VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Equity

May Webinars

During May, the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee hosted two webinars.

In the first, Christopher Bugaj, Karen Janowski, Mike Marotta, and Beth Poss, authors of the book "Inclusive Learning 365: Edtech Strategies for Every Day of the Year", discuss the wide range of strategies teachers can use to help empower ALL students to take charge of their own learning.

In the second webinar, titled "Teaching Social Justice that Inspires Future Leaders", Charlotte Morris discusses how to use storytelling to help students express their ideas and understanding of social justice. You can view Charlotte's previous webinar here: https://youtu.be/t-wge3cJGJg

Hosted by Nicci Dowd, co-chair of the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and member of the VSTE Board of Directors.

VSTE Spring Book Discussion

To close out this unique school year, VSTE is looking forward to better times in the fall by reading an inspiring book. And we invite you to join us.

book cover: closing the gapThe book is “Closing the Gap: Digital Equity Strategies for the K-12 Classroom” by Regina Schaffer, Nicol R. Howard, and our own Sarah Thomas.

This is the second title by these authors in an ISTE book series designed to help teachers address the challenges of teaching in the digital age, providing positive examples and recommendations for achieving digital equity in their classroom communities.

We will be discussing four chapters from the book in the form of a Twitter slow chat, beginning the week of June 1. We will discuss one chapter each week of June and will conclude with an optional live Zoom session on June 29th. See the complete schedule in this graphic:
book chat schedule
Participants who engage during all four weeks of the discussion and join us for the Zoom session may earn recertification points, subject to approval by the principal or program manager.

You can purchase a digital version or paperback version of the book from Amazon. ISTE members may buy the paperback edition at a special price.

Please plan to join us on Twitter for this unique professional development opportunity, a great way to close out the school year and begin planning for a successful fall.

Webinar: Dr. Penni Sweetenburg-Lee

In the April 2021 edition of the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Webinar, Dr. Penni Sweetenburg-Lee, Director of Training & Alumni Development Programs for the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, discusses the organization's work and the services they provide to the people of Virginia.

The webinar is hosted by Dr. Nicci Dowd.

VSTE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: How a vision became a reality

In 2019, Karen Richardson, VSTE’s Executive Director, asked the Board to investigate ways that the organization help our members educate and advocate for diversity in education.  Through her leadership, Dr. Richardson pulled together a team of individuals who shared that same passion and formed the Inclusion Taskforce, which eventually became VSTE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Through the work of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, VSTE is building a collection of resources here on our website, as well as developing a mentoring program, which is now in its 3rd year.

This program connects educators with Instructional Technology leaders from various parts of the Commonwealth to help them develop their own leadership skills.

We are also building a library of targeted professional development activities which currently includes a series of monthly webinars and professional development coaching activities from UnisonEdu

So, how does a vision become a reality?  It takes leadership and dedicated individuals committed to being agents of change rather than defenders of the status quo!

Written by Nicci Dowd. Nicci is a special education teacher for Prince William County Schools. She is also a member of the VSTE Board of Directors and Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Webinar: Share Your Story, Get that Job

In the second of two March 2021 editions of the VSTE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Webinar, Katie Fielding asks some relevant questions: has the past year made you think about changing schools, changing roles, or moving into educational leadership? Do you remember making a portfolio in your education program that involved a lot of page protectors and slipping in pieces of evidence? Or maybe you haven’t given your digital portfolio an update in a while.

Watch as Katie offers guidance on creating a portfolio strong both visually and content wise that will allow you to “Share Your Story, Get that Job”.

The webinar is hosted by Charles Randolph.