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Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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Applied Digital Skills Curriculum Available From Google

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New Curriculum From Google...

We have some exciting updates about our digital literacy and job skills program, Applied Digital Skills. The ready-to-use curriculum offers over 90 hours of video and project-based content that teaches digital literacy skills for life and professional scenarios.

The Applied Digital Skills program received ISTE’s Seal of Alignment for Proficiency last month. The following are highlights from ISTE’s curriculum review:

  • All projects are engaging, relevant, and connected to the real-world.
  • Each unit can be adapted as needed for the skill level in which it is implemented, and each promotes problem solving, creative thinking, and meaningful application of technology in substantive tasks.
  • Skills addressed in the projects will serve learners well in school and beyond, and the curriculum is accompanied by ample support for instructors to be able to implement the curriculum effectively.

Read the full report here.

To get started teaching, visit g.co/applieddigitalskills, sign in as an Instructor with a Google account and create your first class. Invite learners to sign in with their own Google accounts as Learners and input your unique class code. This step-by-step guide explains how to set up your first class in less than 5 minutes. The curriculum is flexible and can be taught anywhere. Units include Research and Develop a Topic, If/Then Adventure Stories, Plan and Budget, Plan an Event and more. Applied Digital Skills is a great solution whether you are looking for a semester-long technology curriculum, or to enrich your subject matter content over a few class periods.

The program provides lesson plans and example rubrics, as well as the ability to track learner progress. Here is an example of one way that a school in South Carolina is using the curriculum:

We hope you enjoy the curriculum.

Virginia Students Featured at Speak Up Congressional Briefing

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I was fortunate to attend a special event to share the results of the Speak Up 2016 survey, http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speakup_congress.html.  This is a survey published by Project Tomorrow, http://www.tomorrow.org/ , It is an online tool that  gives students, educators, administrators, and parents an opportunity to provide feedback about the use of technology for learning. The data from this survey has helped many districts develop and implement new strategies to address the needs of all learners and  prepare them for their future.  I have always been impressed with Julie Evans, CEO Project Tomorrow,  She has been such a strong advocate for technology in education.  She is a true believer in the positive impact of technology on learning. I would encourage you and your division to participate in the 2017 Speak Up Survey opening on October 16. You can access the survey here: http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/

At this event, we heard from students about their experiences with technology and why it is important for them to have ubiquitous and equitable access.  One student shared that their one-to-one program has provided equal opportunities to all students providing them an “equal start to the future of their education, because we live in a digital world.”  She  mentioned that they are able to use  all of the tools that adults use in their work environment.and  shared  the importance of collaborating with her peers.  During one project, she got to know other students in her class as they worked together on a project.  She shared that members of the group had ideas that she never would have thought of on her own.

If given the opportunity, students will go beyond the standard and far beyond our expectations. How can we empower our students, take them seriously and trust and support their thoughts about their own learning? The students on the panel all described the learning environment at their schools as one that

  • gives them a chance to be heard
  • promotes having a strong foundation that they can further build upon - referring to learning how and when to use technology resources to demonstrate their learning
  • encourages collaboration
  • exposes students to new tools, resources, and ways of thinking

All of these students were confident and well spoken about their school experience. They were able to articulate what they need from school and why their school works.  I have to guess that these schools have created that culture of trust that we have heard about so often.  It is easy to see when it works, but not an easy thing to develop. But I do know that  giving students that voice, the ability to be heard and a part of the conversation about  their learning is a very important step in the process.

Diane Harazin is a member of the VSTE Board of Directors and Supervisor of Instructional Technology for Prince William County Schools.

Critical Action Needed: National Days of Action for Federal Funding

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Part of VSTE's mission is to advocate for education and technology. We are reaching out today to let you know that action and advocacy is critical right now. The Senate Appropriations Committee will be making funding decisions on two programs we care about - Title II-A and Title IV-A - the week of September 7. As you may have heard, the House Appropriations Committee has already voted to eliminate all funding ($2 billion) for Title II-A, which provides states and districts money for effective professional development, and a small increase for Title IV-A, the new block grant that supports education technology. Much is riding on what the Senate decides.

Join the National Thunderclaps: A Thunderclap is a social media tool to amplify a message. To participate in an ISTE-supported Thunderclap, go to the URLs below and use your Twitter or Facebook account to sign up. On both National Days of Action, the tool will post an identical message in support of funding for these programs to all of the supporters' accounts, amplifying our message to all of their followers and friends.

Join the Title II Thunderclap here.

Join the Title IV Thunderclap here.

Title II-A Day of Action - August 29, 2017: Title II-A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides ongoing professional development for teachers and school leaders, including professional development for the effective use of technology. Many ISTE members also use these funds to attend our conference. Unfortunately, both the president and the House of Representatives called for a complete elimination of this funding and it's up to the Senate to restore funding to at least last year's level.

Title IV-A Day of Action - August 31, 2017: Title IV-A of ESSA houses the education technology provisions of the law and is meant to support the effective use of technology, investments in infrastructure and access to digital learning in the classroom and at home. Unfortunately, in its first year of funding, Congress only dedicated $400 million (less than 25 percent of its authorized level) to the program - meaning many districts will receive very little funding to invest in these areas. The House of Representatives included $500 million for the program and it's critical that the Senate hears our support for this program.

Now is the time to raise our voices in support of these programs. ISTE will send an email on the morning of each event with details about other actions you can take throughout the day, so please consider joining the ISTE Advocacy Network. VSTE will post announcements across their social media networks as well. ISTE and VSTE strongly urge you to take action and participate in this important advocacy work! 

#GoOpenVA Development of Resources Initiative

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In October 2015, the US Department of Education launched #GoOpen, a campaign to encourage states, school districts and educators to use openly licensed educational materials. Open licensed educational material is more commonly known as Open Education Resources (OER).

In August 2016, a group of interested parties from across the Commonwealth of VA met informally at the VDOE offices in Richmond, VA to form a task force for the purpose of exploring the OER landscape in Virginia and identifying existing practitioners and models. The task force eventually included leaders from Virginia school divisions, Virginia CommSwirl with word Go Open VAunity College System, Virginia Department of Education,, WHRO’s eMediaVA, and Amazon Education. #GoOpenVA came into existence as the result of actions taken by this task force. Find more information on the #GoOpenVA vision, mission and goals at the #GoOpenVA website.

On April 20, 2017, VDOE held a Kickoff Meeting for #GoOpenVA’s OER development goal at the Monroe Building in Richmond, VA. In attendance were 18 teachers from across the Commonwealth and 22 other educational professionals who are active in the OER community of users. The purpose of the meeting was to educate and inform the participants on Open Education Resources (OER) and to give guidance on how to curate and identify education resources that are truly “Open”.  The following link is a video from the #GoOpenVA Development Educational Resources KickOff Meeting:

As the summer progresses the teachers at this workshop will work on curating open education resources with a focus on three content areas: Algebra I, World History I, and Virginia Social Studies. This is an exciting opportunity for learning and collaborating. These teachers and their supporting staff are working to define the processes for curating Open Education Resources that align to the Virginia Standards of Learning. The goal is to identify open resources that are validated to be of high quality, that support personalized learning, that promote critical and creative thinking for teachers and students and are effective at accelerating learning.

Below are comments from two of the teachers who are engaged in the #GoOpenVA Development of Resources initiative: 

Daina Campbell, Henry County Schools, VA Studies

 

Catherine Pace, M.ED, Chesapeake Schools Social Studies Teacher

 

Author: Elsie Dawson, Lead Project Manager, Virginia Department of Education

Contributors: Daina Campell, Henry County Schools, VA Studies; Catherine Pace, M.ED, Chesapeake Schools, Social Studies Teacher; Jean Weller, VDOE Education Technology Specialist; Dr. Deri Drapper, Director Integrated Learning, Old Dominion University

 

Lord Fairfax Community College’s HigherEd.org Search Engine and Learning Portal = A Tool for Educators

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On October 1, 2014, Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) was awarded a $3.25 million TAACCCT grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to develop competency-based education (CBE) programs and promote the use of free and low-cost digital resources wherever possible. In conjunction with the creation of their Knowledge to Work (K2W) program (competency-based education programs in information technology, health information management, and administrative support technology), LFCC created the HigherEd.org search engine and national learning portal.

Students Learn Free Online at HigherEd.org

HigherEd.org offers free and low-cost learning resources for personalized learning tied to competencies using OER (open educational resources). HigherEd.org features learning resources from numerous providers such as YouTube, Saylor Academy, and Microsoft. Resources are tied to competencies and aligned to national frameworks in a variety of topics. All resources are curated by a digital librarian for accessibility and adaptation.

For educators, HigherEd.org provides modules that can be adapted to the classroom for teaching, student presentations, and learning aids. HigherEd.org continues to grow. There may even be tools in the future to allow educators to create a digital classroom for their students within the site allowing independent, directed inquiry work.

Students can find links to resources that can assist them in receiving badges, certifications and even information to help acquire employability skills. For those that register for a free MyHigherEd account, they enjoy many learning tools, such as:

  • Create a personalized learning plan to track their progress
  • Set a custom goal and/or choose a credential to locate learning resources tied to competencies
  • Search resources useful for learning competencies and achieving their custom goal or credential
  • Save their searches and review their complete search history
  • Save and comment on resources
  • And so much more

Visit HigherEd.org

Guest post by 
Lyda Costello Kiser, DA, Director, Office of Transition Programs, Title IX Coordinator
Eric Simons, Knowledge to Work, DOL TAACCCT Grant
Lord Fairfax Community College