{"id":8646,"date":"2020-02-17T03:29:34","date_gmt":"2020-02-16T21:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mad-learn.com\/blog\/?p=8646"},"modified":"2020-02-17T03:43:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-16T22:13:00","slug":"mad-news-for-february-are-you-mad-about-your-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mad-learn.com\/blog\/mad-news-for-february-are-you-mad-about-your-community\/","title":{"rendered":"MAD-news for February: Are you MAD about your community?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Guest<\/span><\/b><\/span>,<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

Happy Valentine’s Day and President’s Day! Attending, presenting, and meeting phenomenal educators at conferences across the country who are changing the lives of students every single day is something that brings me great joy. It fills my cup and gives me the energy I need to keep fighting the good fight. I love that this year has kicked off with so much of just that! What gives you energy?<\/p>\n

Follow our journey on twitter @AlefiyaEdu<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Alefiya Master<\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Founder & CEO<\/p>\n

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Introducing \u201cBuy Now\u201d Online Option <\/b><\/h2>\n
There is now an unlimited variety of options for buying and getting started with MAD-learn, thanks to the new \u201cBuy Now\u201d option on the MAD-learn website. Just click the button, select the desired number of licenses and time period, and submit your order. It\u2019s easy, and it\u2019s a great way to get a taste of how exciting the program is if you have a smaller group of students who are ready to build apps!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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MAD about My Community: Unique Project in KY<\/b><\/span>
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Berea College, near Lexington, has undertaken a new MAD-learn project for students at two area high schools. The program is called \u201cMAD About My Community\u201d and it is part of a strategic initiative undertaken by our two MAD-teachers of the Month (see below) to help extend students\u2019 experience who participated in a December workshop led by Gregg Stone. It is part of the University\u2019s GEAR UP program.<\/p>\n

The teachers are acting as facilitators, guiding their students through the six prescribed lessons that comprise the MAD-learn program and emulate the Design Thinking Process. There are a variety of learning objectives students should realize during the Project, including several aligned with the ISTE standards, as well as provide an authentic experience related to social entrepreneurship. They will work independently and follow a set schedule of checkpoints for several weeks, culminating in a special \u201cLaunch Party\u201d in early April. Here students will present their finished products to a group of \u201cSharks\u201d who will determine which apps will be fully published in MAD-store, and maybe even the Apple and Google Play app stores!<\/p>\n

If you would like more information, including the schedule and guidelines for this project, contact the Success Team at\u00a0success@mad-learn.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Conferences and Sessions and Planes… Oh My!<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The highlight of the winter months have been meeting so many new friends throughout the country and north of the border.<\/p>\n

Conference presentations have been plentiful, including Gregg and Cristina’s (MAD-superstar teacher from Lake Local) workshop on \u201cFostering Design Thinking through Mobile App Development\u201d and Alefiya’s FREd Talk at the Ohio Educational Technologies Conference in Columbus, a Mobile App Development workshop at FETC in Orlando, and serving as the \u201c#Beapreneur, Anypreneur\u201d roundtable discussion chair at the National Conference on Education School Superintendents’ Association (AASA) conference in San Diego. We also met (and reconnected with) many students and teachers at various workshops and visits in various Atlanta area schools, including Cobb and DeKalb counties in Georgia and a high school workshop in Lexington, Kentucky. There were also visits with teachers and potential interns in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties in Florida. We even conducted a series of \u201cApp Flash\u201d events in Ontario at DSBN!<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ve been logging miles AND smiles throughout the winter! The experiences gained for both our customers and us have been priceless, and we look forward to getting a chance to come to YOUR neck of the woods soon.<\/p>\n

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MAD-teacher of the Month<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Steve Jones has spent his 25-year career in helping youth. He currently is the Berea College GEAR UP Program Service Coordinator. He and his colleague have also brought MAD-learn to a group of some 25 high school students, recognizing the engaging and viable lessons gained from the program.\u00a0The Upward Bound programs provide academic instruction in mathematics, laboratory sciences, composition, literature, and foreign languages.<\/p>\n

Linda Poppas is Steve\u2019s colleague at Berea. She was also instrumental in helping to formulate the plans for the MAD About My Community project, and she is overseeing the students’ work at the high \"\"<\/a>school she liaisons with.\u00a0Participants will have access to tutoring, counseling, mentoring, and cultural enrichment while participating in after school and Saturday workshops, college visits and a 6-week residential summer program experience at Berea College.<\/p>\n

We look forward to April 4th, when their students present their finished products to a panel of Sharks, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and support they have shown for MAD-learn!<\/p>\n

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List of MAD-schools Continues to Grow<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
We want to thank all of the schools that have either renewed their partnerships with MAD-learn or are just joining our MAD-family. We are so happy to know we will be continuing our work to help students at:<\/div>\n