Tag Archives: Sartell

Conference, Guest Blogger

Amanda TIES Conference Summary: A CMLE Scholarship

Amanda Holstrom
Sartell Middle School
Instructional Technology Specialist

At TIES this year I was exposed to many great things and returned with more ideas than I can count. The two things that come to mind as great takeaways are: the importance of giving children choice and makers spaces are not just for technology gadgets. Buddy Berry talked about surprise and delight with education including giving children the choice to find their own educational path. This thinking amplifies the needs for free learning and exploration in schools. The session on Makers Spaces opened my eyes to the importance of incorporating non-tech items into the Learning Lab. This need was highlighted over and over again throughout the presentation. Makers Spaces are about making, not just working with electronics.

In our Learning Lab this year we have done many robotics and coding items that take some level of patience and background knowledge. I plan to incorporate crocheting into our Learning Lab and link it with coding to provide that needed background knowledge. Reading a crochet patterns is a “code” that needs to be followed in order to reach a desired end. I feel that bringing that into out Learning Lab will teach and highlight a skill many do not have as well as provide background knowledge for those not experienced with coding. By bridging this gap in our lab I hope to reach more diverse students with the desire to learn hands on and gravitate towards our space. I am very excited to see what other ideas we come up with to add to our space that are non-tech. I think the students will be excited to build and take things home.

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General, School Media Specialist

Schoology Next 2015: A CMLE Scholarship

moeThe following post was submitted by CMLE scholarship recipient Paul Moe, Instruction Technology Specialist at Sartell Schools.

Thank you very much for funding our trip to Chicago for the Schoology conference. Sam Jarnot and I drove out for the 3 day conference and had a wonderful trip. The conference provided us with an opportunity to connect with teachers, administrators and others from around the country who are using Schoology in many different ways. We are looking forward to passing along several things we learned through attending various sessions such using discussions to promote critical thinking, create better assessments and expanding professional development. During the upcoming school year we also hope to connect a few of our classrooms at Oak Ridge with classes from California to give students an understanding of what students are experiencing in other places and provide them with an opportunity to communicate with technology. Finally, we were allowed to provide input on future updates and enhancements the Schoology developers are currently working on. It is truly impressive how much Schoology listens to its users and makes changes based on that feedback. Minnesota may be the location for next year’s conference and I hope we can send a few additional staff the opportunity to see how others are making Schoology a vital part of their classroom.

Thank you for your support. It was an excellent experience.

General, School Media Specialist

Sartell – Education Done Differently

On Thursday, April 16, Sartell Middle School hosted their second annual Education Done Differently event.  This event acts as a great resource for media specialists in the area because it provides the opportunity to see some inventive ways one school is utilizing technology in the classroom!  Students from grades K through 12 gave presentations – and so did teachers – to show the community how technology has changed their classrooms in recent years.  You can check out WJON’s video below, or their article written by Isaac Schweer – both featuring Sartell’s Instructional Technology Specialist Brad Scherer!

School Media Specialist

TIES 2014: A CMLE Scholarship

TIES2014_web_logo_stackedThe following post was submitted by CMLE scholarship recipient Brad Scherer, Instructional Technology Specialist at Sartell Middle School.

“Because of the CMLE Scholarship, I was able to get another day and night at the 2014 TIES conference. This conference is always one of the premiere educational technology conferences in the Midwest. The keynote speakers, sessions, networking, and ideas are never in short supply. I always leave the conference more enlightened than when I arrived and this year was no different.

I have three major takeaways from the conference. The first is that I need to try and utilize our Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology, more. The “Student Completion” feature that allows students to progress through content at their own pace could be a game-changer. I was really inspired by a session I attended by Beth Hamilton a math teachers from Farmington Public Schools. Letting students work through material at their own pace as they learn it and not at the pace the teachers sets, seems to make so much sense. Schoology’s Student Completion makes this so much easier for teachers.

My second takeaway is that I really need to explore using Minecraft in the classroom. It is a platform that my students are already using and it has incredible potential for education. My plan is to explore the Minecraft Pocket Edition for our iPads this year and see if I can pilot using it in a few classrooms next year. I would like help teacher created content for specific curriculum and then for a unit or two we could have the students create content as a final assessment.

My third and final takeaway is how we need to continue to work on our MakerSpace (we call it our Learning Lab) at SMS. The Maker Movement was all over the TIES conference and I it got me motivated to continue to explore what is possible. I plan to invest in the book “Invent to Learn” a must read for people who want to create Maker Spaces. Thanks again for supporting my trip to TIES!”