2024VSTE Annual Conference: Full Schedule

Note: In-person attendees will receive login access starting Monday, November 4, 2024, allowing each to create personalized schedules. Until then, you’re welcome to explore the available sessions without logging in.

9:45am EST

Charting New Waters: Navigating FigJam for Innovative Teaching

Sunday December 8, 2024 9:45am - 10:45am EST

Feeling adrift without Jamboard? Set sail with FigJam! Join our interactive session to explore dynamic features that enhance teaching and create engaging student experiences. Embark on your FigJam adventure today!

Speakers

Nichole Kincheloe

Sunday December 8, 2024 9:45am - 10:45am EST
5C

General Session

11:00am EST

Safe Harbor in Rough Seas: Coaching New Teachers to Success

Sunday December 8, 2024 11:00am - 12:00pm EST

In the face of growing teacher shortages, divisions are hiring teachers with degrees but no educational training or experience. How can we attract and retain highly qualified applicants while supporting professionals who need strategies in lesson planning, classroom management, building relationships and community, curriculum, and more? Learn how our intentional, differentiated support system works and how you can adapt it to your school.

Speakers

Carol Marcolini

Alexandria Adams

Sunday December 8, 2024 11:00am - 12:00pm EST
5C

General Session

2:15pm EST

EdTech Secrets Revealed: From Chaos to Calm-Unleashing the Power of Effective Classroom Managements

Sunday December 8, 2024 2:15pm - 3:15pm EST

Join us for an engaging and insightful session where we reveal the secrets to transforming your classroom from chaos to calm. Discover time-tested, research-based strategies and techniques that have been proven to enhance student focus, drastically reduce problem behavior, and increase valuable instruction time (that you can use right away). In this jam-packed session, you will learn how to: ? Improve student focus ? Drastically reduce problem behavior ? Increase instruction time

Speakers

Robin Krupansky

Sunday December 8, 2024 2:15pm - 3:15pm EST
5C

General Session

3:30pm EST

Increasing Student Engagement with Interactive Ed Tech

Sunday December 8, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm EST

Student engagement is a vital ingredient of classroom learning and academic excellence. Yet, this is also the area where many educators struggle, especially when it comes to choosing the right EdTech tool(s) for your classroom. During this session, we?ll explore strategies and ideas to better engage your students along with specific EdTech examples & tools to try. Choose from a list of sites and apps including AI tools, gamification sites, eMediaVA, and more! Take your lessons to the next level this school year with interactive [and free] EdTech tools.

Speakers

Janie Everett

Lindsey Horner

Sunday December 8, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm EST
5C

General Session

4:45pm EST

Navigating the Seas of EdTech

Sunday December 8, 2024 4:45pm - 5:45pm EST

Join us to explore EdTech integration challenges and innovative solutions. Anchored in collaboration, this session includes interactive planning to help you overcome obstacles and sail toward success.

Speakers

Nichole Kincheloe

Stacy Sammons

Sunday December 8, 2024 4:45pm - 5:45pm EST
5C

General Session

9:45am EST

Empowering Creative Communicators with Digital Publishing in the Elementary Classroom

Monday December 9, 2024 9:45am - 10:45am EST

Embrace the world of digital creations! This session will guide teachers in strategies to empower students as they share their learning through written, visual, and audio formats. Using tools such as Adobe Express, Book Creator, Seesaw, Google Slides, and WeVideo, teachers can promote student choice and voice while illuminating creative expression through digital publishing. Attendees will leave this session with multiple Idea Sparks for next-day implementation.

Speakers

Tamara Letter

Monday December 9, 2024 9:45am - 10:45am EST
5C

General Session

11:00am EST

Smart Teaching: Reclaim Your Time with Generative AI and Google

Monday December 9, 2024 11:00am - 12:00pm EST

Explore ways to collaborate, use generative AI, and Google to plan for the year so that you can spend more time

Speakers

Atleacia Gibson

James Gibson

Monday December 9, 2024 11:00am - 12:00pm EST
5C

General Session

1:00pm EST

Self-Paced Learning In Elementary

Monday December 9, 2024 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST

Come hear about one team?s journey to developing self-paced learning units in an upper elementary classroom. Explore various strategies for increasing independent learning, balancing teacher intervention, and incorporating student choice.

Speakers

Jennifer Wolfenbarger

Bethany Alley

Monday December 9, 2024 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
5C

General Session

2:15pm EST

Weigh the Anchor! Charting New Horizons: Gamifying Education with AI's Compass

Monday December 9, 2024 2:15pm - 3:15pm EST

Ahoy, fellow innovators! As the tides of technology surge, AI is transforming our digital shores faster than you can say 'binary beacon'. Join me on a quest to unlock the treasure trove of possibilities that AI unveils daily. In this session, we'll navigate the seas of education, marrying the power of AI with the thrill of gamification to steer student engagement to new horizons. Discover how to splice games seamlessly into your classroom rigging, bolstered by the strategic winds of AI. If you're ready to chart a course towards using games in your classroom, powered by AI's guiding compass, then weigh anchor with us in this session tailored just for you.

Speakers

Adam Vedomske

Monday December 9, 2024 2:15pm - 3:15pm EST
5C

General Session

3:30pm EST

60 Tools in 60 Minutes: Charting Your Course to Classroom Innovation!

Monday December 9, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm EST

In this fast-paced session, we?ll take you on a voyage through 60 highly rated and vetted tech tools that will allow you to engage, inspire, and revolutionize your classroom. We will discuss procedures and best practices for seamless integration. Don?t miss this chance to explore 60 innovative tools in 60 minutes - a digital adventure you won?t want to miss!

Speakers

Devon Stevens

Chris Shedd

Monday December 9, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm EST
5C

General Session

8:30am EST

Helping Students Understand the AI Anchors- Bias, Data, and Ethics

Tuesday December 10, 2024 8:30am - 9:30am EST

Students are inundated with access to AI tools. We know they are using all of the tools, but are they thinking about the impact these tools. This session will go over ways to teach students about what is happening inside of the AI tools and how to get students to think about the tools they choose to use. The focus will be on bias, data, and ethics. Teachers will experience the tools (all free) that will open up a conversation with their students.

Speakers

Susan Jinks

Tuesday December 10, 2024 8:30am - 9:30am EST
5C

General Session

9:45am EST

Building Tomorrow's Tech Leaders: Integrating CS Pathways with Real-World Experiences

Tuesday December 10, 2024 9:45am - 10:45am EST

Join us for an engaging session on how Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) is paving the way for the next generation of technology leaders through computer science pathways. In alignment with our One LCPS 2027 Strategic Plan, we are committed to preparing students to be knowledgeable critical thinkers, communicators, collaborators, creators, and contributors. This session will delve into the strategic development and implementation of our computer science curriculum that seamlessly integrates with our instructional framework, ensuring students are equipped with the necessary skills for future technical careers. Join us and discover how to empower students and build a supportive, innovative, and equitable learning environment that nurtures the tech leaders of tomorrow.

Speakers

Angie Fraser

Kirsten O'Grady

Tuesday December 10, 2024 9:45am - 10:45am EST
5C

General Session

11:00am EST

Anchor Your New Teachers

Tuesday December 10, 2024 11:00am - 12:00pm EST

All school divisions are experiencing teacher shortages and we need to ?Anchor? new teachers and help them hone in on best practices, routines, procedures and expectations for classroom success. In this session learn how to coach and retain new teachers using classroom management techniques, technology integration and much more!

Speakers

Nichole Ward

Tuesday December 10, 2024 11:00am - 12:00pm EST
5C

General Session

1:00pm EST

AI Made Easy: Novice to Ninja

Tuesday December 10, 2024 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST

Are you ready to add some AI magic to your teaching toolkit? Join us to discover how simple it is to get started with ChatGPT, Gemini, MagicSchoolAI, SchoolAI, and Curipod, and how these tools can revolutionize your teaching. Learn practical tips and tricks to automate lesson planning, grading, and student feedback, saving you valuable hours each day. This session features real-world examples and interactive activities, showcasing how these AI tools can enhance student engagement and personalize learning. Walk away with actionable insights to transform your classroom and maximize your time!

Speakers

Michael Wesely

Instructional Tech Specialist, Kempsville Elementary School

I am an Instructional Technology Specialist at Kempsville Elementary in Virginia Beach, VA and love being a technology innovator. It is such an exciting time to be an educator with all the different ways you can engage your students learning. I love sharing and seeing the amazing... Read More →

Beth Smith

Instructional Tech Specialist, Woodstock Elementary School

My passion lies in leveraging AI to streamline teacher tasks, integrating technology to create engaging learning experiences for students, and fostering a love for coding and robotics. My diverse background as a classroom teacher and a Gifted Resource Teacher enriches my current role... Read More →

Tuesday December 10, 2024 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
5C

General Session