An Opportunity for First-year Educators: One-year Free Membership to ACTEM

The Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine recently launched a membership opportunity for first year educators. ACTEM is a non-profit which supports Maine education professionals by providing professional development, bulk purchasing for software and technology, and professional learning networks/ At the recent annual summer board retreat, a new ACTEM membership level was discussed and created for first-year educators (teachers & administrators). The new First Year Educator level will be offered at no cost and will include all of the standard individual member benefits except for the opportunity to apply for Professional Development reimbursement.

The ACTEM board hopes that by offering this one-year FREE membership for our new educators, we will encourage them to…

See the benefits of belonging to a professional organization
Take advantage of the other ACTEM individual member benefits
PZpAttend ACTEM conference to build a network of support (at discounted member rate)
Continue with this membership in future years

The First Year Educator membership includes these benefits:

ACTEM’s quarterly newsletter –The Connected Educator
Lunch at the quarterly business meeting at regional sites
Discounted registration fee on the ACTEM fall conference
Access to ACTEM’s
OverDrive eBook and audio book PD library
Discounts on software & other items available through our purchasing consortium (as permitted by the vendor).

Check out the What is ACTEM tri-fold brochure that explains more about ACTEM along with details of benefits for the different member levels. Please forward this information along to all first-year educators in your district.

Media Release: Computer Science Education Showcase Highlights Maine’s Interdisciplinary, Project-Based Approach to Computer Science

Students and educators from across Maine showed off their computer science skills at the Maine Department of Education’s Computer Science Education Showcase at the Roux Institute. The showcase highlighted innovative computer science education programs in schools across Maine, with hands on, interactive exhibits featuring robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), 3D design and printing, coding, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), data science, cybersecurity, and more.

Maine has long been a leader in integrating technology and learning, and that holds true with computer science education. Instead of computer science being a separate course only some students take or an “add on”, Maine provides the support and resources to encourage all schools to provide interdisciplinary, project-based computer science learning experiences that incorporate computational and critical thinking, innovation and design processes, and applied learning at all grade levels and across all subject areas.

The Computer Science Education Showcase illustrated the state’s approach, with VR headsets transporting users to Maine State Parks which a student developed over the course of last summer, 3D printing demonstrations, a full-size arcade game developed by students, 6th graders demonstrating their block coding skills, a wide array of apps and websites around difference content areas created by students, and a robotics room with world champion level robotics teams. All Pre-K through 12 grade levels were represented, with educators highlighting how they were incorporating computer science education at younger grade levels, including having 5th grade students partner with kindergarten students to teach them basic coding skills and a new mobile makerspace that will rotate between elementary schools offering computer science education for Pre-K through fifth grade students.

Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin, University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, 2022 Presidential Scholar Sirohi Kumar, Bethel second grade teacher Alice Lee, Jackson Labs Vice President for Education Charlie Wray, and the Roux Institute’s Chief Administrative Officer Chris Mallett participated in a panel discussion on how Maine is paving the way for students and teachers to be successful in the world of computer science. The discussion focused on reaching more students, making computer science more accessible to all, taking an interdisciplinary approach to computer science education, and how the critical and computational thinking, collaboration, and creative design skills developed through computer science education are critical to success in nearly every career and 21st century life.

“Computer science is about approaching a problem with optimism, logic, critical thinking, design thinking, creativity and vision. We need to make computer science accessible for every educator and every student and continue this tradition that we’ve started in Maine of interdisciplinary, project-based computer science education across all grades that is really contextualized in a way that is meaningful for kids,” said Education Commissioner Pender Makin.

“There is this perception of computer science that it’s for an elite group, and in reality that’s not the case–it can be used for everything including art, science, and music. I think computer science education should be framed for everyone at a very young age that computer science can solve whatever problem or scenario you have regardless of what field it is,” said Sirohi Kumar a 2022 Presidential Scholar from Mount Desert Island.

“The more we can engage with computer science at the Pre-K through 12 level, the more ready everyone is for whatever comes afterward. These students here tonight are getting a head start with these skills. It’s going to matter for your futures,” said University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy.

“Building those skills of computer science at the youngest level—problem solving, debugging, innovating, and creativity. These basic skills are really what our young learners need to take off academically,” said second grade teacher Alice Lee from Bethel.

“We now live in a world that is immersed in big data and the amount of data being generated is so tremendous that this next generation has this great opportunity to enter so many career fields where computer science has a touchpoint. It’s not just being a software engineer or computer scientist, but all of us can learn and solve problems with big data and the amount of careers that can come out of good computer science education is endless,” said Jackson Labs Vice President for Education Charlie Wray.

“This concept of computer science for everyone is important. These competencies and literacies are no longer siloed; they work across the spectrum. The logic and reasoning that comes from computer science paired with the creativity of a liberal arts education, it’s the intersection of these skills that all of us have the potential to develop that is going to propel the Maine economy and the Maine workforce of the future,” said the Roux Institute’s Chief Administrative Officer Chris Mallett.

The Maine Department of Education and the Mills administration continue to support and bolster computer science education in Maine:

The DOE works continually with educators, business leaders, and others to update and adapt Maine’s statewide computer science education plan and the Department’s work is guided by seven key principles;
Governor Mills signed onto Governor Hutchison’s computer science compact;
The DOE hired a computer science specialist to work with schools and has committed additional resources to support educators and schools in integrating authentic, project-based Pre-K through 12 computer science education;
Governor Mills signed a bill providing $50,000 in professional learning support for educators on computer science, with an emphasis on educators in rural areas and serving marginalized communities, and another $50,000 will be awarded this coming school year;
Next month’s Educator Summit will feature several professional learning opportunities for educators on computer science education;
The DOE developed its first Pre-K through 12 online computer science learning progression last year focused on computational thinking and a new progression will soon be launched; and
The DOE is doubling the number of Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) Ambassadors that work in schools to support the integration of technology and learning, including computer science education.

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Registration Open for Computer Science Education Showcase Event at Roux Institute on July 13th

The Maine Department of Education (DOE), in partnership with the Roux Institute, is hosting a Computer Science Education Showcase event to celebrate the great things happening across the state in computer science education! The showcase will highlight educators, students, community organizations, and other partners who are teaching, learning, and expanding access to and participation in computer science education. New to computer science? Not sure what computer science is? Looking to learn more about ways that computer science is taught and learned across the state? This is the event for you! Come and learn about how Maine is paving the way for students and teachers to be successful in the world of computer science.

Join us July 13th, 5pm-6:30pm at the Roux Institute in Portland Maine. Click here to register to attend!

The event is free and highlights include interactive exhibits by educators from schools from across Maine, a special guest speaker and a panel discussion about computer science!

If you have questions or would like to learn more about the Computer Science Showcase, please reach out to the Maine DOE Computer Science Specialist, Emma-Marie Banks at emma-marie.banks@maine.gov .

Seeking Schools and Educators to Pilot New High School Statistics and Data Science Course

The Maine Department of Education (DOE), in partnership with University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA’s) Teaching and Learning Lab, is seeking educators who are interested in piloting a modern approach to teaching statistics and data science.

Our hope is that this course will be highly engaging for students and produce transferable knowledge that could open new career pathways. It is for everyone interested in how data and computers are being used today across many fields.

This course is rigorous, but because it is taught from the perspective of modern computational methods, it depends less on detailed prior knowledge from earlier mathematics courses. The rigor comes from the challenge of the assignments and the quality of the work expected of students.

All students learn coding in R, a programming language used in college and industry for data science applications. No prior experience with coding is necessary. Most assignments involve writing code which is then executed right within the digital textbook. In-class assignments are organized around Jupyter notebooks, a tool used by data scientists in the real world.

As part of this pilot, educators will:

Receive access to interactive, online textbook
Receive all accompanying teacher and student materials
Take part in a 2-week summer study group (online) to prepare for teaching the course (July 11-22 OR July 25-August 5)
Have access to daily office hours throughout the school year for on-going support
Participate in a professional learning community with other educators from Maine who are piloting this course

This opportunity is open to any Maine educator, currently employed in a Maine public school, who is interested, and no prior experience is required since you will be provided with all the training and support you need.

We will be holding an information session next week for anyone who is interested in finding out more. Please register at the following links:

Wednesday, June 8th, from 3:30-5pm

To sign up for the pilot, please complete the following short form.

For questions or more information please contact Beth Lambert, Director of Innovative Teaching and Learning, Beth.Lambert@maine.gov

Commissioner Makin, Senator King, Students Participate in a Robotics Competition to Launch 19th Annual MLTI Student Conference

Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin and Senator Angus King kicked off the 19^th annual MLTI (Maine Learning Technology Initiative) Student Conference today by participating in a live robotics competition with students at Nokomis Regional Middle High School.

Makin participated in person while King entered the competition remotely from his office in Washington, D.C. Student teams from schools across the state also competed to see who could get their robot to complete the skills tests the fastest, including nationally-ranked basketball phenom and Nokomis freshman, Copper Flagg. The morning launch session also included a welcome video from Governor Mills and a high-altitude balloon launch into space.

This year’s MLTI student conference was the highest attended in MLTI’s 19-year history with 55 schools, 5,672 students, and 696 educators participating. The theme of this year’s conference was MLTI Launches Space2Connect and included interpretations of space and connection as they relate to Maine students and their use of technology. The new virtual, classroom-based session style allowed students to attend in a classroom setting where they could learn, practice, and create.

Following the morning launch event, workshop leaders taught the conference participants new skills, provided time for students to practice these new skills, and then supported them as they created something new with what they learned. This new design allowed students to work together as they explored new resources and applications, created with new digital mediums, and collaborated to complete tasks.

Every school also received shirts for all participants that were designed by an MLTI student, and a 3-D printed medallion that traveled to space and back.

Computer Science Professional Development Grant Application

Are you interested in computer science professional development opportunities for your school? Maine’s 130th legislature, through a bill sponsored by Senator Pouliot, created a pilot grant program to provide funding for high-quality, teacher-developed or teacher-led professional development for PK-12 computer science pedagogy and content.

Priority will be given to applicants that:

Are located in one (or more) of the following counties where no awards have been made in previous application rounds: Sagadahoc, York, Aroostook, Somerset, Washington, Oxford, Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, Franklin, and Kennebec.
Do not currently offer computer science learning opportunities;
Serve socioeconomically disadvantaged school districts;
Prioritize student populations traditionally underrepresented in computer science;
Demonstrate a commitment to pursuing high-quality educator professional development that emphasizes integration of computer science into other course work and curricula or establishes or expands access to courses that offer college credit and other certificates of value, or both; and
Collaborate or partner with other entities, including but not limited to other local education agencies, the business community, nonprofit organizations and private entities.

The application window opens Monday, May 9th, 2022 and closes Friday, May 20th, 2022. Applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. All applicants will be notified of their application status within two weeks of the application deadline.

There is no limit to the grant amount awarded per applicant; however, funds will be dispersed equitably across all applications based on county and throughout PK-12.

Have questions? Want to learn more? Interested in applying? Check out our website to learn more and submit an application.

Need assistance applying? Contact the Computer Science Specialist, Emma-Marie Banks, emma-marie.banks@maine.gov.

Exploring the History of Maine Through Robotics

In the fall of 2022, Ann McClellan asked Maxx Pillsbury, a student of the Sphero Bolt coding program at Mt. View Middle School, how he might use the Bolt to tell a story. Both interested in Maine history, Ms. McClellan and Maxx began exploring using the Bolt to tell the story of ten historically significant places in Maine.

Maxx coded his Bolt to be Samuel de Champlain, an explorer who traveled the coast of Maine. Maxx and Ms. McClellan used a rope to model the nooks and crannies of Maine’s rugged coastline and painted designs on paper to represent characteristics of the area being explored.

Once they planned the layout, Maxx programmed the Bolt. While working, Maxx decided he also wanted the Bolt to narrate the history locations. He wrote a script, chose sounds to enhance the audience’s experience, and found music to play.

You can view a video of the robot moving through the project here:

The final product is impressive and took perseverance and critical thinking to problem solve through challenges that presented themselves throughout the process. For instance, placing the Bolt just right was imperative to its success.

“If the angle was just slightly different when it was set down, then it could mess the whole thing up,” Maxx said.

Ms. McClellan agreed, “Directionals and movement controls were challenging. These had to do with speed, angles, and time. We maintained humor, flexibility, and perseverance, so we got through the programming!”

Maxx is eager to apply what he learned from this project to his other classes. “In my history classes, I will already know some history about early explorers in Maine, and in math class, I can use what I learned about ratios with distance, speed, and time.”

For more information about the Sphero Bolt coding program or other ways to integrate computer science into your curriculum, reach out our computer science specialist, Emma Banks at Emma-Marie.Banks@maine.gov or visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/ltt/computerscience.

Registration is Now Open for the 2022 MLTI Virtual Student Conference

Registration is now open for the 2022 MLTI Virtual Student Conference! MLTI wants all 7 & 8th grade students to join this innovative conference! This year’s virtual conference will have a brand-new, classroom-centered approach in an effort to make it more collaborative for students and teachers to join sessions together as a class during the school day.

Session Style

Sessions will be delivered directly into your classroom where the workshop leader will act as a type of guest teacher. Workshop leaders will teach the class new skills, provide time for students to practice these new skills, and then support them as they create something new with what they have learned. Check out our video with different scenarios to help you plan!

Teacher Role

Teachers can sign up the entire 7^th and 8^th grade from their school. Then MLTI will send registered schools the sessions to choose from. Next, you can divide students up so that one classroom is participating in a session. All the teachers need to do is share the session live in the classroom and support students as they learn, practice, and create!

Session Times & Materials

The sessions will be 90 minutes with the morning session running from 9:30am-11:00am, and the afternoon session running from 12:00pm-1:30pm. All necessary materials will be provided to schools before the conference so students will have them to create with during the conference.

The 19th Annual MLTI Student Conference will be held virtually on Thursday, May 26, 2022 from 8:30am-2:00pm, and will be open to all MLTI 7th and 8th grade students

For questions, please reach out to Brandi Cota-MLTI Project Manager brandi.m.cota@maine.gov.

Spring Training Begins TODAY 3/7 with an All-Star Lineup of Professional Learning Offerings

Active learning, student engagement, technology integration, digital instructional design, digital citizenship, and online safety are the main topics for an ongoing professional learning series offered by the MLTI Ambassadors starting on March 7. These daily offerings are offered live and open to all interested educators. The sessions will also be available in asynchronous versions on our website.

To attend one of the live sessions via zoom, be sure to register through this March Calendar or through the Maine DOE PD Calendar. Please note that the times of these offerings vary from day to day. Asynchronous versions of these sessions will be available through MLTI Professional Learning as well as the MLTI Youtube channel.

Monday – Technology Integration with Rob Dominick

The first series of workshops will focus on effectively integrating technology into the classroom. We will look at surveyed data on technology integration and learn about the common flaws and beliefs with the integration. Then, we will explore a variety of strategies for integrating technology so we can find commonalities and synthesize them towards your own needs. Finally, there will be a chance to evaluate sample lessons and create your own to implement.

The second series will dig into digital portfolios for students. We will cover exactly what they are, their intended purpose and the process of preparing and designing them.

Available every Monday in March! Check here for times and dates.

Tuesday Tech – Student Engagement with Erik Wade

Every week, we will discuss a broad technology integration idea that could be used to increase student engagement. These workshops will look at the big idea, break it down into easy-to-understand pieces, look at examples, and talk about potential starting points for integration into the classroom.

Available every Tuesday in March! Check here for times and dates.

Wednesdays with Werner – Digital Citizenship & Online Safety with Jonathan R. Werner

This six-part series on Digital Citizenship and Online Safety will draw on the incredible resources Common Sense Education (CSE) has curated to provide educators with a framework for and tools to teach students about Digital Citizenship. CSE divides these resources into six areas. After an introductory session about CSE and the role of educators in teaching Digital Citizenship, the next five sessions will follow CSE’s framework:

Media Balance and Well-Being (Week 2)
Privacy and Security (Week 3)
Digital Footprints and Identity (Week 4)
Relationships and Communication (Week 5)
Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, and Hate Speech (Week 6)

Please note, educators can choose any or all of these sessions and do not need to be able to attend all six. After April Break, we will tackle the sixth CSE focus area, News and Media Literacy, in a multi-week series focusing on issues such as Finding Credible News, the Four Factors of Fair Use, and Creator’s Rights and Responsibilities.

Available every Wednesday in March! Check here for times and dates.

Thursday – Digital Instructional Design with Kate Meyer

This series of workshops will explore the creation and implementation of high-quality, engaging, interactive digital learning experiences for your students. Each week we will explore a new digital strategy that you can implement into any unit of study. The workshops in this series will have time built in to try out the strategies we’re exploring, so come ready to dig in!

Available every Thursday in March! Check here for times and dates.

Friday – Active Learning with Holly Graffam

The first series of workshops will focus on integrating Problem-Based Learning in the classroom. It will include an overview of Problem-Based Learning as well as delve into applications across a variety of content areas from literacy to science. Included will be how technology can support this integration.

Computer Science across the curriculum will be the subject of the second series of workshops. Sessions will discuss the critical need for computer science in our classrooms and examine engaging, creative ways to integrate computer science into your existing curriculums.

Available every Friday in March! Check here for times and dates.

MEDIA RELEASE: Maine Department of Education Resources on Helping Young People Safely Navigate the Internet

During his State of the Union address this week, President Biden called for increased measures to ensure young people are protected on the internet and while using social media. The Maine Department of Education offers parents, educators, and students a number of free resources, by grade level, to help young people safely navigate the internet and avoid dangers that can impact their physical and mental health.

The Maine Department of Education’s comprehensive web-based social emotional learning resource SEL4ME embeds specific lessons in interest safety at every grade level. For example, the second grade module Be Fine Online helps students learn ways to stay safe when online, including the importance of never revealing their personal information; sixth graders have lesson like Be Aware What You Share in which they gain a deeper understanding of internet safety and social media and on cyberbullying; the eighth grade lesson User Beware: The Scary Side of the Internet helps students understand that not everything on the internet is safe, including how to spot online predators and the dangers of sexting; and in 11th grade, students have access to Cyber Bullying and Digital Citizenship which goes into the effects of online bullying and the virtual footprint that can follow them into the work place.

SEL4ME is free to all Maine schools, families, and community partners and offers more than 450 PreK-12th grade learning modules. Each grade level hosts lessons within the five key elements of social emotional learning (SEL): self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, and responsible decision making. Educators, families, and students can learn more and sign up here.

The Maine Department of Education’s Digital Learning Specialists, in partnership with the MLTI Ambassadors, also provide professional learning, resources, and support for digital citizenship, social media use, online safety, and cyber security. MLTI also partners with Common Sense Education to share digital citizenship and online safety resources with educators. Educators can also reach out to specialists directly to explore ways to integrate these skillsets into their instruction to help students stay safe online.

“The internet is a tremendous resource for students to explore and activate their passions, develop skills and knowledge, build connections, and expand their digital literacy, and Maine educators and schools are constantly integrating technology into teaching and learning in innovative ways,” said Education Commissioner Pender Makin. “We’re also committed to making sure students have the tools and resources they need to navigate the internet safely and avoid the very real dangers that President Biden outlined in his State of the Union speech that pose a threat to the physical and mental health of our young people. We encourage educators and families to take advantage of our free resources.”