VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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Speaking Up for Digital Learning and Digital Learners

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Are you “Speaking Up” about digital learning this year? If not, you are missing a unique opportunity to provide your opinion and your voice in a conversation that is shaping learning today and education in America. Make sure that your perspective as well as the views of your peers, students, their parents and the local community members are included in the increasingly important U.S. national and state discussions on digital learning policies, programs, and funding. This year’s survey is currently open and will run through December 16th.  NOTE: The survey has been extended to January 13, 2017. 

As a Speak Up participant you can be a part of a growing movement that values and uses stakeholder opinions to inform K-12 educational decisions. There are many reasons to weigh in. Your participation helps leaders to collect unique data from their local district, assess needs and create a vision for 21st century learning. Local, state and national leaders use the data to inform technology goals or create strategic plans, communicate technology needs to the community and measure the success of their own technology initiatives.

I am are encouraging all school districts to get started in the Speak Up National Research Project. All teachers, students and parents have something to say and should speak up by participating in the annual Speak Up Survey. The project provides participating schools, districts and nonprofit organizations with a suite of online surveys and reports to collect authentic feedback from stakeholders on important education issues. Input from all stakeholders will help inform our leaders and communities. Survey results will be made available to educational leaders at the state and national level as well as participating school districts. This allows the local districts to use the date to inform decision making and planning. My school district has used the data for the past four years and is excited about increasing participation for SpeakUp 2016.

The Speak Up Survey provides an easy way for students, parents, educators and members of the community to participate in the school division’s decisions regarding technology as well as contribute to the national dialogue about educational technology. This is the fifth consecutive year that we have participated in the Speak Up Survey. The local results are used to help guide the development and refinement of our Educational Technology Plan as well as the implementation of projects such as our 1:1 device initiative.

To learn more about the survey, getting started or to view previous findings, http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2016

 

Rod Carnill is the supervisor of instructional technology for Frederick County Public Schools in Winchester, VA. Rod has participated in a Speak Up panel discussions at ISTE, provided student participants for Speak Up congressional briefings and logged into to many SpeakUp webinars and Twitter chats. He currently serves as a member of the VSTE Board of Directors and is a past-president of the Shenandoah Valley Technology Consortium. Rod has worked with Lord Fairfax Community College and VSTE to organize the regional GooglePalooza event in Middletown, VA for the past three years. Find him on twitter @rodcarnill or learn more about his work in Frederick County by visiting http://learningtoday.fcpsk12.net

Hooked On Pokemon Go? Learn More About Location Based Learning

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Guest Blog Post by Dr. Matt Dunleavy, Co-founder, Mogo Mobile, Inc.

With the explosion of Pokémon Go, educators across the world are exploring how location-based games and stories can be used for mobile learning.  As someone who has spent the last 10 years working in the area of augmented reality, or more accurately, location-based learning, I am excited that Pokémon Go has educated the masses on the potential of location-based learning and triggered excitement about the educational potential of this medium.

The history of location-based learning is relatively short and is still very much emerging, but a strong foundation of theoretical and empirical work is in place. Researchers such as Eric Klopfer, David Gagnon, Kurt Squire, Chris Dede, myself and others have led teams throughout the last decade that have been exploring how we might leverage the ubiquity of location-aware, networked mobile phones.

Initially termed augmented reality, I believe this work is best described as location-based learning (LBL), which in essence embeds the physical environment with media that the user then triggers by virtue of their location. The basic technologies used are the GPS and the compass in the mobile device.  In 2014, Chris Dede and I reviewed much of the literature (see Dunleavy & Dede, 2014), and we see patterns of use and design principles emerging that should be instructive in the years ahead as the field matures. The most concise explanation I have found for the potential power of LBL as a pedagogical tool is found in Klopfer and Sheldon’s 2010 article where they describe its ability “to enable students to see the world around them in new ways and engage with realistic issues in a context with which the students are already connected” (p. 86).

FreshAiR Logo010212The various research teams have also developed location-based development tools, so that educators can create and implement their own learning modules with their students. Some of the best known tools include ARIS, TaleBlazer and FreshAiR™. My team developed FreshAiR out of my lab at Radford University, and we have had a fantastic time spinning out a commercial venture and working with talented people across the globe including the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia, the EcoMOBLE team at Harvard, and the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation in Virginia. That last partnership has resulted in an interactive location-based learning game called Search to Survive, where visitors to the Jamestown Settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, can test their knowledge of this time period to see if they can complete a secret mission and survive in colonial Jamestown! If you are a teacher in Virginia, be sure to take your students to this fantastic site and check out all the great learning opportunities there including Search to Survive!

If you are interested in building your own location-based learning lessons, games and stories, you can start today by visiting the FreshAiR website and registering for a free account. If you are going to the VSTE conference in December, I will be presenting and providing a workshops where you can get some hands-on training. Who knows? You might be the creator of the next big thing!

US Department of Education Needs Your Input By August 18

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The US Department of Education is requesting YOUR input on educational needs in your region!

The survey requests feedback on the most pressing educational issues and how the Department of Education’s Comprehensive Centers can provide assistance to address those issues. The Department of Education would appreciate feedback from anyone who has an interest in the current state of education and ideas for where improvements are most needed.

Please complete the online survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PML2GPN at your earliest convenience.  It would be appreciated if you could add your state and/or region into the text box, although this information is not specifically requested.  Information will be compiled by regions, when possible, in order to best support each region.

There are Regional Advisory Committees whose members are interested in gathering more detailed information as well.  If you feel that you have additional information to share, please contact the Regional Advisory Committee members in your region and share with them.  The deadline for the information gathering portion of this project is August 18, so don’t delay!

Here is some context for how the gathered information will be used:

The Comprehensive Centers (Centers http://www2.ed.gov/programs/newccp/index.html) program is authorized by Title II of the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (ETAA), Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) of 2002. The Department of Education (Department) funds these Centers to provide technical assistance to State education agencies (SEAs) that builds SEA capacity to: support local educational agencies (LEAs or districts) and schools, especially low-performing districts and schools; improve educational outcomes for all students; close achievement gaps; and improve the quality of instruction.

Before a competition for the Centers program is held, the ETAA requires the establishment of ten Regional Advisory Committees (RACs). The purpose of these committees is to collect information on the educational needs of each of the ten regions. To the extent the Secretary deems appropriate, the Department will use the information submitted by the RACs, along with other relevant regional surveys of needs, to establish priorities for the next cohort of Centers.

Thanks for taking the time to read this message, and complete the survey!

Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PML2GPN

Support School Librarians: End School Censorship

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State Senator Amanda Chase has suggested that school librarians in Chesterfield County should be dismissed for making certain book recommendations as part of summer reading lists.

EveryLibrary, a school library advocacy group, has initiated a petition that will be sent to both Senator Chase and the Chesterfield County School Board asking them to reconsider their stance on this issue.

Please consider signing the petition to support intellectual freedom.

In Memoriam: Robert Matthew Poole

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 mattpooleIt is with sorrow and regret we share the loss of pioneering virtual educator Matt Poole who passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, June 5. A memorial service will be held on VSTE Island in Second Life on Monday, June 20, 5 PM SLT (8 PM RLT). Use this link to get to the island. 
As an early adopter and a docent on ISTE Island, he was a mentor to many of us as we began in Second Life. He was instrumental in celebrating the opening of our own sim, VSTE Island, in 2009 and continued to be an active member through tours of science, art, and historical builds. An explorer at heart, Matt founded Expedition Central in Second Life, where he curated numerous landmarks for avatars wishing to find interesting, educational, or beautiful sims to tour.
cyrushushMatt co-presented and supported the VSTE Virtual Environment PLN at VSTE Conferences in Virginia Beach and Roanoke and supported us in all our sessions. He was bright, friendly, and patient in helping new users grasp this innovative social network.
Matt was a professor at American National University (ANU) in Roanoke where he especially enjoyed teaching Environmental Science online. He dreamed of getting a PhD and teaching at a public university.
On Monday, June 6, members and friends met to comfort each other on VSTE Island, and twenty-five or so people from all over Virginia and the country came to share their memories of this incredibly smart and kind man. Whether they knew Matt in the physical world or only virtually, to know him was to like him. He had a great sense of humor and entertained us often with his quick switching of avatars from the humanoid to the bizarre creations he found and enjoyed.
On behalf of the VSTE family and all educators, we express our great sympathy to all who knew and loved Matt Poole.  He was a valued member of our community, admired and enjoyed for his humor and intelligence.
Kim Harrison, VSTE VE PLN Chairperson