A Year in Review: 2023 at MiEN Company
Each year as we enter the New Year, we like to look back upon all that we’ve been able to accomplish throughout the year. 2023 at MiEN Company has been a vibrant and transformative year––from emerging educational technology trends to inspiring learning space designs.
Reflecting on 2023, MiEN Company has had many exciting moments developing new products, designing innovative learning spaces, and creating helpful resources for schools and districts.
Beginning 2023 at MiEN Company
At the beginning of January, eSchool News shared our predictions for the 5 biggest education trends in 2023. These trends turned out to be huge this year, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), which has quickly become a hot topic in the education space as Open AI ChatGPT has grown in popularity throughout 2023.
Creating innovative media center spaces was another trending topic this year, as schools took an emphasis on building community and supporting student social emotional wellness. In eSchool News, our customers at Burke County Schools shared 5 ways to update aging media centers. In addition, our customer from Megan Cope Elementary School shared their library design tips in a District Administration article highlighting 4 signs that your school needs a media center upgrade.
Our customers were featured in Spaces4Learning, District Administration, and The Learning Counsel this year discussing their top tips for transforming learning spaces and creating teacher spaces. Our Vice President of Education Dr. Christina Counts also had several published articles this year, including a piece in Spaces4Learning about NAEYC program standards and a column sharing tips for esports programs in eSchool News.
2023 at MiEN Company: Customer Stories
Throughout the year, we have had the opportunity to share many of our clients’ success stories. We highlighted MiEN Company projects all over the country, from a college STEM facility in Texas to a multipurpose space in Kentucky to an innovative office-to-classroom transformation in Colorado.
In October, we released a new white paper that highlights how investing in teacher spaces can reduce stress, increase retention, boost academic outcomes and attract new teachers. The white paper, titled “Supporting Educators’ Professional Health and Wellness with Reimagined Teacher Spaces,” discusses the effects of job-related stress such as decreased teacher efficacy and higher teacher turnover. It also shares research on the benefits of designing stress-free spaces for teachers.
MiEN Company heading into 2024
Finally, our team headed to EDSpaces 2023 in November, where we had an incredible time meeting with and learning from other industry experts. In addition to hosting the MiEN booth with our top products and ideas, we sponsored the EDSpaces exclusive Esports Studio. In this expansive and immersive gaming lounge, we showcased the latest esports furniture and technologies and led enriching presentations about learning space design.
Here at MiEN, we have so much to be grateful for this past year. In 2024, we are looking forward to collaborating on new projects, discovering new trends, and exploring new opportunities.
We hope you all take the time to reflect upon the impact you have made on the students in your life and the support that you have provided to their learning throughout the year. On behalf of all of us at MiEN Company, we want to wish you all a joyful holiday season and a happy new year!
Dr. Christina Counts, ALEP, VP of Education for MiEN Environments, is a proven leader with a successful background in transforming learning spaces into modern engaging learning environments. Dr. Counts has worked in education for over 17 years with experience as a classroom teacher, district instructional leader, school administrator, and digital and innovative learning designer. In her most recent position, Christina leads a team of professionals that support schools making the transition to a flexible, collaborative, & student-centered learning space. She holds a doctorate in K-12 Educational Leadership, National Board-certified, and Google & Apple certified. Dr. Counts envisions a learning space in which educators are empowered to transform education through design, technology and innovative instructional pedagogy to create learners ready for any future!