VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Rod Carnill

NEW! Sessions Added for Regionally Speaking Webinar Series

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Regional Map of VirginiaJoin VSTE and our friends from Virtual Virginia and Canvas for the Regionally Speaking Webinar series featuring educators from across the Commonwealth.

Mark the following dates on your calendar and join us and other special guests for 30 minutes of fast-paced and fun-filled learning. You can register to attend at https://bit.ly/RSWregistration

March 8 - 3:00 PM

All things Power of Coaching and future collaborations!

Chris Jones/VASCD

 

March 22 - 3:00 PM

Creating an Instructional Playbook

Erin Comninaki -Region 5

Ryan Champney- Region 3

Emily Heller- Region 4

 

April 12 - 3:00 PM

Self-Paced PD cohorts in Canvas

Daniel Vanover - Region 7

 

April 26 - 3:00 PM

Deepen your Division PD

Chrystal Elmore - Region 8

Traci Sykes - Region 8

 

Board of Directors Nominations

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VSTE Board of Directors Nominations are Open

You can make an impact on the future of the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) by nominating someone outstanding to serve on the VSTE Board of Directors! This is an opportunity to become involved in the key decision-making group for VSTE.

Nomination Process
Each year around this time, VSTE sends an announcement that nominations are open for the VSTE Board of Directors.  VSTE members may nominate themselves or a colleague who belongs to VSTE to be considered for election to the VSTE Board of Directors for a three-year term, beginning July 1, 2023.  VSTE strives to have representation of members from across the various regions of Virginia.

Once the nominations have been submitted, the election committee recommends a slate of nominees to the Board for approval.  The online elections will take place in April and all VSTE members in good standing (and have been members at least 10 days prior to the election start date) are eligible to vote.

Board Member Duties and Responsibilities
The Board of Directors meets on a monthly basis. Four times a year they meet face-to-face on a Saturday at locations across the state in September, December (at the VSTE conference), March, and June. In-person quarterly meetings are half day retreats.  The other monthly meetings are 1 to 2 hours in length on a virtual call in the evenings.

Board members are expected to participate in the Board meetings, as well as chair and participate in various Board committees and initiatives.  The Board helps to promote and support the work of VSTE throughout the year.  Board members are also expected to attend the annual meeting at the annual conference in December.

For more information about the nomination process, please go to the 2023 Elections Information and Nominations site. We hope you will consider nominating someone for the 2023 VSTE Board of Directors!

Girls Who Code Summer Programs Announcement

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It is hard to believe that we have already entered the time of the year to start actively helping students find opportunities aligned with their passions for the summer. Girls Who Code are excited to continue hosting free summer programs, and VSTE wants to encourage Virginia students to apply!

Girls Who Code’s Summer Programs

  • StudentsAre 100% free, with need-based grants for tech access to those who qualify
  • Include beginner to intermediate-level curriculum featuring concepts in game design (brand new!), web design, cybersecurity, and data science (brand new!)
  • Are hosted by Corporate Partner Sponsors who lead virtual panel discussions and networking events with inspiring female entrepreneurs
  • High school girls and non-binary students can apply here!

Please share the information below with any eligible 9-12th graders to encourage them to apply?
Here is a link to our Summer Programs Student Flyer for easy sharing as well!

Girls Who Code’s Free Summer Programs
Apply now to Girls Who Code’s free summer programs, with options running June 16 - August 11! They've got two great opportunities, so you can choose the one that fits your needs:

Their 2-week Summer Immersion Program (SIP) hosts current 9th-11th graders in live virtual classrooms led by industry-leading companies like Metlife, Bank of America, and Accenture. Participants will learn how to get creative with game design. By the end of the program, attendees will learn the fundamentals of game design, UX, the iterative design process, and more, as they build out a suite of short games using the p5.js library for JavaScript. Participants can even apply for laptop and hotspot access and grants of up to $300 for financial support!

Their Self-Paced Program gives current 9th-12th graders the flexibility to learn to code through independent study and real-world projects. By the end of the program, you’ll earn beginner-level certificates of completion in HTML, CSS, or JavaScript for web development or intermediate-level certificates of completion in Python for Cybersecurity or Data Science.

Both programs introduce attendees to inspiring industry professionals and unlock lifelong college and career support. For more information on the virtual Summer Programs offered by Girls Who Code, check out our website or attend a webinar. Applications are due on March 24, 2023. Head to girlswhocode.com/summerapply and submit yours now!

Incident Response is a Team Sport: A Cybersecurity Event

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According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), when it comes to cybersecurity, K-12 school divisions are “particularly lucrative targets due to the amount of sensitive student data accessible through school systems.”

Incident Response is a Team Sport is an event designed to provide participants with the opportunity to experience how a cybersecurity incident may unfold and how an Incident Response Plan can help minimize loss of information and disruption of services.  K-12 division-level leadership including superintendents, assistant superintendents, technology directors, network admins, and other critical staff who would be involved in incident response decisions should attend. The objective for the day is for schools to leave with a draft of an IRP if they do not already have one, or to refine the one they already have as a result of interacting with cybersecurity and legal experts throughout the day.

We will start the day with district teams engaging in a tabletop exercise to provide an opportunity for school division leaders to strengthen their cybersecurity program awareness, plans, decision-making process, and capabilities.  We will also use the tabletop exercise to determine key considerations for the core components of your division’s IRP.  During the time together, you will have an opportunity to review and update your Incident Response Plan with feedback from colleagues from other divisions as well as agency and organization cybersecurity experts.  It is recommended you register with your division team to get the most out of the tabletop exercise.  The afternoon sessions will provide breakout sessions geared toward the specific operational, legal, communications, and technical concerns of those in the crucial division-level leadership roles mentioned above.

To accommodate divisions in different geographical regions, the event will be offered twice once on March 14th at Richard Bland College of William and Mary in South Prince George, and again with the same agenda on March 30th at the New College Institute in Martinsville.  It is strongly recommended that you register with a team from your division.  Lunch will be provided.

Register your team for the Richard Bland College event on March 14th or the New College Institute event on March 30th by pointing your browser to bit.ly/incident-response-23.

Regionally Speaking Webinar Series

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Join VSTE and our friends from Virtual Virginia and Canvas for the Regionally Speaking Webinar series featuring educators from across the Commonwealth.

Mark the following dates on your calendar and join us and other special guests. You can register to attend at https://bit.ly/RSWregistration

February 8
Digital Learning Day in VA
Calypso Gilstrap, NBCT
Instructional Technology Specialist
Office of STEM & Innovation
Virginia Department of Education

February 22
Prop-EL Launch: How to create a hub for EL resources  - The goods, the goals, and the challenges
Ryan Champney/Region 3

March 8
All things Power of Coaching and future collaborations!
Chris Jones/VASCD

March 22
Creating an Instructional Playbook
Erin Comninaki -Region 5
Ryan Champney- Region 3
Emily Heller- Region 4