VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

VE PLN

VE PLN: Summer of Survival

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This summer, Memorial Day through Labor Day, VSTE Place in Minecraft will hold its first Summer of Survival! Participants will be able to warp to survival mode for a completely different Minecraft experience. We will discover why our students beg for survival mode at school. It's challenging, but fun, and we will need each other to survive!

You may be able to earn points from your district with your VSTE certificate of participation. There will be a list of achievements to accomplish over the course of the summer. You can complete them in a few weeks or take the entire summer. The idea is to have fun while networking with other educators inside Minecraft.

Participants will need a Mojang account, a copy of Minecraft installed on their computer, and access to VSTE Place, the VSTE Minecraft server. Contact K4sons@gmail.com to get your Mojang Minecraft account whitelisted on our server.

Keep up with all the events at the summer website and the Google Plus community.

VE PLN, Monday, February 6, 2017: Survive the Summer

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The VE PLN will meet Monday, February 6, 2017, 8 PM, at VSTE Place, our Minecraft server, to discuss running  survival world professional development experience this summer. Visitors from the Minecraft MOOC hosted by the Electronic Village Online  will be coming by Monday night to give us advice and tell us about their experiences.
We know many teachers and ITRTs are interested in exploring Minecraft in the classroom. Come to this meeting and let us know how this professional development could best serve you.
For server information and more go to the flyer here https://goo.gl/fT2U95
We will use Discord for voice to communicate. Download it ahead of time if you don't have it and set up an account. It's free. The link to join VSTE VE PLN Minecraft Monday is https://discord.gg/hXxSBHB

VE PLN in Minecraft, November 21, 2016, 8 PM

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VSTE Virtual Environments PLN will meet in Minecraft on November 21, 2016, at 8 PM. We have a server on Beastnode. All you need is to get a regular Minecraft account and join our multiuser server at 69.175.17.26:25565. Send Kim Harrison (k4sons@gmail.com) with your Minecraft user name and she will whitelist you. Please don't want until the last minute.

Let's decorate the server for the holidays. Bring an idea for holiday pixel art.

We are using the 1.10.2 version.

We get on discord for voice chat simultaneously. Download it on your computer or mobile device. We can talk about the conference, what we are doing with students in Minecraft, what the new Minecraft Education Edition is like, or whatever you are interested in. We will post the URL to connect in Minecraft.

Let's build community! All educators are welcome.

See you Monday, November 21st at 8 PM<

VE PLN Upcoming Events

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The VSTE Virtual Environments PLN continues its tradition of Monday night professional development with two upcoming events: 

Monday, November 7, 2016, 8 PM:
Book Study: Insurrection, Keith Reeves

We will meet on VSTE Island to discuss section 1 of Keith David Reeves' book, Insurrection: A Teacher Revolution in Defense of Children. This proves to be a lively discussion. Reeves is chair of the board of directors. Get your copy and start reading NOW but feel free to attend even if you haven't read the book! Learn more about the book and the author here.

Monday, November 14, 2016, 7:45 PM:
Swing Dancing

We will meet a little early on VSTE Island and plan to be at Carlyle's Swing Dance Studio by 8 PM (5 PM SLT) for some great 40's music and swing dancing. The animations are great! Carlyle has put together several levels of swing dance class that teach you about many styles enjoyed through the years. Sounds fun.

If you don't have a Second Life account, get one, it's free, at http://secondlife.com/. Download and install the software. While your Second Life viewer (software) is open, click this link http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VSTE%20Island/61/104/22 and voila! Look for an avatar on VSTE Island and say, "Hey, I'm new!" We will take care of the rest.

VE PLN Upcoming Events

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The VSTE Virtual Environments PLN continues its tradition of Monday night professional development with two upcoming events: 

Monday, October 24, 2016, 8 PM:
Dinosaurs of Virginia, by Bill Schmachtenberg ( Dae Miami sl)

Yes, teachers, we did have Dinosaurs in Virginia! At this presentation, Bill Schmachtenberg will discuss the latest data that suggests that there were many dinosaurs in Virginia, and there were many different types including large long necked sauropod, armored dinosaurs,  and nasty carnivores.

Monday, October 31, 2016, 8 PM:
VSTE Halloween tour of SL Haunted Houses

Organized by Bill Schmachtenberg (Dae Miami sl). Log into second life and get all the virtual candy you want, take a ride in a pumpkin car, and tour cool Haunted Houses.

If you don't have a Second Life account, get one, it's free, at http://secondlife.com/. Download and install the software. While your Second Life viewer (software) is open, click this link http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VSTE%20Island/61/104/22 and voila! Look for an avatar on VSTE Island and say, "Hey, I'm new!" We will take care of the rest.