VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Online Events

Celebrate House@Blues Move to VSTE Island

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The Virtual Environments PLN will be hosting a hoedown and fundraiser to welcome House@Blues to VSTE Island on Friday, February 23, 2018, from 7 to 9 PM EST. This live concert will feature singer Anightwing.

 

The fundraiser helps offset the cost of VSTE Island. You can make donations via our Friends of VSTE fund.

New to Second Life?

If you don't have a Second Life account get one, it's free, at http://secondlife.com/. Download and install the software. While your Second Life viewer (software) is open click this link http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VSTE%20Island/61/104/22 and voila! Look for an avatar on VSTE Island and say, "Hey, I'm new!" We will take care of the rest.

VSTELive Digital Learning Day Events

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Join VSTE and its special guests throughout the day on Thursday, February 22, 2018, to celebrate Digital Learning Day 2018.

View the Archives

11 AM: Mark Saunders, Technology and Virtual Learning Coordinator from the Virginia Department of Education will provide updates from VDOE

1 PM: Bobby Keener, Chief Technology Innovations Officer from the Virginia Department of Education will provide updates from his department related to eRate and OER

7:30 PM VSTE Award Winners

In the evening, we will host our annual chat with the VSTE 2017 Award Winners. Join us to hear from Josh Ajima, Nichole Thomas, and Tim Taylor about the innovative work being done in their school divisions. We'll be streaming live starting at 7:30 PM.

VSTE is also celebrating all month with our Digital Learning flipgrid. This week's topic focuses on the impact of digital learning.

Digital Learning Day 2018

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VSTE will be partnering with the Virginia Department of Education to celebrate Digital Learning Day throughout the month of February with special events being held on Thursday, February 22, 2018. We will live stream conversations with Mark Saunders and Bobby Keener from the Virginia Department of Education during the day. Times and links coming soon.

In the evening, we will host our annual chat with the VSTE 2017 Award Winners. Join us to hear from Josh Ajima, Nichole Thomas, and Tim Taylor about the innovative work being done in their school divisions. We'll be streaming live starting at 7:30 PM.

Throughout the month, VSTE will be hosting a flipgrid conversation with teachers and students about digital technologies and their impact on their lives both in and out of the classroom. The first question--What do you like about digital learning activities?--can be found here: https://flipgrid.com/dldayva2018. We will add a question each week. Let us know what you and your students think about digital learning.

Check back soon for the event links. Meanwhile, the VSTE YouTube Channel has hours of video related to innovation and educational technology including our chats with students during Digital Learning Day 2017.

And...the best way to keep up with VSTE is to join us. It's free and you'll receive our weekly news and information update. Join Now

VE PLN Meeting: Winter Festival Fun in Sinespace

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pic of virtual reality platformOn January 29, 2018, VSTE's VE PLN will visit the new Aero Pines Park simulation on Sinespace (SS). The new park has all the fun we have come to expect but is on a new server. You can ride with a friend on a horse drawn carriage around the park or ride with 5 friends on a Winter roller coaster. The roller coaster is controlled by a snowman and a gingerbread man. You can also help Sammy the snowman solve his Winter problems using the SS questing system.

Learn more about the Winter festival here: http://sine.space/explore/view/winter_festival

Sinespace is a new virtual reality platform that can run in your browser or using software. In order to participate in the January 29 event and use Sinespace in general, you will need to start by creating a free account here: https://sine.space/signup/refer/MjEwNjM3NA

Fill out the information, but unclick the box saying that you want to be a content creator (That is unless you want to create sims on Sinespace in which case leave it checked). Check that you agree to the terms and conditions and the box that says you are not a robot. Then create your account.

While Sinespace can run in your browser or using software, the VE PLN recommends using the software client as big sims like aero pines park really need to be running locally on your computer.  Download the software (also called a client) here: http://sine.space/download

Pick the machine you are using pc or mac and follow the installation instructions.

You will now get an icon on your desktop for Sinespace. Double click it, and enter your user name or email and your password into the program. Make sure the login in to creator server box is not clicked.

Once you are into Sinespace:

  1. Click the Explore button in the lower-left corner of the screen
  2. Look for Winter Festival Aero Pines Park in the Featured listing.
  3. Click the Enter button to visit.

If you run into problems contact Bill Schmachtenberg at: wschmachtenberg@gmail.com or on SL IM Dae Miami.