VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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Classroom Snacks #3 Archive: Roanoke County Public Schools

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Classroom SnacksAs part of Connected Educator Month, VSTE is making virtual classroom visits to talk with students across the Commonwealth.

On Thursday, October 20, 2016, we visited with students from Roanoke County Public Schools. A big thank you to Meg Swecker, Coordinator of Technology Integration, for organizing the day, thanks to ITRT Tina Coffey, teachers Sherri Rickman and Cynthia Bowen, and BIG thanks to the students for sharing their ideas and experiences with us.

9:00 AM: ITRT Tina Coffey and students at Oak Grove Elementary School talking about makerspaces: Archive

10:00 AM: Teacher Sherri Rickman and students from the Burton Center for Arts and Technology: Archive

12:00 PM: Teacher Cynthia Bowen and students from Cave Spring Middle School talking about the Global Read Aloud: Archive

1:00 PM: ITRT Tina Coffey and students from Fort Lewis Elementary School talking about their new makerspace: Archive

CETL Certification Snapshot: Tim Tillman

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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.

Tim Tillman, Director of Technology and Learning at Colonial Heights Public Schools, is a recently certified leader. He believes the certification has made him a better leader:

When I found out there was a certification that could prove I had the foundation of knowledge to succeed as a K-12 technology leader, I knew it was something I wanttillmaned. Although the CETL was relatively unknown to my district and surrounding region, I wanted something that I could use to support my authority and leadership.  Studying for the certification helped me realize the weaknesses in my experience and education. I was then able to take corrective action to be well rounded and exhibit the skills required.  I am grateful for this certification and worked hard to be a CETL.  It was worth it!

Learn more at CoSN.

 

Classroom Snacks: Roanoke County, October 20, 2016

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Classroom SnacksAs educators, we spend lots of time talking about students but not much time talking to them. VSTE is working to change that by providing virtual visits to classrooms across the Commonwealth. Our "classroom snacks" will take place on Thursdays throughout October.

We'll continue the series  with four groups of students from Roanoke County on Thursday, October 20, 2016:

9:00 AM: ITRT Tina Coffey and students at Oak Grove Elementary School talking about makerspaces

10:00 AM: Teacher Sherri Rickman and students from the Burton Center for Arts and Technology

12:00 PM: Teacher Cynthia Bowen and students from Cave Spring Middle School talking about the Global Read Aloud

1:00 PM: ITRT Tina Coffey and students from Fort Lewis Elementary School talking about their new makerspace

Join us in our Adobe Connect room to listen live or access the archive later.

You can check out the archives of conversations with students from Bull Run Middle School here and Frederick County Schools here.

 

Slow Tweet Book Chat, Week Three

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VSTE is pleased to welcome Albemarle County student Julian Waters as guest moderator for the third week of our Slow Tweet Chat Book Group. He will be leading us in a discussion of the third chapter of The Missing Voices in EdTech: Bringing Diversity Into EdTech by this year's conference keynoter, Rafranz Davis. This chapter focuses on missing student voices. While we certainly encourage you to read the book, you are welcome to share and comment even if you haven't quite finished the reading.

Register ahead of time for reminders and the chance to win VSTE swag!

Just getting started with Twitter and Tweet Chats? Here are a few resources for learning:

Twitter Tips

VE PLN Upcoming Events

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The VSTE Virtual Environments PLN continues its tradition of Monday night professional development with two upcoming events: 

Monday, October 24, 2016, 8 PM:
Dinosaurs of Virginia, by Bill Schmachtenberg ( Dae Miami sl)

Yes, teachers, we did have Dinosaurs in Virginia! At this presentation, Bill Schmachtenberg will discuss the latest data that suggests that there were many dinosaurs in Virginia, and there were many different types including large long necked sauropod, armored dinosaurs,  and nasty carnivores.

Monday, October 31, 2016, 8 PM:
VSTE Halloween tour of SL Haunted Houses

Organized by Bill Schmachtenberg (Dae Miami sl). Log into second life and get all the virtual candy you want, take a ride in a pumpkin car, and tour cool Haunted Houses.

If you don't have a Second Life account, get one, it's free, at http://secondlife.com/. Download and install the software. While your Second Life viewer (software) is open, click this link http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VSTE%20Island/61/104/22 and voila! Look for an avatar on VSTE Island and say, "Hey, I'm new!" We will take care of the rest.