VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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Being Culturally Responsive With Technology

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My husband and I are the self-proclaimed spades champions in our family. At past family gatherings, we are often met with, “Hey, how have you been? Did you bring your deck of cards?” The thing about spades is that you just can’t “throw in your hand”. You have to play your hand. You have to play the cards that you’ve been dealt.

As with the current quarantine situation, many communities and school districts are diligently working with the resources they have. They are refusing to give up. One school, in particular, is the Gladys Oberle School.

The Gladys Oberle School is a private day special education school in Fredericksburg, VA. With a total enrollment of approximately 50 students and a looming threat of losing resources as a result of the COVID-19 situation, the administration, faculty, and staff designed a plan built on best practices using instructional technology and culturally responsive instruction.

In spite of students not being physically able to attend school, the administration and faculty remain connected to their students and families. Teachers effectively use tools such as Google Classroom and Zoom to deliver instruction and maintain an atmosphere of community and support. For those teachers and students who have limited access to the internet, students have received packets in the mail along with encouraging words and instructions on how to complete their assignments.

The school’s counselors personally called each family on their caseload to offer support or arrange for virtual individual counseling sessions if needed. The administration has also encouraged students to make videos and take pictures of class projects. These videos and pictures are posted and uploaded to the virtual school newsletter.

Empowered with a commitment to their students and families and the technology available, the Gladys Oberle School has refused to “throw in their hand”. This school is truly a champion!

For more information regarding the Gladys Oberle School, please visit their website.

Written by Nicci T. Dowd, Ed.D. Nicci is a Trainer and Technical Specialist with AIM-VA at George Mason University, and a member of the VSTE Board of Directors.

Global Collaboration in Rural Virginia

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The words ‘global collaboration’ seem like a distant attainment for most of us educators. We think that concept is something someone else could do, but certainly not someone like ourselves. But, I’m here to tell you it is not an impossible task. Last week’s news story is proof positive!

So, how did a teacher like me, a middle-aged teacher in rural Virginia, wind up collaborating on projects with teachers and students in Turkey, Italy and India during a pandemic?

students in an online conference call

It started in the summer of 2017 when I participated in a year-long professional development program through ITTIP at Longwood University, Inspiring Teachers for Engaged Learners (InTEL). Part of the learning experiences included a book study utilizing, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time, by Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis.  The book study experience was a catalyst for my subsequent connections.  ITTIP director, Dr. Paula Leach and STEM Learning Specialist, Stephanie Playton, encouraged participants to reach beyond the walls of our classrooms. They continue to support teachers years after the course to test video calls, come into classrooms for lessons, loan equipment, and provide STEM education advice.

mystery skype posters

Mystery Skype is one particularly engaging technology tool I learned about through the program. The aim of the game is to guess the location of the other classroom by asking questions in a video call format. Finding colleagues to play Mystery Skype requires forming connections through professional learning networks such as Skype in the Classroom and Edmodo.

It was through Edmodo that I found like-minded educators in India and Italy in the fall of 2019. We navigated time zone differences by having students arrive at school at 7:30 a.m. in Virginia and 5:00 p.m. in New Delhi for a Skype call. We set up an Edmodo classroom for students to post projects and receive international feedback. We often used Padlet for asynchronous connections.

slide about Turkish people celebrating children's day

Those two connections have multiplied. My colleague in India had a connection to a teacher in Turkey. The teacher in Turkey was seeking an international audience for her children to share information about their World Children’s Day holiday in their country. From our Zoom meet teacher brainstorm, we ironed out details of the project that resulted in the featured news story.

Where do we go from here? We are presently working on a Padlet to commemorate World Bee Day on May 20th. This project also includes students in Japan and Ireland. We are also looking toward a future International Kids Magazine to be developed as schools reopen in the fall!

So, see! ‘Global Collaboration’  is not an impossible task.

Written by Melanie Ranson. Melanie is a K-5 Gifted Resource teacher for Appomattox County Schools.

I Wonder and I Hope

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It has been enjoyable these past weeks to be able to work outside in my backyard with my two dogs and the sounds of Spring surrounding me. I am fortunate my Wi-Fi signal is just strong enough to allow me this convenience. Sitting out here today, I have had some time to reflect and think about how things may be different in our lives as we move forward. I know that some aspects of our lives may never be the same. Just as 9/11 impacted the way we travel and security measures, I am sure we will see permanent changes when it comes to how we protect our health and those of others. I wonder though how formal education is going to be impacted. I really wonder. I wonder what is going to happen when we get to return to our “buildings.”

Everyone is talking about getting back to “normal.” I am looking forward to seeing fellow staff and students in person again. The lessons, the activities, the plays, the musicals, the athletic events, club meetings, and the list goes on. I wonder though if teaching and learning are going to be “normal” again. Should we be rethinking what “normal” will look like in education as we move forward?

I wonder and hope.

I wonder if our decision-makers understand the importance of everyone having access to high-speed Internet. I hope that “normal’ in the future means that all of our students have access to digital content via this vital utility.
I wonder if instructional leaders at the state and local levels are going to all write and/or update a remote/distance/at-home learning plan, so we are prepared when this happens again. I hope they realize some of the lessons learned during these times need to be part of our “normal” and not just when we are isolated from our buildings and students.

I wonder if instruction moving forward will be the way it was before. I hope we see more of a hybrid/blended learning model where instructional activities involve all types of learning modalities. We see a blend of digital and non-digital learning experiences. We see students (and parents/guardians) have more responsibility in their learning outcomes. We see students having an opportunity to explore and learn on their own terms outside of the structure of a school schedule.

I wonder if our state leaders will revisit and reinstate the requirement of meeting the Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel (TSIP) which used to be a requirement for teacher licensure. (Check out the VSTE updated version which has been endorsed by the VDOE) I hope learning leaders realize that the teachers and students that struggled the most with learning going digital were the ones that never or rarely experienced it. I hope there is leadership out there such as that seen in Sussex County where Tim Mays continues to work with instructional staff to meet the TSIP. He saw first hand how those meeting these standards were more effective in remote teaching and learning.

I wonder if our Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRTs or whatever school divisions call them) will be appreciated and utilized more effectively. I hope our state leaders realize these people need to be coaching our staff to effectively use digital resources for instruction. I hope our instructional staff realizes what a great resource these people are and how much they should be appreciated as they have assisted so many during these times.

I hope others experienced what my wife did during this past month. She is a Math teacher at a local high school and she was not a big fan of the use of instructional technology with her students. She was required to create classes in Google Classroom but really did not use any of the G Suite applications. She was more of a traditional educator and to her credit, she is an effective teacher in many ways. She mentioned several times about trying to integrate more digital content in her instruction but never got around to it. Well, it has been great to see her using Google apps and digital resources with her students. She is communicating via Google Classroom and making learning more personal as she and her students share stories about what is happening at home. She said that when she returns to “normal,” she plans to continue the use of these digital tools because they are making a positive difference. I wonder and I hope.

Written by Tim Taylor. Tim is the Instructional Technology Supervisor for Shenandoah County Public Schools and a member of the VSTE Board of Directors, currently serving as the chair of the Education Committee.

Supporting the 5Cs with the Distance Learning Toolkit

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Teachers across the nation are wondering how to get students engaged, connected, and excited about learning right now. That is why we are thrilled to share our Distance Learning Toolkit with all educators throughout Virginia. We’ve been working with educators throughout the country to compile dynamic, interactive lesson templates that capture student interest and use little, if any, of the precious prep time given to teachers.

In the toolkit, you’ll find ready-to-use templates that are not only based in best-practices, but also allow teachers and students to collaborate together simultaneously and visualize the learning - regardless of working remotely or in the classroom. You’ll see what teachers in the field are currently doing to make at-home learning meaningful, and also be able to give real-time feedback to their students. You’ll also be helping students develop all of the 5 C’s  through these templates to ensure that they are still acquiring the proper skillsets and knowledge as they progress toward the Profile of a Virginia Graduate.

A critical element of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate is for the student to acquire the core skills needed to impactfully enter the workforce. This could sound uninspiring or untenable for students, especially if the connection between classroom experiences and the workplace isn’t clear. The right types of learning experiences bridge that gap by engaging students and triggering higher-levels of thinking as they acquire the necessary capabilities, both academic and technical, defined by the Virginia Profile of a Graduate.

Coaches, feel free to share these toolkits with your teachers as they’re looking for ways to get students involved and excited about learning.

Go to Distance Learning Toolkit by clicking here or on the image below:

Explore how other teachers are engaging in meaningful distance learning with their students

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information, please contact:

Nate Wray
Lucid for Education
(801) 390-0896

#GoOpenVA and Sharing In The Time of Crisis

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#GoOpenVA launched in late January, which turned out to be just in time. As Virginia educators move into several months of building closures due to COVID-19, we at least have a place to share and connect with other educators.

Although #GoOpenVA is designed as a repository of educational materials that teachers can edit and share, it is most importantly a community where teachers can rely on each other for help. That’s especially important now that we are all struggling to figure out a new way to help our students learn. The burden is so much lighter when we can share our ideas, rather than having to develop them all on our own.

So, now is the time for you to participate in #GoOpenVA. It is an open site, so if you are just looking for ideas, you can browse and download without any other action. However, to be a part of the community of sharing, you need to become as a registered user. For security reasons, Administration determined it was best if educators signed on through their school division, using a single-sign-on software.

Each school division has made their own determination about how to get to #GoOpenVA from their system, so check with your local tech support to find out the way you can get access. If your division does not have any sort of single-sign-on software, please contact us (info@goopenva.org) to request an account.

Once you are able to login as a registered user, you can do lots of things—add resources you’ve created, take someone else’s resource and tweak it to fit your students, participate in discussion groups about topics near and dear to your heart, and collaborate with your fellow educators to create something that’s bigger than just one person could do.

#GoOpenVA has a new User’s Hub, which will provide you with helpful tips and screencasts on how to do specific things on #GoOpenVA. This is a new space, so expect it to continue to grow over time. You are invited to add to this community, using the various Group message boards to share your own tips and insights.

We also have a 4-hour online self-paced course that you can take if that suits your learning style (sign up at Virtual Virginia; it may take a day or two to get your account set up). We also have our VSTE-supported Workshop in a Box materials for those who want to conduct a professional learning session for other educators. The latter will be expanding soon to incorporate new modules.

It’s a natural thing for educators to be sharers. After all, that’s what education boils down to – sharing our expertise and knowledge with students to help them grow (in all ways). It’s good thing that Virginia now has a place to support that sharing when we can’t get together physically!

Written by Jean Weller. Jean is an Educational Technology Specialist in the Virginia Department of Education's Office of STEM and Innovation. She also serves as the Department's representative on the VSTE Board of Directors.