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Rod Carnill
Supervisor of Instructional Technology Coaches
Frederick County Public Schools

Educational Leadership Experience

Twenty seven years ago I began my career as a classroom teacher with Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) and spent time as a language arts and technology lead teacher. I then moved into the ITRT position in 2001 serving teachers and students at five schools then subsequently became an Instructional Technology Specialist in 2004 where I began designing and delivering the district technology training for all teachers.

As Coordinator for Instructional Technology, I helped guide FCPS into a full adoption of Google Apps for Education and am currently serving in my fifth year as the Supervisor of Instructional Technology Coaches for FCPS which has achieved a 1 to 1 Chromebook program K-12.

This year I am finishing my first three-year term on the VSTE Board of Directors acting as the Vice Chair of the Board and also as the Advocacy Committee Chair which has provided me the opportunity to advocate for edtech funding at the state house in Richmond, on the Hill in Washington D.C. and also represent VSTE as a presenter at recent ISTE and CoSN conferences. I also have the pleasure of teaching educational technology application courses for the past year as an adjunct professor with Shenandoah University.

Vision for VSTE

VSTE as an organization draws its power from its membership. When the membership is engaged with one another and grows to be collaborative in nature, the organization finds itself better positioned to inform best practices, highlight innovation and influence what is occurring in classrooms across the Commonwealth and beyond.

VSTE is building on its strong history of bringing together some of the best and brightest educators, administrators and technicians, while continuing to create opportunities to share ideas and resources at the local, state and national levels.

During my tenure on the Board, VSTE has strived to help educators overcome the challenges of keeping pace with the demands and changes faced in today’s digital learning environments. Using the regional events and regular webinars to feature the creative and innovative happenings in local classrooms will better position VSTE to bring those grassroots efforts to the stage of the annual conference and perhaps on the national stage as well. I believe it is more important than ever to create that growth mindset and sense of possibility for Virginia’s teachers and students.

Biographical Sketch

My parents and teachers helped instill in me a sense of giving back and paying forward each and every opportunity and blessing. I enjoy learning and equally enjoy sharing my knowledge with others and it is that learn/teach cycle which has helped me grow as a husband, as a father and as an educator. Those same principles overflow into other aspects of my life and work. My undergraduate work at Shenandoah University led me to a classroom, my masters' degree led me into technology leadership, the edtech leadership certificate program led ne to this Board. Serving on the VSTE Board of Directors has allowed me to contribute to the opportunities for other educators in the Shenandoah Valley, across the Commonwealth and in professional learning networks across the world wide web.