VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

VSTE News

Upcoming Events of Interest 2020

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Lots of events of interest to VSTE members...

 

Learnerpalooza South
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
New College Institute, Martinsville, Virginia
Learn More: https://vste.org/learnrpalooza-south-2020/

TechSplash 2020
Monday, July 13, 2020
SWVA Higher Education Center, Abingdon, Virginia
https://www.uvawise.edu/cte/techsplash/

Tech Splash 2020 will showcase exemplary examples of technology integration in the K12 classroom as well as focus attention on new and emerging technologies. This is a fun and interactive day filled with great hands-on learning opportunities, collaboration, and FUN! The Keynote for this event is author and creator of Hello Ruby, Linda Liukas.  Get those flip-flops ready and register today! 

Presentation proposal deadline: April 15, 2020
(Free registration and the coveted TechSplash T-shirt for presenters!)

Techstravaganza 2020
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
https://sites.google.com/lcsedu.net/techstravaganza20/home

Free for educators
Call for proposals open now through May

Clarke Innovation Conference
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Clarke County, Virginia
https://bit.ly/clarkeinnovation

A regional conference with a keynote speaker, 45 concurrent sessions, and more! Session proposals due May 1, 2020. 

ISTE 2020
Anaheim, California
November 30 - December 1, 2020
 

VSTE2020: Annual Technology in Education Conference December 6 - 8, 2020
Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia 
This premier education conference features keynotes, spotlights and breakouts as well as a full exhibit hall of the latest technology innovations. http://www.vsteconference.org

Celebrate Digital Learning Day 2020

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logo for eventVSTE is pleased to partner with the Virginia Department of Education and the Alliance for Excellent Education to sponsor several events for Digital Learning Day 2020. This year, the day will be held February 27, 2020.

VSTE and VDOE will be focusing on the #GoOpenVA OER initiative and portal that opened at the beginning of the year. For Digital Learning Day 2020, the VDOE and VSTE will highlight the #GoOpenVA open educational resources platform recently launched on January 24 with the following activities:

Graphic with details for Digital Learning Day

Check back for more information and keep an eye on the VSTE newsletter. Don't get the newsletter? It's part of the free VSTE membership. Learn more.

* When you click one of the links for a Zoom meeting, you will be asked for permission to open the Zoom application. If the software is not already installed on your computer, tablet, or phone, you will be asked for permission to download and install the free Zoom app.

Big Book Deal, February 1, 2020

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Big Deal Media

 

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 Game Design Program, Digital Logic Games, Assistive Technology & More......

Nation’s Highest Honors for STEM Teaching

For more than 35 years, the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) have honored and inspired more than 5,000 teachers across the country. PAEMST are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K–12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teaching. Awardees receive a trip to Washington, DC; a $10,000 award; and opportunities to network with colleagues from across the nation.

 

Worldwide Campaign to Engage Girls in Engineering

On February 20, 2020, DiscoverE’s Girl Day, thousands of people—engineers, educators, and others—will act as role models, facilitate engineering activities, and educate girls about how engineers change the world. Key findings from DiscoverE’s report Despite the Odds found that this simple formula helps girls develop an interest in engineering, builds confidence in their problem-solving skills, and creates a STEM identity.

 

Digital Program to Develop Math Thinkers

DreamBox Learning Math is the only K–8 digital math program powered by students, built by and for educators, and independently proven to positively impact student achievement. DreamBox dynamically adapts and differentiates in real time based not only on students’ answers but also on how they solve problems. By continually supporting all students at their right level, DreamBox is a powerful partner in every classroom, school, and district.

Big Book Deal, February 1st, 2020

The Archives

 

 

Minecraft Monday: Connect & Learn, February 3, 2020, 8 PM

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Logo for EventJoin members of the VSTE Virtual Environments PLN on Monday, February 3, at 8 PM EST, when participants in the EVOMOOC (Electronic Village Online Massively Open Online Course) will visit VSTE Place, and Dakotah Redstone will provide them with a tour.

Electronic Village Online sponsors the MOOC, and this week, the participants are exploring the multi-player game Minecraft as a virtual world for learning. Many of participants are teachers, particularly language teachers, but some enjoy online gaming as a way of improving their English as a second language.  This MOOC is run by Vance Stevens, who is a member of the VSTE VE PLN.

Basic directions to join VSTE Place, VSTE’s Minecraft world:

You must have a Minecraft account from https://minecraft.net/en/ to join. There is a one time fee of $26.95 to download and install the software. You will need to be whitelisted to enter the VSTE server. Email Kim Harrison at K4sons@gmail.com from an educational email address with your real name and Minecraft account name.

Start the software and choose multiplayer and add a server: Name VSTE Place IP 69.175.17.26:25565

We use Discord to share voices in Minecraft. This is a voice and screen sharing application that will run on your computer or mobile device. Download and install it for free. Create an account. Many of us use the same name for our Discord account as our Minecraft account to keep things simple. Our channel is https://discord.gg/nDX4mZv It helps us to be able to play Minecraft in one screen and listen via Discord with earbuds or headphones.

#GoOpenVA Professional Development Resources

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Go Open VA headerThe Virginia Society for Technology in Education has been working closely with the Department of Education to support the #GoOpenVA initiative, a collaborative initiative that enables educational entities throughout Virginia to create, share, and access openly-licensed educational resources (OER, also known as open education resources).

As part of the opening of the #GoOpenVA platform, where educators across the Commonwealth can create, share and remix openly licensed resources, VSTE has begun development of a Workshop In a Box to help technology coaches and other trainers introduce the platform to their faculty. The first module, which provides an overview of the platform, is available now. Subsequent modu les focusing on more detailed use of the platform are in development and will be available this spring.

While the Workshop is designed to be used directly by divisions, VSTE may be able to provide support for face to face and online trainings. Please contact Karen Richardson (karen_richardson@vste.org) with requests or questions.