One thousand Maine students and hundreds of Maine educators gathered at the University of Maine at Orono last Friday for the annual Maine Department of Education (DOE) Maine Learning Through Technology Initiative (MLTI) Student Conference.

The event is an annual one day technology conference designed specifically for students who participate in the Maine DOE’s statewide technology program for students.

Students attend the event to partake in several blocks of workshops, including sessions on virtual reality, music, artificial intelligence, creating videos, 3D printing, app development, drones, storytelling, info graphics, and much more! See a full list of this year’s workshops.

At the end of the conference students took part in one “uber” session where all attendees worked together with the featured the Maine band The Ballroom Thieves, who played live music that incorporated various learning elements which engaged audience participation with devices.

More information about the 2017 MLTI Student Conference

The Department announced on March 15th that many of the schools ending their 2013 MLTI participation in June would be eligible for grants to continue providing 1:1 mobile computer devices to their students and staff.

The grants are available for:

• Students and staff in 7^th and 8^th grades, where the school did not refresh its devices in 2016 students;
• High school staff in schools where students are provided 1:1 mobile devices at local expense, provided their MLTI participation ends in June; and
• High school staff in schools that have not participated in MLTI before, if they provide 1:1 mobile devices for their students at local expense.

The prior announcement focused on grants to continue 1:1 device programs, which is the intent of the program. In response to inquiries from technology directors and schools that wish to pursue more innovative approaches to achieving the same objectives as a 1:1 program, the Department is refining our guidance.

With this announcement, the Department is expanding the types of educational technology that can be funded by the grants.

The Department is seeking a statutory change that will allow more flexible use of these grant funds. Pending that change, the Department will fund 1:1 programs as well as programs that do not provide devices on a 1:1 basis. The focus of the programs must be on integrating technology into the classroom, for the purpose of enhancing student outcomes, and may include hardware, software, educational materials and support for educators in the use of technology in teaching.  Schools will be asked to explain how student learning will be enhanced by the program, and how they will measure that enhancement.

Eligible schools may apply for the 1:1 program or the alternate program (not limited to 1:1). If the statutory change needed to authorize use of funds for the alternate program is not approved, those schools may re-apply for a grant for a 1:1 program.

Application materials are posted on the MLTI Website. For additional information; contact Deb Friedman, MLTI Project Manager at 624-6834 or deborah.friedman@maine.gov.

The Department is announcing an evolution to our support of technology in public middle schools and high schools. Beginning July 1, 2017, MLTI Grants will be available to public middle schools and high schools to fund technology and support for 7^th and 8^th grade students and staff, and for staff in high schools with locally-funded student programs.

The grants will support programs that use technology to enhance teaching and learning in eligible schools and grades. The grant program takes the place of an “opt-in” to the programs offered in the past 3 years by HP and Apple, under a contract with the State.

Schools will apply to the Department of Education with a brief description of their proposed education technology programs, and a budget for the period of the grant.

The amount of the grant is up to $200 per eligible student or staff seat, each year, for up to 3 years. The length of the grant and the amount per seat will be based on the school’s proposed program and budget.

The grants provide flexibility to schools, but maintain some requirements designed to continue the basic structure of the current MLTI program. Any program funded by a grant must provide a personal digital computing device for each student, and must include professional development to support teachers’ use of technology to enhance student learning.

Further details for the grant program, including the application and the deadline for application submittal, will be provided as they are developed and posted on the MLTI website at http://maine.gov/doe/mlti/participation/index.html . MLTI programs in schools that opted in to HP or Apple solutions in 2014, 2015 or 2016 will continue as is, and are not affected by the grant program.

For additional information, contact the MLTI Office at mlti.project@maine.gov or call Deb Friedman, MLTI Project Manager at 624-6834.

Project-based learning, digital storytelling, tools for YouTube, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), app development, and coding are just some of the newfound skills educators acquired at the 2016 Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) Summer Institute last week.

Continue reading “2016 MLTI Summer Institute crosses globe, tells stories” →