Six educators from Luverne Public Schools took advantage of a four-day workshop to further use technology as a teaching tool.
Tom Lanoue, Doug Dooyema, Jan Olson and April Wallace from Luverne Middle School, as well as Elaine Harms and Tony Johnson from Luverne High School, participated in BestPrep’s Technology Integration Workshop (TIW)
The professional development opportunity, courtesy of the KAHR Foundation, helped educators enliven their lessons by utilizing technology and workplace skills. TIW has been a successful program of BestPrep for the past 13 years.
BestPrep partnered with the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business in the Twin Cities to host 81 educators from 47 schools across Minnesota.
The four-day workshop ran from Aug. 1-4 and gave the group of six the opportunity to hear from experts in the field of educational technology as well as take part in small group breakout sessions which focused on their technological needs.
Digital Assessment Tools, 3D Printing, Virtual Reality and Google Apps for Education were among the topics discussed.
Participants also brought a unit plan they wanted to modify, and with the help of a technology integration specialist, developed a technology-infused unit plan to bring back to their school this fall.
Lanoue said, “The TIW was a great experience with many usable examples, knowledgeable presenters and group leaders.”
On Aug. 2 each educator spent time job-shadowing volunteers from the Minnesota business community.
These volunteer business partners came from such companies as General Mills, Thomson Reuters, and Travelers and gave educators insight into the professional skills students will need in the future.
The goal of the job shadow experience is to help educators develop relevant curriculum that connects with real-world applications.
“With the rapid day-to-day advancement of technology, educators need to continually educate themselves on what’s new in order to remain ahead of the curve,” said Bonnie Vagasky, TIW program manager at BestPrep.
“BestPrep hopes that through their participation in the Technology Integration Workshop, educators will understand how to best utilize today’s technology to teach their students,”
The KAHR Foundation is a family foundation started in 2005 by Jeannine Rivet and her husband, Luverne native Warren Herreid II, for philanthropic endeavors. The letters of the foundation stand for their mothers’ maiden surnames: Kahler, Archambault, Herreid and Rivet.