2024VSTE Annual Conference

Are you seeking innovative ways to foster cross-curricular connections and collaboration in your classrooms? This session aims to introduce and share the Kid Wind Challenge as an effective teaching tool, seamlessly aligning with educational standards and competencies. We will venture into reviewing how all VDOE standards and CTE competencies are integrated into a comprehensive crosswalk for K-12 learning. We will also explore how to harness the power of this energy challenge to create engaging, hands-on learning opportunities for students. The goal is to inspire teachers to overcome the fear of investing additional planning time in creating cross-curricular connections. With the help of a proven project like the Kid Wind Challenge, teachers can enhance their teaching toolkit, offering exciting ways to refresh current learning methods.

How many ways are there to tell a story? And how many ways are there for learners to demonstrate their knowledge? Learning is about discovering and organizing information, so let?s add tools and options to share with our teachers! From notecatchers to interactive projects, we?ll look at how infographics create opportunities for classroom innovation, and understanding infographics also builds students? digital literacy! Analog and digital tools will both be explored.

Join us for an engaging and hands-on workshop designed for educators seeking innovative ways to support English Language Learners (ELLs) in the classroom. In this workshop, we will explore how ChatGPT can be utilized to enhance the learning experience of ELL students. Participants will learn to: Personalize Learning: Discover how ChatGPT can be used to create customized reading passages, vocabulary lists, and comprehension questions tailored to the unique needs of ELL students. Facilitate Conversation Practice: Utilize ChatGPT to simulate real-life conversations, helping students practice speaking and listening skills in a safe and supportive environment. Enhance Writing Skills: Explore methods to guide students in writing practice, providing instant feedback and suggestions for improvement. Support Content Learning: Integrate ChatGPT into various subject areas to help ELL students access and comprehend complex content. Promote Engagement: Implement interactive storytelling and games created with ChatGPT to make learning fun and engaging for students of all ages. This workshop is ideal for teachers, language specialists, and educational support staff who are dedicated to improving the language proficiency and overall academic success of their ELL students. Empower your ELL students by harnessing the power of ChatGPT to create a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. Don?t miss this opportunity to revolutionize your teaching approach and make a lasting impact on your students' language development journey.

How can we leverage the power of the multimodal tools of BookCreator to enhance reflective learning across all content areas in the elementary classroom? Come to this session to learn how to get started journaling with BookCreator, as well as how to maximize the use of the tools to personalize the experience for all students.

In a time where technology and innovation anchor educational strategies, it is important to equip our students with the skills to confidently navigate the digital world. This session presents a comprehensive three-step approach to developing resumes and digital portfolios that stand out to employers and colleges. We will use educational technology tools such as Magic School and Adobe Portfolio, coupled with innovative, budget-friendly photography techniques, to prepare juniors and seniors for the competitive world ahead.

Get students excited about READING! Roll with us along the journey to see how Innovation on Wheels benefitted both a rural and urban district by taking literacy to the streets. From a summer program delivering books and meals to a fulltime program working year-round we will highlight the strategies addressing both the challenges and successes. Rolling through the rural streets of Nottoway County(Nottoway Book-A-Way) and city streets of Richmond(Literacy "Lit" Limo) provided much needed resources to families and is especially important now with the implementation of the Virginia Literacy Act. Hop on board and drop an anchor on the Lit Limo for an exciting ride!

Are you preparing your young students for the future? How often do you give them the skills and for the future? Our young learners can collaborate, even with digital tools, if given the proper scaffolds. Discover ways to empower collaboration in your classroom using simple and powerful tech tools and best practices as you embark on a collaboration journey in your classroom.

Learn to create "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories with Book Creator. Join a tech integrator and 4th-grade teacher as they share tips, templates, and Canva integration ideas for this engaging classroom project.

In this session, we?ll explore our strategies and best practices through our journey towards building and maintaining our positive coaching relationship as instructional coach and instructional technology coach. By fostering trust, communication, and collaboration, we build a culture of continuous improvement. This session addresses the ISTE Coaching Standard 4.3.a Cultivate Coaching Relationships - Establish trusting and respectful coaching relationships that encourage educators to explore new instructional strategies.

What if students didn't just consume knowledge, but actively created enduring learning resources to support their peers and future classes? This presentation explores how authentic assessment projects enable precisely that. Through examples like study guides, podcasts, videos, games and more, attendees will see how giving students choice in demonstrating mastery unlocks creativity and engagement. But the impact extends far beyond the individual student experience. When these authentic projects are curated and shared, they become part of a continually expanding library of crowdsourced, student-created learning materials for each course. Rather than disposable assignments, student work transforms into self-perpetuating repositories that benefit cohort after cohort. Participants will gain strategies for implementing this transformative model where learners aren't just consumers but creators. By positioning students as knowledge architects, educators cultivate learner autonomy while building robust interdisciplinary resources. Attend this session to revolutionize assessment while harnessing the power of learners as content developers.

Turn the tides of the learning environment. Make your environment student-centered! Join me for a look at small shifts you can make today to integrate more technology and utilize AI for planning purposes. These small shifts put students back behind the wheel and allow them to take ownership of their learning.; Turn the tides of the learning environment. Make your environment student-centered! Join me for a look at small shifts you can make today to integrate more technology and utilize AI for planning purposes. These small shifts put students back behind the wheel and allow them to take ownership of their learning.

This session will highlight success stories from a classroom partnership between the instructional technology coach and the classroom support specialist in a 4th grade classroom. The collaboration illustrates students thriving in challenging situations such as national competition entries.

By now, school administrators have heard all about how AI is changing teachers? lives. Does the same potential exist for those in administrative roles? Join us for AN ADMIN?S GUIDE TO AI, an enlightening and engaging session on how artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize time consuming tasks of school administrators. In this presentation, we will provide a broad overview of AI and its potential to streamline administrative workloads, allowing for more efficient and effective management. We?ll cover several different platforms that can give you a little time back in your day, and save you a whole lot of time!

This presentation provides a synthesis of emerging trends, technologies, and strategies for designing, developing, and implementing curricular and instructional goals to optimize learning for multilingual students in K-12 education, particularly in STEM subjects. Attendees will learn about emerging technological tools and approaches that have the potential to inform their teaching practices and instructional strategies.