MEMSET

Massachusetts Elementary & Middle School Educational Technologists

1/27 5-7pm at Meadowbrook

UPDATE - Due to the incoming blizzard, the meeting at Meadowbrook tomorrow evening has been cancelled. We'd like to pick another date that works for as many of us as possible. Please use the following poll to select the dates that work best for you:

http://doodle.com/cdsfpbtux9u74q3k

Please respond to the poll promptly as we'll need to plan quickly if the 29th (this Thursday) is selected. I'll post the selected date and an invitation to RSVP Tuesday afternoon.

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We'd love for you to join us in our new eurekaLab (eureka-lab.org) on Tuesday January 27 from 5-7pm, with a snow date of Thursday January 29 from 5-7.

The Meadowbrook School of Weston

Agenda: We'll share what we've learned while building the eurekaLab (our prototype makerspace) as well as some maker-projects. We'd also love to hear any projects, tips and tricks, or experiences you've had around 3D printing integration. Please help form the agenda by adding your item to this doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KEglB-AQku-6Y-bnqdJBcSY3K5G2Myei3aaNuHTLbmQ/edit?usp=sharing

Please RSVP at: http://goo.gl/forms/OCwBUlo1Hi

First Meeting of the year 10/16/13 5pm at Meadowbrook

Meadowbrook will host our first gathering of the year. we're looking at Wednesday, October 16, 2013 at 5 PM in our faculty dining room. Please RSVP via the Google Form link and let us know if you want to share anything (also in the form). We'll develop an agenda closer to the event. I've invited you to fill out the form MEMSET Meeting at Meadowbrook: Wed, Oct 16, 2013 5PM. To fill it out, visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CONJO6VEKu_Uw6oHdvUYWZnTlnuVKMNAjkObKzxqIZE/viewform

Agenda

5/15/13 Meeting @ Fessenden

You're invited to attend the final MEMSET meeting of 2012-2013 at The Fessenden School, 250 Waltham Street, West Newton on Wednesday, May 15, from 5 - 7 p.m. Curt Lewellyn, Head of Middle School, will briefly describe Fessenden's new Q.E.D. ("Question. Explore. Demonstrate") program. Q.E.D. provides an opportunity, beyond the regular academic program, for students to explore innovative learning based on their own passions.

There will be ample time for additional sharing and/or discussion.

Ideas:

I would like to share:

  • Depending on how the agenda evolves, I can present part or all of the LS tech presentation I gave to the PA in March.  It gives a brief overview of many ways tech is being used throughout the grades and touches on my role as ATA. Kim Fogarty (Fessenden)

I would like to discuss:

  • iPads vs. Chromebooks Kim Fogarty (Fessenden)
  • Google+ for educators- pros and cons - Megan Haddadi (BB&N)
  • Design Thinking and whether it is being used in the classrooms. Peter Fay (Fay)
  • The role of the technology integration specialist. Beth Green (Tenacre)
  • Managing iPads - Doug Fodeman - (Brookwood)

Notes:

Folio Collaborative (http://www.foliocollaborative.org/) presented by Scott L Smith, Assistant Head of School at Fessenden

  • Facilitates conversations with supervisors.
  • Leads a process of reflection, goals, observations and collaborative projects
  • Huge incentive in including 21st century skills as a required goal, drives faculty to technology staff to meet the goal.
  • Folio also leads a conference in professional development and supervision
  • Faculty find it easy to use, sends email notifications
  • Spotlight sends a 'kudos' that is highlighted to all faculty as a way to celebrate accomplishments, so it's not just about compatibility.
  • Gets faculty to talk about goals, instead of being neglected after they are written
  • Have focused on the positive growth-based aspects to start
  • A feature exists to allow student feedback
  • Used in an attempt to connect more often and more frequently, rather than one "large chunk" done every third year

Q.E.D. ("Question. Explore. Demonstrate") presented by Curt Lewellyn, Head of Middle School

  • Q.E.D. provides an opportunity, beyond the regular academic program, for students to explore innovative learning based on their own passions.
  • Inspired by Design Thinking, and places like NuVu, Stanford d.school, Berwick Innovation Center
  • Independent study exploring new methods in innovative learning
  • Students submit a question and are matched with a faculty member and a community expert. Control who the faculty member matches are to avoid issues
  • Student meet with mentors continually, and as a cohort once a week
  • Not all proposals are accepted
  • No grades, assessment, and students must be self-motivated.

MEMSET Calendar for next year- Dan Riles Kingsley Montessori

  • Suggests setting the schedule, something along the lines of 3rd Thursday of the week, or setting the calendar for the year.
  • Mini sessions on hands-on items (i.e. Managing Chromebooks)
  • Changing format of the sessions - perhaps an EdCamp model?
  • Involving public schools and independent schools
  • Can we commit to contacting one other school for the fall?
  • A Google spreadsheet will be set up on who will contact which school.
  • Alternate the meeting days of the week

iPads vs. Notebooks discussion Beth Green Tenacre Country Day School

  • Screencasting, movie making and other creative tasks are made easier
  • Helps reframe the expectation on students, requires a shift.

New England EdCamps:

Go to http://EdcampBoston.org to find the links to all of these events!

New England is going to have a TON of Edcamps this Summer, so there’s an opportunity for everybody to join in the fun! They’re all free!

June 1 – Edcamp xEDU - Burlington, MA http://edcampxedu.org/ July 16 – Edcamp BLC - Boston, MA http://edcampblc.wikispaces.com/ August 9 – Edcamp Keene - Keene, NH http://bit.ly/edcampkeene August 12 – Edcamp Cape Cod - Sandwich, MA http://edcampcapecod.weebly.com/ August 16 – Edcamp CT – Simsbury, CT http://edcampct.org/

Don’t have time for a full day of Edcamp or those days not work for you? How about mini-Edcamps every Tuesday? Totally free!

Tuesdays in July and August – Edcamp BPS Tuesdays – Burlington, MA http://bit.ly/edcampbps Tuesdays in July – Edcamp RSD6 Tuesdays – Wamogo, CT http://bit.ly/edcamprsd6

There are no registration fees for edcamps, but they do often have a registration cap and "sell out". If you attend an EdCamp, please let me know about your experience!

4/9/13 Meeting Agenda & Notes

MEMSET Meeting Agenda & NotesApril 9, 2013 Chestnut Hill

Scratch Project Sharing -

Lego WeDo and Scratch Projects

A number of people would like to share Scratch projects - some utilizing the Lego WeDo motors. Scratch version 2.0 is now in Beta so let’s see what people are doing and discuss what projects are being planned.

Chestnut Hill Electronics Club - meets weekly, elementary students learn soldering and basic electronics.

Professional Development Approaches -

Demo of Zendesk and Google+ TeCHS

How do we keep up with training needs?

Methods mentioned included unconference style sessions, iPad speed dating tables (where faculty move between stations), content specific workshops, and old-fashioned 1:1 integrationist work.

What is being planned for this summer?

Conferences and Workshops mentioned included EdCamps, ISTE, EdTechTeacher (especially iPad Summit) and others

Apps & Tools mentioned:

Next Meeting?

Fessenden has agreed to host the next meeting before the end of the school year. Date and time will be announced soon.