VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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Featured #GoOpenVA Resources, December 14, 2020

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logo for go open vaJean Weller, VSTE Board Member and VDOE Technology Integration Specialist, leads the #GoOpenVA initiative in Virginia. This collaborative initiative enables educators and others throughout Virginia to create, share, and access openly-licensed educational resources (OER, also known as open education resources). OER are free digital materials that can be used or modified to adjust to student needs; they are openly-licensed unhampered by many traditional copyright limitations.

The database is growing. Jean recently created a collection for resources specifically related to professional learning. Technology coaches from across the state have contributed and you can learn more here.

Featured Resources

One of the best things about OER is that you can take an lesson created for one content area and edit it to address additional activities to address another content area.  Here are some lessons that can easily be edited to include English SOL, making them cross-curricular.

Comparing the Layers of the Atmosphere is a short science activity from Tanna Mezacapa of Virginia Beach.  This lesson involves having students make comparisons between the layers of the atmosphere and any other layered thing with which they are familiar. Can’t you see a great way to extend this lesson to English studies on similes and metaphors for a cross-curriculum lesson?

Boston Massacre: Propaganda is a primary source lesson from Michelle Carr of Hanover. Focusing on the use of propaganda during a historical time period can also be a great lesson for English regarding writing persuasively or studying media literacy.  Can you write a cross-curricular remix to incorporate English SOL with the History and Social Science SOL?

Map Symbols Unplugged is a lesson created by the Virginia K-12 Computer Science Pipeline project.  Why not add an extra dimension by including writing directions, or creating a story to go with the map(s)?  Such a cross-curricular lesson would give you extra value for the time the students spend on the lesson!

Featured Resources from #GoOpenVA, November 30, 2020

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logo for go open vaJean Weller, VSTE Board Member and VDOE Technology Integration Specialist, leads the #GoOpenVA initiative in Virginia. This collaborative initiative enables educators and others throughout Virginia to create, share, and access openly-licensed educational resources (OER, also known as open education resources). OER are free digital materials that can be used or modified to adjust to student needs; they are openly-licensed unhampered by many traditional copyright limitations.

The database is growing. Jean recently created a collection for resources specifically related to professional learning. Technology coaches from across the state have contributed and you can learn more here.

 

Our earliest learners, PreK to 2, need lots of support and #GoOpenVA has quite a few resources that can be used with these beginning students.  However, we are in need of more lessons, especially those created with Virginia students in mind.  Please share your Pre-K lessons with your fellow educators, using the tools on #GoOpenVA to add resources (see the Users Hub for directions on how to do this!)

Henrico EdFlix from Henrico County Public Schools provides lots of resources for remote learning and some really wonderful Choice Boards for preschool students.  Click on the many examples to choose one, or two, or three that suit your students’ needs!

Pattern Play (Kindergarten) is a new resource produced by WHRO just for Virginia students.  It is a recorded lesson taught by Dr. Karen Drosinos and can be used as is or edited into shorter segments as needed.

Call and Response Songs from Carnegie Hall is a great way to get your students warmed up for learning.  This activity can be done in person or online.  Although the lesson suggests a couple of fun songs for your students to sing, you can use call and response songs you remember from your own childhood.  Add your suggestions in the COMMENT box on the resource landing page (that’s where the above link will take you).

How I Became a Believer in Maker Education

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My first experiences with maker education came while serving students at a juvenile detention center as an Instructional Technology Coach. I knew that maker education had the potential to empower our students and transform how they experienced learning.photo of a bamboo plant Then, one student made me a believer. One August, we had a 17-year-old male enter our facility. He was a newcomer to the United States, his English proficiency was limited, and he had little formal education. The allegations against him were serious and he was struggling with depression and anxiety. He was a student in crisis and nowhere near available for learning.

For months, our school staff struggled to support this student and engage him. One day, we had a breakthrough. The student’ science class was studying plants and had been nurturing beans, avocados, and corn under a grow light. The student started to take an interest in the plants, offering to be their primary caretaker. Seeing this interest, I immediately went to our principal’s office and retrieved her lucky bamboo plant, which was on the brink of death. His science teacher and I challenged the student to revive the principal’s plant.illustration of a 3D model of a planter

I could not have imagined what happened next. Over the course of a few months, the student propagated a new plant from the remains of the old plant and gave it proper nutrients, skills he learned from watching self-selected YouTube videos. He designed and 3D printed a superior container, ensuring the plant’s roots would have better drainage.

Then, he learned the basics of soldering and constructed an Internet of Things device that constantly checked the soil’s moisture level. If the plant’s soil was too dry or too wet, the device would push a notification via Blynk to the principal’s smartphone. He proudly shared his project goals with anyone who would listen, including the center’s administration.

Seeing his project come to life was incredible, but it pales in comparison to the changes within the student. The student’s mental health started to improve, and his confidence grew. His rate of English acquisition exploded. He discovered a love of learning. He no longer wanted to retreat into his cell; he yearned to be in school. The student’s new love of learning drove him to enroll in GED program. Maker education re-made and saved that child. In education, we often speak of teaching the whole child. Witnessing the power of authentic learning convinced me – maker education addresses the whole child and must be available to all students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a rapid re-imagining of our lives and institutions. As we trailblaze the wildernesses of virtual and concurrent learning, our challenge is to keep learning personal and experiential. Bringing maker culture into our virtual and in-person classrooms is daunting, but possible. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it has affirmed that there is nothing educators cannot do. The past several months has challenged us in ways we could never have envisioned, but, when I imagine what can be, I find myself energized and full of hope.

Written by Tim Cruz. Tim is the Coordinator of Instructional Technology for Prince William County Public Schools. He is driven by the belief that every child, regardless of situation or circumstance, can accomplish amazing things. Connect with Tim on Twitter at @twcruz.

Featured #GoOpenVA Resources, November 16, 2020

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logo for go open vaJean Weller, VSTE Board Member and VDOE Technology Integration Specialist, leads the #GoOpenVA initiative in Virginia. This collaborative initiative enables educators and others throughout Virginia to create, share, and access openly-licensed educational resources (OER, also known as open education resources). OER are free digital materials that can be used or modified to adjust to student needs; they are openly-licensed unhampered by many traditional copyright limitations.

The database is growing. Jean recently created a collection for resources specifically related to professional learning. Technology coaches from across the state have contributed and you can learn more here.

 

 

Focus on Collaboration

More heads are better than one!  Collaboration is a great way to develop an engaging, flexible, and innovative educational resource. Remember that you can collaborate using #GoOpenVA tools, like Groups and the Open Author editor which allows for co-authors, while social distancing with colleagues near (or far).  Here are some cool lesson plans created by teams of Virginia educators.

 

Designing a Martian Pod to Minimize Heat Transfer is one of the Science Instructional Plans created by teachers under VDOE’s guidance.  In it, students are challenged to learn about energy and energy transformations through practical applications.

 

Pharmacy Technician FlexBook is the very first textbook created as an OER to be shared on #GoOpenVA.  The work was a dedicated effort by Kim McTyre and Kathleen Vuono of Virginia Beach Public Schools, to support the new CTE course for Pharmacy Technicians.

 

VT PEERS: Mountain Road Repair was developed by groups of teachers funded through an NSF grant, focusing on engineering in the K-12 classroom.  This collaboratively created lesson focuses on student collaboration as a tool for learning how to solve problems.

Google Educator Group NoVA (GEGNoVA)

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What is a Google Educator Group?

Google Educator Groups, GEGs, are communities of educators coming together to share ideas, build connections, and help each other grow. From the very start, GEG NoVA has been a community of lifelong learners - people so dedicated to their craft that they take time out of their personal lives to join us and learn even more. That dedication to students, families, and communities keeps us going. While GEGs are considered local groups, members are not required to live in that area. You can be a member of as many GEGs as you would like! Additionally, membership is not limited to teachers. Administrators, coaches, students, or anyone interested in using Google tools to facilitate learning is welcome to join. 

What inspired us to start GEG NoVA?

GEG NoVA was born out of our passion for both educational technology and community-oriented organizations. Theresa and I met through EdCamp NoVA, an unconference at which participants decide the topics of discussion on the day of the event. We both were passionate about how this learner-centric PD could engage others. We eventually both ended up joining the planning team for EdCamp NoVA, but soon realized that a semi-annual event wasn’t enough. It was from that motivation to find and create learner-centric, in-the-moment PD that GEG NoVA was created! 

Why are we community-focused?

We believe that it’s through open and honest collaboration that education can truly thrive. With this in mind, all of the work and content that GEG NoVA puts out to the world comes from our membership. By focusing on building up each other, we not only share our wealth of knowledge, but we build the leadership capacity of everyone involved. For some of our members, this might be the first professional development organization they’ve ever joined. As a community, we want members to build on that courage to put themselves out there and develop into well-rounded leaders, able to make real change in their schools. 

How can you connect with GEG NoVA?

As a community, we are active on multiple platforms including Twitter, Google Groups, and YouTube. Are you interested in getting involved in GEG NoVA’s leadership or presenting a topic to the community? Fill out our interest form!

Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates: @GEGNorthernVA

Join our Google Group!

Watch our previous webinars on Youtube!

Check out our website for more info!

Written by Tyler Witman. Tyler is an Instructional Technology Coordinator for Arlington Public Schools and co-founder of the Google Educator Group of Northern Virginia.