January-February+2012

The Virginia Department of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) and the Alliance for Excellent Education, is pleased to announce February 1 as the first Digital Learning Day. This event is part of a national campaign designed to celebrate innovative teaching and highlight practices that make learning more personalized and engaging for students; explore how digital learning can provide all students with the opportunities they deserve; and build the skills students need to succeed in college, career, and life. VSTE and the Department of Education will co-host a series of webinars that highlight the work of the recently announced regional educational technology leadership award winners.
 * __ Virginia Department of Education Update __**
 * __ Digital Learning Day __**

Click [|here] to view the superintendent’s memo announcing the collaboration.

To learn more about how to be a part of this event, sign up at [|http://www.digitallearningday.org].

The Virginia Department of Education, in collaboration with Virginia’s Training and Technical Assistance Centers (T/TAC), is pleased to announce the first ever virtual TechKnowledgy conference hosted on T/TAC Online. This Web-based conference is designed to bring educators over 30 virtual training sessions on innovative practices in assistive technology. The TechKnowledgy conference began Thursday, November 10, 2011, and will run throughout the entire school year. The conference can be located at the following link: @http://www.ttaconline.org/atsdp/.
 * __ 2011 Virtual TechKnowledgy Conference on Assistive Technology __**

A [|superintendent’s memo] was released on December 2, 2011. If you have any questions regarding the conference, please contact John Eisenberg via e-mail at john.eisenberg@doe.virginia.gov or by telephone at (804) 225-2711.

On December 15, 2011, Virginia received approval from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) of its waiver request of the Tydings Amendment for certain federal fiscal year 2009 grant funds authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This waiver has extended the time period for obligating the funds an additional year, from September 30, 2011 to September 30, 2012. A superintendent’s email was sent on Wednesday, December 21, 2011.
 * __ Revised Obligation Deadline for Certain Federal Fiscal Year 2009 USED Grant Programs __**

Governor Bob McDonnell [|announced] on January 4 the first Governor’s Challenge in Economics and Personal Finance to promote new economics and personal finance courses for high school students. In teams of four, high school students from around the Commonwealth are encouraged to participate in an online challenge anytime between March 7 and April 4. Students can participate in an economics division (Adams Smith for advanced classes, and David Ricardo for all others.) All student teams can also participate in a personal finance division. Eight regional winners in each of the three divisions will be recognized. They, and four other high scoring teams in each division, will be invited to participate in a live championship challenge held at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond on April 20, 2012. More details are available at [|www.vcee.org].
 * __ Governor McDonnell Announces Governor’s Challenge in Economics and Personal Finance __**


 * __ Economics and Personal Finance Course __**

The Virginia Department of Education in collaboration with Virginia 529 College Savings Plan and the Virginia Bankers Association Foundation has developed an Economics and Personal Finance course that is being made available to school divisions across the Commonwealth. Information for school technology personnel, including technical specifications and requirements for local deployment, will be provided during a webinar on Thursday, February 16, at 2 p.m. A second webinar scheduled for Thursday, February 23, at 11 a.m. will provide an overview of the course content and include information about professional development opportunities. School divisions may participate by clicking on the webinar link at [|www.doe.virginia.gov]. To view the superintendent’s memo announcing the course click [|here]. If you have additional questions, please contact Cheri Kelleher, program coordinator for Virtual Virginia, at (804) 786-9281 or via e-mail at cheri.kelleher@doe.virginia.gov.