#BRESA Tech Tips

With all the best intentions, this newsletter is arriving to you at the end of February. With that said, it gives us a chance to both look back AND look forward to the path ahead. For those of us in the educational technology realm, the upcoming month is a busy one with the annual MACUL Conference. We know you will be busy with reading month and finding ways to keep students focused until spring break. How can we support you? Please reach out to Amy or John if you would like ideas for adding some innovation to your reading month plans or are looking for some fun and engaging activities just before spring break.

Reflecting back at the month of February, we celebrated a lot of successes around the area. Computer Science (CS) was a top priority. Five of our districts applied for and will be granted 99b funds from the Michigan Department of Education to boost CS implementation in their schools. Several of these same districts participated in the SCRIPT Workshop program that was facilitated by Amy. SCRIPT workshops are intended to help districts take a snapshot of their computer science implementation and develop a focused plan to increase opportunities for students. If you are interested in hosting a SCRIPT workshop, reach out to Amy.

Looking forward, the MACUL conference is coming up in Grand Rapids! We have many local presenters who have been selected to share their expertise, numerous educators attending from our area, and some award winners we are excited to celebrate. Be on the lookout for a Best of MACUL sharing in our March edition of Tech Tips.

Hang in there, it's almost spring!

- John & Amy

Our high school students are well underway in their 2024 Spring season! They are playing Valorant and Rocket League to demonstrate their skills in hopes of a future career path in esports!

In other news, middle school esports has begun! Thanks to Ben Davidson, there is a new season spinning up right now. This has been a long time coming and we are excited to see where this goes.

In this month's AI in Education feature, we will highlight resources that help educators and students better understand how Artificial Intelligence works and specifically how AI models are trained. Exploring these resources can help demystify this technology and open doors to potential applications in the classroom and in our professional practice.

aiEDU: A non-profit dedicated to providing foundational AI literacy. Check out their AI toolkits , webinars and AI Snapshots to spark learning and conversation around AI.

Quick Draw with Google: This is not a new tool, but it is a fun and tangible one that can help deepen understanding of how AI models are trained. In addition to just playing the drawing game, be sure to visit their drawing data sets and click on a drawing to see the millions of contributions training new neural networks.

Day of AI: Free curriculum and resources from MIT Project RAISE to help teachers and students better understand AI and how machine learning works. Lessons can be completed quickly or over a period of time with the idea that the whole learning community can come together once a year on the Day of AI to celebrate learning. This year, that date is May 13, 2024.

Common Sense Media AI Literacy: Collection of lessons designed to help secondary students (and educators) understand what AI is and how it works. Lessons explore how AI is trained, chatbots, and some of the ethical considerations regarding the use of AI. As always, Common Sense Media presents information in an engaging, user-friendly, grab-and-go format to help educators get up to speed quickly with this important topic.

**Please be sure to check your district/BOE policy before implementing any AI tool.**

Earlier this month, SWM School Library Leaders participated in an evening of professional learning facilitated by Michigan eLibrary (MeL) Engagement Specialist, Ann Kaskinen. Ann took participants on a deep dive exploring the numerous FREE resources available to Michigan residents via MeL.

Please explore the comprehensive slide deck and consider how you might share this information with your colleagues. Ann is available to provide in-person or virtual training for schools, and she is extremely accommodating. You can also reach out to Amy or your school library staff if you would like to learn more.

MeL is much more than a vehicle for interlibrary loan (MeLCat). There are thousands of eResources available, including online encyclopedias for ALL ages, career resources, ebooks, test prep, journals/magazines and robust databases with built in Google and Microsoft integrations to help students refine their research skills. If you are visiting MeL for the first time, try a few of the items listed below:

1. Go to mel.org.
2. Click on the Educators button on the right.
3. Choose your grade level band from the list on the left.
4. After exploring those resources, try the Kids button at the top.
5. You will see many of the same resources, but this is an easy way to teach your students how to navigate to the encyclopedias and databases. *Elementary teachers: Be sure to try Pebble Go!
6. Now, just for fun...click the ejournals link in the top blue bar.
7. Search for your favorite magazine or newspaper and see if you can read it for FREE. Did you know you can read The New York Times via MeL?

NOTE: If you are having trouble with the geo-authentication, you can also enter a Michigan driver's license number and gain access to all of the subscription materials. If students/schools are having difficulty accessing MeL resources, please contact meldatabasehelp@mcls.org

Special thank you and shout out to elementary educator, Lindsey Goshgarian at Our Lady of the Lake Elementary in St. Joseph. Lindsey has been actively engaged this year learning about all of the resources available for check-out from Berrien RESA. She has attended multiple professional learning sessions and never hesitates to implement something new. We have enjoyed learning alongside her and appreciate her sharing photos and lesson successes/challenges with us. Keep up the great work, Lindsey!

Do you have lesson ideas, photos or interest in checking out resources? See the checkout process below and email us with your photos. We would love to share them. Please make sure you have district photo releases for all of your students.

The Technology Services Department at Berrien RESA has a variety of STEM resources, equipment and materials you can check out for use in your classroom.

Visit our REMC Resource Webpage to learn more about the items that are available. To check out a resource, please complete the resource checkout form found on the webpage.

We have lesson plans to share if you aren't sure where to begin. We would love to come and help you do an activity with your students or staff. Email John or Amy to set up a time.

We would love to hear your suggestions on how we can best support you. Please complete this form if you have some ideas regarding content you would like to see in our newsletter or specific needs in your district. Also, please feel free to share this newsletter with others and if you are interested in subscribing, simply email info@berrienresa.org with the subject line "Tech Tips". Finally, as always, feel free to contact John Phillips or Amy Dirlam directly for all of your educational technology needs.

The Board of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation or sexual identity), disability, age, religion, height, weight, marital or family status, military status, ancestry, genetic information, or any other legally protected category, (collectively, "Protected Classes"), in its programs and activities, including employment opportunities.