VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

VSTE News

Outstanding Technology Coach of the Year Award

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VSTE will recognize and honor three technology coaches in Virginia who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership in implementing technology to improve education. Award recipients will be selected from a pool of nominations submitted by VSTE members from around Virginia.

Nominations will be accepted from October 19-November 1. Nominations will be reviewed by the VSTE Board of Directors and past winners. Select nominators will be contacted by November 5 to provide additional evidence and documentation. Nominators are encouraged to work with the nominee to gather this additional information.

Decisions will be made prior to the VSTE Annual Conference. Award winners will be recognized during the opening general session at the annual conference. They are also provided with a complimentary conference registration and two nights of hotel accommodations for the annual conference. This year's conference will be held December 5-7 2021, in Roanoke.

The Awards Committee uses the ISTE standards as the basis for judging the Outstanding Technology Coach awards. Please review the appropriate standards when preparing nomination materials. Nominees are rated solely using criteria identified in the rubric.

Please use this form to nominate a technology coach for this award.

More information about the ISTE Standards for Coaches.

Questions should be addressed to awards@vste.org.

The review committee will include VSTE board members and previous recipients of the award.

2018 Winners for Outstanding Coach

Patrick Hausammann, Clarke County Public Schools
Krystle Demas, Goochland County Public Schools
Timothy Signorelli, Fairfax County Public Schools

photo of 2018 VSTE award winners
The 2018 VSTE Award Winners

2017 Winners

Outstanding Leader: Tim Taylor, Instructional Technology Supervisor, Shenandoah County Public Schools
Outstanding Teacher: Nichole Thomas, Instructional Facilitator for Technology, Liberty Elementary School, Loudoun County Public Schools

2016 Winners

Outstanding Leader: Dr. Amy Cashwell, Chief Academic Officer, Virginia Beach City Public Schools
Outstanding Teacher: Dr. Ann Nash, ITRT, Henrico County Public Schools

photo of 2016 VSTE Award Winner Ann Nash
2016 Award Winner Ann Nash

2015 Winners

Outstanding Leader: Dr. Helen Crompton, Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University
Outstanding Teacher: Doug Saunders, ITRT, Henrico County Public Schools

2014 Winners

Outstanding Leader: Janet Copenhaver, Director of Technology, Henry County Schools
Outstanding Teacher: Daniel Nemerow, Math and Special Education, Prince William County Schools

2013 Winners

Outstanding Leader: Richard Pierce, Associate Professor, Shenandoah University
Outstanding Teacher: Wendy Phillips, literacy specialist at Belview Elementary School, Montgomery County Schools

2012 Winners

Outstanding Leader: Mark Nichols, Special Education Supervisor for Assistive Technology and Individual Education Programs, Loudoun County Public Schools
Outstanding Teacher: Norene Skiles, library media specialist at Windsor Oaks Elementary School, Virginia Beach City Public Schools

2011 Winners

Outstanding Leader: Thomas Woodward, Assistant Director of Instructional Technology, Henrico County Public Schools
Outstanding Teacher: Kristina Peck, Riverbend High School Math Teacher, Spotsylvania County Public Schools

2010 Winners

Outstanding Leader: Katie Knapp, Computer Resource Specialist, Virginia Beach Public Schools
Outstanding Teacher: Lacy Krell, Salem High School English Teacher, Virginia Beach Public Schools

UnisonEDU Virtual Conference

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Images of keynote speakersIn less than two weeks, UnisonEDU will be offering its biggest event ever - our first virtual conference!  On October 23, you can grow with us professionally and attend one of four keynotes, over 30+ sessions in 3 breakout times, plus bite-sized sessions during the lunch hour; learning from some of the biggest names in our industry.

This conference was designed with educators in mind and we’re giving you lots of choice starting with registration. It’s FREE to attend the conference the day of or if you want more time to view all of the sessions, pay $10 and your access to the recorded sessions will never run out!  You’ll also receive access to additional sessions and resources.

If you are part of a larger group that wants to attend, we’re happy to provide bulk registration with video archive access for schools or school divisions:

  • Schools may register up to 100 people for $100.
  • School divisions who have from 100 to 200 registrations may register for $300.00.
  • School divisions with more than 200 can register for $500.

The choices continue with our Keynote Speakers, where you can decide which keynote fits your focus and attend the one that is right for you as both morning or afternoon speakers will be speaking simultaneously:

Morning

  • Matthew Woods, The Sandbox Mentality
  • Debbie Tannenbaum, Transform: Techy Notes to Make Learning Sticky

Images of keynote speakers

Afternoon

  • Matthew Joseph, Power of Connections: Cultivating Professional Learning Networks
  • Hedreich Nichols, Don't Be Afraid to Get It Wrong 

Images of keynote speakers

During our breakout times, you can choose from 8 - 9 sessions covering a wealth of areas from STEM, creativity, supporting special education students, mentoring other educators, personalizing learning, HyperDocs, and more!  These sessions will range from 30 - 45 minutes and are categorized from traditional presentation styles to edcamp and gamified style sessions.  At lunch, join in for 15 minute bite-sized or spark-like sessions or consider tuning into the STEM 101 panel.  

Whatever sessions you decide, there is something for everyone!  Check out the schedule and register now. 

Big Book Deal, October 1st, 2021

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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  Food Literacy, Pop Culture, Design Thinking, Digital Storytelling & More

 

Webinar Series on the Future of Safety Science and Sustainability

Since 1922 the Newbery Medal has been recognized as the most prestigious award in children’s literature. The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is an annual video contest in which young filmmakers create weird short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in about 90 seconds.

New Data Hub on Schools and the Pandemic

Hub serves as a central database for educators, researchers, and policymakers looking to study and understand how the pandemic shaped students' modes of learning in the 2020–21 school year and what the implications of that are going forward.

 App Illustrating Evolutionary Relationships Among Living Beings

Developed by PappCorn, the Tree of Life app is an interactive and illustrated family-level phylogeny of living beings. Main groups of organisms—from bacteria to vertebrates—are displayed in the initial tree as collapsed branches that can be opened to view family-level relationships.

Big Book Deal, October 1st , 2021

The Archives

Big Book Deal, September 15th, 2021

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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   Back-to-School, Constitution Day, Hispanic Heritage Month & More .....

 

Create a Generation of Problem Solvers

EiE, the award-winning curriculum division of the Museum of Science, Boston, develops research-based, classroom-tested programs that empower children to become lifelong STEM learners. Today’s children need to be problem solvers, critical thinkers, communicators, and collaborators—whether preparing for STEM-related careers or to contribute as world citizens. EiE’s preK–8 curricula encourage all children, including those from underrepresented groups, to envision a future in STEM.
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Back-to-School Savings on Digital Books for Your Classroom

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It’s time to go Back-to-School, and an even better time to outfit your MackinVIA’s digital bookshelves with some serious savings. Now through September 30, 2021, you’ll get 20% off on more than 300,000 K–12, fiction and nonfiction eBooks and audiobooks from dozens of publishers, exclusively at Mackin.com. It’s the perfect way to start the new school year, with fresh digital content for your school’s free, multiple-award-winning MackinVIA. When it comes to Back-to-School fashions, a 20% discount from Mackin is always in style.
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“Living” Periodic Table of Elements

From Theodore Gray comes The Elements, an iPad app that introduces students to the elements of the periodic table and educates them on how the elements combine to form the world.

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September 15, 2021

The Archives

Register now: UnisonEDU Conference, October 23, 2021

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UnisonEDU is excited to announce our first virtual conference on October 23, 2021, from 9 AM - 3 PM.

Four keynotes and 30+ sessions throughout the day will explore topics including STEM, coaching, first year teachers, creation tools, SPED, and SEL topics. There is something for all educators!

All of the sessions will be live and free to join that day. There will be an all access option for $10 a person that will provide access to conference materials after October 23! Paid access will include access to all session recordings along with recordings of bonus sessions that will be not presented during the live event.  Be sure to save the date and come #LearnWithUnisonEDU!

Registration is open now. 

Learn more about UnisonEDU.

logo for unisonedu conference