2024VSTE Annual Conference

The purpose of this project is to build collaborative partnerships around the integration of CT 2.0, 2024 Computer Science SOLs, development of immersive experiences and career readiness for K-12 educators in Region IV. With the success of this grant our ?how? is to foster the acceleration of the immersion of experiences through the CSTA program and internships with CodeNinja. This is a semester long program that will foster curriculum development for VDOE?s new Computer Science 2024 standards, research in building CT 2.0 experiences that integrate multiple content areas, and culminates in a one of a kind immersive experience that will allow Region IV teachers to integrating curriculum while exploring new concepts in CT, testing boundaries of robotic and AI equipment and collaborating with teachers in multiple grade level contents. The partnership will focus on the multiple layers of CT development, the build out of immersive experiences for educators and students and hopes to instill career readiness by incorporating opportunities in collaboration, internships and professional development for WPS and Region IV teachers, technology specialists, educational interns, students and the local communities. The intent is to create immersive experiences through play and collaboration around VA?s Standards of Learning (SOLs) that will enhance student engagement with integrated content as well as increasing SOL scoring in targeted content. Furthermore, a secondary intent is that either through new skill building or re-skilling, we will encourage collaboration of teachers throughout Region IV divisions that will include curriculum development, colab teaching and and development. Through this immersion we will develop student interests in computer science jobs and will provide eight internship opportunities within the school divisions.

The aim of this workshop is to introduce middle and high school teachers to the concept of Computational Thinking 2.0 (CT 2.0), highlighting the importance of integrating machine learning (ML) concepts into K-12 education. Teachers will learn about the evolving landscape of computational thinking, the impact of emerging technologies, and practical ways to incorporate these ideas into their classrooms.

Considering bringing robotics into your classroom? This is your year! Join this Robot Open House as we venture through the full school day, getting hands-on robotics and programming in every subject. Bring all of your biggest questions, from academic integration to budget concerns and everything in between. Leave this session with new confidence and hands-on experience with robotics. Plus a toolkit of concrete ideas and materials from real teachers around the world, ready to use in your classroom on day one and beyond!

In this session, teachers (and administrators) will navigate Canva and interact with the many features it provides. Everyday usage is the focus of this session - attendees will leave the session with a free, full-access educator account, and tips and tricks to use Canva immediately in various ways, from enhancing classroom experiences or professional development, to generating newsletters, to creating email signatures, and more!

For anyone who works with English learners in grades K-12 or beyond, this active session is for you. We?ll practice with translation and other AI-empowered applications, add sound files to Slides & Forms, optimize the speech to text feature, and more. You should walk away with resources in your toolbox to help support ELs in their classrooms with academic activities and also out in the world and work place.