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Happy National Good Neighbor Day 
National Good Neighbor Day is celebrated on September 28. Its goal is to raise awareness of the important role good neighbors play in building strong, thriving communities. In honor of the day, do something nice in your neighborhood – surprise a family with home-baked cookies or offer to help an elderly resident with yardwork. |
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News
MUST SEE VIDEOS
MUST SEE VIDEOS
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Ready? Set? Dino Dash! | |
Robotic Berry Picker | | |
A Single Community with One Long Main Street
A Single Community with One Long Main Street
How BAND members, EduTech, and local schools work together to prepare North Dakota students for the future
In a middle school classroom in rural North Dakota, students crowd around a video camera and wave excitedly. Waving back at them from the projector screen at the front of the room is another class of students, in another middle school. The two classrooms are all but mirror images of one another: similar laminate desks, similar pre-teen chatter, similar brightly colored posters on the walls.
The difference? One classroom is in Mexico.
Virtual “pen-pal” relationships like this one are being formed in schools across North Dakota. Partner classrooms are often located in states and countries where North Dakota sends natural gas, coal, soybeans, and other exports. By communicating with their “pen-pals” through video chat, vlogs, podcasts, and other digital formats, students not only learn about the economy in North Dakota but the economies it impacts around the world.
Learning opportunities like these would have been unimaginable two decades ago when Kirsten Baesler served as a Technology Integration Specialist at Bismarck Public Schools. At the time, educators struggled to communicate via dial-up internet with schools across town, let alone across the globe.
“There were technology deserts that existed building to building, district to district,” Kirsten said.
These “technology deserts” are areas that are not connected to the Internet or, as a result, the rest of the world. Not too long ago, North Dakota had some of the largest technology deserts in the country—hundred-mile stretches of state unable to enjoy the benefits of modern technology because of their rural location.
Today, Kirsten Baesler is in her second term as the State Superintendent of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. She oversees the 78 school districts that are operating in 470-plus buildings across the state of North Dakota and supports the nearly 120,000 students they serve.
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She recognizes that virtual “pen-pal” partnerships, as well as countless other educational opportunities, would not be possible for students—especially in rural areas—without the high-quality, dependable broadband provided by the 18 member organizations that make up the Broadband Association of North Dakota (BAND).
“When we had the opportunity to scale out our broadband connectivity to all of our schools, it removed the technology deserts in our state, and it opened up the opportunity of equity for our schools,” she said. “Without that connectivity to our rural school districts, we would continue to have the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ as far as classroom technology.”
Creating equal access to technology in all North Dakota schools has been a collaborative effort; widespread broadband access would be of no benefit to North Dakota schools if the schools did not know how to best use it to serve students. Where BAND has laid the foundation, EduTech has provided the tools and materials needed to build a state-wide, one-of-a-kind classroom technology system in North Dakota.
EduTech is a state agency under the supervision of the North Dakota Information Technology department that provides technological support and instruction to all K-12 schools in North Dakota. This is unlike many other states’ structures, in which districts provide IT service internally.
Resources offered by EduTech include day-to-day support for PowerSchool, the software utilized by schools to manage instruction, grading, attendance, and finances; cybersecurity support and training for teachers, school leaders, and students; and professional development to inform educators on how to use data to better inform their instruction.
While serving as State Superintendent for the past six years, Kirsten has seen how other states are navigating technology in education—and gained a new appreciation for EduTech along the way.
“I have seen first-hand how fortunate we are to have the vibrant, robust program of EduTech providing these services to all of our school districts in the state,” she said.
“What they have done, especially in a rural state like North Dakota, is help teachers leverage the tool of technology and meet students where they are at in their learning journey.”
And virtual “pen-pal” assignments are just one way that North Dakota schools are leveraging technology to support their curriculum. Teachers rely on high-speed broadband connections to deliver adaptive assessments on laptops and tablets. They not only allow, but encourage students to use the Internet to seek out additional information on their lessons.
All, Kirsten says, in the hope of preparing students for their future in an increasingly connected world.
“Without broadband, our students wouldn’t be allowed to be as curious as they need to be in order to be a 21st-century learner,” she said. “We are going far beyond just measuring test scores in reading, math, and science. We’re looking for students that are super engaged, that are not only turning their homework in on time, but are actually looking for more information about that subject area. They are watching videos on YouTube to support their curiosity about a science project or an economics lesson.”
To Kirsten, the collaborative efforts of BAND, EduTech, and local schools to provide the highest quality of education for students—no matter how rural—reflects what North Dakota is all about.
“When I think about North Dakota, I think about one community with a really long main street,” she said. “It is all one community working together to make sure that our students have what they need to prepare them for their future.”
SRT and Full STEAM Ahead Launch Minot’s First Lego League Junior Program
SRT and Full STEAM Ahead Launch Minot’s First Lego League Junior Program
Minot, N.D. – SRT announced today that they are supporting Full STEAM Ahead’s First Lego League Jr. program for children ages 6 to 10. This inaugural program in Minot will allow even more children to get involved with Full STEAM Ahead’s robotics programs. The program will kickoff on Tuesday, Sept. 10th at 4:30pm on the 3rd floor atrium of Swain Hall on the Minot State University campus (500 University Ave. West, Minot).
Teams of six will work together for 12 weeks and follow a curriculum based off the 2019-2020 theme called “Boomtown Builders”. Each team will explore the growing needs and challenges of people in the community and try to solve a problem that makes life easier. Through exploratory research, hands-on construction, and use of LEGO elements, each team works toward building a model and creating what’s called a “Show Me” poster for a presentation at the end of the program.
“Currently, there is a First Lego League program in Minot geared towards ages 11 to 16, but nothing for younger children. This new program will allow kids to build an even earlier interest in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Steve Lysne, SRT CEO and General Manager. “As a technology company, we understand the importance of this education track because we see it daily in our business, and we are proud to sponsor this new program for kids in our area.”
“We are helping children develop a passion and an interest in robotics at a young age. When children explore concepts behind programming and building robots, all while working together as a team, they learn so many life skills. We are proud to partner with and be powered by SRT!” said Ali Auch, Full STEAM Ahead Executive Director and Founder.
Each team has a coach, a Minot State University student in the teacher education program. These coaches will oversee the program and help the kids meet their goal of building a motorized model.
SRT Communications located in Minot, North Dakota is the state’s largest telecommunications cooperative. SRT services include Internet, Security, TV, Phone and Business Services and has served north central North Dakota since 1951, employs nearly 200 people, and serves over 40,000 customers.
Full STEAM Ahead is a nonprofit organization in Minot, ND that was formed in 2017. Full STEAM Ahead is an umbrella organization that helped meld youth arts with science, technology, engineering and math.
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BAND Featured Story – Breaking Barriers
BAND Featured Story – Breaking Barriers
Work Smarter & Harder: DRN + Dakota Precision Fabricating Spotlight
Innovation is happening in rural communities across North Dakota. Some view Silicon Valley or Detroit as epicenters of technological and automotive engineering. Industries at one time separate from one another, but now colliding in new ways. That same innovation between tech and steel is happening right here in our rural communities.
Hilary and Shannon Mehrer run and operate Dakota Precision Fabricating, a metal fabrications manufacturer that provides services across the country, including the production of flood wall and structural metal materials, to those like NASA, BOEING, and the World Trade Center.
Although they operate on a national scale, the Mehrers chose to grow their business from the small town of Forman, North Dakota.
“When we moved here, our boys were three and one,” says Hilary Mehrer. “We wanted a small school and we wanted them surrounded by family. That’s what brought us here.”
Having both grown up in small towns themselves, the Mehrers knew they wanted their kids to have a similar upbringing to their own. They grew up in a small, rural town where the school was a short walk away and the edge of town not that much farther. They knew when the evening whistle blew it was time to come home. Now, their kids run home upon hearing that same familiar call.
Hilary also knew she wanted to continue growing her family business to a national scale. At first, the two goals — raising a family in rural North Dakota and growing a nationally competitive business — seemed to pose a challenge. Thankfully, by working with their local broadband provider, Dickey Rural Networks (DRN), they’ve been able to raise their kids in a rural town while operating a business at a national scale.
Dickey Rural Networks (DRN) is a broadband provider in Ellendale, North Dakota, and amember organization of the Broadband Association of North Dakota (BAND They provide broadband services to those in rural towns on the southeastern side of the state, like Forman, Kulm, and Litchville.
“The resources that DRN provides helps support family, friends, neighbors, and small business by connecting them to the rest of the world,” says Kent Schimke, General Manager of DRN.
By working with DRN, the Mehrers have been able to access all the resources they need. By utilizing server management, security, voicemail, and other services offered by DRN, Dakota Precision Fabricating has been able to operate more efficiently, enabling them to better compete in a national market. Today, they regularly work with customers across the country; in fact, their latest project is a flood wall with LaGuardia airport in New York.
“Everything is streamlined,” says Shannon Mehrer. “We needed more services and Dickey Rural was there. They answered our questions and gave us their advice.”
For DRN, seeing customers and communities use their services and succeed in their business brings meaning to the work they do.
“It can be hard work to live in a rural community,” says Kent. “Family, friends, neighbors, and businesses support each other to be stronger. That’s what rural communities do.”
For a the Mehrer family and their business, working with a broadband provider that is local and understands their customers is what makes their small town community feel like home.it when other businesses understand their customers and support their communities.
“They’ve seen my face. I’ve seen theirs,” says Shannon. “We know each other. There’s a difference.”
To learn more about BAND and your local broadband provider visit https://www.broadbandnd.com/
