December 6, 2006

For immediate release

Two Bloomington teachers earn Exceptional Teacher  Technology Awards

(l. to r.) Washburn Elementary Principal Jon Millerhagen; Kari Sickman, Washburn Elementary teacher; Superintendent Les Fujitake; Katrina Mezera, Oak Grove Middle School teacher and Oak Grove Middle

School Principal Ray Knoss. 

Two Bloomington teachers and a student were recognized at the annual TIES 2006 Education Technology Conference in Minneapolis.

Kari Sickman, Washburn Elementary, and Katrina Mezera, Oak Grove Middle School, received the TIES Exceptional Teacher award from TIES, an education technology consortium of 37 school districts. Justin Roeser, an Oak Grove Middle School eighth grader was named a winner for his multimedia project in grades 6-8 in the statewide technology contest.

Kari Sickman has created a learning environment in her kindergarten classroom that uses technology to support the Bloomington academic standards. She uses her LCD data projector to engage students in large group instruction, as well as preparing them for their trip to the computer lab where they use KidPix, Kidspiration and appropriate websites.

"Kari is very cognizant of the need for our students to understand 21st century technologies, but at the same time understands that the use of technology needs to be curriculum-driven and age-appropriate," her nomination stated. "She often creates multimedia activities, which meets the needs of her learners. She is a wonderful role model in the use of technology at the primary level. I wish we had more “Karis” on our staff!"

She is an active participant on several District writing teams that infuse technology into the District’s curriculum units. Her work is always of the highest level and teachers appreciate her effort in creating lessons.

Other accomplishments include being a technology mentor, quickly responding to staff needs and a diligent problem solver. She shares her knowledge with the staff via her website, email and by holding small group sessions.

Katrina Mezera is a seventh grade math teacher. When you think about math and technology, the calculator is the first thing that comes to mind – especially the graphing calculator. Mezera demonstrates each day that math class can and does involve many uses of technology.

Mezera's students create and design spreadsheets that use graphs to visualize math concepts. She teaches her students to create multimedia presentations that demonstrate math concepts. "For example, when she was teaching a lesson on understanding the slope of a line, students used Keynote, (an application similar to PowerPoint) to create an animation that involved changing the slope on each slide," her nomination stated. "Everyday she uses a LCD data projector in a “warm-up” activity to check student understanding before moving on to a new lesson. Also, her lessons are always designed with student engagement in mind."

As a building technology mentor, Mezera shares her knowledge and expertise with her colleagues. She maintains a website for her students, their families and her colleagues. The website is updated regularly. Mezera teaches the staff new technologies and provides support for integrating technology into the teaching process.

Mezera is willing to try new strategies, especially, if it involves technology. She knows that student motivation is a “built-in” factor when using technology. On Katrina’s “wish list” for her students is a cart of laptops to enhance her students' learning.

Justin Roeser, a student of Katrina Mezera, won the TIES Multimedia Project Contest for grades 6-8.

Minnesota students from eight districts – Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Princeton, Osseo, Hawley, Swanville, Sauk Rapids-Rice, Bloomington and Stillwater – used sophisticated technology to win top honors for art, video and student multimedia projects covering such subjects as the importance of punctuation, understanding mixtures and solutions, a brother’s death and~promoting teen reading.

To create their projects, students used an array of technology tools, including music, graphic manipulation, painting and video editing software, and digital cameras. The technology excites them and motivates them to excel, say their teachers.

These talented students in grades 3-12 were honored at an awards dinner Dec. 3 at TIES 2006 Education Technology Conference.

Check out the creativity and quality of this project: www.ties.k12.mn.us/TIES_2006_contest_winners