Category Archives: School Media Specialist

Green Schools Workshop

Presented by the Minnesota Department of Education, please join us for regional Green School Workshops for K-12 administrators, staff, teachers and anyone else interested in making schools more healthy, efficient, and effective.

Workshops will be held at Minnesota’s 2012 Green Ribbon Schools National Award Winners, and in our Central MN region, that is:

  • Kennedy Community School, Monday, October 29th in St. Joseph

See first-hand the benefits of green schools and learn about resources available in the areas of green buildings and energy, health and safety and environmental education.

Cost: Free. Clock hour certificates available.

Designed for school teachers, administrators, school business officials, buildings and grounds staff, school board members, informal educators, environmental groups, parent and community volunteers, legislators and local officials and anyone else that has an interest in making their school more green.

Delivered by green school experts, participants in the workshops will:

  1. –          identify ideas, resources, mentors and support in their efforts to implement green school initiatives
  2. –          learn about the Green Ribbon Schools (GRS) program, including the benefits of green schools and the three pillars of the program: Pillar One – reduce environmental impacts and costs, Pillar Two – improve the health and wellness of students and staff, and Pillar Three – provide effective environmental and sustainability education
  3. –          see Minnesota’s 2012 Green Ribbon Schools National Winners and hear from staff and students

The following agenda is planned for each workshop:

–          3 p.m. – Registration and exhibits open

–          3:30 p.m. – Welcome and Overview of Green Schools – GRS process and pillars, hear from 2012 GRS national winners

–          4 p.m. – Break-out sessions and school tours

–          5 p.m. – Exhibits and networking

–          6 p.m. – The End

Please register by sending an e-mail to Terry Alvarado at terry.alvarado@state.mn.us with the following information: Date and location of workshop attending, name of participant, school, position, e-mail and phone number.

For more information, please contact Jeff Ledermann at jeff.ledermann@state.mn.us or 651-582-8602.

We’ve Learned: Staffing News and Updates from Around the Region

We’ve Learned… is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in CMLE libraries/media centers. Please keep us informed of any “happenings” regarding staff members in your area so that we can include them in the next write-up! Happenings can include: changes in staffing, awards, honors… you get the idea!

  • Robin Ewing, Associate Professor & Reference Librarian at SCSU,  received the 2012 MLA President’s Award at this year’s MLA Conference. Way to go, Robin! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to the organization.
  • Please use the comments area to let us know if there are updates in your library or media center!

The Flipped College Classroom

A recent Star Tribune article, Internet Flips the Idea of How to Teach a Class, highlighted the efforts of some local college professors and instructors utilizing the flipped classroom method in their classrooms. Not only is this article (and its information) local, but it also details some of the successes and failures of this new teaching method. In addition, a recent study of 720 physics professors showed that at least 72 percent had tried various interactive teaching methods (like those that are a part of the flipped classroom); however, at least a third of those instructors tried — and eventually stopped using interactive methods. Some cite push back from students in the flipped classroom, as well as little support for instructors once they’ve “made the switch”. Ongoing support, continuing education, and access to professional resources is a must for forward-thinking instructors who have gotten up the gumption to attempt the flipped classroom.

Recommend App… Frog Dissection

Frog Dissection offers a scientifically accurate and greener alternative for teaching dissection in the classroom. It’s suitable for middle school students (and up) who are learning about organs and organ systems as part of their life science curriculum. This app offers 3D imaging, step-by-step instructions with voice over, and information about frogs’ organs, organ cycle, classification, lifecycle. This app is available on iPad for around $3.99. Find more information at http://frogvirtualdissection.com/.

Follow the MEMO Conference on Twitter

We know that not everyone in our region will have the opportunity to attend the MEMO Conference this year, which can be disappointing. A strategy I have found helpful when I am unable to attend events, is to find out the Twitter hash tag for the event, then do a Twitter search on the hash tag. now, you can read the tweets from attendees and feel a bit more connected to people and events. In this case the hash tag will be #memo12 and you can follow MEMO on Twitter anytime, using their @memo_updates too.

This is my first blog post using the new mobile WordPress app on my iPad.