VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Events

Share Your Passion: Conference Call for Proposals Open

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Conference LogoSuper Early Bird registration is open now for the 2021 VSTE Annual Conference. The conference will be held December 5 - 7, 2021, at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, in Roanoke, Virginia. Virtual and face to face options are available. Seats are limited this year, and we will sell out.

The call for proposals is also open. Consider sharing your passion and expertise with other VSTE attendees by submitting a proposal. Deadline for submissions is September 15, 2021.

Learn more at the VSTE Conference website.

Get Your Game On With Scratch

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Have you always wanted to learn more about programming for yourself and to better support your students? VSTE is offering the PERFECT opportunity!

Bea Leiderman, Scratch pro and technology coach, will provide a hands-on, minds-on learning summer learning experience: Game Programming with Scratch. Over the course of three weeks, participants will code a paddle-and-ball game from start to finish. The course will include live virtual meetings with Bea each week along with online activities via the Virtual Virginia Course.

This course is a perfect, facilitated start to learning Scratch. Veterans will benefit from connecting with others and pushing the limit with their Scratch knowledge.Enrollment is limited, and cost is just $30. The first class meets on June 28.

 

Meeting Dates:
Session 1: June 28th
Session 2: July 1st
Session 3: July 8th
Session 4: July 12th
Session 5: July 15th
Session 6: July 19th
Session 7:  July 22nd- Scratch Conference

Learn more and register now.

May Webinars

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During May, the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee hosted two webinars.

In the first, Christopher Bugaj, Karen Janowski, Mike Marotta, and Beth Poss, authors of the book "Inclusive Learning 365: Edtech Strategies for Every Day of the Year", discuss the wide range of strategies teachers can use to help empower ALL students to take charge of their own learning.

In the second webinar, titled "Teaching Social Justice that Inspires Future Leaders", Charlotte Morris discusses how to use storytelling to help students express their ideas and understanding of social justice. You can view Charlotte's previous webinar here: https://youtu.be/t-wge3cJGJg

Hosted by Nicci Dowd, co-chair of the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and member of the VSTE Board of Directors.

VSTE Spring Book Discussion

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To close out this unique school year, VSTE is looking forward to better times in the fall by reading an inspiring book. And we invite you to join us.

book cover: closing the gapThe book is “Closing the Gap: Digital Equity Strategies for the K-12 Classroom” by Regina Schaffer, Nicol R. Howard, and our own Sarah Thomas.

This is the second title by these authors in an ISTE book series designed to help teachers address the challenges of teaching in the digital age, providing positive examples and recommendations for achieving digital equity in their classroom communities.

We will be discussing four chapters from the book in the form of a Twitter slow chat, beginning the week of June 1. We will discuss one chapter each week of June and will conclude with an optional live Zoom session on June 29th. See the complete schedule in this graphic:
book chat schedule
Participants who engage during all four weeks of the discussion and join us for the Zoom session may earn recertification points, subject to approval by the principal or program manager.

You can purchase a digital version or paperback version of the book from Amazon. ISTE members may buy the paperback edition at a special price.

Please plan to join us on Twitter for this unique professional development opportunity, a great way to close out the school year and begin planning for a successful fall.

Webinar: Inclusive Learning 365: Edtech Strategies for Every Day of the Year

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The VSTE Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is pleased to host the authors of the new book Inclusive Learning 365: Edtech Strategies for Every Day of the Year for its free webinar series. The group will be joined by Amy Jackson on May 13 at 9 AM.

Christopher Bugaj, Karen Janowski, Mike Marotta, and Beth Poss have created a wide ranging guide to inclusion with lots of strategies. They remind us that learning need not be a chore for anyone, including those with IEPs or 504s.

The session will begin with an examination of what authentic inclusion really is, what it looks like, and how it fosters improved outcomes for everyone involved.

From there, explore a range of strategies which engage and empower ALL students to take charge of their own learning. Incorporated into the strategy discussion will be examples of contemporary tools that can be used to support the design of the instructional methodologies. From apps to browser extensions to web tools, participants will not only learn new supports to promote active learning for every student but have an opportunity to share what’s working in their own practices.

Areas to be discussed include reading, writing, STEAM, Executive Functioning, Research and Study Skills, Social Emotional Learning, Professional Learning, and Cross-Curricular Supports.

Come for the strategies, leave with mindset change!

Registration is required: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAofuuprjouE93OE41HwwlFhB5iYDaUPomI

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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