VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

vsteadmin

CETL Certification Snapshot: Kevin Perkins

by

VSTE is the state chapter of CoSN. The VSTE CoSN Council provides professional development of interest to school divisios technology and instruction leaders.

CoSN sponsors the CETL Certification. Becoming a Certified Education Technology Leader demonstrates to your staff, superintendent, and other stakeholders that you have mastered the knowledge and skills needed to define the vision for and successfully build 21st century learning environments in your school district.

Kevin Perkins, Supervisor of Technology at Rockingham County Public Schools, is a recently certified leader. He believes the certification has made him a better leader:

One of the main reasons I pursued the CETL certification was for personal fulfillment and professional growth. When I was awarded the opportunity for a technology leadership position, I was lacking any formal license or certiperkinsfication. The CETL Certification identified the knowledge and skills that are required to be an effective technology leader with the COSN Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO.  Obtaining the CETL Certification gave me the ability to prove that I had the knowledge necessary to be a successful technology leader. . Having the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues and peers while going through the process of preparing for the CETL exam has been invaluable.  For me, earning the CETL certification has been  rewarding both personally and professionally.

Learn more at CoSN.

 

An Educator in China: Days Two and Three

by

Members of the VSTE Board of Directors will be taking time to periodically share their ideas and passions with the VSTE membership. In this edition, Terry Lowry from Wakefield School reports on her first day in China as part of an education delegation. 

These past two days in China have been spent traveling to and visiting our sister school, Xuzhou No. 1 Middle School. The trip from Nanjing to Xuzhou was long – just over 4 hours – but I took advantage of the time to ward of jetlag and slept for most of the trip. Driving in China involves a lot of horn blowing and serious courage on behalf of the driver. I have determined that the lane dividers are really just a suggestion and by no means indicative of where one should consistently stay. I don’t think this is a distinctly Chinese characteristic – I experienced much the same thing in London last summer. In any case, I am happy to say we made it to Xuzhou safe and sound.

Upon arrival, I was graciously greeted by Grace, one of the teachers from the school, who whisked me off to my hotel. After settling in, she and one of her colleagues treated me to one of the most amazing meals I have ever had. The dishes just kept coming out and each one was wonderful! I am proud to say I did fine with the chopsticks and did not embarrass myself. I ended the day by rolling off to bed and sleeping soundly.

The highlight of my visit, though, was definitely the classroom visits I was fortunate to experience the next day. In one class, an American teacher, Kyle, was teaching the children about the US presidential election and the differences between the parties. What an amazing experience to listen to their perceptions regarding the election. They examined the experience of the two candidates and, understandably, how the election of either would affect China. In my next class, an English class, I was able to help students with their grammar assignment (it was surprisingly difficult) and then answered any questions they might have about Wakefield or the US. I think their questions were very interesting, so here are some of them (the ones I can remember, anyway)

  • Are we allowed to have boyfriend/girlfriend relationships in school?
  • If a student’s test scores indicate they should go to university, but he/she really wants to do something else, like be a bus driver, is that allowed in the US – would his/her parents be supportive?
  • If I want to be a film maker, how can I get Americans to watch my movies?
  • If a student wants to travel to the US to attend school, what is it they might have the most difficulty with?
  • If Hillary or Trump won, how did I think that would affect America?
  • What do American students have to do to be accepted into college?

After a morning attending classes we went to the school cantina and were joined by their school principal, Madam Chen, for another amazing meal. Everyone went out of their way to make me feel very welcome and special. Later, Grace and I explored the second campus and then took a tour of the city, the highlight of which was traveling down a willow tree lined boulevard beside an extremely large man-made lake. The rain that started couldn’t dampen my spirits but rather made the day feel fresh and new. All in all, the visit was incredibly memorable and definitely a highlight of my educational career.

Terry Lowry | terrylowry@vste.org Wakefield School Director

Board director Terry Lowry is Director of Technology Integration and Curriculum Coordination at Wakefield School located in The Plains, Virginia.  Terry serves as the chair of the VSTE Awards Committee. Find her on Twitter @tekkieteacher.

An Educator In China: Day One

by

Members of the VSTE Board of Directors will be taking time to periodically share their ideas and passions with the VSTE membership. In this edition, Terry Lowry from Wakefield School reports on her first day in China as part of an education delegation. 

Holy crap! I’m in China! Back in my IT consulting days, I thought it was glamorous that I got to travel to California or Louisiana on my company’s dime. When I decided to return to the world of education back in 2004, I assumed that my days of travel, other than the occasional cheese-wagon field trip to DC, were over. But here I am, in friggin’ CHINA! I am so incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity.

Why me? (Great question – even though I ask it of myself) I am blessed to work at an independent school that emphasizes global awareness and involvement as one of its strategic initiatives. Having said that, the international educator’s forum that I am participating in is not just for independent schools. It is open to school leaders throughout the world. Yep – that’s right – THE WORLD! And here is another crazy thought (at least to me) – I’m visiting here as a school LEADER. While I am part of my school’s leadership team, I consider my primary role as that of a classroom teacher. While my direct teaching time is limited, nothing makes my happier nor do I find anything more rewarding than the time I spend working one-on-one with children. I do not consider myself an administrator, even though I make administrative decisions. I am fortunate to have a blended role where I can both directly interact with children while also guiding and leading the school in its vision and goals. I am hoping that, given that I am most comfortable advocating for the child and teacher, I fit in with all the other “school leaders” in attendance. I have been labeled a bit of a rebel in the past.....just ask our VSTE chairman of the board, Keith Reeves.

Tomorrow I visit our partner school, Xuzhou No. 1 Middle School. I have gifts to bring from one of our teachers who visited last spring and other gifts from our school to theirs. I couldn’t be more excited, but at the same time nervous. I am embarrassed that I do not know any Mandarin while most of the folks I have come in to contact with speak at least rudimentary English. My knowledge of the Romance languages is fairly good. Put me anywhere in Europe and I can figure things out fairly well. Here, however, is a totally different story. I encourage all schools, parents, and their children, to expand their language offerings and skills beyond those that may be typically available. Today’s world is much smaller (figuratively) than the world that we or our forefather’s knew. It is to our advantage to know as much about it as possible.

Last thoughts (before jet lag overcomes me):

  • The Chinese are incredibly kind and gracious.
  • The cities I have seen (Beijing and Nanjing) are crazy polluted. I was literally smogged in on my connecting flight.
  • The jet lag one experiences from traveling from the east coast of the US to China is killer.

NOTE: Check back here for updates as Terry continues to share her insights. 

Terry Lowry | terrylowry@vste.org Wakefield School Director

Board director Terry Lowry is Director of Technology Integration and Curriculum Coordination at Wakefield School located in The Plains, Virginia.  Terry serves as the chair of the VSTE Awards Committee. Find her on Twitter @tekkieteacher.

2016 VSTE Award Winners

by

Each year, VSTE recognizes exemplary educators through several different awards.  We are proud to announce this year’s recipients who will be recognized at the Annual Educational Technology Conference.

The Outstanding Teacher and Leaders awards are given by the Virginia Society for Technology in Education to educational leaders who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership in implementing technology to improve education.

Dr. Ann Nash, Instructional Technology Resources Teacher in the Henrico County Public Schools, has been named Outstanding Teacher of the Year. She has been an educator for 18 years, five as a teacher and 13 as an ITRT and instructional coach.  Dr. Ann Nash’s impact on technology use is felt locally, regionally, statewide, nationally and worldwide.

Locally Ann serves her school, Pocahontas Middle, as well as her division, Henrico County Public Schools as an ITRT.

As a Chair of the Greater Richmond-Area Education Technology Consortium (GRAETC) and executive board member of The Virginia Educational Research Association (VERA), Ann leads regionally. Statewide, Ann has attended and presented at many VSTE workshops and conferences, including the VSTE Conference.

The impact of Ann’s work is also felt nationally and worldwide as an Adjunct Professor at Averett University, delivering distance learning instruction to students in 29 states and 14 foreign countries. In his nomination letter,

Jonathan Gregori from The Department of Instructional Technology at Henrico County Public Schools nominated Dr. Nash, commenting, "Dr. Nash’s efforts as a teacher, ITRT, instructional coach, curriculum designer, and professional organization leader, combine to advance the quality of education and work experience for all groups around her."

Dr. Amy Cashwell, Chief Academic Officer of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, was named the Outstanding Leader of the Year Award for 2016.  In the nomination letter, Dr. Cashwell was described as THE driving force behind the division’s digital learning transformation. The school division’s strategic plan, Compass to 2020, includes a digital learning goal of, “using digital learning as a pathway to personalized learning by increasing student flexibility with respect to when and how learning occurs.”  Through Dr. Cashwell’s leadership and vision, Virginia Beach City Public Schools is aiming for personalized learning for all students, with a clearly articulated plan for digital learning as a pathway toward that goal.

From reorganizing efforts around instructional technology by providing an instructional technology specialist in each school to coach teachers in best practices around digital learning; to developing and implementing the division’s Digital Anchor School initiative in which 15 schools serve as laboratories to test both digital devices and pedagogy; to a developing a division-wide reflection guide to serve as a tool for schools to determine readiness in five focus areas for a successful digital transformation; Dr. Cashwell is a visionary whose ideas and actions are always focused on what will best engage and enrich students, as well as maximize each student’s achievement.

Matt Caratachea, Instructional Technology Resource Teacher for Henrico County Public Schools, has been named the Innovative Educator of the Year. This award is given by VSTE to highlight and recognize innovative educational practices—especially those that champion the smart integration of technology.  Mr. Caratachea’s talent as a classroom teacher and his leadership skills afforded him the opportunity to continue his professional growth as an elementary ITRT. In this role, he has contributed to the knowledge and skills that create a culture where technology enhances engagement, instruction and learning. 

Matt has taken the lead on several innovative projects. He spearheaded a 3D fabrication pilot with a professor from Virginia Commonwealth University that  included multiple 3D printers, and a paper fabrication machine. Students created a 3D topographical representation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, reproduction of an arrowhead recovered at Jamestown, and 3D prints of the students' scaled catapult prototypes.  In addition, Matt was instrumental in the gifted classroom implementation of a coding and innovation pilot.

All three winners will be honored at the VSTE Annual Technology in Education Conference.

Digital Conversion, homework on the bus?  What do we need to know?

by

bus

With the 1 to1 initiatives and the distribution of ipads, chromebooks, and laptops, how do your students get the use out of them during their daily travels?

Well first, let’s define a connected bus.  A connected bus isn’t just a Wi-Fi signal for the student.  You can’t just plug in an access point with a 4G card.  Well you could, but you wouldn’t do it in a classroom without proper security and management, so why would you do it on the bus?  The “infrastructure” on the bus needs to be planned and managed just like it would in the classroom.  Protecting the student is first and foremost.  Protecting them not only from bad sites and cyber security hacking but also, once you have Wi-Fi on a bus, there are so many things to consider!

  • Consider a solution that can integrate with other technologies on the bus. As technology evolves  GPS, video Surveillance, Telematics, Virtual Routes, Driver tracking, Emergency Services Integration are all pieces to consider and making sure all of your solutions integrate and are secured equally.  If the technologies are implemented in silos, it not only becomes a management nightmare, but also a cyber security one.  Your student’s safety will depend on the security of the bus overall, and just one unsecured system could lead to disaster down the road.
  • Student Safety. Wi-Fi on the bus leads to op
    tions that can enhance the safety of the students and communication to the parents and staff.  Options include:

    1. Video Surveillance that can be accessed when neededgeotagging
    2. Geo-Tagging with an App that can track the bus and give the ability to see where the bus is.

 

  • Swipe cards when the student gets on and off the bus. Alerts can be set up to go to the parent when a student does not get on the bus or gets off on the wrong bus stop.  This can save critical minutes in a missing child case.
  1. The driver takes roll when they get on the bus with their tablet. This is especially good for K-2.

students

  • Plan for the future. You probably are wondering where the budget will come from?  You are budget bound, but sitting down and planning the future of your student's connection is very important for when funding can be planned.  Consider a workshop with the key players in the room, this not only includes the schools but even the city and public safety.  How can the connected bus play into your community?  How can the technology integrate with the city/county and Emergency services?  It can even generate revenue with cameras that can record and Geo-tag offenders that don’t stop for the bus.
  • Lastly, don’t expect the world! Connected Wi-Fi in the bus means a Wi-Fi connection for the student to do homework, not to watch Netflix and play PokemonGo!  Devices are connected to support the students in their homework effort.  These devices should be an extension of the classroom and part of your extended network and security.  Planning for a future solution is key, if not the pieces may not fit or be secure.  It’s the Internet of Things (IoT)!

As the Digital Conversion progresses and the students day gets extended, utilizing their daily commute as a resource is a good move.  Presidio can help with that first workshop to determine what the future may hold.  We look forward having the discussion!

Monica Curry

mcurry@presidio.com

www.presidio.com

presidio