ISTE 2017 will be in San Antonio, June 25-28, 2017.
Submit your proposal for a session, poster or workshop here: https://conference.iste.org/2017/presenters/submit_proposal.php
TIME is wrong: Screens in schools are not a hoax
Check out http://blog.cue.org/screens-are-not-a-hoax/
CUE — the California affiliate of ISTE — has provided this rebuttal to the TIME.com editorial from Aug. 31, 2016, by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras titled “Screens in Schools are a $60 Billion Hoax.” Dr. Kardaras is a licensed social worker who runs a center for addicted teens in New York.
Another technology-savvy educator, Derrick Willard of Charlotte, NC, has also written a powerful commentary on this poorly researched editorial: http://www.pdsblogs.org/derrickwillardblog/2016/09/12/an-educators-response-the-screens-in-schools-time-editorial/
Please share these powerful rebuttals with other educators, parents and citizens. We want support for better pedagogy with technology and appropriate uses of technology in schools, libraries and homes! Yes, some technology has been misused. We’d all agree with that. But what is a more reasoned and appropriate viewpoint? Please share your thoughts and insights!
Making IT Happen Awardee 2016: Norma Jennings
Norma Jennings received the Making IT Happen award at FETC 2016.
Norma had been the FSTE Region 1 president in the Panhandle area and served as FSTE president in 2011. Currently she is FSTE treasurer.
Norma Jennings
Norma recently retired from a long career with Escambia County Public Schools, where she started as a teacher of students with disabilities. She became an IT teacher and joined the district staff as Instructional Technology Teacher, where she helped many teachers become more proficient with integrating technology into instruction. She also was a Florida Master Digital Educator and in that capacity delivered many PD sessions around the state in the early 2000s.
Norma has a lot of grandchildren and toward the end of her career, she would try out various technology tools and products with them to get honest feedback about them, which added greatly to her professional development sessions.
Thanks for all your great service to FSTE and to the teachers of Florida who are interested in using technology, Norma!
2016 TERRA Grants for Florida Schools & Educators: Deadline 9/30
The Technology Education Resource & Redesign Alliance, Inc. (TERRA, Inc.) is a non- profit organization whose mission is to mobilize the resources, knowledge, and capacity of individuals, foundations, business and industry in shaping and facilitating educational policy, practice, and research for increased achievement in a global environment.
TERRA, Inc. is accepting applications from schools for teacher mini-grants.
The TERRA, Inc. Mini-Grants are intended to support school-based projects in grades Pre-K through 12 that are consistent with the TERRA, Inc. mission, and have a positive impact on education by using technology. These grants should fund initiatives that utilize technology in a new and innovative way or sustainability initiatives seeking to encourage and support creative, local environmental education and stewardship activities.
Who can Apply? Florida public, charter, and private schools and educators
Amount awarded: A total of $50,000 will be made available for a limited number of awards ranging from $500 to $3,000. The TERRA, Inc. Grants Committee will review proposals and make funding recommendations.
TERRA, Inc. seeks applications for projects in which students participate in learning experiences that utilize technology in an innovative way or promotes environmental sustainability. Funding is intended to encourage and support creative activities that build on the unique assets and strengths of individual education communities.
Details:
- The deadline for the 2016-2017 school year is September 30, 2016.
- Financial assistance is limited to $3,000 per school, per year.
- Grantees will be required to provide ongoing feedback of grant activities, documentation of their project, including a financial report of how money was spent, at least 5 high-resolution digital photos (including publicity releases), and a short reporting form.
- The Teacher/Applicant listed is whom we will contact regarding your application.
- For complete details and the grant application, visit: http://www.terraonline.org
Get the newest Big Deal Book Newsletter – info for FSTE members
Be sure to go to the Members menu and click on the dropdown box for the Big Deal Book Newsletter.
Rather than email this to you twice a month, we provide a link on the FSTE website so you can get it yourself.
See the latest info on grants, contests, PD opportunities, web resources and more. You can also search the archives for information from previous newsletters.
Here’s the link to the latest edition: http://www.bigdealbook.com/newsletters/k-12_Technology/
Building Your Brand as an Educator
On Wednesday, 11/2, FSTE Board Member David Futch served as our Guest Moderator for #FLedChat.
Here is the link to the archive of the chat, where you can find great ideas and resources on the topic… and find awesome Florida educators to connect with, too!
FSTE provides a guest moderator for #FLedChat on the first Wednesday of each month at 8 PM ET. The next FSTE moderated chat will take place on Wednesday, December 7.
FSTE 2016 Award Applications
FSTE’s 2016 Award Applications will be released this month for:
FSTE Outstanding Technology-Using Educator
FSTE Outstanding EdTech Leader
Applications are due Nov. 30th, so check back soon!
Show Me The Money: FSTE talks grants with #FLedChat
During #FLedChat on September 7th, the Florida Society for Technology in Education moderated an engaging Twitter chat about grants for educators. Board members, Nancye Black and John Lien, facilitated a conversation about grant tips and resources and shared several grant opportunities for Florida’s educators.
If you missed the chat, you can access the archives here:
One of the grants they shared was from TERRA, Inc. This is the final week to apply for these grants… and FSTE would love to see Florida educators take advantage of this great opportunity! You can learn more about the TERRA grant by visiting that blog at http://fste.org/?p=1647.
Newsela.com provides content to 75% of US schools
Newsela, a 3-year-old startup that promotes literacy in K-12 education, gives teachers curated news articles to share with their students. With the help of intelligent software that adjusts article text to match a student’s reading level, teachers can use comprehension quizzes to get immediate feedback when kids are stumped. Newsela is currently in 75% of American K-12 schools….
Read more about it:
Free Edtech PD: ISTE’s Verizon Mobile Learning Academy
As an ISTE affiliate, the Florida Society for Technology in Education is excited to share information about this exciting, free ISTE course for your school or district. We hope that many Florida schools will be able to take advantage of this great opportunity!
ISTE is currently accepting applications for the October cohort of the Verizon Mobile Learning Academy.
The Verizon Mobile Learning Academy (VMLA) is a FREE 10 week course designed and offered by ISTE for school and district teams in the U.S. This course is perfect for schools and districts that:
- – Want to provide an excellent technology integration PD opportunity for some or all of their staff
- – Want to ensure that the technology they currently have is being used in innovative, student-centered ways, or
- – Would like support as they plan a new technology initiative.
In addition to being FREE, here are more great benefits of this program:
– Course materials and activities are online, allowing you to participate in world-class professional learning from your own school campus.
– ISTE provides an experienced Instructional Coach to work with your team and personalize the experience to address the specific questions and needs of your school and team members.
– Everyone who participates receives 2.5 Continuing Education Units (or 25 Continuing Education hours) from Johns Hopkins University.
– The team approach unites administrators, technology specialists/coaches, and educators in their vision for improving teaching and learning with technology.
To learn more, review the details and the course syllabus and/or watch a 10-minute live-cast on Tuesday, Sept 20, 1pm Pacific/4 pm Eastern. Have additional questions? You can also email ISTE’s Sherry Bosch at sbosch@iste.org.
October cohort registrations for your 5-10 person team are due September 21, 2016. Sign up today at http:www.iste.org/vmla.
Making IT Happen Awardees: John Lien and Susan Bearden, 2015
John Lien of Orange County Public Schools and Susan Bearden, Director of Information Technology at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne, were named the FSTE Making IT Happen award winners at FETC in 2015. Both have been leaders in educational technology in their local area and more broadly through various activities.
John is a past-president of FSTE and has been a board member as well as region president and other positions. He is Senior Administrator for Technology Professional Development in Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, and a former middle school science teacher. John has been active also in FCITL and CoSN, two other organizations that support technology in Florida schools. He participated in the ISTE advocacy training and visited offices of Florida representatives and senators in Washington, DC, a few years ago. He has presented workshops and sessions at ISTE, FETC, CoSN and other conferences as well as creating many professional development opportunities for teachers in central Florida. He is a Florida Master Digital Educator. He’s on Twitter @jrlien.
Susan has presented at a number of national conferences including ISTE, FETC, CoSN, and Miami Device. Bearden co-founded and moderates the #edtechchat and #digcit (Digital Citizenship) Twitter chats and participates regularly in the weekly EdTechChat Radio podcast for the BAM Radio Network. Inspired by her experiences with Twitter, she developed Tweechme, a mobile app specifically designed to teach educators how to build Personal Learning Networks on Twitter. Connect with her on Twitter @s_bearden and @Tweechmeapp or at www.susanmbearden.com.
Origami Owl - Kim Pearson 