VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

VE PLN

VE PLN, Monday, February 6, 2017: Survive the Summer

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The VE PLN will meet Monday, February 6, 2017, 8 PM, at VSTE Place, our Minecraft server, to discuss running  survival world professional development experience this summer. Visitors from the Minecraft MOOC hosted by the Electronic Village Online  will be coming by Monday night to give us advice and tell us about their experiences.
We know many teachers and ITRTs are interested in exploring Minecraft in the classroom. Come to this meeting and let us know how this professional development could best serve you.
For server information and more go to the flyer here https://goo.gl/fT2U95
We will use Discord for voice to communicate. Download it ahead of time if you don't have it and set up an account. It's free. The link to join VSTE VE PLN Minecraft Monday is https://discord.gg/hXxSBHB

VE PLN in Minecraft, November 21, 2016, 8 PM

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VSTE Virtual Environments PLN will meet in Minecraft on November 21, 2016, at 8 PM. We have a server on Beastnode. All you need is to get a regular Minecraft account and join our multiuser server at 69.175.17.26:25565. Send Kim Harrison (k4sons@gmail.com) with your Minecraft user name and she will whitelist you. Please don't want until the last minute.

Let's decorate the server for the holidays. Bring an idea for holiday pixel art.

We are using the 1.10.2 version.

We get on discord for voice chat simultaneously. Download it on your computer or mobile device. We can talk about the conference, what we are doing with students in Minecraft, what the new Minecraft Education Edition is like, or whatever you are interested in. We will post the URL to connect in Minecraft.

Let's build community! All educators are welcome.

See you Monday, November 21st at 8 PM<

VE PLN Upcoming Events

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The VSTE Virtual Environments PLN continues its tradition of Monday night professional development with two upcoming events: 

Monday, November 7, 2016, 8 PM:
Book Study: Insurrection, Keith Reeves

We will meet on VSTE Island to discuss section 1 of Keith David Reeves' book, Insurrection: A Teacher Revolution in Defense of Children. This proves to be a lively discussion. Reeves is chair of the board of directors. Get your copy and start reading NOW but feel free to attend even if you haven't read the book! Learn more about the book and the author here.

Monday, November 14, 2016, 7:45 PM:
Swing Dancing

We will meet a little early on VSTE Island and plan to be at Carlyle's Swing Dance Studio by 8 PM (5 PM SLT) for some great 40's music and swing dancing. The animations are great! Carlyle has put together several levels of swing dance class that teach you about many styles enjoyed through the years. Sounds fun.

If you don't have a Second Life account, get one, it's free, at http://secondlife.com/. 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.

VE PLN Upcoming Events

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The VSTE Virtual Environments PLN continues its tradition of Monday night professional development with two upcoming events: 

Monday, October 24, 2016, 8 PM:
Dinosaurs of Virginia, by Bill Schmachtenberg ( Dae Miami sl)

Yes, teachers, we did have Dinosaurs in Virginia! At this presentation, Bill Schmachtenberg will discuss the latest data that suggests that there were many dinosaurs in Virginia, and there were many different types including large long necked sauropod, armored dinosaurs,  and nasty carnivores.

Monday, October 31, 2016, 8 PM:
VSTE Halloween tour of SL Haunted Houses

Organized by Bill Schmachtenberg (Dae Miami sl). Log into second life and get all the virtual candy you want, take a ride in a pumpkin car, and tour cool Haunted Houses.

If you don't have a Second Life account, get one, it's free, at http://secondlife.com/. 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.

VE PLN: Introduction to Twine, October 10, 2016

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Introduction to Twine
Sponsored by the Virtual Environments PLN (VE PLN)
Monday, October 10, 2016, 8 PM EST
VSTE Island in Second Life

Learn more about the work of our VE PLN

 

Join us October 10, at 8 EST, on VSTE Island in Second Life*, as VSTE Vice-Chair/Facilitator Bluebarker Lowtide presents his summer long exploration and usage of Interactive Fiction (IF) with easy-to-use "soft-coding" programs: Twine, SugarCube, and free publishing through philome.la.

We will be taking a quick look at the most current research and stats of this nation's K-12 report regarding reading and writing.  Then, we'll move to technology tools that can support the research findings.

Tools like Twine can help teachers offer grade level customization, reading level differentiation, and unique critical thinking challenges to engage students' creatively with hopes of improving retention and increasing an individual's skill of reading and reading comprehension. Twine uses an easy set of coding commands to create a working IF (also known as choose-your-own-adventure stories) that open paths based upon the decisions of the reader and several useful text tools such as a help box or hover box to aid readers who are struggling or learning new vocabulary. It can be as indepth as you make it.

SugarCube is a export module that allows customization of the interface with the addition of picture files, expressive google fonts, page layouts and border options.

The website http://www.philome.la/ is free-to-use to upload and host your IF creations in a public space. These can be accessed anywhere from the internet so no additional programs or plugins will be necessary allowing it to be completely done within the browser. At the end, members will be exposed to the first prototype of a "Harry-Potter"-esque IF that will be featured at the Virginia Children's Book Festival the following weekend. Enjoy the IF and provide comments or critiques to help improve the final version

*Need help getting started in Second Life? Contact the team through the Google Plus Community to get support. We LOVE newbies!