Educators from Adrian Elementary, Ellsworth Secondary, Luverne High School, and Luverne Middle School attended BestPrep’s four-day Technology Integration Workshop (TIW) this summer at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.
As a result, and thanks to sponsorship from the K.A.H.R. Foundation, the teachers went into this school year with key resources, tools and strategies for their classrooms.
They were among 70 other educators in attendance who participated in hands-on breakout sessions and learned how to incorporate the newest technologies into their classrooms from experienced speakers and fellow educators.
Another key component of the technology workshop included a half-day job shadow. Each educator was paired with a Twin Cities corporate volunteer to visit their workplace; the interactive job shadows allowed educators to learn more about things like workplace culture, important skills students will need to be successful in a business environment, and how to better prepare their students for the workforce.
Popular breakout sessions included Build Your Own Virtual Reality, coding, digital collaboration and presentation tools, digital storytelling and formative assessments.
Educators also updated a unit plan, integrating strategies and resources they learned during the workshop, giving them a new technology-inspired plan to use in their classes this fall.
“Attending TIW is a unique experience for educators because they’re able to both learn and apply new strategies and resources to help them better integrate technology into their curriculum,” said BestPrep’s TIW Program Manager Stephanie Musgrove.
“Educators come out of the workshop with increased knowledge to create valuable and relevant classroom learning experiences and help their students develop essential skillsets.”
Teachers interested in attending the TIW in 2020 can find more information at www.bestprep.org. Registration will open by December, and sponsorships are available. Contact Stephanie Musgrove at smusgrove@bestprep.org for more details.
The K.A.H.R. Foundation is a family foundation started in 2005 by Jeannine M. Rivet and Luverne native Warren G. Herreid II for philanthropic endeavors.
BestPrep is a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization that prepares students with business, career and financial literacy skills. BestPrep offers seven innovative programs and has served more than 1.7 million students and teachers since its creation in 1976. To learn more about the Technology Integration Workshop and BestPrep, go to bestprep.org.