VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Events

It Won’t Be All Work at VSTE 2017

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The best reasons to attend the VSTE Conference are, of course, the many, many opportunities to learn and collaborate with your colleagues. But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun during our three days in Roanoke.

To that end, we hope everyone will be able to join us for the annual VSTE Karaoke Night party. Sing along to your favorite tunes or just enjoy watching your friends warm up for their Voice audition. Either way, it is always a great evening.

Karaoke B-52s

Since our theme this year is about the superhero that is inside everyone, we also invite you to do a little cosplay and come to the party in costume. Whether you are channeling Batman or Ms. Marvel, or maybe you choose to go the alter-ego route and show up as Peter Parker or Diana Prince, this is always a highlight of the conference.

Galactic Stinkeye

While the VSTE Conference is primarily about feeding your hunger for knowledge, we don’t ignore your need for real food (and snacks, of course). VSTE is one of the few conferences you will attend that goes all out to keep you fed.

Your Conference registration includes lunch all three days, snacks and beverages every afternoon, and lots of M&Ms, the official VSTE candy. And, since we are at the Hotel Roanoke, keep an eye out in the afternoon for their famous candied bacon. Because we know everything is better with bacon. But pay attention since this treat always goes quickly.

Bacon

Registration for the 2017 VSTE Conference is now open but spaces are going fast. Because our Roanoke venue is smaller than in Virginia Beach, the number of people we can accommodate is also smaller. The conference will sell out.

So don’t delay. Register now and we’ll see you December 3 - 5 for lots of learning and fun in Roanoke.

#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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Leading Ed Forum, October 19 & 20, 2017

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VSTE and the Virginia Department of Education are partnering to present the Leading Ed Forum, a two-day conference 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. Broadband connectivity will be a special focus on Friday, October 20.

The conference will be held October 19 - 20, 2017, 8:00 AM to 4 PM, at Daniel Technology Center, Germanna Community College, Culpeper, Virginia.

Registration Open Now

Schedule Available Now

Two nationally known speakers will participate at the event.

Photo of smiling man with glassesRyan Imbriale, Executive Director of Innovative Learning for the Baltimore County Public Schools, will provide a keynote to kick off the event on Thursday, October 19.  Ryan is responsible for for leading the system’s digital conversion initiative, S.T.A.T. (Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow).  Learn more about Ryan here.

 

Joe Freddoso, USAC consultant and co-founder and COO of Mighty River, will lead a panel discussion on Friday, October 20. Learn more about Joe here.

Lodging:

We have not reserved a specific block of rooms but there are a variety of reasonably priced hotels close to the campus:

 

G2 Super Hero Study Group and Summit Update

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The G2 Super Hero Summit includes online support for about a month prior to the face to face workshop.  It will include tips, support and live hangouts. The face to face meeting will be held March 3, 2018, at three locations in the state.

VSTE is pleased to partner with Virginia's Google Educator Groups to present the premier G2 Super Hero Summits! These certification workshops are designed for those who have earned Google Level 1 Educator certifications and wish to expand their learning by taking the Level 2 exam.

Through the combination of online mentoring and face to face coaching, certified trainers will support your learning through an online study group, video tutorials, live tutoring as needed and a face to face bootcamp style review the morning before you take the exam.

The face to face summits will be held at three locations throughout the state on March 3rd:

Frederick County: Lord Fairfax Community College, Middletown Campus, Middletown, VA
Loudoun County: Mercer Middle School, Aldie, VA
Spotsylvania County: Riverbend High School, Fredericksburg, VA

Registration is $50 and includes the online mentoring and face to face summit. Breakfast and lunch will be provided at the summits. You may attend the summit without taking the exam in the afternoon.

Registration is open now.

 

Learning Together at the VSTE Conference

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Attending the VSTE Conference is a great learning experience.

Attending with a team from your school or district can make that experience even better.

VSTE member Margaret Sisler came to the 2016 Conference in Virginia Beach with more than fifty of her colleagues and reflected on those three days in this post from last December.

Learning Together

Last week each school in our pyramid sent a team of educators (a mix of admin, teachers, tech coaches, and tech specialists) to the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) annual conference.  This is our state conference, attended by over 1200 educators from all parts and regions of our state.  Presenters are educators, administrators, tech coaches, vendors and cover so many topics I couldn’t even list them all here!

I’ve been to VSTE many times and serve on the Outreach Committee.  I usually attend on my own and present a session or two.  Attending with a team was both awesome and sooo different than what I was used to!

Divide & Conquer: When I’ve attended on my own (or with a friend or two from another school), I’m usually very conflicted about what sessions to attend.  I was presenting 4 times this year, so that meant 4 sessions that I couldn’t attend and there were so many great offerings!  When there was a session I was super interested in, I asked if someone on my team could present.  It was incredible to work together this way because it meant we learned and gathered the resources from all of the sessions that anyone on our team attended.  We used a note-taking template that I got from my #TOSAchat friends.  I made a copy of the template for our team and we all added our notes to the template as we went.  My team took notes on one google slide deck.  Other teams from our pyramid took notes collaboratively in google as well and we all shared those notes.

Relationship Building: Being together with teachers, admin, tech coaches and tech specialists from my school and these 9 other schools allowed us to relax and really get to know each other and build connections.  THIS is what going to these conferences does for me.  I’ve now got this huge network of people that I can reach out to.  I KNOW that I don’t have the answers to every question, but I bet someone in this group does!!   We were also able to connect with folks from around the state who are deep in the work we are all doing.  It’s so interesting to hear this wider perspective.  We often get bogged down by the district way of doing it and this helps us to open that up view of things!

Read the rest of the post on Margaret's site, Edutechnically Speaking. VSTE thanks her for allowing us to share her experience with our members.

Margaret is an Instructional Technology Coach in Chantilly, Virginia.  She works in a large high school with over 3000 students and is passionate about building relationships with staff and students, engagement, Google Apps for Education and innovative teaching ideas! She is a former elementary teacher and has been a Tech Coach in both Elementary and High Schools. In addition to her blog, Margaret frequently shares her thoughts on Twitter: @TechyMargaret.

Registration for the 2017 VSTE Conference, December 3 - 5 in Roanoke, is filling fast. Plan now to join us.

If you write about learning and technology on your blog, related to the Conference or not, and would like to share one of your posts here at VSTE.org, we would love to hear from you.  Send us the link and your email address, and we will get back to you very quickly.