VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Events

Slow Tweet Book Group, October 2016

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VSTE is pleased to welcome Shana White as guest moderator for the first week of our Slow Tweet Chat Book Group. She'll be leading us in a discussion of the first chapter of The Missing Voices in EdTech: Bringing Diversity Into EdTech by this year's conference keynoter, Rafranz Davis.

Register ahead of time for reminders and the chance to win VSTE swag!

Just getting started with Twitter and Tweet Chats. Here are a few resources for learning:

Twitter Tips

VE PLN: Introduction to Twine, October 10, 2016

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Introduction to Twine
Sponsored by the Virtual Environments PLN (VE PLN)
Monday, October 10, 2016, 8 PM EST
VSTE Island in Second Life

Learn more about the work of our VE PLN

 

Join us October 10, at 8 EST, on VSTE Island in Second Life*, as VSTE Vice-Chair/Facilitator Bluebarker Lowtide presents his summer long exploration and usage of Interactive Fiction (IF) with easy-to-use "soft-coding" programs: Twine, SugarCube, and free publishing through philome.la.

We will be taking a quick look at the most current research and stats of this nation's K-12 report regarding reading and writing.  Then, we'll move to technology tools that can support the research findings.

Tools like Twine can help teachers offer grade level customization, reading level differentiation, and unique critical thinking challenges to engage students' creatively with hopes of improving retention and increasing an individual's skill of reading and reading comprehension. Twine uses an easy set of coding commands to create a working IF (also known as choose-your-own-adventure stories) that open paths based upon the decisions of the reader and several useful text tools such as a help box or hover box to aid readers who are struggling or learning new vocabulary. It can be as indepth as you make it.

SugarCube is a export module that allows customization of the interface with the addition of picture files, expressive google fonts, page layouts and border options.

The website http://www.philome.la/ is free-to-use to upload and host your IF creations in a public space. These can be accessed anywhere from the internet so no additional programs or plugins will be necessary allowing it to be completely done within the browser. At the end, members will be exposed to the first prototype of a "Harry-Potter"-esque IF that will be featured at the Virginia Children's Book Festival the following weekend. Enjoy the IF and provide comments or critiques to help improve the final version

*Need help getting started in Second Life? Contact the team through the Google Plus Community to get support. We LOVE newbies!

Classroom Snacks: Prince William County, October 6, 2016

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As educators, we spend lots of time talking about students but not much time talking to them. VSTE is working to change that by providing virtual visits to classrooms across the Commonwealth. Our "classroom snacks" will take place on Thursdays throughout October.

We'll start with Bull Run Middle School on Thursday, October 6, 2016. We'll meet live with students at 10:30 AM, 11:00 AM, and 1:00 PM. Join us in our Adobe Connect room to listen live or access the archive later.

VSTE CoSN Council Webinar: Section 508 Primer

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Has your school division gotten "the letter"? The one indicating that your website is not accessible? Need to know more? Join the VSTE CoSN Council on Thursday, October 20, 2016, at 8 PM, for a primer on Section 508, the federal law related to electronic accessibility. VSTE Board Chair Keith Reeves will lead this session. Come with questions!

Archived Recording

Connected Education Month 2016 Activities

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VSTE, along with schools and organizations all over the world, will be celebrating Connected Educator Month with activities throughout October sponsored by the Education and Outreach Committees of the VSTE Board of  Directors.

Check out the information and then keep an eye on the newsletter and our social networks for specific times.


Slow Tweet Chat Book GroupSlow Tweet Book Group:

VSTE is thrilled to be welcoming Rafranz Davis as our keynote speaker at VSTE2016 in December. In preparation for her visit, we'll be reading her book The Missing Voices in EdTech: Bringing Diversity Into EdTech and then sharing our ideas and insights through Twitter. Guest moderators will lead us through a chapter each week. Grab a copy of the book, start reading and look for the first questions on Monday, October 3. Register ahead of time for reminders and the chance to win VSTE swag!

Classroom Snacks: 

As educators, we spend lots of time talking about students but not much time talking to them. VSTE is working to change that by providing virtual visits to classrooms across the Commonwealth. We made several visits on Digital Learning Day 2016 and will continue the tradition on Thursdays in October with visits to classrooms in Prince William County, Frederick County, Roanoke County and Wise County. We'll meet and talk with students about how technology is impacting their lives and their learning.