VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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ITRT-Created Resources in #GoOpenVA

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As with all educators, ITRT’s are scrambling to adapt to a new way of doing their jobs, and mentoring teachers in new skills and educational approaches. Luckily, nearly every division is doing the same thing at the same time, developing resources to help teachers handle virtual and hybrid learning. And, also luckily, we have a new place where ITRTs can share their professional learning resources with each other, assisting each other with the many tasks to be done.

#GoOpenVA has a new Collection which is a set of links to ITRT-created resources designed to help teachers during these hectic and stressful times.  The Moving to Virtual and Hybrid Learning: Professional Learning for Teachers Collection includes not just technology how-to videos and handouts, but also resources to support the pedagogy involved in both virtual and hybrid learning. 

Many of the resources were developed specifically for a particular division---but are great starting points for other divisions to use to develop their own customized versions.  They are ready to be edited as needed—just make sure to include acknowledgement of the original creator.  Getting a pat on the back from a colleague is always welcome and even more so in these stressful times.

If you, as an ITRT, are seeing the benefits of sharing resources with others in order to lighten the load for all, then you might want to do some training on how to leverage #GoOpenVA for sharing, collaborating, professional learning, and customizing resources for students.  VSTE’s Education Committee worked this past winter and spring to develop a Workshop in A Box website for you. There, you will find some grab-and-go training sessions on the Foundations of #GoOpenVA, Curation, Customizing, and Creating. Each Module provides a slide deck, Facilitators Guide and Participants Guide (all ready to be edited if you want to customize your own training sessions).

The Foundations module covers the basics of OER (openly-licensed resources), need-to-know copyright law, and ways to navigate around #GoOpenVA. The Curate module demonstrates several ways that #GoOpenVA registered users can evaluate and rate content for both themselves and for the good of the community.  For those who want to delve into editing content (called remixing or customizing in OER-speak), the Customize module does a quick repeat of pertinent copyright information, and then provides instruction on how to use the Open Author editor on #GoOpenVA.  The last module, the Create module, goes into more depth on how to use Open Author and how to choose your metadata (which helps others find your posted resources).

As a supplement to these workshop pieces, you can use any of the helpful resources listed in the Users Guide, which includes rules and guides, screencast how-tos, hints, and other information.  These all are openly-licensed as well, so you can edit and re-purpose as you need.

Take care of yourself, and use these resources as short-cuts for some of the training and support you need to provide.  #GoOpenVA is there to help you feel less alone (and more supported by the state’s education community).

Written by Jean Weller, Teaching and Learning Technology Integration Specialist for the Virginia Department of Education and member of the VSTE Board. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jean at jean.weller@doe.virginia.gov.

Extending Wireless to Your Community

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Aruba Networks has been helping K12’s in the state of VA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aruba’s leadership team came up with the idea to offer outdoor wireless solutions to k12’s during this time of transition. We understand that not every child may have the accessibility to internet or broadband at their home for remote learning. We decided to donate outdoor wireless kits to schools so they are able to “drive up” to the school parking lot and connect to free wireless.

Washington Co Public Schools has shared with us how they are currently utilizing their outdoor wireless today.

“When we went to a remote learning situation in March, we quickly realized that there were students who did not have adequate access to the Internet at home.  We installed Aruba 377 outdoor access points in a parking lot at each school.  When school was still in session, we were seeing around 80 clients connected over a 24-hour period.  That has gone down to 20-30 per day now since we have closed out the school year.  We also allow community access through our guest wireless network.” –Washington Co Public Schools

This is just the many ways that Aruba is helping K12’s during this time. We are currently working on a solution to allow connectivity and wireless to project from school buses. More to come!

Some of the schools systems we have been helping in the state of Virginia below:

Isle of Wight County Schools
Franklin Co Public Schools
York Co Public Schools
Montgomery Co Public Schools
Washington Co Public Schools
Newport News Public Schools
Hampton City Public Schools
Lynchburg City Public Schools
Campbell Co Public Schools
Botetourt County Public Schools

Written by Lindsay Scott. Lindsay is the Greater Mid-Atlantic-Southeastern VA Territory Manager for Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. Contact her to learn more about how Aruba can help your school today!

Being Culturally Responsive With Technology

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My husband and I are the self-proclaimed spades champions in our family. At past family gatherings, we are often met with, “Hey, how have you been? Did you bring your deck of cards?” The thing about spades is that you just can’t “throw in your hand”. You have to play your hand. You have to play the cards that you’ve been dealt.

As with the current quarantine situation, many communities and school districts are diligently working with the resources they have. They are refusing to give up. One school, in particular, is the Gladys Oberle School.

The Gladys Oberle School is a private day special education school in Fredericksburg, VA. With a total enrollment of approximately 50 students and a looming threat of losing resources as a result of the COVID-19 situation, the administration, faculty, and staff designed a plan built on best practices using instructional technology and culturally responsive instruction.

In spite of students not being physically able to attend school, the administration and faculty remain connected to their students and families. Teachers effectively use tools such as Google Classroom and Zoom to deliver instruction and maintain an atmosphere of community and support. For those teachers and students who have limited access to the internet, students have received packets in the mail along with encouraging words and instructions on how to complete their assignments.

The school’s counselors personally called each family on their caseload to offer support or arrange for virtual individual counseling sessions if needed. The administration has also encouraged students to make videos and take pictures of class projects. These videos and pictures are posted and uploaded to the virtual school newsletter.

Empowered with a commitment to their students and families and the technology available, the Gladys Oberle School has refused to “throw in their hand”. This school is truly a champion!

For more information regarding the Gladys Oberle School, please visit their website.

Written by Nicci T. Dowd, Ed.D. Nicci is a Trainer and Technical Specialist with AIM-VA at George Mason University, and a member of the VSTE Board of Directors.

Global Collaboration in Rural Virginia

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The words ‘global collaboration’ seem like a distant attainment for most of us educators. We think that concept is something someone else could do, but certainly not someone like ourselves. But, I’m here to tell you it is not an impossible task. Last week’s news story is proof positive!

So, how did a teacher like me, a middle-aged teacher in rural Virginia, wind up collaborating on projects with teachers and students in Turkey, Italy and India during a pandemic?

students in an online conference call

It started in the summer of 2017 when I participated in a year-long professional development program through ITTIP at Longwood University, Inspiring Teachers for Engaged Learners (InTEL). Part of the learning experiences included a book study utilizing, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time, by Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis.  The book study experience was a catalyst for my subsequent connections.  ITTIP director, Dr. Paula Leach and STEM Learning Specialist, Stephanie Playton, encouraged participants to reach beyond the walls of our classrooms. They continue to support teachers years after the course to test video calls, come into classrooms for lessons, loan equipment, and provide STEM education advice.

mystery skype posters

Mystery Skype is one particularly engaging technology tool I learned about through the program. The aim of the game is to guess the location of the other classroom by asking questions in a video call format. Finding colleagues to play Mystery Skype requires forming connections through professional learning networks such as Skype in the Classroom and Edmodo.

It was through Edmodo that I found like-minded educators in India and Italy in the fall of 2019. We navigated time zone differences by having students arrive at school at 7:30 a.m. in Virginia and 5:00 p.m. in New Delhi for a Skype call. We set up an Edmodo classroom for students to post projects and receive international feedback. We often used Padlet for asynchronous connections.

slide about Turkish people celebrating children's day

Those two connections have multiplied. My colleague in India had a connection to a teacher in Turkey. The teacher in Turkey was seeking an international audience for her children to share information about their World Children’s Day holiday in their country. From our Zoom meet teacher brainstorm, we ironed out details of the project that resulted in the featured news story.

Where do we go from here? We are presently working on a Padlet to commemorate World Bee Day on May 20th. This project also includes students in Japan and Ireland. We are also looking toward a future International Kids Magazine to be developed as schools reopen in the fall!

So, see! ‘Global Collaboration’  is not an impossible task.

Written by Melanie Ranson. Melanie is a K-5 Gifted Resource teacher for Appomattox County Schools.

I Wonder and I Hope

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It has been enjoyable these past weeks to be able to work outside in my backyard with my two dogs and the sounds of Spring surrounding me. I am fortunate my Wi-Fi signal is just strong enough to allow me this convenience. Sitting out here today, I have had some time to reflect and think about how things may be different in our lives as we move forward. I know that some aspects of our lives may never be the same. Just as 9/11 impacted the way we travel and security measures, I am sure we will see permanent changes when it comes to how we protect our health and those of others. I wonder though how formal education is going to be impacted. I really wonder. I wonder what is going to happen when we get to return to our “buildings.”

Everyone is talking about getting back to “normal.” I am looking forward to seeing fellow staff and students in person again. The lessons, the activities, the plays, the musicals, the athletic events, club meetings, and the list goes on. I wonder though if teaching and learning are going to be “normal” again. Should we be rethinking what “normal” will look like in education as we move forward?

I wonder and hope.

I wonder if our decision-makers understand the importance of everyone having access to high-speed Internet. I hope that “normal’ in the future means that all of our students have access to digital content via this vital utility.
I wonder if instructional leaders at the state and local levels are going to all write and/or update a remote/distance/at-home learning plan, so we are prepared when this happens again. I hope they realize some of the lessons learned during these times need to be part of our “normal” and not just when we are isolated from our buildings and students.

I wonder if instruction moving forward will be the way it was before. I hope we see more of a hybrid/blended learning model where instructional activities involve all types of learning modalities. We see a blend of digital and non-digital learning experiences. We see students (and parents/guardians) have more responsibility in their learning outcomes. We see students having an opportunity to explore and learn on their own terms outside of the structure of a school schedule.

I wonder if our state leaders will revisit and reinstate the requirement of meeting the Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel (TSIP) which used to be a requirement for teacher licensure. (Check out the VSTE updated version which has been endorsed by the VDOE) I hope learning leaders realize that the teachers and students that struggled the most with learning going digital were the ones that never or rarely experienced it. I hope there is leadership out there such as that seen in Sussex County where Tim Mays continues to work with instructional staff to meet the TSIP. He saw first hand how those meeting these standards were more effective in remote teaching and learning.

I wonder if our Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRTs or whatever school divisions call them) will be appreciated and utilized more effectively. I hope our state leaders realize these people need to be coaching our staff to effectively use digital resources for instruction. I hope our instructional staff realizes what a great resource these people are and how much they should be appreciated as they have assisted so many during these times.

I hope others experienced what my wife did during this past month. She is a Math teacher at a local high school and she was not a big fan of the use of instructional technology with her students. She was required to create classes in Google Classroom but really did not use any of the G Suite applications. She was more of a traditional educator and to her credit, she is an effective teacher in many ways. She mentioned several times about trying to integrate more digital content in her instruction but never got around to it. Well, it has been great to see her using Google apps and digital resources with her students. She is communicating via Google Classroom and making learning more personal as she and her students share stories about what is happening at home. She said that when she returns to “normal,” she plans to continue the use of these digital tools because they are making a positive difference. I wonder and I hope.

Written by Tim Taylor. Tim is the Instructional Technology Supervisor for Shenandoah County Public Schools and a member of the VSTE Board of Directors, currently serving as the chair of the Education Committee.