VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Advocacy

Speak Up Survey Deadline Extended…Plus, Prizes Available

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orange rectangle advertising speak up surveyThe deadline for completing the Speak Up Survey has been extended to January 26, 2018. Don't miss your opportunity to collect valuable information about how your stakeholders are using technology for learning in and out of school.

In addition, two new opportunities to win have been added this week:

2 NEW opportunities announced this week!

  • Teachers can enter to win a $250 Amazon gift card for classroom supplies, in addition to being eligible for a free registration to ISTE 2018!
  • Communications officers can enter to win a $250 grant towards any 2018 professional conference of their choice.

Entry options for these prizes have been added to the end of the teacher and communications officer surveys (identifying information will not be connected to the surveys, keeping responses confidential). Anyone who had already completed the survey and wants to be considered for the prizes, just has to complete this form to enter.

A final question has also been added to the surveys for librarians (to win a registration AASL's National Institute) and administrators (to win a registration to ISTE 2018 or AASA's National Conference on Education).

Project Tomorrow also sponsors several video and design challenges. Their deadlines have also been extended.

VSTE Supports Net Neutrality

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt4eO5wuMlc&feature=youtu.be

At the annual conference, VSTE Board Chair Keith Reeves voiced VSTE's strong support for Net Neutrality, the concept behind what is often called the open Internet. This concept means that all lawful content and providers should be afforded the same level of access. Governments, internet service providers and others would not be allowed to discriminate by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, and modes of communication by providing more robust access to particular companies or applications. Many people consider net neutrality to be a fundamental piece of the Internet architecture.

On Thursday, December 14, 2017, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) will vote to roll back rules related to Net Neutrality.  In 2014, VSTE issued a statement related to these rules when they were under consideration. You can read that statement here.

Now, Net Neutrality is back in the news, and the vote on Thursday will likely undermine those rules, allowing Internet Service Providers to provide preferential treatment to content providers. VSTE is adding its voice to organizations from the American Library Association to CoSN asking the FCC to vote no on these rules. There is no public comment available but VSTE members and friends are encouraged to contact their federal legislators to ask them to pressure the FCC to delay or cancel the vote. Use the Who's My Legislator site to determine your Congressional representatives.

Your Voice Matters!

National Day of Action, December 5, 2017

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Please join the 60+ organizations that make up the Title IV-A Coalition for our National Day of Action!

Join the push to fully fund Title IV-A, which houses the edtech provisions in ESSA. Funding for this program is critical!

Sign up for the Thunderclap here: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/65448-raisethecaps-for-moretitleiv 

Read below for more info and ways you can take action:

Join us on Tuesday December 5th for a National Day of Action to advocate for full funding of the Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grant program. This grant, part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) will allow schools and districts to support well-rounded programs, safe and healthy schools, and the effective use of technology.

In its first year of funding, Congress only allocated 25% of the authorized funds for Title IV-A, severely limiting the ability of districts and states to support these programs. We need to let lawmakers know that an investment in Title IV-A is an investment in our nation’s schools and students, ultimately preparing them for the workforce.

If you want to add your own throughout the day, here are some sample tweets (Twitter now allows 280 characters!):

  • @[Senator], raise the non defense discretionary spending caps and provide #MoreTitleIV of #ESSA, which provides mental health services, access to #STEM, arts, music, PE, & #edtech programs. Our nation’s students deserve the $1.6 billion Congress promised
  • @[Senator] #MoreTitleIV funds mean greater flexibility and more meaningful investments for local school districts! #ESSA #RaiseTheCaps
  • #MoreTitleIV funding provides Ss the ability to give students a more complete, well rounded education @[Senator] #ESSA #RaiseTheCaps
  • All Ss benefit from Title IVA funds, w/o them districts are forced to choose between critical programs. #MoreTitleIV @[Senator] #ESSA #RaiseTheCaps
  • Mental health services, access to STEM, arts & music, PE and edtech programs are at risk w/o fully funding Title IV, A grants. #MoreTitleIV @[Senator] #ESSA #RaiseTheCaps

CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES

Below is a script you can use:

I am a [insert profession or organizational affiliation] and a voter in [insert home state and or congressional district] and I am calling to urge Senator/Representative[insert name here] to raise the non defense discretionary federal spending caps and support full funding of the Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant program under Title IV, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Congress authorized Title IV-A of ESSA at $1.6 Billion to ensure that each school district received funds to support access to a well-rounded education, improve student’s physical and mental health and improve conditions for learning, and to increase the effective use of technology. Unfortunately, the current level of $400 million is wholly inadequate to support the critical services needed in my school.

All of these areas supported by this block grant are critical to ensure all students graduate from high school ready to enter college or the workforce. Underfunding this program seriously undermines my ability as an educator to adequately educate and support the whole child.

I strongly urge you to raise the caps and support the full funding of Title IV-A in FY18.

SHARE YOUR STORY – HOW DO THESE FUNDS IMPACT YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS?

Share Your Story Here: One of the most compelling ways to let Congress know about the importance of funding for this program is to hear directly from you about how these programs benefit your students. In order to help us show Congress the real life value these funds provide to you and your students, we are collecting stories about the benefits and consequences of receiving adequate or inadequate funds for programs including mental health services and professionals, music, arts, AP, STEM, and the effective use of technology.

Do you have a story to tell? Has your school received enough funding for these programs? What differences have these funds made in the lives of your students? What happens if these programs and services go away due to underfunding?

Please take a few minutes to write a paragraph or two using this handy form to share your story with us and to show Congress exactly why funding for these programs matters. We need to let members of Congress know how increased funding for this program could help your students.

Is Your Vision 2030?

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Logo for Speak Up SurveyToday’s Kindergarteners will graduate from high school in the year 2030. That’s right 2030...As we reflect on the changes that have taken place over the last 10 years, what do you think we can expect in the next 12 to 13 years? How might we begin to prepare today’s Kindergarten students for their post public school endeavours?

We need to begin by assessing the current needs and desires of school age children their parents, their teachers and building administrators.  Then we need to make sure elected officials and education leaders at the local, state and federal levels understand the landscape of today’s classrooms in order to begin to shape the outlook of tomorrow’s schools. How might they come by the information needed to take on such a task? Participating in Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up National Research Project is a good first step. The Speak Up survey has had over 5 million participants since it began in 2003. This past year nearly half a million students participated across the United States representing all 50 states, over 2400 districts and 6300 urban, suburban and rural schools.

The vision of Project Tomorrow is to ensure that today’s students are well prepared to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the world.  Project Tomorrow believes that by supporting the innovative uses of science, math and technology resources in our K-12 schools and communities, students will develop the critical thinking, problem solving and creativity skills needed to compete and thrive in the 21st century. http://www.tomorrow.org/

VSTE’s vision is to be an influence in technological innovation in education and be recognized as an agent of change across the Commonwealth.  In Virginia last year, Albemarle County (8070 students) and Frederick County Public Schools (5379 students) led the way in overall participation. Fairfax County Public Schools was recognized for their level of parent participation.  This is all well and good for those participating school divisions. The problem is that Virginia is incredibly diverse and there are many more voices that need to be heard, schools that need to be represented, stakeholders that need to participate in Speak Up 2017. Everyone can participate but it takes one person from a school division to register participation and have teachers, administrators, students, parents and community members from their locale to be included, recognized, heard.

Be that person for your school division. It doesn’t require a signature or a vote, just a few minutes of your time to create an account, a few hours time to raise awareness and then about four months to get the final results and collect the data you need to inform district technology plans, budgetary decisions and professional development. Be the person that helps your school division prepare for the future and assure that the class of 2030 is future ready.

Register your school division today.
http://www.tomorrow.org/SpeakUp/Virginia.html

 

Rod Carnill is Vice Chair of the VSTE Board of Directors and Chair of the VSTE Advocacy Committee. He serves as the Supervisor of ITRTs for Frederick County Public Schools. 

 

 

 

 

Virginia Students Featured at Speak Up Congressional Briefing

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I was fortunate to attend a special event to share the results of the Speak Up 2016 survey, http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speakup_congress.html.  This is a survey published by Project Tomorrow, http://www.tomorrow.org/ , It is an online tool that  gives students, educators, administrators, and parents an opportunity to provide feedback about the use of technology for learning. The data from this survey has helped many districts develop and implement new strategies to address the needs of all learners and  prepare them for their future.  I have always been impressed with Julie Evans, CEO Project Tomorrow,  She has been such a strong advocate for technology in education.  She is a true believer in the positive impact of technology on learning. I would encourage you and your division to participate in the 2017 Speak Up Survey opening on October 16. You can access the survey here: http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/

At this event, we heard from students about their experiences with technology and why it is important for them to have ubiquitous and equitable access.  One student shared that their one-to-one program has provided equal opportunities to all students providing them an “equal start to the future of their education, because we live in a digital world.”  She  mentioned that they are able to use  all of the tools that adults use in their work environment.and  shared  the importance of collaborating with her peers.  During one project, she got to know other students in her class as they worked together on a project.  She shared that members of the group had ideas that she never would have thought of on her own.

If given the opportunity, students will go beyond the standard and far beyond our expectations. How can we empower our students, take them seriously and trust and support their thoughts about their own learning? The students on the panel all described the learning environment at their schools as one that

  • gives them a chance to be heard
  • promotes having a strong foundation that they can further build upon - referring to learning how and when to use technology resources to demonstrate their learning
  • encourages collaboration
  • exposes students to new tools, resources, and ways of thinking

All of these students were confident and well spoken about their school experience. They were able to articulate what they need from school and why their school works.  I have to guess that these schools have created that culture of trust that we have heard about so often.  It is easy to see when it works, but not an easy thing to develop. But I do know that  giving students that voice, the ability to be heard and a part of the conversation about  their learning is a very important step in the process.

Diane Harazin is a member of the VSTE Board of Directors and Supervisor of Instructional Technology for Prince William County Schools.