It is my pleasure to announce that Mr. Barry Pace has won the 2021-2022 Technology Director of the Year award. He was selected from eight regional candidates and was recognized at the Annual State Technology Directors Meeting.
Barry is a role model for all technology directors and embodies the vision and leadership of a distinguished leader. He has been a valuable support for the Division of Teaching and Learning.
Congratulations to Buncombe County Schools!.
|
BAND NC GRANTS
The Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) announces a new round of funding from BAND-NC, a grant program designed to increase the number of people with the internet in their homes, with the goal of making the state “first in digital inclusion.”
The effort, in partnership with the Broadband Infrastructure Office at the NC Department of Information Technology, and with principal support from the John M. Belk Endowment, is addressing the digital divide across NC by providing $5,000 mini-grants to communities who want to implement digital inclusion plans, begin a digital inclusion planning process, or who are looking to meet immediate digital needs. Learn more at this link: https://iei.ncsu.edu/band-nc/
|
Girls Who Game (GWG)
Girs Who Game is a Dell Technologies program in partnership with Microsoft and Intel that focuses on empowering female students in grades 4-8 in learner-driven experiences that broaden their knowledge, skills and dispositions within Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM)-related fields. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, less than 50% of high school girls know a woman in a STEM career. The North American program aims to support diversity and equity and strengthen the girl-centric ecosystem to increase interest and confidence in STEM-related fields.
As part of the program, GWG clubs in participating school districts across North America have been provided with loaner equipment – Dell hardware, such as laptops – to showcase and support gaming and studies in STEM among girls. Professional Learning, delivered by both Dell and Microsoft, will be provided to support all of the coaches and players within the Teams environment.
Customers wanting additional information about the 2021 Girls Who Game program, or seeking details on how to get involved in the 2021 program can explore the Girls Who Game website. You may also contact Dr. Kendall Latham at Kendall_Latham@Dell.com
|
 |
Celebrate Our School Libraries
April is School Library Month. Resources to help your district celebrate your library media programs are available from AASL: http://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/slm You can learn more about how school library media coordinators make students’ and teachers’ lives better here: http://kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/
Student-Led IT Help Desk
Program Purpose:
Technology advancements, socio-economic and demographic changes are shifting expectations and placing new demands on our society and our youth. Students will need to develop deeper content knowledge along with the ability to apply what they’ve learned and the skills they’ve acquired to new tasks and settings.
Student IT programs cultivate student interest in technology and supports employability, including a renewed focus on role-based learning paths and associated certifications, self-paced learning, and authentic learning opportunities.
Goals of the Program:
- Provide Students with Valuable Real-World Skills
- Provide Opportunities to Earn Certification and Credentials that Translate to Careers
- Meet the Support needs of the School District
Tech Team: NC Student Connect is a comprehensive framework and toolkit for North Carolina schools and districts to access resources for starting, implementing, and scaling a student technology support desk. Its development was realized through a collaboration with the North Carolina Business Committee on Education (NCBCE), an organization that fosters the critical connection between NC Employers and education systems through work-based learning, and school districts in NC.
To learn more about Tech Team in NC, please contact Caroline Sullivan at caroline.sullivan@nc.gov
|
Are you hosting any virtual professional learning at the end of the school year? The Innovative Learning Catalysts would be thrilled to support your event with personalized, relevant topics! Recent sessions hosted by ILCs include “Gimme a Break: Increasing On-Task Time By Taking Brain Breaks,” “Personalized Learning & Learning Paths” and “So you’re looking for more student engagement?” - email Stacy Lovdahl (West), Chris Beneck (Central) or Mollee Holloman (East) to coordinate!
|
.
 NCSLMA Conference
NCSLMA is offering second chance registration for its past conference. Since it was virtual, library media stakeholders have another opportunity to “attend” the sessions. Register by March 31. More information is available here: https://ncslma.wildapricot.org/event-3998560
|
We had a successful Digital Learning Day of streaming 11 educators and leaders who brought a wealth of knowledge and inspiration to our Twitter streams!
Check out the #NCDLDay to catch the broadcast recordings, or they are available on the ILC website, DL Day Event Page
|
|
 |
FEEDBACK NEEDED!
Thank you for attending the 2021 State Technology Directors meeting. If you did not have a chance to complete the feedback form, please do so.
Your input will be used to plan future meetings. Don’t forget, you have access to NCTIES and COSN sessions until April 1
|
.
The Digital Learning Collaborative is one of the leading conveners for hybrid and virtual learning. They have an annual conference that attracts researchers and practitioners in this space.
The conference is June 14-16 in Austin, Tx. and they have a fully virtual schedule as well. I think you all would learn a great deal from this group.
NC Virtual has a special discount code that you can use to register between now and March 26. This is for the virtual conference only. This discount price is $210 and our code is NCVPSonline21.
|
Did you know ?
NCEES has self-paced professional development about Social Emotional Learning? Navigate to Professional Development and search for these courses:
#18183 Creating a Professional Culture Based on Social and Emotional Learning
#10977 MTSS Module 2.4: Build a Behavior/Social-Emotional/Attendance Component to An Intervention System for School Teams V 1.19
#1141 Creating a Connected Culture Through Student Engagement & Empowerment: Self Paced
Learn more about NC SEL here: NC Social and Emotional Learning
and here: NC SEL Implementation
Did you know?
NCEES has Self-Paced PD on supporting students with disabilities! Navigate to "Professional Development" and search for these courses:
#16780 EC Process and ECATS Course 2: Initial Referral and Consent for Evaluation
#10753 MTSS Module 3.4 Assessing Readiness and Planning for Implementation
#16788 EC Process and ECATS Course 7: Disciplinary Change in Placement and Manifestation Determination
#845 MTSS Module 3.1: Readiness: System Requirements of Beliefs, Knowledge, Tools, and Skills for SLD Eligibility
#18205 North Carolina Extended Content Standards
#18167 Course 1: Foundations of Specially Designed Instruction within a Multi-Tiered System of Support
#3363 Universal Design for Learning 1: UDL in the Everyday Classroom.
Did You Miss NCEES March Webinars?
Also, Check out our NCEES YouTube Playlist!
March
- Providing Quality Feedback and the Summative Evaluation
- EOY for Teachers-Support Staff
- EOY for Principals
|
|
