VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Patrick Hausammann

2024 Outstanding Technology Teacher, Coach, and Leader of the Year Award

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VSTE will recognize and honor Virginia Educators, Technology Coaches and Leaders who are VSTE members (nominee not a member have them join here) and who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership in implementing technology to improve education. Award recipients will be selected from a pool of nominations submitted by VSTE members from around Virginia.

Nominations will be accepted from September 28, 2024 - November 1, 2024. Nominations will be reviewed by the VSTE Board of Directors and past winners. Select nominators and nominees will be contacted by November 4, 20234 to provide additional evidence and documentation.  Documentation will be due on November 11, 2024.

Winners will be notified no later than November 13, 2024.  Award winners will be recognized during the opening general session at the annual conference. 

The Awards Committee uses the ISTE standards as the basis for judging the Outstanding Technology Coach awards. Please review the appropriate standards when preparing nomination materials. Nominees are rated solely using criteria identified in the rubric.

Please use this form to nominate a teacher, technology coach, or leader for this award.

More information about the ISTE Standards for Coaches, ISTE Standards for Educators, ISTE Standards for Education Leaders.

Questions should be addressed to awards@vste.org.

 

 

2023 Winners

  • Outstanding Teacher: Heather Russel - 4th Grade Teacher, Chesterfield County Public Schools
  • Outstanding Coach: Nicole Holdcraft - Instructional Technology Coordinator, Virginia Beach Public Schools

 

2022 Winners

  • Outstanding Coach: Logan Childress - Emerging Technology Specialist, Bristol Virginia Public Schools
  • Outstanding Coach: Catherine Richards  - Lead Instructional Technology Coach Goochland County Public Schools
  • Outstanding Leader: Dr. Anthony Brads  - Superintendent Culpeper County Public Schools 

 

2021 Winner for Outstanding Coach

  • Fara Faust, Virginia Beach Public Schools

 

2018 Winners for Outstanding Coach

  • Patrick Hausammann, Clarke County Public Schools
  • Krystle Demas, Goochland County Public Schools
  • Timothy Signorelli, Fairfax County Public Schools

 

2017 Winners

  • Outstanding Leader: Tim Taylor, Instructional Technology Supervisor, Shenandoah County Public Schools
  • Outstanding Teacher: Nichole Thomas, Instructional Facilitator for Technology, Liberty Elementary School, Loudoun County Public Schools

 

2016 Winners

  • Outstanding Leader: Dr. Amy Cashwell, Chief Academic Officer, Virginia Beach City Public Schools
  • Outstanding Teacher: Dr. Ann Nash, ITRT, Henrico County Public Schools

 

2015 Winners

  • Outstanding Leader: Dr. Helen Crompton, Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University
  • Outstanding Teacher: Doug Saunders, ITRT, Henrico County Public Schools

 

2014 Winners

  • Outstanding Leader: Janet Copenhaver, Director of Technology, Henry County Schools
  • Outstanding Teacher: Daniel Nemerow, Math and Special Education, Prince William County Schools

 

2013 Winners

  • Outstanding Leader: Richard Pierce, Associate Professor, Shenandoah University
  • Outstanding Teacher: Wendy Phillips, literacy specialist at Belview Elementary School, Montgomery County Schools

 

2012 Winners

  • Outstanding Leader: Mark Nichols, Special Education Supervisor for Assistive Technology and Individual Education Programs, Loudoun County Public Schools
  • Outstanding Teacher: Norene Skiles, library media specialist at Windsor Oaks Elementary School, Virginia Beach City Public Schools

 

2011 Winners

  • Outstanding Leader: Thomas Woodward, Assistant Director of Instructional Technology, Henrico County Public Schools
  • Outstanding Teacher: Kristina Peck, Riverbend High School Math Teacher, Spotsylvania County Public Schools

Be An Accessibility “a11y” This School Year

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Possible and accessible symbol. Businessman turns wooden cubes and changes the word possible to accessible. Business and possible or accessible concept. Beautiful white background, copy space.

As you return to the classroom this new school year, it’s a great time to think about how technology can not only make your instruction more engaging and dynamic, but how it can make learning more accessible for the students that you serve who have disabilities.  Being an accessibility “a11y” (the shorthand, “cool” way to abbreviate “accessibility” also aligned with ISTE standard 2.2b, being an advocate for equitable access) can be a positive impact both on student outcomes, but also teacher productivity and efficiency.

It is common in classrooms today for there to be two types of technology present that can support students with disabilities.  The first is embedded in the laptops, chromebooks, and tablet devices used by all students.  The operating systems of each of these devices have accessibility settings that can make content displayed on them more accessible to students with disabilities through features such as visual magnification, hearing aid integration, touch/typing accommodations, text-to-speech/speech-to-text, and more!  No additional software download required.  In fact, accessibility features have become so common in educational technology, that both the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan (see below), as well as Virginia’s 2024-2029 Educational Technology Plan (also see below), explicitly incorporate the use of these features into the expectations for how schools will use instructional technology to support students with disabilities.

The second type of technology present in many classrooms for supporting students with disabilities is assistive technology (commonly referred to as “AT”).  Assistive technologies can range from simple light-tech devices to high-tech computer programs, alternative communication devices, and physical supports.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines assistive technology as “is any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities”.  Meaning, what makes something assistive technology is less about “what it is” and is more about “what it does”.  Assistive technology also differs from instructional technology in that a student’s IEP team has specifically identified this tool as a support them in an area impacted by their disability.  Teachers learning to adapt there instruction in ways that can incorporate a student’s use of assistive technology aligns nicely with ISTE’s standard 2.5a as well, focusing on accommodation learner differences.   The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs has recently released new guidance around the provision of assistive technology in schools (linked below) that can be supportive of new and experienced teacher providing AT support.

For support in considering, assessing for, and/or trialing assistive technology with your students or incorporating accessible instructional technology into your classrooms, please contact your regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) or visit atnetwork.ttaconline.org.  We’d also invite you to save the date for Virginia’s assistive and accessible educational technology conference “TechKnowledgy” coming to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia for November 18-20, 2024.

 

Explore

Title:  Virginia’s Assistive Technology Network Website and Resources

Check out the Virtual AT Lab and the “How Do I?” pages to find quick ways to explore AT.

Title: Asynchronous Virtual Virginia Course - Virginia Assistive Technology, Tools, and Strategies (VATTS): Consideration Guide and Resources 2023-2024

This course will guide you through the steps to completing the Virginia Assistive Technology, Tools, and Strategies Consideration Guide. Upon successful completion, a certificate worth 1 hour of professional learning will be awarded.  

 

Read

Title: National Ed Tech Plan

Title: Virginia Ed Tech Plan 2024-29

Title: OSEP AT Guidance

Title: AT Tools in Schools Booklet

Listen

Title:  Accessible Learning Experience Podcast (From CAST)

Title: Think Inclusive Podcast

Title: Inclusion Stories

 

Watch

Title:  Sharon Jones from the Virginia AT Network Introduces the new OSEP AT Guidance

Title: Quick Live Captioning

Live captioning is not just for students with hearing impairments! Enhance reading comprehension and support literacy development with multisensory learning for hearing and seeing the words paired together. 

 

Library Recommendation

*Check out your TTAC Lending Library for these! 

Title: Inclusive Learning 365

Title: The New Assistive Tech, Making Learning Awesome for All!

VSTE Professional Services Planning Survey

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VSTE is preparing to launch professional services! This group will promote excellence in education through professional development endeavors supporting the integration of existing and emerging technologies.

We want your input on crafting what we offer and how we offer it.

Please complete this survey to help us make this new initiative something that can help all educators in Virginia and beyond.

 

For more information on the VSTE Professional Services please visit https://www.vste.org/professionalservices

VSTE professional services who, what, & how

Common Sense Education Resource Share – July 2024

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An image of students working on laptops in a classroom. A Common Sense Education text overlay appears in the top right of the graphic."Common Sense is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to helping all kids thrive in a world of media and technology. They support pre-K–12 schools with lesson plans, edtech reviews, family resources, and everything else students need to thrive in a connected world." Below is a custom set of resources pulled from this month's newest updates! Check them out via the links and explore even more at www.commonsense.org/education. VSTE is proud to partner with Common Sense Education.

For Teachers:

For Parents & Caregivers:

 

All Resources via Common Sense Education

All VSTE Posts of Common Sense Education Resources

Two Things That Can Make or Break a Tech Coach

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Written by UnisonEDU founder and VSTE Board member, Patrick Hausammann. Connect with him at @PHausEDU on Twitter.

1. Empathy

The one thing that has made the biggest impact in building and maintaining relationships with teachers in my ed tech coaching role has been staying empathetic. My constant standby is to remember where I started out with ed tech and proceed from there. Always remembering that you once knew nearly nothing about the topics and how hard you’ve worked to become an expert can help you to relate to teachers at nearly any stage of technology integration.

There should never be a time when teachers feel a question they’ve asked is stupid, silly, or beneath you to answer. Each question should be fully listened to, clarified if needed, and investigated fully (as needed), and responded to with respect. When possible, be fully transparent and honest about how you discovered the answer and learned how to do the things you’re asked about. If you don’t know an answer or just discovered it, share that openly and thank the teacher for pushing you to continue learning and discovering.

I can assure you that starting at a high level with everyone, never differentiating, and not recapping the basics are all great ways to damage relationships and ensure you’re reaching and connecting with a small percentage of those you seek to assist.

Instead, begin every planning session you employ with an empathetic mindset reflecting on those you’ll be meeting with. 

Where is their expertise?

What have they requested?

What goals do they seek to achieve?

Finally, what scaffolds can you implement to help them each step of the way?

2. Credibility (knowledge & experience)

The second (and equally as important) element that can make or break an ed tech coach is credibility in the form of having both the knowledge and expertise to excel at technology integration and training. It is incredibly valuable if this experience is grounded in classroom teaching and learning. It can be hard for some teachers to relate to and find you credible if you’ve never taught and managed a classroom of your own. If you haven’t had this experience, you should advocate for taking over a teacher’s classroom for lessons and co-teaching as often as possible. Both of these teaching opportunities can cement your teaching experience and credibility for teachers.

In addition to having actual teaching experience, you should be the lifelong learner you implore your teachers to be. Your colleagues should know that you constantly seek opportunities to learn more to be able to better support their needs. Your knowledge and drive to continue learning should take you to learning connected to tech tools, technology integration, and best practices of teaching, learning, grading, and more. When teachers can clearly see that you’re not just a tech person, but a teacher as well (even primarily), your words and recommendations will be heeded much quicker and with more acceptance.