VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Events

Celebrate Digital Learning Day 2020

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logo for eventVSTE is pleased to partner with the Virginia Department of Education and the Alliance for Excellent Education to sponsor several events for Digital Learning Day 2020. This year, the day will be held February 27, 2020.

VSTE and VDOE will be focusing on the #GoOpenVA OER initiative and portal that opened at the beginning of the year. For Digital Learning Day 2020, the VDOE and VSTE will highlight the #GoOpenVA open educational resources platform recently launched on January 24 with the following activities:

Graphic with details for Digital Learning Day

Check back for more information and keep an eye on the VSTE newsletter. Don't get the newsletter? It's part of the free VSTE membership. Learn more.

* When you click one of the links for a Zoom meeting, you will be asked for permission to open the Zoom application. If the software is not already installed on your computer, tablet, or phone, you will be asked for permission to download and install the free Zoom app.

Minecraft Monday: Connect & Learn, February 3, 2020, 8 PM

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Logo for EventJoin members of the VSTE Virtual Environments PLN on Monday, February 3, at 8 PM EST, when participants in the EVOMOOC (Electronic Village Online Massively Open Online Course) will visit VSTE Place, and Dakotah Redstone will provide them with a tour.

Electronic Village Online sponsors the MOOC, and this week, the participants are exploring the multi-player game Minecraft as a virtual world for learning. Many of participants are teachers, particularly language teachers, but some enjoy online gaming as a way of improving their English as a second language.  This MOOC is run by Vance Stevens, who is a member of the VSTE VE PLN.

Basic directions to join VSTE Place, VSTE’s Minecraft world:

You must have a Minecraft account from https://minecraft.net/en/ to join. There is a one time fee of $26.95 to download and install the software. You will need to be whitelisted to enter the VSTE server. Email Kim Harrison at K4sons@gmail.com from an educational email address with your real name and Minecraft account name.

Start the software and choose multiplayer and add a server: Name VSTE Place IP 69.175.17.26:25565

We use Discord to share voices in Minecraft. This is a voice and screen sharing application that will run on your computer or mobile device. Download and install it for free. Create an account. Many of us use the same name for our Discord account as our Minecraft account to keep things simple. Our channel is https://discord.gg/nDX4mZv It helps us to be able to play Minecraft in one screen and listen via Discord with earbuds or headphones.

Booz Allen Foundation Educators STEM Open House

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Registration is open now for the Educators STEM Open House, sponsored by The Booz Allen Foundation, and being held Saturday, February 29, 2020, 8:15 AM - 1:30 PM, at Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia.

This free open house will provide a unique opportunity for NOVA educators to interact with STEM professionals as they share their educational pathways and the skills they needed to succeed. Participants will learn about ground-breaking resources and programs available to NOVA educators.

Learn more about the schedule and register here.

 

Don’t Miss This: Third Annual Roanoke Mini Maker Faire

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The Call for Proposals is open now for the Roanoke Mini Maker Faire, being held February 22, 2020, 12 - 4 PM, at The Science Museum of Western Virginia, in Roanoke, Virginia. The Museum and the Virginia Society for Technology in Education are partnering for the third year to feature student makers.

What are we looking for? Students in the southwest region of Virginia* who MAKE things in all sorts of ways! If you like to automate, build, change, code, collaborate, compose, connect, construct, cook, create, crochet, deconstruct, design, draw, dream, dream up, experiment, fabricate, film, fix, fold, hack, innovate, inquire, invent, knit, learn, make, model, mold, observe, paint, participate, photograph, play, print, program, recycle, sew, share, teach, test, tinker, upcycle, write, or make things in any other way, we want you!

If you know or teach students like this or you ARE a student like this, please consider submitting your proposal: the Call for Proposals closes soon.*

The event is free but registration is encouraged. Learn more at the website.

Maker Faire originated in 2006 in the San Francisco Bay Area as a project of the editors of Make: magazine.  It has since grown into a significant worldwide network of both flagship and independently-produced events.  Read more on Maker Faire history, the Maker Movement, as well as how to start a Maker Faire or a School Maker Faire where you live.

 

Digital Leadership: Twitter Chat With #VSTE and #VAESP

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Leadership in the Digital Age Twitter Chat

January 26, 2020
8:00 - 8:30 PM

#VAESPChat
#VSTEChat

Mark your calendars for what is sure to be a lively Twitter chat with members and friends of the Virginia Society for Technology in Education and the Virginia Association for Elementary School Principals as they discuss digital leadership.

Poster Announcing Twitter Chat