​The school year is in full swing and many of us are implementing new things and feel a little overwhelmed. There is a lot of good quality stuff out there, but we can’t do it all or we can’t do it all really well! Last November, I saw Mark Garrison, the Director of Technology at White Bear Lake in Minnesota, give a keynote and what stuck with me was his challenge to do three things: start, stop and share!

​Happy new year, time for a fresh start and try some new things! Beth Swantz, GWAEA technology consultant, makes her new year’s resolution at the start of each school year. I challenge you all to start something new this year and stick to it. It could be something simple to improve productivity in your classroom, have students use a new app, start blogging or start using Twitter for professional learning! Whatever it is, try something new. Model for your students being a lifelong learner, it’s ok to break out of the status quo and give something new a try, even if you aren’t totally successful and struggle, look at all the learning that took place in the process.

For everything you start, Mark suggested you stop something else. It’s ok! We can’t do everything because we don’t have the time, so prioritize! What is going to provide your students with the most valuable learning? Invest your time and go deep in those experiences instead of trying to juggle doing too many things. As a teacher, I had a lot in my bag of tricks and always added to the list of bookmarks and had 10 different websites that could do the same thing, but maybe in just a little different way. WHY? More doesn’t equal more! Quality less can be more! It’s ok to take an experience or tool and go deep with the learning opportunities with it and stop trying to use things because they are there or because you have always done it that way.

I am always amazed at the wonderful things I see teachers do. Their creativity and then what they have their students do blows my mind! I am fortunate to get to hear about a lot of these things because of my role, but teachers or students don’t always get to hear about it, so my challenge to you is to share. You may think “it isn’t a big deal” or “everyone already knows that” but you will be surprised your idea may spark a new idea or encourage someone to give something new a try! Anna Upah, first grade teacher at Benton Community, is really good at this, posting photos of her students in action and what they are trying (if you want to see Makerspace in 1st grade follow her). Anna and other teachers brought students to iPadU this summer to share what they were doing and that was one of the best sessions. They are also coming to ITEC this fall to share. Talk about seeing it in action and what a way to motivate students with an audience. Sharing doesn’t have to be presenting at a conference, it could be sharing with the staff member down the hall or sharing on Twitter or Facebook for others to see!

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​So, just like Mark challenged me, I challenge you: make an effort this year to START something new, STOP doing something nonessential to make room for the new and then SHARE the wonderful things you and your students are learning! 

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~Stacy Behmer, Coordinator of Digital Learning - @sbehmer +StacyBehmer 

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Grant Wood AEA is offering schools a new online resource called Defined STEM.  Defined STEM weaves curriculum strands into a personalized learning experience, unique for each student.  Defined STEM provides real-world relevance and application opportunities to K-12 students through performance and literacy tasks.

GWAEA has purchased licenses for all students in our service area for the next three years.  The platform supports teachers with implementation of project-based learning experiences by showcasing real world careers, and using meaningful reading and writing activities. It may also link to your district’s goals around project-based learning, STEM education, and blended learning.

With a click of a button, teachers will find performance and literacy tasks, aligned with and searchable by Common Core and state standards.  Performance tasks are the project-based component aligned to Understanding by Design, where students research solutions and create a unique product to solve a problem.   Each performance task is supported with high-interest videos, research articles, and product examples for the students and assessment rubrics for educators.

Teachers can also use Defined STEM to boost nonfiction literacy skills. Teachers can search for literary tasks by argumentative, informative, and constructed response options.  Each of the literary tasks is organized and supported with articles and videos to aide students in exploring and understanding the big ideas. Once you’ve found a lesson that you like, performance or literary task, each lesson can be customized to allow teachers to easily fit it into their curriculum.

A few of our area schools have started to explore Defined STEM and see strong potential for this resource.  Cassidy Reinken, Magnet Coordinator at Johnson STEAM Academy Magnet School, has participated in a Defined STEM webinar and had these reflections on Defined STEM.

A great way to get started with Defined STEM is to schedule a half-hour webinar for your teachers.  After the webinar, your teachers should feel more comfortable with the basics of Defined STEM including searching and assigning lessons. Contact Amber Bridge or Mindy Cairney to schedule a webinar for your school.

~Amber Bridge and Mindy Cairney, Technology Consultants

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