VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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News and Media Literacy Resource Center

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Fact checking is just the beginning. To teach news literacy in the classroom today, you'll need to give students a strong foundation in cultural awareness and critical thinking. Common Sense Education gathered best-in-class activities, discussion guides, and more in this all-new News and Media Literacy Resource Center.

VSTE is pleased to partner with Common Sense Education to provide access to these kinds of essential resources. Everything's been carefully vetted by Common Sense editors and fellow educators so you can be sure you are connecting with quality.

Minecraft Monday: Connect & Learn, February 3, 2020, 8 PM

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Logo for EventJoin members of the VSTE Virtual Environments PLN on Monday, February 3, at 8 PM EST, when participants in the EVOMOOC (Electronic Village Online Massively Open Online Course) will visit VSTE Place, and Dakotah Redstone will provide them with a tour.

Electronic Village Online sponsors the MOOC, and this week, the participants are exploring the multi-player game Minecraft as a virtual world for learning. Many of participants are teachers, particularly language teachers, but some enjoy online gaming as a way of improving their English as a second language.  This MOOC is run by Vance Stevens, who is a member of the VSTE VE PLN.

Basic directions to join VSTE Place, VSTE’s Minecraft world:

You must have a Minecraft account from https://minecraft.net/en/ to join. There is a one time fee of $26.95 to download and install the software. You will need to be whitelisted to enter the VSTE server. Email Kim Harrison at K4sons@gmail.com from an educational email address with your real name and Minecraft account name.

Start the software and choose multiplayer and add a server: Name VSTE Place IP 69.175.17.26:25565

We use Discord to share voices in Minecraft. This is a voice and screen sharing application that will run on your computer or mobile device. Download and install it for free. Create an account. Many of us use the same name for our Discord account as our Minecraft account to keep things simple. Our channel is https://discord.gg/nDX4mZv It helps us to be able to play Minecraft in one screen and listen via Discord with earbuds or headphones.

#GoOpenVA Professional Development Resources

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Go Open VA headerThe Virginia Society for Technology in Education has been working closely with the Department of Education to support the #GoOpenVA initiative, a collaborative initiative that enables educational entities throughout Virginia to create, share, and access openly-licensed educational resources (OER, also known as open education resources).

As part of the opening of the #GoOpenVA platform, where educators across the Commonwealth can create, share and remix openly licensed resources, VSTE has begun development of a Workshop In a Box to help technology coaches and other trainers introduce the platform to their faculty. The first module, which provides an overview of the platform, is available now. Subsequent modu les focusing on more detailed use of the platform are in development and will be available this spring.

While the Workshop is designed to be used directly by divisions, VSTE may be able to provide support for face to face and online trainings. Please contact Karen Richardson (karen_richardson@vste.org) with requests or questions.

Nominations for Board of Directors Open

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VSTE members may nominate themselves or a colleague who belongs to VSTE to be considered for election to the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) Board of Directors for a three-year term.  This is an opportunity to become involved in the key decision-making group for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education.

Nominations for the 2020-2023 Board term will be open from Monday, January 27, 2020, through Friday, February 28, 2020. Nominees and those who nominate them must be members of VSTE.

The slate of nominees will be announced in March and the election will be held in April.

The nomination form will be available in the Members' Only area of the website. When you are ready to nominate either yourself or someone else, you can start here.

Learn More About the VSTE Board of Directors

You can preview the nomination form but must submit the final form online.

Remember, you must be a VSTE member to nominate, to be nominated, and to participate in the online election.  Details for a complimentary membership can always be found at VSTE’s website.  Please let us know, via email to boardelections@vste.org, if you have any questions or need further information about the election process.

In order to vote in the elections, you must be a member for at least ten days prior to the opening of the Board elections in April.

Member Login Information

It will be necessary for you to login to the system to participate in the nomination and election process. You can find the login page here. Unless you have changed it, you should use your email address at which you receive VSTE mailings for your login.  If you do not remember your password, you may click the link on the login screen for those forgetting their password. Your password will be emailed to you.  Once you login, you can update your membership information, change your login and/or password (as necessary) and submit a nomination.  Please write to karen_richardson@vste.org if you have problems accessing the member only section of our website.

Thank you for your interest,

VSTE Election Committee, 2020

Janet Copenhaver, Chair

Booz Allen Foundation Educators STEM Open House

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Registration is open now for the Educators STEM Open House, sponsored by The Booz Allen Foundation, and being held Saturday, February 29, 2020, 8:15 AM - 1:30 PM, at Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia.

This free open house will provide a unique opportunity for NOVA educators to interact with STEM professionals as they share their educational pathways and the skills they needed to succeed. Participants will learn about ground-breaking resources and programs available to NOVA educators.

Learn more about the schedule and register here.