Pictured: MLTI 2.0 SLAM [Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine] posing in front of Central Middle School in Corinth with a welcome sign organized by the school.)

The Maine Department of Education’s Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) kicked off the first of six live, in-person, all-day SLAM (Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine) showcases at Central Middle School in Corinth on October 21st. MLTI will be hosting six all-day SLAM Showcases at six different participating MLTI schools throughout the school year! One of MLTI’s goals is to provide equitable access to technology to prepare students to be critical thinkers and better global citizens. The Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine (SLAM) directly supports this work by facilitating students’ new skill acquisition and problem solving, as well as their demonstration of technology integration through the creation of a student led community. SLAM empowers MLTI students to use their provided devices and technology tools by providing a platform where students can give back and share their innovative work with technology 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.

To prepare for the all-day SLAM events, MLTI hosted three professional developments events led by master-educator, Kern Kelley. During these summer events educators learned how to develop classroom environments that use teamwork, technology design, prototyping, and production. Each attendee received a $2,000 kit with power tools, 3D printers, robotics, and virtual workspaces to bring back to their district and support technology integration, as well as the opportunity to apply to host one of these all-day SLAM events at their school during the 2022-2023 school year.

Central Middle School’s 8th grade math teacher, Michael Roman, attended the SLAM summer professional learning and applied to host a SLAM Showcase at his school and was the lucky successful applicant who was picked to host the first show.

Kelley began the day demonstrating to the 8th graders some of the innovative solutions that have been created using technology including the use of prosthetics that respond to muscle movement. Like with most of his presentations, Kelley included information on the cost and how to access the technology pieces that are used to put together advanced prosthetics, among other technology solutions. Kelley subscribes to the mindset that technology tools are available and at your fingertips, you just may not know they are there and how to access them.

Before sending students off to concurrent sessions for the morning, Kelley encouraged the students to think of their own ways to innovate and create using technology in ways that may not even be thought of yet.

The sessions were taught by Nokomis student SLAM club members (SLAMmers) and MLTI Ambassadors on topics such as bot coding, virtual reality, multimedia, and animation creation.

SLAMmers Katelyn, Mia, and Abby were also at the showcase taking photos and capturing video. Each aspiring to pursue photography, journalism, and videography, many of the pictures and images in this article and the video below were taken by them.

Katelyn, Mia, and Abby

Corinth Students being interviewed by SLAM

Corinth Students being interviewed by SLAM

Mr. Roman with a Drone provided to the school.

The day ended with a live stream of the SLAM Show broadcast from Central Middle School. Students had the opportunity to highlight some of their favorite parts of the day with viewers. They took a group picture with a drone, which was an exciting part of the day for everyone.

Mia and other SLAMmers also produced a video which is a re-cap from the showcase with student interviews. Check it out 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 this awesome opportunity, 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: Maine DOE’s MLTI 2.0 Team.)

On Thursday October 13th at the 35th annual Fall ACTEM (Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine) Conference, the Maine Department of Education’s Learning Through Technology Team – along with Commissioner Pender Makin and Governor Janet T. Mills – announced a statewide plan for expanding access to computer science in Maine classrooms. This initiative is funded through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund and is a part of the Governor’s plan to expand access and support Computer Science in Maine.

The #MaineTeachesCS initiative centers around the provision and use of mobile computer science labs along with ongoing professional learning opportunities for each school as well as a computer science integration cohort for a full calendar year (Dec. 2022 – Dec. 2023). Schools will be provided with a mobile lab that focuses on one of three computer science topic areas: Robotics and Programing, Coding and Circuitry, and Augmented and Virtual Reality. Each mobile lab will have equipment and supplies that teachers can use to integrate the topic area into their classrooms.

In addition to these mobile labs, the Maine Department of Education will also assemble cohorts of educators who will engage in comprehensive Computer Science Integration (CSI) professional learning. CSI cohorts will engage in hands on opportunities to explore best practices for computer science integration and will serve as the computer science integration “champions” for their schools, helping other educators to integrate computer science into their classrooms.

This initiative centers around the principles of Maine’s 7 Keys to Computer Science Education Success. These mobile labs, paired with targeted professional learning, and an ongoing CSI cohort, will help our schools to continue the important work of integrating computer science into their classrooms, to ensure that all Maine students have access to high quality computer science learning opportunities.

For more information on this initiative Contact the Computer Science Specialist, Emma-Marie Banks, emma-marie.banks@maine.gov

This announcement was targeted to those at the ACTEM Conference because many of the nearly four hundred and fifty people in attendance are the involved with computer science in Maine’s schools.  The two-day conference includes over a hundred sessions that focus on technology integration in the classroom, use of digital tools and other topics that cater to PreK-12 educators as well as school technology staff. This event traces its roots back to the Maine Department of Education’s “Maine Computes” conferences in the mid-1980s up through the MAINEducation Technology Conferences and is one of the state’s largest, ongoing educational conferences. While illnesses, substitute teacher shortages and even a severe storm might have limited attendance, those present fully embraced this year’s theme of “Connect and Reconnect.”

In addition to the computer science announcement the Learning Through Technology Team was present at the ACTEM Fall Conference in the exhibitor hall and presenting sessions throughout both days of the conference. The Learning Through Technology Team and the MLTI Ambassadors presented a number of sessions for educators such as “Learn about the MLTI SLAM Program from the students”, “Digital Tools and Math”, “Left to Their Own Devices”, “Getting Started with Blended Learning”, and a session to “Meet the MLTI Ambassadors” featuring the MLTI Ambassador team led by MLTI Digital Learning Specialists.

“Meet the MLTI Ambassadors” provided educators with the opportunity to meet the ambassadors and hear firsthand about MLTI’s continued focus on professional learning. The MLTI Ambassadors shared professional learning focus topics such as Digital Citizenship, Technology Integrations, and Digital Instructional Design. The MLTI Ambassadors also shared information on asynchronous learning opportunities, book studies, PLC’s. and Podcasts coming up in the 2022-2023 school year! For more information on MLTI Professional Learning contact the MLTI Digital Learning Specialist, Jonathan Graham,Jonathan.Graham@Maine.Gov

MLTI’s Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine or SLAM were also present at the ACTEM conference with a teacher and student led session. Kern Kelley from RSU 19 presented along with his SLAM students to highlight and share the work of the SLAM program directly from the student leaders themselves. The session provided the SLAM students an opportunity to share the work they have created and highlight their weekly live SLAM show! The session also covered equipment, content, and how schools can involve their students to start their own SLAM clubs! For more information on SLAM contact the MLTI Student Leadership Development Coordinator, Kern Kelley,Kern.Kelley@Maine.Gov.

For more information on the MLTI program contact the MLTI Project Manager, Brandi Cota, brandi.m.cota@maine.gov.

The conference also included the return of their ACHIEVE Award and John Lunt Award after not being awarded in-person since 2019. ACTEM’s ACHIEVE Award was given to teacher Cathy Morse from the Lubec Consolidated School, who was introduced by Maine DOE Digital Learning Specialist Jon Graham.  This Award is ACTEM’s version of ISTE’s “Making IT Happen” Award, which “honors outstanding educators and leaders who demonstrate extraordinary commitment, leadership, courage and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students.”  In addition to winning $1000 for her school to spend on educational technology, Cathy won a $2000 cash award.

The John Lunt Friend of Technology Award, which had not been given out since 2019, is ACTEM’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  This year, it was given to three retired educators who have had a significant impact not only on ACTEM, but educational technology in Maine as well as nationally.  Cheryl Oakes, who worked at Wells High School, was introduced by Alice Barr and Michael Richards.  Then, Alice was surprised as the next winner by ACTEM President Mike Arsenault and colleague at Yarmouth Schools Cathy Wolinsky.  Dennis Crowe, Technology Director in Gorham and Bonny Eagle and past ACTEM president, was introduced by ACTEM Executive Director Gary Lanoie

ACTEM will be hosting their Spring Leadership Conference, will be held at Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland on May 1st, 2023.  For more information about their events or membership, please see their website at ACTEM.org.

The Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine (SLAM) show is a free, interactive, leadership opportunity where students connect with a community of ‘SLAMmers’ across the state. During these events, held both virtually and in-person this year, students learn presentation and technology skills using online tools to make creative products.

A part of the redesigned, Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI 2.0), SLAM launched in the fall of the 2021/2022 school year to provide student leadership opportunities and allow students from across Maine to meet up virtually once a week to share skills, knowledge, and curiosity with each other.

This year, in addition to the weekly live online events, the Maine DOE’s MLTI team, led by Kern Kelley and the Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine (SLAM), will host in-person monthly SLAM Shows at schools across Maine.

What is SLAM?

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

Following 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 re-cap of the in-person SLAM shows each month.

The Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) 2.0 is excited to share that the Ambassador program is expanding with an additional five distinguished educators joining the team.

MLTI Ambassadors are distinguished educators, on loan from their school for two years, to bring their expertise and experience as a resource and partner with MLTI.

The Ambassador program is a signature program of MLTI 2.0.The full team of ten Ambassadors will deliver professional learning experiences and provide instructional coaching to MLTI-participating schools. The new “Junior Ambassadors” will be working with the established “Senior Ambassadors” to build upon existing relationships across the schools in the MLTI Ambassador Regions in addition the existing connections that they bring to the team.

Nicole Karod

Nicole Karod comes to the MLTI Team from Mt. Ararat Middle School, where she served as a science teacher and last year was the 6-8 remote science teacher.  She has eighteen years of experience as a classroom teacher at the elementary and middle levels including several years teaching in North Carolina.  A graduate of Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Nicole spent her formative years working in numerous roles at the school and worked her way up to directing summer camps for MSSM.  Nicole’s passion for leadership have led into curriculum development, spearheading student leadership opportunities and she currently serves as her district’s teacher past association president.  Nicole holds a Masters in Elementary Education from Gardner Webb University and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Literacy from the University of New England.  She lives in Damariscotta.

Joshua Schmidt

Joshua Schmidt comes to the MLTI Team from China Middle School, where he served as a mathematics teacher. He has twelve years of experience at the middle level with half of those in Maine and half in his home state of South Dakota.  While working in South Dakota, Joshua worked closely with TIE (Technology and Innovative in Education), where he developed his passion for educational technology.  His experiences with customized learning and data-informed practices led him to China Middle School, where he led work around the mathematics department’s redesign.  That work resulted in shared math choice boards and assessments for all students in grades 5-8 while allowing students to progress through content at their own level and speed. Concurrently, Joshua took on other leadership roles within the school as well as innovative teaching in his classroom through game-based, project-based, real-world, and cross-curricular projects.  Joshua was also part of the Introduction to Experiential Teaching through Technology cohort in 2019 run by current MLTI SLAM Coordinator Kern Kelley. He is currently working on a Master of Education in Instructional Technology with a Certificate in Computational Thinking at the University of Maine.  He lives in Farmingdale with his wife, Krista, and their energetic two-year-old, Corrin.

Yuhong Sun

Yuhong Sun comes to the MLTI Team from Noble High School, where she served as a technology integrator, computer science, and Chinese language teacher. She has twenty years of experience teaching computer and technology-specific classes at the middle and high school levels. As the landscape of technology has changed, Yuhong has learned and expanded her course content to include programming languages, website design, web animation, game design, and Cisco networking. In addition to teaching these subjects, Yuhong has often served as a webmaster and filled technical support roles as well. She also has led many after-school organizations such as the robotics at the middle and high school levels, a web design club, and most recently organizes students to participate in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow (SST) contest. In 2018, her team was recognized as the Maine state winner team and a top ten national finalist team for a project removing manganese from local drinking water. This project also earned her an Excite Award from Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam Program at MIT in 2018. In 2019, her SST team was once again selected as the Maine state winner team for a project fighting against suicide. Yuhong has been the director of the Noble Exchange Program for over ten years, bringing the students to Noble High School from other countries such as China and Italy. This exchange program has helped increase understanding of cultural diversity, foster friendship and promote mutual respect among people of diverse backgrounds and races. Yuhong loves cooking. During the pandemic, she fully engaged her students with fun extracurricular activities such as Chinese cooking. Yuhong received her M. Ed in Instructional Technology from the University of Maine and previously holds a Master’s Degree in English Literature and Law Degree from Southwest University in Chongqing, China. She holds teacher certification in K-12 Computer, Chinese, and English Language Arts and she is also a National Board Certified Technology Educator. She lives in South Berwick.

Martha Thibodeau

Martha Thibodeau comes to the MLTI Team from the Mt. Blue Regional School District, where she served as a technology training coordinator. She has forty years of experience teaching from early elementary to adult education, working primarily in school districts in Central and Western Maine with seventeen years teaching at Lawrence Junior High School.  In recent years at Mt. Blue, she has focused on technology integration and planning professional development throughout the school year as well as the district’s summer institute.  She has been involved in previous programs such eMINTS and MARTLs in Maine that have given her experience around regional training and statewide collaboration. Martha also holds Curriculum Coordinator certification in addition to multiple teacher certifications as well as certificates from Google, Apple and eMINTS. She holds a Master’s Degree from Thomas College in Computer Technology in Education and an Education Specialist Degree in Educational Technology from Walden University. She lives in Madison.

Tracy Williamson

Tracy Williamson comes to the MLTI Team from Gorham Middle School, where she served as a music teacher.  She has twenty years of experience at the middle level and has taught general music classes, chorus and steel band throughout her career. Tracy was nominated as a semi-finalist for the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award. She is an Apple Certified Teacher and has been a regular presenter at the ACTEM, MMEA and the MLTI Student Conferences, where she advocates for ways to braid music and technology together.  She has long sought to integrate technology such as Soundtrap, WeVideo, EdPuzzle, Google Apps and more into her music classes to promote both efficiency and innovation. Tracy has worked with her students on Project S.U.S.T.A.I.N. (Students Using Soundtrap to Accomplish International Necessity) to compose original music for a worldwide collaborative album supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. She has created an innovative digital badging program to help students learn to read music. Serving as the middle level repertoire and resources chair for the Maine ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), Tracy has overseen the Maine Youth Honor Choir All-State Festival since 2019. She has also hosted the New England Steel Band Festival several times in Gorham. Tracy received a Master of Music degree from The Boston Conservatory in 2000 focusing on Music Education and Flute Performance and she is currently working on a degree in Media Arts & Graphic Design from Southern New Hampshire University. She lives in Bridgton with her husband, Ben, who is a middle school ELA and Social Studies teacher in Windham.

The Maine DOE MLTI team works hand-in-hand with the MLTI Ambassadors to support the MLTI professional learning plan in addition to the many other components MLTI 2.0. For more information about MLTI 2.0 and its evolution visit the Maine DOE Website or contact Beth Lambert, Director of Innovative Teaching and Learning.