VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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DEI Task Force Mentoring Committee Launches Webinar Series

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Join us live for the inaugural episode of our webinar series on November 30, 2020 at 11:30 am. The series, hosted by Charles Randolph and Jennifer Orr, will highlight the work of VSTE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force and bring our viewers information for educators around Virginia. Meet members of the task force and learn about our professional development and mentoring work.

photo of Charles Randolph

Whether you are a veteran or a newcomer, the webinar hosts welcome you and look forward to sharing ideas with you. Stay tuned for future webinars.

Join us on Zoom

How I Became a Believer in Maker Education

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My first experiences with maker education came while serving students at a juvenile detention center as an Instructional Technology Coach. I knew that maker education had the potential to empower our students and transform how they experienced learning.photo of a bamboo plant Then, one student made me a believer. One August, we had a 17-year-old male enter our facility. He was a newcomer to the United States, his English proficiency was limited, and he had little formal education. The allegations against him were serious and he was struggling with depression and anxiety. He was a student in crisis and nowhere near available for learning.

For months, our school staff struggled to support this student and engage him. One day, we had a breakthrough. The student’ science class was studying plants and had been nurturing beans, avocados, and corn under a grow light. The student started to take an interest in the plants, offering to be their primary caretaker. Seeing this interest, I immediately went to our principal’s office and retrieved her lucky bamboo plant, which was on the brink of death. His science teacher and I challenged the student to revive the principal’s plant.illustration of a 3D model of a planter

I could not have imagined what happened next. Over the course of a few months, the student propagated a new plant from the remains of the old plant and gave it proper nutrients, skills he learned from watching self-selected YouTube videos. He designed and 3D printed a superior container, ensuring the plant’s roots would have better drainage.

Then, he learned the basics of soldering and constructed an Internet of Things device that constantly checked the soil’s moisture level. If the plant’s soil was too dry or too wet, the device would push a notification via Blynk to the principal’s smartphone. He proudly shared his project goals with anyone who would listen, including the center’s administration.

Seeing his project come to life was incredible, but it pales in comparison to the changes within the student. The student’s mental health started to improve, and his confidence grew. His rate of English acquisition exploded. He discovered a love of learning. He no longer wanted to retreat into his cell; he yearned to be in school. The student’s new love of learning drove him to enroll in GED program. Maker education re-made and saved that child. In education, we often speak of teaching the whole child. Witnessing the power of authentic learning convinced me – maker education addresses the whole child and must be available to all students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a rapid re-imagining of our lives and institutions. As we trailblaze the wildernesses of virtual and concurrent learning, our challenge is to keep learning personal and experiential. Bringing maker culture into our virtual and in-person classrooms is daunting, but possible. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it has affirmed that there is nothing educators cannot do. The past several months has challenged us in ways we could never have envisioned, but, when I imagine what can be, I find myself energized and full of hope.

Written by Tim Cruz. Tim is the Coordinator of Instructional Technology for Prince William County Public Schools. He is driven by the belief that every child, regardless of situation or circumstance, can accomplish amazing things. Connect with Tim on Twitter at @twcruz.

Google Educator Group NoVA (GEGNoVA)

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What is a Google Educator Group?

Google Educator Groups, GEGs, are communities of educators coming together to share ideas, build connections, and help each other grow. From the very start, GEG NoVA has been a community of lifelong learners - people so dedicated to their craft that they take time out of their personal lives to join us and learn even more. That dedication to students, families, and communities keeps us going. While GEGs are considered local groups, members are not required to live in that area. You can be a member of as many GEGs as you would like! Additionally, membership is not limited to teachers. Administrators, coaches, students, or anyone interested in using Google tools to facilitate learning is welcome to join. 

What inspired us to start GEG NoVA?

GEG NoVA was born out of our passion for both educational technology and community-oriented organizations. Theresa and I met through EdCamp NoVA, an unconference at which participants decide the topics of discussion on the day of the event. We both were passionate about how this learner-centric PD could engage others. We eventually both ended up joining the planning team for EdCamp NoVA, but soon realized that a semi-annual event wasn’t enough. It was from that motivation to find and create learner-centric, in-the-moment PD that GEG NoVA was created! 

Why are we community-focused?

We believe that it’s through open and honest collaboration that education can truly thrive. With this in mind, all of the work and content that GEG NoVA puts out to the world comes from our membership. By focusing on building up each other, we not only share our wealth of knowledge, but we build the leadership capacity of everyone involved. For some of our members, this might be the first professional development organization they’ve ever joined. As a community, we want members to build on that courage to put themselves out there and develop into well-rounded leaders, able to make real change in their schools. 

How can you connect with GEG NoVA?

As a community, we are active on multiple platforms including Twitter, Google Groups, and YouTube. Are you interested in getting involved in GEG NoVA’s leadership or presenting a topic to the community? Fill out our interest form!

Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates: @GEGNorthernVA

Join our Google Group!

Watch our previous webinars on Youtube!

Check out our website for more info!

Written by Tyler Witman. Tyler is an Instructional Technology Coordinator for Arlington Public Schools and co-founder of the Google Educator Group of Northern Virginia.

Offer From NetRef: You’ve Got Questions and NetRef Has Answers

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The following information is provided as a service to our membership. It does not constitute an endorsement by VSTE.

NetRef graphic

We understand that these are difficult times for all stakeholders in K-12 education and Virginia Schools Divisions may be experiencing challenges around remote, hybrid or technology use in the classroom.   In our discussions with educators across the country we have heard the following concerns and NetRef can help address all of these:

  • Remote Student Attendance
  • Student Engagement
  • Track Usage of Online Programs
  • Equity

NetRef is a Virginia-based technology company and wants to offer any assistance and help to Virginia School Divisions.  We are offering FREE usage of NetRef beyond the 14 days listed on the flyer for Virginia Divisions.

  • NetRef can be set up either with or without teacher involvement.  We understand that teachers have a lot of their plates right now and don’t want to over burden but provide useful data and also ensure kids are using devices appropriately.
  • With teacher involvement provides all classroom management functionality as well as all data and usage reports for teachers and building and central office admin.
  • Without teacher involvement you would still have usage, attendance and engagement data reports and
  • Set up for either implementation would take about 20 minutes or so.  We provide all services – implementation, SIS integration, technical support and training
  • We can set up very quickly and pull data from your SIS so there is minimal effort on your end.

Short 3 minute video on how NetRef tracks engagement and attendance

14 minute pre-recorded NetRef demo from VSTE Leading Ed Forum

See what educators are saying about how NetRef is helping to keep kids focused and engaged

For more information or to discuss setting up your free trial please contact:

Joe Warden
Education Partnerships Manager
NetRef
Phone: (703) 489-7577
Email:  joe.warden@net-ref.com
Web: net-ref.com

Teach Middle Schoolers About Social Media With Fun Online Sim

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These engaging activities can spark conversations about oversharing, digital footprints, cyberbullying, and more.

As physical distancing becomes a feature of students' everyday lives, social media has emerged as an important outlet for them to stay connected with friends and family. At the same time, not all students have access to the support they need to learn how to use social media in a way that's healthy. And for students from lower-income families, online negative experiences are more likely to spill over into their offline lives. Yet, having a conversation with young people about how they use social media can be a daunting task.

To prepare young people for the real-life digital dilemmas they will face on social media, Common Sense Education, and a group of researchers at the Cornell Social Media Lab co-developed Social Media TestDrive. This online simulation allows middle school students a chance to explore a social media interface without actually having to create a social media account.

For Digital Citizenship Week 2020, we encourage you to try out Social Media TestDrive in your classroom. Each Social Media TestDrive module is aligned to one of the core digital citizenship topics and lessons from Common Sense Education's K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum (for more information, see the educator guide). Each module is organized into four sections: a tutorial, a guided activity, a free-play section, and a reflection page. A module takes 20- 25 minutes to complete.

Here are some ideas for how you can implement TestDrive during Digital Citizenship Week and beyond:

For review: If you taught one of our lessons at the beginning of the year, you can have students complete a TestDrive module as a way to revisit key digital citizenship concepts they might have forgotten or that might have become more relevant since the start of the school year.

For homework or asynchronous activity: TestDrive modules are designed to be self-directed, so you can have students complete them as homework. Ask students to save their answers to the module's reflection questions as PDFs so they can share them with you.

For synchronous class discussion: Have students complete a module and discuss their experiences with the rest of the class. You can use the guiding questions below to make sure students address key topics from the lesson.

Once you decide which approach works best for you and your students, identify which modules align best with the topics or themes you want to emphasize this year.

Media Balance & Well-Being

The Ups and Downs of Social Media: Students reflect on how social media can make them feel and learn how to use social media in a positive and balanced way.

  • Discussion questions: What is oversharing? Give an example. How can oversharing affect the way you or others feel when using social media? What can you do if you experience a red flag feeling when using social media?

Healthy Social Media Habits: Students explore how social media platforms are designed to keep their attention and practice healthy media habits to achieve media balance.

  • Discussion questions: What is the attention-grabbing design? Can you share an example of a feedback loop you have experienced in your life? How can you build healthy media habits?

Privacy & Security

Scams and Phishing: Students understand the consequences of identity theft and learn how to identify and take action against phishing scams on social media.

  • Discussion questions: What are some examples of private information? What are some clues you can use to identify phishing scams? Why do you think it is important to protect yourself from phishing scams?

Social Media Privacy: Students understand how social media sites collect information about users and learn strategies for protecting privacy on social media.

  • Discussion questions: What are the privacy settings? Why is it important to read the privacy policy of a social media app? What can you do in the future to protect your privacy on social media?

Digital Footprint & Identity

Shaping Your Digital Footprint: Students explore how actions on social media create a digital footprint and learn skills to positively shape digital footprints.

  • Discussion questions: What is a digital footprint? What are examples of things that contribute to your digital footprint? What can you do in the future to be mindful of your digital footprint and that of others when you use social media?

Online Identities: Students learn how to manage self-presentation and how online identities can change with different audiences on social media.

  •  Discussion questions: Did you create a post on the TestDrive timeline? If so, did you think about your audience? What are the benefits and drawbacks of having multiple social media accounts?

Relationships, Communication, & Cyberbullying

Is This Private Information?: Students learn what is safe to share with different social media audiences and what kind of information is inappropriate to share on social media.

  • Discussion questions: What are examples of private information? How did you respond when you received a message asking for private information? What can you do in the future to protect your private information and that of others when you are on social media?

How to Be an Upstander: Students identify signs of cyberbullying and practice how to respond when seeing cyberbullying happening to others.

  • Discussion questions: What are the signs of cyberbullying on social media? Did you notice any on the TestDrive timeline? Why is it important for people to act against cyberbullying on social media? What will you do in the future to be an upstander if you see cyberbullying on social media?

News & Media Literacy

News in Social Media: Students learn why fake news exists and how to identify the telltale signs of fake news on social media.

  • Discussion questions: What are the benefits and drawbacks of getting news on social media? Why is it important to evaluate the information you see on social media? What would you do on real social media sites to make sure the information you see is credible?

Responding to Breaking News!: Students learn how to react to breaking news on social media and practice strategies for identifying reliable news online.

  • Discussion questions: Did you read any of the articles on the Social Media TestDrive timeline? Did you notice any signs that an article may be inaccurate? What strategies can help you know whether the information in a news article is accurate? Why is it important to get the full story before reacting to or sharing breaking news on social media?

Using Social Media TestDrive as a family engagement resource.

Social Media TestDrive works best with students who are considering joining social media in the near future or those who are new users. This makes TestDrive a great way to spark conversations with kids about thoughtful and responsible social media use. Here are a few ways to engage families using TestDrive:

  • Assign Social Media TestDrive as a family activity after teaching one of the aligned digital citizenship lessons.
  • Encourage family members to go through the simulation with their students. Each module introduces digital citizenship topics that can help family members better understand the challenges and dilemmas their students might encounter online.
  • Share the above discussion questions or the ones in the educator guide to help family members have a nurturing discussion with their kids.

Written by Daniel Vargas Campos, an Education Content Specialist with Common Sense Education. This post was originally published on their blog.