May+2017

The VDOE is focusing on several projects at this time: • The 2017-2022 Technology Plan for Virginia is in the process of being written by a group which of 24 educators from around the state representing many professions and professional organizations. The Profile of a Virginia Graduate is our vision. The draft should be ready by August 1 for statewide review. • Computer Science Standards of Learning are being developed and vetted by several teams of teachers from around the state. In conjunction with this, VDOE is finding ways to provide a variety of professional development opportunities for teachers interested in teaching in this area, K-12. • GoOpenVA continues to gain steam as a movement towards creating a statewide effort to support the use and development of open-education resources, within our partnership with eMediaVA. We have 3 groups of 6 teachers developing an OER set of resources for Virginia Studies, World History I and Algebra I. These will be available at the end of summer. These are not being called textbooks and probably won’t cover full curriculum at this point, but will be developed continuously. Besides matching SOL, resources will be checked for re-use permissions and accessibility (latter is now an important part of everything we do—see []). • Revision of Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel (TSIPs) is going well. VSTE is leading this project. • Responses of the Technology Usage Survey have been sent to each Technology Director for their review, and correction if needed. The work of summarizing the results will start in May.

A few highlights from recent technology director updates (sent monthly):

Website Accessibility Resources and Tools for School Divisions []
 * Supt’s Memos you should know about: **

High School Program Innovation Planning Grant Request for Proposals – Fiscal Year 2018 []

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 * 1) GoOpen Regional Summit

Amendments to the 2016-2018 Biennial Budget Adopted by the 2017 General Assembly []

Northern Virginia Summit featuring Google for Education, August 19-20, 2017 []
 * Professional Development Opportunities from Around the State: **

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 * 1) GoOpen Regional Summit, Chesterfield, August 1, 2017 (great for teams especially!)

The Digital Learning Conference, Sept. 27-28, 2017, Hampton Roads Convention Center []

VSTE 2017, December 3-5, 2017, Hotel Roanoke [] (Call for Proposals now open)

National School Boards Association Names “20 to Watch” Education Technology Leaders - See more at: [|https://www.nsba.org/newsroom/press-releases/national-school-boards-association-names-%E2%80%9C20-watch%E2%80%9D-education-technology-0#sthash.rrEdpPr4.dpuf]
 * National Recognitions of Virginia Educators: **

PBS Announces Educators Selected For The 2017 Digital Innovators (Congrats Joe Beasley of Goochland!) []

Amid digital transition, districts must prioritize accessibility []
 * Links to resources: **
 * Planning: **

A Guidebook for Success: Strategies for Implementing Personalized Learning in Rural Schools []

Evidence for ESSA: Proven Programs/Successful Students (Math and Reading programs only) []

Just Announced: Free Future Ready Schools Institutes(blog post) []

The EdSurge Guide to Becoming a Future Ready Leader []

6 Ways to Avoid Those Social Media Landmines (blog post) []
 * Security and Safety: **

Android beware: State-backed Pegasus spyware is found using phones to eavesdrop and grab data []

How To Lock Up Your Digital Life In Less Than An Hour []

Are Your Printers Safe from Hackers? []

Account Security: Explained (Commoncraft video) []

Schools Become Tempting Targets in Cyberwar []

States Act on New Legal Requirements to Address Student Data Privacy Concerns []


 * Management and Leadership: **

Ed Tech Data: The Numbers on Broadband, Wi-Fi and Fiber []
 * Trends: **

The Complete Guide To Twitter Hashtags For Education []

The Apollo School: What 21st Century Learning Looks Like []

Virtual Reality Goes Beyond Field Trips: Simulation Challenge Looks To Prepare Students For The Modern Workforce []

Apple’s Cheap Ipad Is Tailor-Made For Education [|http://mashable.com/2017/03/22/can-apple-win-education-war-with-ipads/#tlqijkMremq2]
 * Technology: **

Firefox 52 Brings Desktop Apps To The Web But Could Break Your Google Hangouts []

New-Google Classroom is Now Open to All Students and Teachers []

Parents, Your Phone Use Is Annoying Your Teens []
 * Digital Citizenship: **

Copyright a Little Fuzzy? []

The Educator’s Guide To Copyright, Fair Use, And Creative Commons []

Virginia's new 'cyber range' offers safe space for students to hone hacking skills []

Safe and Secure Online from (ISC)-squared: [] [] (look for new Garfield episodes!)

Commonsense Media’s Toolkit for News and Media Literacy []

Hot-Button Topics, Civil Conversations: Fostering Productive Discussions On Contentious Topics []

To Keep Teens Safe Online, They Need To Learn To Manage Risk []

Using Primary Sources to Drive Class Discussion []
 * Pedagogy: **

Project-Based Learning and Authentic Learning Plus Ten Valuable PBL Resource Links []

Teens: Are Their Brains to Blame? []

Author Interview: 'The Perfect Assessment System' []

School Librarians: [Un]Quiet Leaders of Digital Change []

10 Ideas to Ensure That Project Based Learning is Grounded in Process, Understanding, and 21st Century Skills []

Inquiry-Based Learning: The Power of Asking the Right Questions []

The Need for a High-Quality PBL Model []

Setting, Tension, Explanation, Metaphor: A Storytelling Approach for Early STEM Learning []

Loopy Makes It Easy to Create Animated Simulations [|http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2017/04/loopy-makes-it-easy-to-create-animated.html#.WP4DlPnyvIU]
 * Tools: **

An Excellent Google Docs Add-on to Search and Insert Free Images in Your Documents []

Virtual Reality Goes Beyond Field Trips: Simulation Challenge Looks To Prepare Students For The Modern Workforce []

‘Photo Archives Are Sleeping Beauties.’ Pharos Is Their Prince. []

Khan Academy’s PSAT and SAT practice []

Codevirginia Offers Teacher Training []
 * Computer Science/Coding: **

A Different Approach to Teaching Kids and Teens to Code [|https://medium.com/@alishah.novin/a-different-approach-to-teaching-kids-and-teens-to-code-43b7192644c9#.arx1d14u8]

CS Unplugged (teaching computer science without a computer) []

CS Field Guide (for HS) []

One and All: Strategies to Protect Students, Reject Bullying and Build Communities Where Everyone Thrives []

Changing Mindsets Over Learning Coding (Blog Post) []

How Maker Mindsets Can Be An Easy Fit For Rural Schools []
 * Maker Movement: **

Teaching Middle Schoolers to Patent Their Creations [] (US Patent And Trademarks Office KIDS; [])

4 Digital Tools That Help Students Practice Integrity []
 * Social/Emotional Learning and Technology: **

Listening > Robotics []

VR filmmaking projects offer potential for powerful lessons in empathy []

Use of Open Educational Resources in an Era of Common Standards: A Case Study on the Use of EngageNY []
 * OER: **

Open Education Resources and the Student Experience (blog post) []

10 Math Tutorial YouTube Channels Not Named Khan Academy []
 * How-to’s and Lists: **

An Education Technology Co-Ordinator's Spring-Cleaning Checklist []

A Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy For Evaluating Digital Tasks []

25 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias and Identity With Students []

7 Educational Technology Concepts Every Teacher Should Know About []

The Complete Guide To Twitter Hashtags For Education []

10 TED Talks for Educators in 2017 ‘ []

Toolkit for Digitally-Literate Teachers []

A March Madness Bracket That’s Fun For Science Class []
 * Curriculum Resources: **

Virtual Dissection Table Makes Advanced Anatomy Practice Accessible to K-12 Students []

STEM Water Monitoring Challenge []

STEM Explore []

Building STEAM Skills with Hands-on Learning []

An Interesting Infographic Featuring 20 of the Best YouTube Channels for Math Teachers (Math) []

MissionUS: An Interactive Way to Learn History (Social Sciences) []

MyShakespeare (English) []

Guide to Next Gen Standards (Science) []

Interactive Simulations for Math and Science (Math/Science) []