VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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Making It Happen Award Winners 2015

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Making IT Happen is an internationally recognized awards program for educators and leaders in the field of educational technology integration in K–12 schools. The program identifies and rewards educational technology leaders around the world for their commitment and innovation. The program is coordinated by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

In 2015, VSTE recognized two Virginia educators with this important award:

copenhaverJanet Copenhaver is the Director of Technology and Innovation in the Henry County Public Schools. Copenhaver has worked for the Henry County Public School system for 21 years. Her untiring dedication to the students of Henry County has helped make the school division a leader  in emerging technologies. She has received a variety of recognitions for her work and has traveled throughout the United States presenting at conferences and helping other school divisions.

A photo of Dr. Mano TalaiverPrior to her retirement, Dr. Mano Talaiver was the Director of Longwood University's Institute for Teaching through Technology & Innovative Practices (ITTIP). She has worked to bring emerging technologies, STEM learning, online learning, teacher professional development to school divisions with a focus on broadening the participation of low-income, rural and minority communities in computing and STEM.  She continues her work as part of ISTE's Verizon Mobile Learning Academy.

You can learn more about the award and previous Virginia winners here.

Digital Learning Day 2016

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Archived Recordings

VSTE will be partnering with the Virginia Department of Education to provide a full day of virtual events for Digital Learning Day 2016, February 17, 2016. Scroll down for the complete schedule along with links where you can view the Google Hangouts.

The VDOE will host two live webinars to provide updates on current and proposed technology-related initiatives. Join Mark Saunders, Director, Office of Technology & Virtual Learning and Bobby Keener, Chief Technology Innovations Officer at 10 AM and 1 PM.

VSTE will host an evening webinar beginning at 8 PM that will highlight the VSTE 2015 award winners talking about educational technology past, present and future: Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Doug Saunders, Henrico County; Outstanding Leader of the Year, Dr. Helen Crompton, Old Dominion University; Innovative Educator of the Year, Kim Harrison, Virginia Beach Public Schools; and Making It Happen Award Winners, Janet Copenhaver, Henry County Public Schools and Mano Talaiver, recently retired from Longwood University.

#stuvoice

Throughout the day, VSTE will be featuring students across the Commonwealth talking about how they learn, how they use technology to learn and showing some of the innovative projects they are working on in their classrooms.

Digital Learning Day Schedule:

8:45 - 9: 45 AM
Students from Virginia Beach City, Frederick County, and Henrico County
Link for Viewing

10 AM Virginia Department of Education Update
Mark Saunders, Director, Office of Technology & Virtual Learning
Link for Viewing

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Students from Hanover County, Frederick County, Henrico County, Falls Church City, and Bath County
Link for Viewing

1:00 Virginia Department of Education Update
Join Bobby Keener, Chief Technology Innovations Officer
Link for Viewing

8:00 PM Ed Tech Past, Present, Future
Join our 2015 award winners--Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Doug Saunders, Henrico County; Outstanding Leader of the Year, Dr. Helen Crompton, Old Dominion University; Innovative Educator of the Year, Kim Harrison, Virginia Beach Public Schools; and Making It Happen Award Winners, Janet Copenhaver, Henry County Public Schools and Mano Talaiver, recently retired from Longwood University--to talk all things ed tech!
Supported by GEG Northern VA
Link for Viewing 

 

Big Deal Book, January 18, 2016

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VSTE partners with Big Deal Media to bring you the best in online resources, grant and competition opportunities and more. In this edition, you can Listen to the Sounds of Nature, Tap into the Internet of Things & More.

Here are just a few highlights from this edition. Click the link below to learn more about them and find lots more:

Think Critically About Art

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles provides free lessons that integrate art into the curriculum. One of these lessons focuses on Understanding Formal Analysis. In the lesson, students explore the elements of art and principles of design used by artists

Evaluate EdTech Product Effectiveness

A new online tool can help school–district leaders compare the effectiveness of technology products before purchasing them. The tool, designed by the nonprofit Digital Promise and researchers from Johns Hopkins University, asks questions and provides scores on which products would best meet their needs.

Participate in a Global Game of Intrigue

Designed for the iPad and iPhone, Ingress is a free immersive Augmented Reality (AR) game produced by Niantic Labs, a division of Google. The story setup is that the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has discovered a new form of matter called Exotic Matter (XM, for short). XM, which has the power to control human thought, is constantly leaking into our world via various portals. The world is divided into two factions over who should control these XM portals, and it is up to the player to choose a side and help that side achieve victory. The game incorporates real-world locations and landmarks as portals usinggeo-location-based AR, in combination with an arsenal of tools to hack and take over portals, and a constant stream of social interaction. Cost: Free

Big Deal Book, January 18, 2016

Archives

Save on CoSN Membership

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Virginia is the state chapter of CoSN. We are happy to work with them to offer this amazing discount on CoSN membership!

 

CoSN believes in and delivers professional advancement tools, resources and courses to technology leaders nationwide. Once your district is a member, your entire technology leadership team gets the benefits. These benefits include reports and research the benefits ed tech leaders.

 

Email dfarrand@cosn.org to receive your free copy of CoSN's exclusive members-only EdTechNextReport.

 

If you join by the end of January, CoSN will give you 6 months free. Email membership@cosn.org with promo code 6monthsfree. This is a $200 savings and will expire January 31, 2016.
What you get:
  • Unlimited access to entire district staff that will all receive member benefits
  • Free 6-part live webinar series, and free access to past webinar archives
  • Free and discounted CoSN events (including CTO Clinics, Forums, and the CoSN Annual Conference)
  • Discounted Certification prep and exam materials, and opportunity to act as a proctor
  • Discounted and free CoSN resources- toolkits, ed tech next reports
If you join by the end of January, CoSN will give you 6 months free. Email membership@cosn.org with promo code 6monthsfree. This is a $200 savings and will expire January 31, 2016.

Virginia General Assembly Opens Today

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Wednesday, January 13, 2016, is the first day of the 2016 Virginia General Assembly with both houses convening at 12 PM. The Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia offer live streaming video of the 2016 Legislative Sessions, when each body convenes for session. The adjourn and convene times are tweeted, #vahouse and #vasenate.

VSTE will be offering periodic updates of interest to its members. For now, we suggest you do two things:

  1. Determine your state delegate and senator using the Who's My Legislator link.
  2. Get familiar with the members of the House and Senate Education committees. Compare your legislators with the list to see if you live in the district of one of the members. Being a constituent of a member of the committee gives you a little bit of an "in" to talk to them about education related issues. Why not give them a call or send them an email to let them know what is important to you?