Five candidates have been elected to the VSTE Board of Directors for the 2022-2025 term. Three are new members while two are returning for a second term. You can learn more about each Board member below.
Virginia Society for Technology in Education
by vsteadmin
Five candidates have been elected to the VSTE Board of Directors for the 2022-2025 term. Three are new members while two are returning for a second term. You can learn more about each Board member below.
by vsteadmin
The Board of Directors of the Virginia Society for Technology in Education is pleased to announce the selection of two new staff members. Rod Carnill has been appointed as Executive Director. Ashley Clarke will be serving as Assistant to the Director.
Rod Carnill recently retired from Frederick County Public Schools where he served as the supervisor of instructional technology coaches. He recently served for two years (2018-2020) as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE). He was also an adjunct professor for Shenandoah University teaching Educational Technology Applications and Online Learning courses for pre-service and K-12 teachers. He now supports the SU Children’s Literature Conference as a technical advisor and webinar administrator. With over thirty years experience as an educator focused on literacy and the effective use of technology, Rod still finds it rewarding to help others make great things happen for learners. He is now focusing his efforts supporting professional learning, teacher and student advocacy and educational project management.
Ashley Clarke serves as Executive Assistant to the Dean Of Faculty/Superintendent for Academics at Virginia Military Institute. Ashley has worked with faculty and students in K-12 supporting educational technology at Jackson River Technical Center and Alleghany High School where she assisted faculty, staff, and students with their technology needs. While at AHS, she aided with the implementation of New Tech in the classrooms through the use of Chromebooks and educational apps. Ashley has worn a variety of other hats in her career including senior sponsor, head varsity cheer coach, co-teacher, SPED teacher assistant, administrative assistant, Freshman Transition Team member, computer lab manager, 1:1 Initiative Team member, and Project Based Learning Manager. Ashley’s true passion is helping students of all ages be successful whether in a general education or trade/CTE classroom setting. She loves seeing students reach their full potential.
“VSTE has been a dynamic part of the educational landscape of Virginia since its inception. It has grown through the hard work and expertise of its leadership. The Board of Directors is excited for this new chapter of the organization and is eager to begin working with Rod and Ashley as we move into this new season. We honor our history but happily look to the future as we poise the organization for growth and change to better serve our membership and the students of the Commonwealth,” said Heather Askea, VSTE’s Board Chair.
Rod and Ashley will begin their tenure on July 1, 2022, upon the retirement of the current Executive Director, Dr. Karen Richardson.
by Mike Scott
VSTE partners with Big Deal Media to bring you carefully curated resources designed for K-12 educators. Grants, competitions, web-based and mobile resources and more. We select our favorites from each newsletter but be sure to scroll down and view the whole newsletter. And, since not all the Big Deal Book resources are time sensitive, we provide an archive for you to browse.
This newsletter will help you with Assistive Literacy Software, Game Design Tools, EdTech Activities & More
by vsteadmin
The Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal Program, developed by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and a group of U.S. education leaders, is a prestigious achievement for K-12 school systems that have implemented “strong, measurable, and publicly available” student data privacy practices. Rockingham County Public Schools (RCPS) received the TLE seal in June 2021 after nearly two years of work. The rural Virginia district recognized the protection of student data as critical to the district’s technology infrastructure.
Access this case study to learn how they did it.
by vsteadmin
Becky is a former K-12 classroom teacher for 11 wonderful years. She became the Director for Online Course Development and Faculty Support for the University of New Mexico for 13 years, retiring a few years ago, but still is still teaching faculty. She has taught for UNM and New Mexico State University, where she developed and taught an Early Childhood and Tech online course. She received the Blackboard Catalyst Exemplary Course Award, and UNM Best Practices Course Advisory Golden PAW Award, and has been certified by Quality Matters, where she is a Master Reviewer.
Becky writes, "I am teaching in SL because of the amazing experience of a Middle School teacher and her class. I will share her experience and how it informed my decisions in using Virtual World technology to teach. This course, which just ended last week, is taught using social-constructivist theory, and collaborative and project-based learning approaches, which work well in K-12. The creative, flexible, and easy to build in the environment of Second Life is an excellent technology for this course. Students are introduced to teaching and training in Virtual Worlds by sharing research in teaching best practices, as well as current educational technologies that concentrate on Virtual Worlds and Virtual Reality. A final project is used as the assessment tool where they build a project with a group to teach a topic of their choice."
This event is free and open to the public. It will be held in Second Life, a virtual world. You will need a free account to participate. More information about connecting will be provided closer to the event's date. If you have questions, contact Dr. William Schmactenberg.