lounge in Thorne Hall Steve Midgley, Deputy Director of Education Technology at the US Department of Education – Keynote Speaker National Education Technology Plan: A random walk through the implications and opportunities for technology in education
12:00 – 1:00	Lunch at Thorne Hall
1:00 – 2:00	Poster Session – What’s a poster session? Poster sessions are brief one hour sessions covering a variety of topics.
2:00 – 5:00	Cohorts meet
3:30	Water/Soda/Cookie Break
6:00 – 7:30	Dinner at Thorne Hall Lobster Dinner (A steak and vegetarian option is also available) outside of Thorne Hall (near Chamberlain) (If you did not purchase a lobster dinner ticket, you can still bring your dinner outside to the back)

Over 150 educators gathered for the MLTI Summer Institute at Bowdoin College. Cohort groups began their three-day intensive workshops, and we finished the day with some fantastic keynote speakers, students Hannah Potter, Yarmouth HS and Chris Jones, Oak Hill HS. In the audience were not only the Institute participants, but senior officials from the Ministries of Education from 12 different Caribbean nations. All were treated to Hannah’s inspiring work connecting Maine teenagers with Iraqi teenagers through her web site, ANewView. Chris Jones followed up with an engaging presentation about how MLTI inspired and provided him the opportunity to become a software developer, and a part of an international software development team. You can learn more about Chris at MrChrisJones.com and Phireware.com

More photos from the day…

Read more…

The 8th Annual MLTI Conference was a great success! Over 1000 participants converged on the UMaine’s Orono campus for a day devoted to inspiration and information. Highlights of the day included four powerful student voices in Block 1 – Joe Lien of Poland High School, Hannah Potter of Yarmouth High School, Chris Jones of Oak Hill High School, and Mike Rodway of Telstar Middle School. These student presenters held the attention of Commissioner of Education Steven Bowen and the 1000+ conference attendees as they made clear what can be done when the potential of the MLTI is fully leveraged. Don’t be surprised if you hear from these four – they have compelling stories to tell, and know how to get a message across. Visit the Student Conference Webpage and click into Block 1 and follow links for each to learn more about these amazing young Mainers, and visit other parts of the conference web site to learn more about this incredible event.

Maine DOE Newsroom

• 1,100-plus celebrate MLTI at UMaine
• Sharing a ‘new view’ through MLTI
• From MLTI student to international programmer
• Using MLTI to learn through video

Mark your calendars! The date has been set for next year, the 9th Annual MLTI Student Conference Thursday May 24, 2012

 

Sometimes you have the photo you want for that video or comic storytelling project in “just right” form – and sometimes you don’t. We will see how to use the tools on the laptop – particularly iPhoto and Acorn – to remedy the most common problems encountered by teachers and students, and then stretch them just a little further, to explore some of the creative possibilities they afford.

This webinar will be of particular interest to teachers in the Visual and Performing Arts, teachers in Language Arts who plan to use digital storytelling in their courses, and teachers in the sciences who work with images.

Several years ago I did some tutoring for Literacy Volunteers of Maine. The student assigned to me was a man in his 30s who had dropped out of school in 9th grade and had limited reading and writing skills. He asked for a tutor because he was involved in litigation and could not read the legal papers his attorney was sending him. As I worked with him for the next few years, I was struck by how intelligent he was but how his low literacy level limited his choices in life. He had never had a checking account because he did not know how to read or write number words. He was trying to start an auto repair business but he had difficulty reading the repair manuals and writing invoices. He could not get a job working for someone else because he could not fill out an application or write a resume. One of his goals was to get his motorcycle license, but he was afraid of the written test and did not want to request a reader as he had done to get his driver’s license. Over the course of our time together he gained some basic skills and he did open a checking account, create a resume, and get a job in a garage, but I couldn’t help wondering how his life would have been different if he had learned to read earlier.

As educators we are well aware of the importance of reading in all aspects of our lives, but how aware are our students? The current challenge at WatchMeCreate is designed to inspire students to investigate the importance of reading in our society and answer this question: “What would it take so that everyone, when asked, ‘Are you a reader?’ would say, ‘Of course I am…’?”  Student teams will, as with the earlier challenge, produce a short video (no longer than two minutes) that presents their response to this question. The deadline for submission to the WatchMERead challenge is February 18.

Almost every school in Maine has some kind of literacy initiative in place where teachers ask themselves this same question – “What will it take?” Maybe now it’s time to ask the students.

Here are some resources that you can share with your students to get them started.

• Literacy Connections
• National Center for Family Literacy
• National Institute for Literacy
• Literacy Volunteers of Maine
• Maine Reads

The MLTI team announces the creation of MLTI Minute (MM). The MM is bite size PD for all MLTI users. We realize everyone has busy schedules and although we all would like to know more about our MLTI computers we often struggle to find the time. Most MM episodes only take a minute or two to watch, with some taking a few minutes longer.

The short Screen Recordings cover a variety of topics related to MLTI. The clips show, as well as talk through demonstrations of the various features and applications of your MLTI MacBook. Each episode will focus on a tip or topic to help you make the most of MLTI. These bite size chunks of PD should help save time in your classroom or with your homework as they demonstrate some of the wonderful features of your MLTI laptop.

Perhaps there is something on your MLTI MacBook you would like to know more about? There is a section on the MM site for you to request a MM. If you request it, we will create it.

These short professional development clips are suitable for teachers, administrators students and parents. They work for anyone involved with the Maine Learning Technology Initiative. All MLTI Minutes are tagged. Use the search feature to find an episode.

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Do you have a minute? Visit MLTI Minute today