VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Live Events

Registration Open for VSTE SuperHero Summit aka Googlepalooza

by

Join us for this professional development event! Check out the schedule here: https://superherosummit2017.sched.com/

Registration is open and seats are going fast.

The Super Hero Summit will include sessions related to Google, Virtual Reality,  Makerspaces, and Coding. There will be standard one-hour breakout sessions along with two-hour hands on sessions that will give participants the opportunity to take a deeper dive into a tool or concept.

Lord Fairfax Community is located just 90 minutes from almost everywhere in central and northern Virginia!

Register here.

Joe Freddoso to Head Panel Discussion at Leading Ed Forum 2017

by

The VSTE CoSN Council and the Virginia Department of Education are pleased to welcome Joe Fredosso, USAC consultant and co-founder and COO of Mighty River, as a speaker for the second annual Leading Ed Forum. Joe will lead a panel discussion on Friday, October 20. This event, designed for school division technology and instructional leaders and presented through a partnership of VSTE and the Virginia Department of Education, will be held October 19 & 20, 2017, at Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper, Virginia. Learn more about this event here.

Mighty River was founded by April and Joe Freddoso in July 2014 as an advise and do company in the broadband infrastructure space.  

In its first three years of operation, Mighty River clients have included:

  • EducationSuperHighway
  • Extreme Networks
  • Universal Service Administrative Company
  • Person County, NC
  • The Walton Family Foundation
  • NC Rural Economic Development Center
  • Several client relationships under non-disclosure

One of Mighty River’s roles has been to assist E-rate applicants in navigating the second E-rate modernization order.  E-rate reimbursement for applicant construction of fiber broadband networks either owned by the applicant or by a broadband provider, greatly expanded under the terms of the second modernization.  In its role Mighty River provided advisory assistance to over 1500 E-rate applicants over a 3-year period from 2014-2017.  

In July 2014, Joe completed a 7-year stint as President and CEO of MCNC.  MCNC operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), which provides broadband connectivity to most Community Anchor Institutions in North Carolina.  Under Joe’s leadership, MCNC quadrupled its revenue, grew NCREN's connector community by 700% and now possesses a book value of over one quarter billion dollars.
​
Also, during Joe’s time at MCNC, the organization completed a $144 million expansion of NCREN, called the Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative (GLRBI). This expansion included building over 1800 miles of new fiber optic infrastructure, acquiring 800 miles of fiber optic infrastructure through Indefeasible Right to Use (IRU) agreements and adding these fiber assets to the NCREN network.  The result is an NCREN that covers over 80% of North Carolina’s counties. 

Joe led the effort to negotiate the fiber leases as the lessee and the lessor and all types of lit service, colocation, above the net services arrangements.  MCNC successfully IRU'd to broadband service providers worth over $25 million of fiber on the GLRBI. Joe and MCNC were recognized as White House Champions of Change in 2012 and Computer World Laureates in 2013 for their efforts.

Freddoso has also served in senior executive roles at Cisco, Turner Broadcasting, LLC, Walt Disney World and for several entities in the Olympic movement including as President and CEO of the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

Leading Ed Forum Sponsor Information

by

The 2nd annual Leading Ed Forum will be held October 19 and 20, 2017, at the Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper, Virginia. This event is designed for school division instruction and technology leaders including chief technology officers, technology directors, and superintendents. Session topics will focus on E-rate, digital equity, 1:1 initiatives, and student data privacy.

Sponsorships for this event are available. Sponsors will be provided with a 45-minute breakout session and a table in the main gathering area for one day of the event. Sponsorships cost $2000.

Please contact Karen Richardson at karen_richardson@vste.org to learn more about this opportunity.

Making Connections: Southwest Regional Educational Technology Leadership Summit

by

Roanoke County Public Schools with support from VSTE is hosting Making Connections: Southwest Regional Educational Technology Leadership Summit on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

This inaugural event is designed to bring together educational technology and instructional leaders in Regions 6 and 7 for both learning and networking around issues related to cybersecurity, privacy, E-rate, infrastructure, and support for innovative instruction.

Schedule Available Here

Thanks to generous sponsorship support, this event is free.*

Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Lodging:

A hotel block at the state rate is available at the hotel.

Hotel Roanoke Booking Website:
https://aws.passkey.com/e/49060800?utm_source=9515698&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=273857584

Reference VSTE 2017 is you call the hotel directly at 540-985-5900.

*Sponsors: THANK YOU!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brainstorm 2017: Future Ready Students

by

brainstormlogo
A partnership of JMU M. Ed. in Educational Technology, SVTC and VSTE

Reaching out to educators in the Shenandoah Valley and beyond

April 7, 2017

Schedule Available

Register Now

Keynote:

Wild Imaginations, Curious Children, and Stories from Student-Ready Educators
Stephanie Passman & Eric Bredder, Albemarle County Public Schools

Our goal everyday is to make school awesome for students and teachers alike. We will share ways to provide each student with the necessary resources to learn, take meaningful risks, and create physical and digital representations of their original ideas. We will share anecdotes that provide strong evidence of the student learning that occurs while building meaningful relationships, and fostering creativity and collaboration. Student-ready educators are prepared for all students, so they can be prepared for their future.

We are excited to welcome Stephanie Passman and Eric Bredder as keynote speakers. These educators from Albemarle County will talk with us about creating innovative learning environments where students collaborate and create as a natural part of the learning process. Thanks for EN Computers for their support of the keynote.

Location:
Memorial Hall,James Madison University, 395 South High Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Photography:
Brainstorm 2017 is held in a public space, therefore we do not prohibit participants, exhibitors, sponsors, or news organizations from photographing conference activities. VSTE, SVTC and James Madison University reserve the right to use images taken at the Conference with your photograph and/or likeness on social media and/or in future marketing materials. We are NOT responsible for individual attendee’s use of your image or likeness.

Parking:
Parking will be available on campus but it is limited. Consider car pooling.