Tag Archives: Education

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Educational Trends: Why Edcamp?

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EdcampTake control of your learning!

The Edcamp Foundation was formed in December 2011 to assist teachers and other stakeholders in organizing edcamps. The vision of the Edcamp Foundation is to “promote organic, participant-driven professional development for K-12 educators worldwide.”

What is an edcamp?  It is a low-cost/free user-generated conference designed to promote professional development for K-12 educators. Edcamps operate without keynote speakers or vendor booths. Sessions are planned the day of the event, as participants volunteer to be presenters on a topic of their choosing.  This process encourages attendees to join or lead a peer conversation that meets their professional needs and/or interests.  Technology is a common area of interest along with pedagogy and practical examples in instructional use of modern tools. If you would like to learn more about edcamps, Edutopia recently posted an article (April 2013) titled, Why Edcamps? It provides additional information regarding the basic structure outlined in the edcamp model and highlights what makes these events unique to other conferences. Click here to read the full article.

Would you like to participate? Educamp is coming to the Twin Cities on October 12th.  Click here to learn more about this Minnesota event.

If you have participated in one of the more than 250 edcamp events that have occurred over the last 3 years; we would like to hear from you.  Feel free to share your experience with our followers in the comment section below!

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

MNLib Legislative Update: Call to Action!

**This legislative update was originally received in two emails written by Elaine Keefe, lobbyist for MLA/MEMO, slight modifications by Patricia Post** (Received on Sunday, May 12th at 11:57 p.m. & Monday, May 13th at 9:55 a.m.)

It’s crunch time.  The Legislature must adjourn on May 20 — one week from Monday!

Budget Deal:  Sunday the Governor and legislative leaders announced that they have agreed on a budget deal. The deal includes significant increases for E-12 education ($475 million) and higher education ($250 million) and a smaller cut in health & human services than legislators had proposed (a $50 million cut rather than $150 million). The school funding shift will be repaid. To pay for all of this and cover the $627 million deficit, income taxes will be increased on couples with taxable income of $250,000 and on individuals with taxable income of $150,000. Sales taxes will be expanded to some business services but not to consumer services or clothing. The cigarette tax will be increased. Details will be worked out by the various budget conference committees.

E-12 Education:  The conference committee met for the first time on Thursday (9th).  They adopted several identical provisions, including two items important to MLA/MEMO.

  1. The change in terminology from “grant” to “aid” for RLBSS and Multi-type funding
  2. Clarification that total operating capital funds can be used for computer hardware, software and annual licensing fees

Higher Education:  The conference committee will meet for the first time on Monday (13th). The funding increase for Minitex/MnINK that is included in the Senate higher ed bill but not in the House bill has a better chance now that the agreed-upon target ($250 million) is closer to the Senate target ($260 million) than the House target ($150 million).  Our Senate author, Senator Kent Eken (DFL – Twin Valley) is on the conference committee and told me he intends to fight hard for the increase included in the Senate bill.  If you haven’t yet contacted the conferees to urge them to support the increase in the Senate bill, please do so.

Legacy:  The House Legacy bill passed on the floor on Friday. The Senate Legacy bill was unveiled in the Senate Legacy Subcommittee on Thursday.  It includes $300,000 per year for the Minnesota Digital Library (the amount requested) and $1 million per year for regional public libraries.  This is a huge reduction from the $3 million per year currently allocated to regional public libraries.  Senator Dick Cohen, chair of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Legacy Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee, has historically opposed Legacy funding for libraries. His position has been that only those who advocated for the constitutional amendment should share in the funds generated.  Other recipients can be viewed as interlopers, including libraries.  Senator Cohen’s goal has been that 50% of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund is to be allocated to the State Arts Board.  Currently about 43% is allocated to the State Arts Board.  The Senate bill includes a provision requiring that in the future 50% of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund shall be allocated to the State Arts Board.  The initial version of the Senate Legacy bill distributed the funds to regional public libraries under the RLBSS formula, as has been done the past two biennia.  I subsequently spoke with Senator Cohen and he agreed to amend the bill to change the formula in accordance with the MLAMEMO platform and to require that the funds be distributed in 10 equal payments.  That amendment was adopted on Friday and the bill was passed out of the subcomittee. It will be heard in the full Senate Finance Committee on Monday, May 13.

A number of you have contacted me this morning to ask what you can do to respond to the disappointing amount of funding for regional public libraries in the Senate Legacy bill.

  • Please contact your senators to express concern about this reduction.  Ask them to raise the issue with Senator Cohen. 
  • We are not going to change Senator Cohen’s mind.  However, if it’s clear that his Senate colleagues are unhappy about the level of funding for libraries it will be more likely that the Senate conferees will agree to the House appropriation when the bill gets to conference committee.
  • When the conference committee is named later this week, I will send out their contact information and ask you to contact them.

Elaine Keefe
Capitol Hill Associates
525 Park Street, Suite 310
St. Paul, MN 55103
office 651-293-0229
fax 651-293-1709
cell 612-590-1244
elaine@capitolhillassoc.com

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Are High School Seniors Ready for College?

Some rights reserved by Univers Beldbank
Some rights reserved by       Univers Beldbank

The ACT National Curriculum Survey is a nationwide survey of educational practices and expectations. Conducted every three to five years by ACT, the survey collects data about what entering college students should know and be able to do to be ready for college-level coursework in English, math, reading, and science. The 2012 ACT National Curriculum Policy report found that high school teachers think their students are ready for college, but college professors beg to differ. In fact, data showed that 89 percent of high school teachers report their students are “well” or “very well” prepared for college-level work in the subject they teach, while just 26 percent of college instructors say incoming students are “well” or “very well” prepared for entry-level courses. This discrepancy in perception has remained consistent to the 2009 survey results. An interesting dilemma for educators in both high schools and colleges! CMLE staff have noticed  a similar experience through our Bridging Information Literacy Across Libraries initiative work. We know that many high school media specialists teach information literacy skills, but somehow, some of the teachings don’t “stick” and students experience difficulty doing research, writing, and citing sources in college. Talking across library types can be a powerful beginning  to better understand this issue. CMLE will continue to act as a bridge for this conversation to happen between high school media specialists and college librarians. We also hope to include public librarians in future “Bridging” work too. We welcome your ideas for future programming in this area.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist

Taking College Credit in High School a Successful Strategy

Some rights reserved by Walt Stoneburner
Some rights reserved by Walt Stoneburner

A new brief from Jobs for the Future reports that over 75,000 high school students nationwide—most from underserved populations—are learning college-level material and earning free college credits in early college high schools. In Minnesota, our terminology is slightly different, but we certainly see how popular our PSEO and Senior to Sophomore programs are in a down economy. The brief reports that 94 percent of early college students earn some college credit for free, an average of 36 college credits, saving 30 percent toward a bachelor’s degree or 60 percent toward an associate’s degree. We know that families appreciate the financial break on college tuition, but what does it mean for the student after high school? It is also interesting to note the increased graduation rates and no great surprise that these students attend college at higher rates. And, we know how depleted media center budgets have been during the last decade. We need to ask ourselves if our high school collections contain the materials to best support these students? Read the full press release at http://tinyurl.com/cyrrm6x  and be sure to click on the Fact Sheet in the left frame too!

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

New MN Tax Plans Worth Understanding

logo-mcn-budget-programRecently, the Budget News and Tools publication of the Minnesota Budget Project (May 2, 2013), issued a very useful  analysis of  the Minnesota House and Senate tax plans. The tax plans from the Governor, House and Senate are trying to make Minnesota’s tax system less regressive and end the sad story of continual budget deficits that seem to be chronic these days. Education plays a big role in these bills so it is worth paying attention! With these new proposals, we can hopefully fund investments in quality schools, affordable higher education and strong communities. So, two plans with common goals, different approaches. Read the analysis of the  Senate and  House omnibus tax bills. The bills are now in conference committee and call on policymakers to come to agreement.

The Minnesota Budget Project is an initiative of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.