Sign-up Now for eLearning Fall 2012 Courses

Posted on September 10, 2012 by higginsb

Don’t forget to check out the new eLearning for Educators online professional development courses for fall semester at: http://www.elearningmo.org/register/fall-2012/ eLearning courses are available to educators across Missouri and in all other states.

New courses for this semester include “Flipped, Upside-down, and Blended Instruction for the K-12 Classroom” and “Going Mobile K-12: Capturing the Power of Smart Phones, Tablets, Apps, and More.” Many of the standard favorites are also available including “Classroom Management,” “Algebraic Thinking in Elementary School,” and “Google Tools for Schools.”

Courses cost $150 per person and graduate credit is available for an additional $100 per credit hour. Registration closes on September 19. Courses begin October 3 and conclude by November 20. Start your registration process today! For more information about eLearning for Educators see the website at: http://www.elearningmo.org/

Brought to you by the bloggers for the eMINTS National Center.

Supporting Thinking Through Cognitive CoachingSM

Posted on August 16, 2012 by higginsb

Welcome Back! We hope you are off to the start of a wonderful school year! The eMINTS National Center has been hard at work all summer long preparing learning opportunities for you!

Image used with permission.

We are excited to be hosting another eight day Cognitive CoachingSM Foundations Seminar in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Cognitive CoachingSM Model helps produce self-directed individuals. Here is what people have said after attending the Cognitive CoachingSM Foundations Seminar-

“Coming into CC, I thought I would really struggle with the purpose of coaching being to take the coachee where he/she wanted to go… I thought it would be difficult to let go of where I wanted him/her to go. Throughout the trainings though, my thinking changed with my experiences. The trainings were totally engaging to me and really affected the way I view myself as a leader and even as a conversationalist. My expectations were more than exceeded!”
“Cognitive CoachingSM has made me a better listener. I have to really practice holding back my own thoughts and opinions during a conversation and remember that the conversation is about helping the other person to think, not about getting my ideas in the air.”
“The knowledge and skills that are learned in the 8 day Foundations Seminar can be applied in all aspects of personal and professional life. The tools and experience are worth the time and money spent attending training.”

The dates for the upcoming St. Louis Foundations Seminar are:
September 26 and 27, 2012
October 24 and 25, 2012
November 28 and 29, 2012
January 16 and 17, 2013

The Foundations Seminar is a great professional development opportunity for all instructional coaches, administrators, teachers, and anyone interested in improving their communication skills to support others in planning, reflecting, and problem-resolving. Participants who attend the eight-day seminar will be a certified Cognitive CoachSM.

To learn more and register for the seminar go to http://www.emints.org/professional-development/other-pd/cognitive-coaching/

Space is limited so register today!

Brooke Higgins, Carmen Marty, and Terri Brines are Instructional Specialist, Cognitive CoachingSM Agency Trainers, and bloggers for the eMINTS National Center.

Edutopia Features eMINTS and Hartville

Posted on July 25, 2012 by higginsb

Click for link to Edutopia: Schools that Work

On July 25, the Edutopia’s Schools That Work profiles the eMINTS program as it has been implemented in the Hartville R-II School District located in Hartville, MO. The Hartville School District has implemented the eMINTS program at multiple grade levels from elementary through high school over the past seven years. The district was selected by Edutopia not only for its high levels of performance on standardized assessments but also for its strong showing on other measures of student performance such as graduation rate, number of students completing advanced courses, and career education placements.

Edutopia, sponsored by the George Lucas Foundation, is a digital treasure trove of resources, ideas, and communication opportunities for educators, parents, and others who are interested in improving the K-12 learning process. Edutopiahighlights evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives.

Edutopia film crews visited the eMINTS National Center offices and the Hartville School District in April to capture footage about the eMINTS professional development programs and how they were implemented in Hartville. The crew interviewed program leaders, Monica Beglau and Lorie Kaplan, about the ways that eMINTS helps teachers learn how to integrate technology into classrooms so that learning can be transformed.

The interviews provide insight into how eMINTS professional development is one of the few programs that has lasting positive impacts on how teachers teach. The crew travelled to Hartville to film an eMINTS professional development session and then followed teachers into their classrooms to observe how the professional development changed their practice.

In addition to the feature video, eMINTS has shared program resources that teachers can use in their classrooms to integrate technology in more effective ways.

Staying Connected & Collaborating

Posted on June 6, 2012 by higginsb

School is out for summer (unless of course you are teaching summer school) and you might be finding that you miss those colleagues you normally see day to day. Your normal routine of getting to talk with, share your classroom ideas and success, and bounce ideas off of for some upcoming projects has been put on hold but does it really have to stop. I say no!!!

Click for Source

Why not check out some virtual options? Tools like Edmodo, Facebook, and Twitter can help you to continue your collegial collaboration, stay connected, and possibly take it a step further. You might even extend your normal summertime routines to include expanding your professional learning with a little lightly structured, informal PD.What’s better…they are free tools and are easy to use.

Edmodo is a great option for setting up a virtual classroom or collaborative sharing space (they call these groups). Everyone in your group will need to create an account (FYI adults are considered Teachers and kids are Students) One person will need to create the Group and then share the Code Edmodo creates with everyone that will be a part of that group. Then let the sharing begin. Resource links and documents are easy to share as well as basic communications. Check out the Edmodo Help page for help getting started or attend a Webinar for more ideas and support. I attended a webinar last week and got a lot of great ideas for not only the teachers that I train but also for schools and organizations that I work with.

Facebook Groups are another option for sharing and learning from others. eMINTS has their own Facebook group where these Networked Teaching & Learning posts are shared but also other resources. Anyone belonging to the group can share on the eMINTS group page as well. Members can add posts, links, share photos/video, conduct polls, and upload files. If your team members already have Facebook accounts and are ready for an group online presence to do these kinds of things, maybe creating a Facebook Group is the answer for you. If you need some help there are very easy steps to follow and you can even set privacy settings to allow only your Friends in your group. Learn more about Facebook Groups from Facebook or from a post from Zac back in August 2011.

Twitter offers an even easy way to connect with no need to create pages or groups on a different website. Basically all that needs to happen is that each person in your collaborative circle needs to have a Twitter account. You each need to share your usernames and “follow” each other. Start by sharing your thoughts, ideas, opinions, resources, tools, and inspirations and watch your Wwitter homepage for what others are sharing back. With Twitter there is no pressure or need to be wordy, chatty, long-winded, etc…all you need are 140 characters. Need some help with Twitter? Check out their support page for basic support and more.

With all of these tools it does take some discipline and conscious effort to be a productive member but as long as everyone shares a little you can all learn a lot.

What are some things you are collaborating on this summer and what tools work for your group?

Brooke Higgins is an instructional specialists for the eMINTS National Center.

Thursday’s Tip: Find Your Own Professional Development

Posted on January 12, 2012 by earlyz

Audiences North East - summer professional development event, Alnwick Gardens (19) - The Poison Garden

Click for source.

We’ve all been there. Your district or building sets aside days for professional development. Sometimes the topics are specific to your school’s needs, but often they are not. The sessions drag on and all you can think about is all the work you have to get done. And this is coming from someone who facilitates professional development for a living.

Sometimes, the best way to get the most out of professional development is to find your own. There are many ways in which educators can find professional development opportunities with minimal cost and without leaving their home or school.

Below are a few tips for finding your own professional development opportunities:

eLearning for Educators -A part of the eMINTS National Center houses eLearning for Educators, an online space for teacher professional development. Pricing is reasonable. Plus, the savings from not having to travel make it worth your time right away. Visit eLearning for Educators for more details.
FeedOn the Horizon: 20+ Free Professional Development Opportunities for 2012Posted – Teacher Reboot Camp lists some great online PD opportunities that will only cost you to have decent internet access.
Read educational literature – Sometimes, the best learning we can do is accomplished by sitting down with a good book. Larry Ferlazzo polled his audience to see what they have been reading this past year and the results can be found at this post.
Cultivate your PLN – Personal Learning Networks (PLN) have been around for a while now, but I am still surprised at how many educators don’t utilize or even have one. Some good starting points for creating your own PLN are here and here.
Watch TED talks. – TED talks bring together the brightest and most successful thinkers of our time to discuss their unique projects and perspectives. These talks are then shared with the world via online videos. A theme of interest for educators might be How We Learn, but most TED talks can provide great insight and inspiration to us all.

What other ways are there to attain professional development with limited resources and budgets? How can some of these ideas be applied to the professional learning communities (PLC) currently appearing in schools everywhere? How can these practices enhance your current professional development?

Zac Early is an instructional specialist and blogger with the eMINTS National Center.

Monday Message: Global Learners

Posted on July 11, 2011 by higginsb

The world is becoming “flatter” by the day and schools are now focusing their efforts on preparing students to participate, interact, and thrive in a global society. With the goal to support schools in accomplishing this task, EdSteps, led by the Council of Chief State School Officers, created the Global Competence Matrix as a tool for teachers to use to help build Global Competence into their students, classrooms, and schools. Global Competence being the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance.

The matrix focuses around 4 main areas, the definition of each, and how students might demonstrate their ability to meet those expectations.

Find the Global Competence Matrix PDF and see the Global Competence – Content Area Matrices PDF for more detailed examples for Communication Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and more. If you are interested in helping build an archive of authentic examples, you can visit the site to submit work samples.

As you begin thinking about incorporating Global Competence into your classroom lessons, in what ways does this mesh with what you are already doing and where might you need to adapt?

Brooke Higgins is an instructional specialist with the eMINTS National Center. You can read more at her blog Higgins Helpful Hints Blog.

Image: “Global Competence.” Global Competence Matrix. Web. 11 Jul 2011. <http://edsteps.org/CCSSO/ManageContent.aspx?system_name=I5nka44NofDD3IY38QBonx+Crwfdw+uF&selected_system_name=DRkDdjiObdU=>

Monday Message: Summer “Break”

Posted on June 13, 2011 by higginsb

Ahhh, Summer – a Teacher’s Vacation; or that is what a lot of people think. During this time many of you are teaching summer school, continuing your own education, making plans for next year, and hopefully relaxing and rejuvenating yourselves for the coming school year.

As you begin your Summer Vacation you may want to take a look at a project one High School English teacher has taken on. Charles Ripley, creator of the 2000 Hours blog, will be logging and blogging about all of the hours he puts in as a teacher for the next year to “change misconceptions about teachers in the United States.”

Watch his video, part of his first post, where he explains his thoughts and reasons for this project and follow his blog to learn more about it. You can even monitor his progress on his Google Docs 2,000 Hours Spreadsheet.

Those of us here at eMINTS hope you enjoy your Summer and all the things you decide to fill your days with.

Brooke Higgins is an Instructional Specialist with the eMINTS National Center. You can read more at her blog Higgins Helpful Hints Blog.

Klearchos Kapoutsis (Photographer). (2007). Summer Shoes. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/3601744848/- used with permission under the Creative Commons license.

Monday Message: Get SMART this summer!

Posted on June 6, 2011 by higginsb

Getting a new SMART Board in your classroom this year? Need a refresher to help increase your effectiveness using the SMART Board and SMART Notebook? Interested in making your SMART Notebook lessons more interactive and engaging for students? If so, you might be interested in one of the professional development opportunities eMINTS is offering around the state of Missouri this summer.

eMINTS will offer 2 levels of professional development in Columbia, St. Louis, and Springfield. All trainings will be led by SMART certified specialists. At Level 1 training, you will increase your effectiveness with SMART Notebook collaborative learning software at a full-day professional development on-site session. At Level 2 training, you will learn how to design lesson activities in Notebook collaborative learning software by adding style and incorporating interactive content at a full-day professional development on-site session.

Check the eMINTS website for dates, locations, fees, and more. Sign up now to guarantee your spot in this high quality professional development. Seating is limited.

Between now and the SMART training dates you may want to browse these SMART resources and fill your virtual file cabinet with great activities that support your curriculum.

The SMART Exchange: Professionally created Notebook activities correlated to state standards, from SMART Technologies, teachers, and even publishers. Download and use these SMART Notebook files as is or edit them to fit your needs.
eMINTS eThemes: Your source for content-rich, kid-safe online resources.
- Technology Flash Files – find flash files specifically for using with a Smart Notebook. Includes instructions for how to import flash files into the Notebook and how to retrieve flash files.
- Teaching Tips: SMART Board Resources – resources for various subjects and grade levels. There are downloadable lessons, interactive websites, templates, interactive videos, and teaching ideas.
- Math: SMART Board Activities - activities for geometry, number and operation concepts, functions and algebra, fractions, and statistics. Explore the many different applets.

Brooke Higgins is an instructional specialist with the eMINTS National Center. You can read more at her blog Higgins Helpful Hints Blog.

jkmallen (Photographer). (2007). Image 0727. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/27291024@N02/4095775128/ - used with permission under the Creative Commons license.

Monday Message: eMINTS/SMART Summer Training

Posted on May 30, 2011 by earlyz

Two levels of professional development on SMART Board and SMART Notebook led by SMART training specialists will be offered in summer 2011 at three locations across the state – Columbia, Springfield and St. Louis. Attend one day or both days. Find all the details and a link to online registration at the eMINTS website.

Level 1
Increase your effectiveness with SMART Notebook collaborative learning software at a full-day professional development on-site session.

Level 2
Learn how to design lesson activities in Notebook collaborative learning software by adding style and incorporating interactive content at a full-day professional development on-site session.

Again, for more information about what specifically is being offered, when and where trainings will be, and cost are available at our website and register here.

Networked Teaching & Learning

The Official Blog of the eMINTS National Center

Tag Archives: Professional Development