VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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Big Deal Book, April 15, 2015

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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 Make Learning Authentic, Use Assessment to Inform Instruction & More.

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

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War,  the Civil War Trust and History are sponsoring a series of essay contests for students in grades 4–12. The essay theme is 1864–65: Bringing the War to a Close: The final days of the Civil War were filled with human drama. Old ways were dying and new horizons were imminent. Essays should incorporate ideas such as these with the importance of preservation and the study of history.  Deadline: May 1, 2015

The 2015 Google Science Fair is now open. This annual event asks 13- to 18-year-old students to carry out a test or experiment on a subject they’re passionate about and submit their projects online. This year submissions will be accepted in 14 languages from students all over the world. To help students develop project ideas, the Google Science Fair website provides anidea springboard, which asks students to complete the phrases “I love …,” “I’m good at …,” and “I want to explore ...” From students’ responses to these questions, the idea springboard generates a collection of videos and websites that may spark project ideas in their minds. Twenty finalists will be selected to go to Google’s headquarters to show their projects to the judges.  Deadline: May 18, 2015, at 11:59 p.m. (PT), for submissions

Free Webinar: Educators can help students become more actively engaged in projects by making technology tools a seamless part of the learning process. On April 23, 2015, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (ET), the Amazing Resources for Educators community onedWeb.net will host a free webinar titled “Differentiating Instruction with Technology: A Framework for Success.” In this webinar, sponsored by Quill.com, the presenter will describe ways to differentiate instruction in the K–12 classroom using technology.

Learn more about these and other great resources in the April 15, 2015, Edition

Access the archives here.

Big Deal Book, April 1, 2015

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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 Develop Design Thinking, Celebrate Earth Day, Diagnose Autism & More.
Here are just a few highlights from this edition. Click the link below to find lots more:
Join one of The Nature Conservancy's water scientists on a virtual field trip to find out how geography, people and water interact in two of America's "wildly" unique biomes: the temperate rainforest and the desert. The 40-minute virtual field trip will take place on YouTube, on April 8, 2015, at 12 noon (ET). The content of this virtual field trip is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and the National Geography Standards. Click here to register.
The Nature Conservancy and its 550 scientists have created Nature Works Everywhere to help students learn the science behind how nature works for people-and how they can help keep it running strong. Nature Works Everywhere gives teachers, students and families everything they need to start exploring and understanding nature around the globe, alongside Nature Conservancy scientists. The site includes interactive games and lesson plans just in time for Earth Day on April 22.
Discovery Education invites teachers and administrators worldwide to participate in the upcoming SpringVirtCon on April 25, 2015. This no-cost, daylong professional development event offers both virtual and face-to-face opportunities for educators to learn actionable tactics and strategies for deepening the integration of digital media into classroom instruction.
Head to the Big Deal Book for April 1 to learn more about these and other opportunities.
You can also view archived newsletters here.
If you're not reading the Big Deal Book, you don't know what you're missing!

VSTE Day @RPDIT, 2015

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July 7-8, 2015
Gereau Center
Rocky Mount, Virginia

VSTE continues its partnership with the Franklin County Public Schools to support its Regional Professional Development Institute. The full Institute will be held Monday, July 6, through Thursday, July 9, 2015.

VSTE will sponsor the opening session which will be held Tuesday, July 7, 8:30 AM to 12 PM. Breakout sessions related to technology integration will be held on Wednesday, July 8 from 8:30 AM to 4:15 PM.

Check out the schedule here: http://rpdit2015.sched.org/

Registration for this event is free thanks to the generosity of Franklin County Technology Services.

Register Now

Googlepalooza 2015, June 16, 2015

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Googlepalooza 2015
June 16, 2015, 9 AM - 4 PM
Corron Community Development Center
Lord Fairfax Community College
Middetown Campus
173 Skirmisher Lane
Middletown, Virginia

All thing Google! For the second year, we bring you Googlepalooza, a day of Google-related workshops as well as the chance to network with others around GAFE and Chromebooks. Just $30 includes breakfast, lunch and all the M&Ms you can eat!

Check out the jam packed schedule here: http://googlepalooza2015.sched.org/

Register Now

VE PLN, April 13, 2015, 8 PM

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VE PLN Tonight at 8 PM
What are you reading?
VSTE members read books, blogs, magazines, journals, newspapers, websites, and more, from novels to the backs of cereal boxes. Join Beth Ghostraven as we discuss what we're reading, and how we get news about education in virtual worlds. Meet at the VSTE Island Community Center in Second Life.

Join the Google Plus community to learn more about the Virtual Environments PLN.