When eighth-grade teachers Kim Barnes, Heather Anderson, Holly Rhinebolt, and Troy Barnes wanted to provide students with learning opportunities that would spark curiosity and engagement in their students, they knew just who to contact.  The Maine Department of Education’s Maine Learning Technology Initiative, or MLTI 2.0, answered the call.   

On Monday, February 6th, MLTI ambassadors visited Caribou Community School to provide workshops for students on topics including virtual reality using Cospaces, google slides animations, green screens, and podcasting with WeVideo.  Two neighboring districts, Fort Fairfield and Woodland were also invited to attend.  

Kim Barnes, ELA teacher, shared, “Our whole theme this year in grade 8 has been to reconnect and re-engage students in their learning and this is one way to accomplish that.”  Math teacher Troy Barnes adds, “This is a great opportunity for the kids because it’s not a traditional school day.  It’s taking their interests and expanding it, giving them the opportunity to work outside of traditional environments.”  

Students spent the morning attending a rotating schedule of 40-minute sessions where MLTI ambassadors Rob Dominick, Jonathan Werner, Martha Thibodeau, and Kathryn Meyer presented an overview of their topics. The afternoon was reserved for students to practice what sparked their interest and MLTI ambassadors were on hand to help as students practiced honing their new skills. 

“The MLTI 2.0 program is such an incredible resource for teachers trying to integrate more technology into their classroom.  The ambassadors, first and foremost, are teachers so they are fantastic to collaborate with because they know how best to complement what we are already doing,” Social Studies teacher Heather Anderson shared and Holly Rhinebolt, science teacher, added how 8th graders are also working on integrating a new space STEM program and that these workshops will really complement what she’s been working on.  

This is the 2nd year, Caribou Community School teachers and MLTI ambassadors have worked to provide this day for students and the skills they have learned will definitely be utilized in the months to come.  

“Their learning today is going to lead to a community project where we partnered with our Caribou Historical Society.” Kim Barnes said. “Students will be creating podcasts for the exhibits that are located there so the community will be able to hear our students tell stories of the past.” The teachers all agreed that they hope to be able to continue and expand these workshops in the years to come.

Monmouth Memorial School has some innovative ideas on how to involve more of its students with their makerspace. Not only is this makerspace available to whole classes and individuals throughout the day, but students in grades 6-8 also take a unified arts class where they are exposed to many different components of the makerspace, including 3D printing, motors and electronics, woodworking, sewing, all the way to virtual and augmented reality. By the time the students finish middle school, they will have developed makerspace skills, learned about the design process, and completed an independent project. These projects can be hands-on, virtual, or anything in between with some projects including a YouTube instructional video on quilt sewing, marble runs, an American Flag made out of wood and stain, safety guides on tools in the makerspace, and a three-foot-tall basketball hoop.

The makerspace projects are spearheaded by Elizabeth Bellegarde, the district librarian, and Seth Mitchell, who is the school’s technology integrator and the 2022 Kennebec County Teacher of the Tear. Bellegarde feels the system is a great fit for their school, saying “I feel as though the set-up we have is ideal for our school’s structure, allowing the maximum amount of student access.” That structure allows for many different projects happening all at once, with one space designed as a work area that involves everything from power tools and snap circuits as well as materials for the Lego Robotics and VEX Robotics teams, which competed in the 2022 Vex Robotics World Championship.

In the makerspace unified arts class, 6th-8th grade students will be working on a wide array of projects simultaneously, with Bellegarde moving between groups to provide support when needed. Students enthusiastically switch between low-tech and high-tech skills to complete their projects, but the energy and excitement from the students is constantly pulpable.

“It takes time to build that culture,” Mitchell says, “having administration who see the value in this program makes it even more successful.”

Attached to the main makerspace area is Monmouth’s studio space. This area contains a wide array of materials including a sound board, iPad teleprompter, green screen walls, and resources for video editing. “Students and teachers have this wonderful resource available [that can] extend learning in a way that wasn’t previously possible,” Bellegarde says. “By using the makerspace this way, classes become more fun with memorable experiences that will increase retention.” For many students in the makerspace unified arts class, having flexibility between both learning spaces gives them even more options to create unique projects.

Bellegarde wants to continue making these learning resources available for as many students as possible. “We are still working on making more students aware of this opportunity, the makerspace unified arts class is a huge part of that,” she says, “but the students who do take advantage of the makerspace find it to be a rewarding experience.” Not only can students participate in the unified arts class, classroom teachers can use the space for whole-class learning experiences as well as individual students working independently during study halls and available times throughout the day. Bellegarde sees these learning experiences leading to the development of lifelong design, critical thinking, decision-making, and independent skills. “For me, this is the best part of the makerspace.”

This story was written and coordinated by MLTI Ambassador Joshua Schmidt as part of the Maine Schools Sharing the Success Campaign. To learn more, or to submit a story or an idea for a story, email rachel.paling@maine.gov.

The Maine Department of Education’s MLTI Team, including MLTI Ambassadors, Nokomis SLAM students, and MLTI SLAM Coordinator, Kern Kelley spent the day presenting at the SLAM Showcase for sixth grade students and teachers from Hartford/Sumner Elementary School on November 22nd. This was the second of six SLAM (Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine) Showcases happening at schools across Maine this year. (Read about the first SLAM Showcase here) 

The SLAM show empowers MLTI students to use their devices and technology tools by providing a platform where students can give back and share their innovative work in their schools. The live SLAM in-person showcases have been designed to directly align with MLTI’s vision that all Maine students engage in authentic, relevant, technology-rich, learning experiences that prepare them for a fulfilling future. 

Hartford/Sumner 2nd grade teacher Kelley Houghton attended a SLAM summer professional learning and applied to host a SLAM Showcase. As the selected candidate, Houghton invited MLTI to bring the SLAM Showcase to 6th grade students and teachers at her school. 

The students spent the day learning about robotic coding with MLTI Ambassador, Martha Thibodeau, learning about Canva, free design software, with Nokomis High School SLAM student, Mia Coots, learning how to use TinkerCAD, a free web app for 3D modeling, electronics, and coding, with Nokomis High School SLAM student John Davis, and learning about how to create Virtual Reality with MLTI Ambassador, Tracy Williams. 

The SLAM showcase provides the opportunity for students and teachers to learn new techniques and programs. Fifth grade teacher, Kate McCarthy, excitedly sat alongside students learning about Canva during one of the sessions. “I am very excited to use this in my classroom,” McCarthy later told SLAM student, Abby Caron, during a follow-up interview. 

Following each session, students were invited to participate in the SLAM Exam where they are asked to answer a related question and invited to upload the work they created in the session. At the end of the SLAM Showcase, examples of student work are highlighted as part of the SLAM Show for all participants to view. Prizes were randomly selected from correctly answered SLAM Exams. 

Kelley tells us that the SLAM Exam is a low barrier way for the SLAM program to collect and showcase student work, promote student participation, and entice students to participate in future events. “Even if they don’t get a prize during this show, there is always the opportunity to share work during any of our SLAM shows, so we always hope they will share again and possibly win a prize during a future event.” In addition to the Live SLAM Showcases happening monthly this school year, SLAM also hosts weekly virtual SLAM shows where students across the state can participate. 

The day ended with a group activity that allowed students to, not only share their work, but also share what they learned and highlight their take-aways from a day of hands-on learning. Students also got the opportunity to take a group picture with a drone that was provided to the school, in addition to virtual reality (VR) headsets for each student that can be paired with any mobile device to show their parents and guardians the work they created that day in the Showcase.  

Check out a video of the SLAM Showcase here

To learn more about the MLTI 2.0 SLAM program visit: http://MLTI.me. View the latest SLAM episode on the MLTI 2.0 Youtube Channel. To sign your school or classroom up to take part in SLAM, fill out this form. 

Follow the Maine Department of Education on Facebook and Twitter to see a posting of the latest virtual SLAM show each week. Subscribe to the Maine DOE Newsroom to see a recap of the in-person SLAM shows each month. 

(Pictured: A Glenburn student looks through the telescope at the Star Party.)

Establishing a culture of creation, innovation and hands-on learning is becoming a focal point at Glenburn School. The driving forces toward that goal are a couple of long-time educators – Technology Integrator, David Davis, and Technology Director, Ken Worster. Last year the administration implemented a plan to repurpose a science lab to house materials for a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) Lab. Worster advocated for functional space for technology creation since the one-to-one devices had made the traditional computer lab unnecessary. Davis credits his administrative team at Glenburn for its support of this initiative and feels “fortunate that [his] administration had the vision of technology integration” in order to bring this plan to life.

The STEAM Lab consists of several technology tools including a laser cutter, green screen, a fleet of iPads, a recordable microscope, over a dozen 3-D printers, codable robots, and more. Davis and Worster’s hope is to establish the lab as an integral part of the curriculum for educators. Worster mentioned that the immediate goal is to have teachers “looking at their content and bringing it to David in a way where they can have that conversation about how they can integrate our technology.”

Even in the Lab’s infancy, Davis is already seeing its impact in the classrooms, most notably in the sixth and seventh grade English Language Arts classes. In those classes, students have been able to dive deeper into their reading by designing and printing 3-D objects or characters from their books, by recreating scenes with green-screen video, and by etching “plaques” with the laser cutter that outline the author’s biography.

Additionally, Davis and Worster envision enhanced student engagement through the STEAM Lab by incorporating it into science classes across the school. Davis integrated an astronomy theme and tiered the work for the various grade levels. Students in kindergarten through second grade used the online platform Wixie to design constellations that were then etched with the laser cutter, students in third through fifth grade also used the laser cutter to design the phases of the moon, and finally, sixth through eighth grade students created a 3-D model of a footprint that incorporating each student’s constructed quote acting as if they were to be the first ones stepping onto Mars.

Davis and Worster concluded the unit by coordinating with the Challenger Learning Center and the Versant Power Astronomy Center at the University of Maine to host a “star party” outside at the school. The night was a huge success with over 200 family members attending. It allowed students the chance to stargaze with a telescope which Worster noted was the first time for most of them.

Even with the initial success of the STEAM Lab, Davis and Worster know that it will take time for the innovative culture to spread throughout the school. While they admit the program is not without its wrinkles, they are hopeful that a steadfast dedication to technology integration will create breakthroughs for their staff. Davis knows that it pays off to start small and have it build from there, “If I could just get [the teachers] there once or twice, it will take on a life of its own.”

This story was written and coordinated by MLTI Ambassador Rob Dominick as part of the Maine Schools Sharing the Success Campaign. To learn more, or to submit a story or an idea for a story, email rachel.paling@maine.gov.