VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

VSTE News

2018 Awards Open Now: Recognize Excellence with VSTE

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The Virginia Society for Technology in Education honors excellence in educational technology through four awards given at the annual conference in December. For 2018, the VSTE Awards committee has updated the awards program by creating a new award and changing the process to include more input from the nominees. Awards Committee chair, Terry Lowry, described the process in a recent blog post.

Nominations are being accepted for Outstanding Teacher, Leader and Coach of the Year and Innovative Educator of the Year.

The Outstanding Teacher, Leader and Coach of the Year awards recognize and honor one leader and one teacher who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership in implementing technology to improve education.

The Innovative Educator of the Year award recognizes innovative teaching practices.  Award recipients are selected from a pool of nominations submitted by VSTE members from around Virginia.

Nominations will remain open through early September. Nominees will have until early October to provide supporting evidence to the awards committee and decisions will be made by October 15, 2018. Award winners will be recognized during the opening general session at the annual conference. They are also provided with a complimentary conference registration and hotel accommodations for the annual conference. This year's conference will be held December 2 - 4, 2018, in Virginia Beach.

Turning Big Data Into Big Benefits For Students

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Ten Questions BrightBytes Can Help You Answer as You Turn Big Data into Big Benefits for Students

  1. How can we be sure that we offer the specific professional development teachers need?

“With BrightBytes data, we discovered that most of our districts needed to focus on digital citizenship skills. We created online modules to teach those skills, and made them available for free to every teacher.” —Teela Watson, Director of Instructional Services & Digital Learning, Texas Education Service Center Region 11 (ESC 11)

 

  1. Is our organization’s data and direction clear to all stakeholder groups?

“Our districts use BrightBytes data to show their school boards where they are with integration. It’s been critical to provide clear, communicable data to identify challenges.” Teela Watson, Director of Instructional Services & Digital Learning, Texas Education Service Center Region 11 (ESC 11)

  1. How can we take complex data and use it to make an immediate difference in a student’s life?

“With the Student Success module, we can identify a student at risk of dropping out and the specific issues immediately. This information helps determine the right interventions.” —Jeffrey Luks, Manager, Northeastern (NY) Regional Information Center (NERIC)

  1. What can data show us in terms of interventions for each student?

“The Intervention module helps schools look at inputs and outputs to determine which interventions have the most impact on students.”

—Jeffrey Luks, Manager, Northeastern (NY) Regional Information Center (NERIC)

  1. How can we identify students in need early and get them the necessary support?

“By analyzing data from multiple sources, the Student Success module provides easy-to-understand visualizations to help target specific students for support.”—Bryan Fairbrother, Educational Data Services Leader, Mohawk (NY) Regional Information Center

  1. Is there a way to understand student trajectory earlier?

“The data is meaningful, impactful, and clear, so we can see the big picture, identify students who need help, and take immediate action.” —Bryan Fairbrother, Educational Data Services Leader, Mohawk (NY) Regional Information Center

  1.  How can data help teachers learn to integrate technology in a way that meets students’ expectations?

“Teachers report using technology frequently, but students say otherwise. We have to provide the mindset and training to support a big shift. We started a book series and as a result, one teacher spent the summer rethinking lesson plans.” —Charlotte M. Golden, Director of Curriculum & Instruction/Educational Technologies, Carbon Lehigh (PA) Intermediate Unit #21

  1. Can data provide insight on the big picture of our initiatives?  

“Often, districts make decisions based on intuition. With the Technology & Learning module, we’ve been able to connect the dots to see how to achieve smaller initiatives. The data helps us learn how each initiative works together toward a common goal.” —Lisa Cala Ruud, Managing Coordinator - Instructional Services, Northeastern (NY) Regional Information Center (NERIC)

  1. How can we better determine and validate new initiatives?

“The data puts assumptions in check. There was a lot of resistance about blended learning from educators who assumed students didn’t have devices or Internet at home. After the BrightBytes survey, they discovered only a small percentage lacked access.”

—Lisa Cala Ruud, Managing Coordinator - Instructional Services, Northeastern (NY) Regional Information Center (NERIC)

  1. How can we better understand our district’s digital equity?

“The data serves as a jumping-off point for conversations. We found most students have devices at home, but many of them are shared. That data impacts the consistency for instruction at home. A teacher needs to be intentional about using digital assets at home.” —Doug Renfro, Executive Director of Learning Technology and Library Services, Metro Nashville (TN) Public Schools

Learn More about using data to support students at the Bright Bytes website: http://www.brightbytes.net/

VE PLN Builds Birdhouses in Second Life

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Let's build a bird house! Norma Underwood is going to lead us through the steps to make this cute little birdhouse Monday, April 23 at 5 PM SLT (8 PM EDT). You will get to practice many building skills that can help you with projects of your own! Please join us!

If you don't have a Second Life account get one, it's free. We recommend setting one up at the Rockcliffe University Consortium's Gateway here: https://urockcliffe.com/reg/second-life/ 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.

Learn More

Nicci Dowd

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Woman Smiling

Nicci Dowd
Special Education Teacher
Prince William County Public Schools

Educational Leadership Experience

I have served on school and county committees related advancing educational experiences for students with diverse learning needs. Most recently, I developed and currently serve as the chair for my school’s I’M Determined Committee. With this committee, I work alongside its members by connecting with key stakeholders while providing self-determination opportunities for students with disabilities. I also serve as an presenter for the Autism Society of Northern Virginia. A few years ago, I actively participated in the Virginia Department of Education Applied Studies Diploma pilot project. As a participant, I provided valuable information to VDOE in developing the Applied Studies Curriculum, curriculum resources and professional development. I have also served as an Advisory Board Member for the State of the Art Conference for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. In this capacity, I reviewed proposals and made recommendations for conference presenters.

Vision for VSTE

VSTE plays a key role in helping educators effectively infuse technology into their lessons. It is important for our students to be challenged, but students should also be engaged and invested in their education. I also believe it is important for educators to provide opportunities for students to engage in 21st century learning. I would like to see VSTE provide professional development opportunities for teachers (across the state) to learn more about innovative ways to integrate technology into the classroom. It is one thing to give a student an iPad. However, that iPad can mean so much more when a student is taught how to make real-world connections to the lessons in ways that makes sense to them. I believe technology is an avenue that can and should be used to make learning relevant and I believe VSTE provides that avenue.

Biographical Sketch

I have a Master’s degree in Special education, an Educational Specialist degree in K-12 School Leadership and I am currently working on my doctorate (expected date of graduation, 2019). My research focuses on school to work transition opportunities for marginalized groups (those with disabilities and minorities) and their families. I enjoy spending time with my family, Marvel movies and reruns of Frasier and Star Trek. I am also a huge fan of Star Wars.

Lynmara Colón

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Lynmara Colón
Principal
Prince William County Public Schools

Educational Leadership Experience

I have been in school leadership for the past 7 years. I am known for being intentional about creating magical moments for stakeholders, getting them excited to be in school every day. Under my leadership, students have gained access to 1:1 devices, coding classes, and STEM curriculum. I have been recognized as a NSBA 20 to watch for her innovative practices and creative approach to professional learning.

Vision for VSTE

I am eager to be a influence to schools leaders, sharing the importance of ongoing and robust professional learning, listen to teachers' feedback, and embracing failure when it comes to technology. I would also like to focus on being an advocate for students with special needs and the importance of providing them with equal access to technology.

Biographical Sketch

I am passionate about transforming education through digital learning and providing access to technology to all students. I also believe that every school should run like Disney, providing students with magical experiences every day. With a focus on customer service and engaging practices, I have created a culture at my school where students are eager to come back every day.