The Michigan Department of Education is now a State Education Partner with Thinkfinity, which is sponsored by the Verizon Foundation. If you haven’t heard of Thinkfinity, it is the new and improved Marco Polo sponsored by the Verizon Foundation. Through our partnership with Thinkfinity we will be offering free technology integration training for teachers.
We are currently looking for people interested in becoming field trainers, so they can start doing technology integration training for teachers in the winter/spring. Contact Karen Hairston at hairstonk@michigan.gov with your name, title, school/organization name, city, state, zip and e-mail address by November 26 for the January Online Field Trainer Training roster.
Related to this training, MDE has partnered with the Michigan e-Library and Wayne State University to develop a portal for K-12 teachers. It is called MORE — Michigan Online Resources for Educators and is located at http://more.mel.org.
What makes this portal unique is that all of the resources are aligned to the Michigan Content Expectations (K-12). Currently we have a couple thousand math and science resources in the site, we are working on adding resources for the other core areas. It is anticipated approximately 8,000 resources in the portal within a month. The first set of resources is from the Michigan Teacher Network, and the resources were manually aligned by Michigan teachers in the Summer of 2006. Once these are in, we will be aligning and adding or more than 55,000 resources available through our partnership with Thinkfinity.
Now in its 6th year, Speak Up is national online survey where students, parents, and educators can participate in the national, state and local dialog about key educational topics. Open October 27th - December 19, 2008. This year’s topics include:
- Technology usage in and out of the classroom
- Science Education and career exploration
- 21st Century skills: information and media library
- Emerging Trends: digital content, broadband access and policy, online learning
- Designing the 21st century school
Participating schools and districts will receive free, online access to their results in February 2009. Since inception, the project has collected the viewpoints of over 1.2 million K-12 students, educators and parents from all 50 states.
To learn more about Speak Up visit http://www.netdayspeakup.org/speakup2008/
View the complete list of survey questions at: http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speakup_surveys.html
The Michigan Council for the Social Studies is excited to offer a grant opportunity for social studies students and educators. The iTunesU Digital Storybook was introduced by the Michigan Department of Education in collaboration with the Michigan Association of Computer Users and Learning.
Application deadline is Friday, November 14, 2008. For application process and information go to http://www.mcssmi.org, then click the Digital Story Book link on the left.
The first 50 completed applications will be eligible for all stipends. All other applications will not receive a stipend, but their projects will be entered in the competition for awards. Please submit an online application once you have reviewed the criteria and guidelines listed in link above.
Attention Building Level Technology Teams! Want to receive free training worth up to $9,000.00 to help educators in your school become more skilled at using educational technology?
The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) has received a grant from the Michigan Department of Education to train 90 teams at the school building level. In the MI-Champions program, teams of 3-5 educators attend the annual MACUL conference in 2009 and 2010, receive two days of training in the summer of 2009, receive onsite coaching expertise, and a wealth of resources. MACUL conference registration, as well as lodging and substitute teacher stipends are provided each MI-Champion participant.
More information, feedback from MI-Champions participants, and to apply can be found at MI-Champions Information. Application deadline is November 10, 2008.
Oakland Schools invites upper elementary and middle school teachers to have their student participate in a five-week award-winning project that focuses on improved land use. This authentic project targets the Science, Social Studies and Language Arts Benchmarks that address human interaction with the environment, analyzing data, public policy, inquiry and participating in public discourse and decision making. While Science or geography could be the primary content area this project is rich with team teaching possibilities.
In addition to addressing these content areas, this project provides opportunities to cover many or most of the Michigan Educational Technology Standards and components of the Online Learning Requirement.
More information at: Oakland Schools Land Use Project 2008-09
Apply for $1,000.00 Educator Stipend and a 2009 MACUL Conference free registration! Application window is October 10 - November 30, 2008.
More information at: MACUL MI Learning, MI Learning Educator Stipend Information, MI Learning Stipend Application
MI Learning on iTunes U is a gateway to educational resources using a variety of formats. Submitted by organizations and individuals throughout Michigan, these resources can offer great learning opportunities for students, educators and community.
The audio, video and pdf files for curriculum, leadership, and professional development can be accessed by computer, iPod, handheld, and more.
To create and share quality educational resources follow the instructions listed at MACUL MI Learning Information .
More information at: K-12 iTunes U, MI Learning Participation Information, MI Learning Participation form
As we get ready for Election 2008, the Michigan e-Library (mel.org) is featuring a Special Topics with selected Web sites on this important event. The Election 2008 section contains online resources to find information needed to help you and your patrons, students, etc., prepare for voting in the November 4, 2008 general election. Information on where to vote, how the process works, absentee ballots, campaign finance and lobbying disclosure and much, much more.
Resources include sites for all represented political parties on the ballot and the candidates representing those parties with biographical data, speeches, and information on where the candidates stand on various issues. Sites from non-partisan organizations attempt to provide clear, unbiased political information and debunk false claims with reputable resources. Wording from statewide ballot proposals is also provided.
Whatever your political persuasion, don’t forget to vote!
Visit MeL Featured Resources for Election 2008 and more.
Libraries have a reputation for being great collaborators; in fact, the Library of Michigan has been collaborating with the Michigan Department of Education and Wayne State University in creating an exciting new resource for Michigan educators - the Michigan Online Resource for Educators(MORE).
This portal will point to thousands of free resources such as lesson plans, videos, podcasts, interactive Web sites and educational games. Even more exciting is that these resources are aligned to and searchable by Michigan’s Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs) as well as the High School Content Expectations (HSCEs). MORE users can also submit, rate and review resources and check employment opportunities in education all in one convenient place.
MORE can be found in MeL, the Michigan eLibrary (www.mel.org). MeL is Michigan’s 24/7 Library, available anytime, anywhere with Internet access. The Michigan eLibrary contains vetted materials such as practice tests and tutorials (college entrance exams, K-12 skills improvement, vocational tests, etc.), full-text articles from magazines, professional journals and newspapers, maps, art images and much, much more, all free and accessible by teachers, students, and parents to enhance teaching and learning from Deb Bigg Thomas (biggsthomasd@michigan.gov), MeL Coodinator, Library of Michigan.
Schuler is proud to unveil its newest web feature, the Schuler E-Studio, featuring live online author chats!
Book lovers are able to log on to the E-Studio through the Schuler website from the comfort of their own homes, and participate in moderate chat with their favorite authors! This is something that literally anyone with web connection can participate in, an we’re hoping to make it a national presence in the literary scene.
For information and press release visit Schuler Books & Music E-Studio Author Web Chats or http://www.schulerbooks.com