VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Education

#vstereads: Are You Ready to Be Transformed?

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Thoughts on Change from Lynmara Colon, Principal/Lead Learner, Mary Williams Elementary

Change can be hard.  Change can be painful.  Change can be scary.  But let’s be honest, change is necessary.  Can you imagine if our schools had remained the same as they were years ago? Picture our students sitting in rows working in isolation, answering low level questions without the opportunity for collaboration.  Sounds scary, right? While some schools have moved away from these practices, some continue to implement old practices that do not meet our students’ needs.

As leaders, we are constantly encouraging educators to meet students where they are, asking them to do whatever it takes to show growth and mastery.  We measure student growth by a multiple-choice test, forgetting that this is not the only area that needs our attention.  I truly believe that if students are engaged and taught in an environment crafted to meet their needs, they will be successful. Most jobs will require our students to do much more than taking a state assessment.  If we want to prepare them for the workforce, our schools must be intentional about creating spaces that foster innovation and creativity.

Eric Sheninger and Thomas Murray have done an outstanding job addressing 8 key factors that will allow schools to be transformed.  From creating a culture of Innovation to Collaboration and Engagement with the Community, their book “Learning Transformed” provides a roadmap for schools wanting to be Future Ready.

As leaders we must model risk taking and intentionality about removing the roadblocks getting in the way of our students’ access to schools that will prepare them for the future.  We must step out of our comfort zone and craft professional learning experiences that will align with the needs of our staff. Sharing our passion without action is not enough.  We be must intentional about transforming student learning.  Are you ready to be transformed? If so, join us in learning more about Eric Sheninger and Thomas Murray work as we discuss their new book.  Get ready to be transformed.  Our students are worth it.

All the Details:

Throughout the month of October, The VSTE CoSN Council will be sponsoring a book study of Learning Transformed: 8 Key to Designing Tomorrow’s Schools Today by Eric Sheninger and Tom Murray.  The book study will be led by Diane Harazin and Lynmara Colon, both from Prince William County.

Participants in the Fall 2017 book study are able to earn 10 recertification points by participating in the synchronous and asynchronous events including:

  1. At least one of two live webinars (October 5, 7:30 PM & October 25, 7:30 PM)
  2. #novaedchat (October 4, 8:00 - 9:00 PM)
  3. Post to at least three of four flipgrid topics related to the book study. (Topics will be posted each week throughout the month of October, usually on Wednesdays.)

We will post the reading schedule soon. Meanwhile, if you are interested, please complete the registration form.

Invite Others:

This book study is free and open to all! Feel free to share this blog post with your school team and PLN! Learning Transformed is full a well-researched, practical guide making a difference in the lives of our students. Join us and learn how you can be part of the solution.

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Save the Month: #vstereads for Connected Educator Month

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Diane Harazin and Lynmara Colon from Prince William County Public Schools are leading our October book study. We'll be reading Learning Transformed: 8 Keys to Designing Tomorrow's Schools, Today by Eric C. Sheninger and Thomas C. Murray.

You can review the first webinar archive here. (The link will open in a new tab.)

We'll be using flipgrid to share thoughts about the book. (The link will open in a new tab.)

Reading Schedule:

  • Week 1/October 2nd- Chapters 1 &2
  • Week 2/October 9th- Chapters 3&4
  • Week 3/October 16th- Chapters 5&6
  • Week 4/October 23rd- Chapters 7&8

Activity Schedule:

  • October 4- #NovaEd Chat
  • October 5- Live Webinar
  • October 11 & 18- Flipgrip Interactions
  • October 25- Live Webinar
  • October 30- Write a Blog Post or Reflection
  • January 30- Post with Application

Participants in the Fall 2017 book study are able to earn 10 recertification points by participating in the synchronous and asynchronous events including:

  1. At least one of two live webinars (October 5, 7:30 PM & October 25, 7:30 PM) Webinars will be held in VSTE's Adobe Connect room: http://vste.adobeconnect.com/vstereads Choose guest login and enter your name the way you wish it to appear in the attendee list.
  2. #novaedchat Twitter Chat (October 4, 8:00 - 9:00 PM) You'll need a free Twitter account. Be sure to use the hashtag #novaedchat AND #vstereads. Here's a short tutorial about participating in Tweet Chats.
  3. Post to at least three of four flipgrid topics related to the book study. (Topics will be posted each week throughout the month of October, usually on Wednesdays.) The Flipgrid link is coming soon!

If you are interested, please complete the registration form.

 

Proposed TSIP Revision

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A committee of The Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE), with the support of the Virginia Department of Education's Office of Technology and Virtual Learning, is drafting new Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel (TSIP).

If approved, these standards will update the original 1998 standards and represent the base level skills that every educator must meet in order to be considered proficient in the use of technology for teaching and learning.

Below you can read the most current draft of the proposed revision to the Standards. We invite feedback on this proposal from every Virginia educator and you can provide your comments using this form.

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Proposed TSIP Standards (DRAFT) 2/13/2017

1. Lifelong Learner: Teachers engage in ongoing professional learning related to content, pedagogy and technology.

a. Engages in ongoing professional growth related to the use of innovative instructional strategies that integrate digital technologies.
b. Use technology to obtain feedback that allows for reflection and improvement in the learning process.
c. Employs digital tools to collaborate with the learning community on educational topics and learning opportunities.

2. Digital Leadership: Teachers model safe and ethical practices for their students.

a. Cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.
b. Promote safe and ethical behavior with students through collaborative online experiences
c. Embed digital citizenship skills in all lessons involving online experiences
d. Model the use of technology to communicate, create, collaborate and solve problems
e. Select appropriate digital content, tools and resources that meet local, state and/or federal policies.
f. Demonstrate an understanding of the rights and obligations of student privacy and security when collecting and using student data and selecting digital content, tools, and resources.

3. Learning Facilitator: Teachers support student learning by harnessing the power of technology.

a. Incorporate learning strategies that use technology to accommodate learner variability, personalize learning, and engender student choice, self-direction and goal-setting. (Possible Indicators: coursework in personalizing learning; recognizes and can articulate examples of personalizing learning using technology; articulates how to determine learner variability and potential technology solutions.)
b. Assist students in selecting and using appropriate and available digital tools for learning, creating, problem-solving and communicating. (Possible Indicators: Coursework in using digital tools in the classroom; recognizes a variety of digital tools and can articulate how they might be used with students; lesson plan that involves using digital tools to develop these skills.)
c. Use a variety of formative and summative assessments that leverage the power of technology to provide immediate and specific feedback, and offer alternative learning paths to students including competency-based approaches. (Possible Indicators: coursework in assessments; experience with using technology-based formative and summative assessments; ability to develop such assessments regarding a specific SOL.)
d. Acquire, access, and analyze quantitative and qualitative data to effectively respond to students’ needs and communicate findings to various stakeholders. (Possible indicators: coursework in assessment and understanding data; experience with using technology-based assessment tools; communication skills for interpreting data for student/parent/administrators.)

4. Skilled Technology User: Understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations and troubleshooting as well as basic uses of technology in instruction

a. Demonstrate the ability to choose and use digital technologies including both hardware, software and web-based resources to support classroom instruction
b. Demonstrate the ability to troubleshoot typical classroom technologies using a variety of resources
c. Perform basic computing operations such as accessing accounts, select appropriate applications to perform tasks, file management and web navigation.

TSIP Refresh: Feedback Requested

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The Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) has drafted new Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel (TSIP).

These standards update the original 1998 standards (http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?000+reg+8VAC20-25-30) and represent base level skills that every educator must meet in order to be considered proficient in the use of technology for teaching and learning.

We welcome your feedback on these standards. You can review the standards here and then complete a short survey.

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!