VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

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VSTE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: How a vision became a reality

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In 2019, Karen Richardson, VSTE’s Executive Director, asked the Board to investigate ways that the organization help our members educate and advocate for diversity in education.  Through her leadership, Dr. Richardson pulled together a team of individuals who shared that same passion and formed the Inclusion Taskforce, which eventually became VSTE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Through the work of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, VSTE is building a collection of resources here on our website, as well as developing a mentoring program, which is now in its 3rd year.

This program connects educators with Instructional Technology leaders from various parts of the Commonwealth to help them develop their own leadership skills.

We are also building a library of targeted professional development activities which currently includes a series of monthly webinars and professional development coaching activities from UnisonEdu

So, how does a vision become a reality?  It takes leadership and dedicated individuals committed to being agents of change rather than defenders of the status quo!

Written by Nicci Dowd. Nicci is a special education teacher for Prince William County Schools. She is also a member of the VSTE Board of Directors and Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Featured Resources #GoOpenVA, March 22, 2021

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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.

We asked Jean to periodically curate a few of the resources to give a sense of what is available. Start with these but stay for so much more!

Collaboration is the key to open education resources and learning. Check out these collaborations to find ways to enhance your practice.

Sharing Sessions Notetaker Document

On the 2021 Digital Learning Day, North Carolina and Virginia jointly sponsored an Unconference, allowing educators from both states time to share all the great resources they found in this past year of learning during the time of COVID. We focused on things that helped teachers keep their sanity, and also the things that they think will allow us to rise up like a phoenix from this ash-y year.  See what your fellow educators found helpful!

VDOE Science Collection

The VDOE Office of STEM staff have been adding all the new SIPs (Science Instructional Plans) that assist teachers to align science instruction with the 2018 Science SOL. More are being added daily so keep checking if you don’t find what you are looking for!

MEP-3 Days 1-5 Lesson Plan (Teacher Copy)

Jennifer Sassamo, the Supervisor of Instructional Facilitators for Specialized Reading and Math in Loudoun County and four Specialized Instructional Facilitators of Reading (Dr. Tiffany Brocious, Kristen Kipps, Erin Savage and Jennifer Douglas) came together to develop one incredible resource  This is a gift to Reading specialists who are not so lucky to have a team to work on an innovative resource.  I can’t improve on their concise description: Multi-sensory Explicit Phonics for Tier 3 Reading Invention provides a fully scripted reading program, assessment tools, scope and sequence, teacher and student instructional materials and embedded professional learning through an overview and modeling, all in one.

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Webinar: Share Your Story, Get that Job

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In the second of two March 2021 editions of the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Webinar, Katie Fielding asks some relevant questions: has the past year made you think about changing schools, changing roles, or moving into educational leadership? Do you remember making a portfolio in your education program that involved a lot of page protectors and slipping in pieces of evidence? Or maybe you haven’t given your digital portfolio an update in a while.

Watch as Katie offers guidance on creating a portfolio strong both visually and content wise that will allow you to “Share Your Story, Get that Job”.

The webinar is hosted by Charles Randolph.

Elementary Students are Too Young for Virtual Learning! Or Are They?

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During our TSIP (Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel) evaluations, I make it a habit to ask all of my teachers, “How's it going?” “Do you need help or assistance with anything?” Mrs. Candice Nurney, a second-grade teacher at Sussex Central Elementary School, answered “No, I’m fine and my students are doing well!” Given that her portfolio evidence is always exemplary, her evaluation was short so we had a few minutes to chat before my next evaluation. I was intrigued by her answers and wanted to know more as I have read the horror stories about virtual learning and elementary students.

Reflecting back to the beginning of the school year, Mrs. Nurney said and continued to reiterate that ATTITUDE was very important and instrumental in the success of her second-graders in the virtual learning environment. Just like every other teacher, she went into virtual learning with the fear of the unknown, but her positive ATTITUDE made the difference. It would have been easy to succumb to the negative stigma that elementary students are too young for virtual learning, but not Mrs. Nurney. She stated that how you approach the situation and your ATTITUDE will dictate success or failure.

screenshot of website by 2nd grade teacherAt the beginning of the school year, Mrs. Nurney took the time to​ explain and practice ​with her students, just as she would in the face-to-face environment. She mentioned that she kept her instructions simple and clear, as well as allowing ample practice time for her students while making sure she did not overwhelm them with too many tasks. Although the focus was given to the usage and features of the Canvas, Clever, and Zoom platforms for the first few weeks of school, the subject matter was still being taught.

Mrs. Nurney recognized the importance of these platforms and the role they would play in her success as a teacher in the virtual environment so she took the time to model screen sharing, muting/unmuting, reactions, and how to access documents and resources in Clever and Canvas with her students. She made it fun by using the popular Bitmoji classroom, which also made her Canvas page easy to navigate. In addition to her normal working hours, Mrs. Nurney made herself available after hours to assist parents and students so they could be successful. With persistence and patience, her second graders continue to thrive in this virtual environment. Despite this horrible pandemic and the normal challenges of virtual learning, she kept a positive ATTITUDE. Mrs. Nurney is a true testament to the saying, “a positive attitude will lead to positive outcomes.”

Written by Tim Mays (@tmays921). Tim is the Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Student Information Systems for Sussex County Public Schools. He is a VSTE Board Member and a member of VSTE’s Education Committee and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mentor. Mrs. Candice Nurney is a second-grade teacher at Sussex Central Elementary School and is currently a doctoral student at Liberty University.

Webinar: Being the Calm in The Storm

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In the first of two March 2021 editions of the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Webinar, Amy Jackson discusses how to maintain calm, transparency, and control during times of technological difficulties. Amy currently works for a small school district in Central Virginia and is the co-chair of the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee.

The webinar is hosted by Charles Randolph.

Our next edition will be on Wednesday, March 17 at 12:30.