Brian Whitson, originally from Western North Carolina, is excited to join DPI as a Digital Teaching and Learning Piedmont-Triad Consultant. Brian has worked with Rowan-Salisbury Schools for over 20 years as a Science/STEM teacher, Instructional Technology Facilitator, and a Design Thinking/ Challenged Based Learning instructor. His most recent position with Rowan-Salisbury Schools involved serving as an Instructional Design Coach at Jesse C. Carson High School.
He has also served as a Digital Learning Ambassador and presented at numerous conferences including NCTIES, NCSLMA, FETC, and ISTE. He currently serves on the board of directors for NCTIES and is a member of the North Carolina Digital Leaders Coaching Network (NCDLCN). He holds undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Science Education from Elon College and a graduate degree in Educational Media from Appalachian State University. Brian is married to Michelle, an elementary school teacher and has an incredible nine year old son, Malachi.
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Possible Grant Opportunity for Libraries
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Many NC school libraries have developed partnerships with other libraries in our communities such as public libraries, esp. during the pandemic. The State Library has announced SLNC Adapts grants (a result of American Rescue Plan Act funding). While school libraries are not eligible to apply for these grants, they are eligible to partner with qualifying libraries such as public, community college, etc. who may apply. This may be an opportunity for school libraries to collaborate with eligible libraries on mutually beneficial projects that would qualify for grant funding.
Please see details here: https://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/services-libraries/grants-libraries/slnc-adapts which includes a link to register for an information session on May 10, at 2:00 p.m.
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NCSLMA Conference 2021
The NC School Library Media Association call to present for its 2021 conference is now posted on the Events page of the NCSLMA website, and NCSLMA is accepting applications for concurrent sessions (45 minutes) and mini-workshops (90 minutes). The call to present closes on Friday, May 14.
Visit the Conference 2021 webpage for more information about this year's conference, and check back often for updates.
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Schoolnet Transcend Pilot: Spots Available!
In case you missed it, we are currently seeking additional participants for the Transcend pilot in the 2021-2022 school year. Transcend is a customizable and adaptive benchmarking platform within Schoolnet. PSU administrators select the standards to be covered for each of three benchmark administrations, and teachers receive rich reports after each administration showing student progress towards standards mastery. Each benchmark administration is cumulative, covering the standards of both the previous and current benchmarks.
If your PSU would like to learn more or participate, please reach out to john.mairs@dpi.nc.gov.
Schoolnet 3rd-9th Grade End-of-Year Math Sets Assessments
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We have re-released the Math Sets assessments in Schoolnet as PSUs enter the final stretch of the school year. These are the same Math Sets assessments we released at the beginning of the year with two key differences:
- The names are now consistent with the grade level standards assessed. At the beginning of the year, the names were incremented by one to allow PSUs to assess rising students — for example, the Grade 4 Math Sets at the beginning of the year were based on Grade 3 standards to allow rising 4th graders to show mastery of the 3rd grade standards. The Grade 4 Math Sets EOY are based on Grade 4 standards to allow current 4th graders to show mastery of the 4th grade standards.
- Two questions on the Grade 3 Math Sets have been replaced based on your feedback
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This table summarizes the additional assessments now available. These have been recommended to all PSUs at the district level, so a user with a district Leadership role will need to recommend or assign these tests before they're visible or usable by teachers. See this video walkthrough to recommend or assign a test from the district level. Please note that these assessments are not enabled for Canvas linking and must be administered in Schoolnet directly.
As always, please log a ServiceNow ticket if you encounter technical difficulties utilizing these assessments. You may also contact john.mairs@dpi.nc.gov if you have any questions about these assessments.
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New NCEES Professional Development Resources
NCDPI Home Base and NCVPS have newly updated Professional Development Resources as follows:
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NCDPI - Check out a new quick video and documents for educators searching and taking Professional Development in NCEES.
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NCVPS - Check out the new site for DPI PD courses managed by NCVPS which replaces the rt3nc.org site.
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The Tech Team is a program that provides a framework to build a student technology support desk in your school or district, providing students with the opportunity to earn valuable credentials through real-world IT experience and helping IT departments fix school devices.
Register at https://www.ncstudentconnect.com/events
Sessions throughout the day - 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Join us for one session or all!
Sessions will include:
- Branding and Marketing your Student Tech Desk
- Careers in Tech: Now and the Future
- Dell Certifications – DellTech Direct, Boomi, VMWare
- Industry Recognized Certifications for High Schoolers
- Microsoft Azure Labs
- Tech Team Spotlight (design and implementing curriculum in Halifax County)
- Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Roundtable
DLI Planning Grants Deadline for Proposals: April 30, 2021
The DLI Planning Grant deadline is April 30, 2021 at 5 p.m. We are targeting PSUs at a beginning stage of development looking to prioritizes NC Digital Learning Competencies and Digital Learning Standards for
Students. Specifically, through the use of micro-credentialing, coding, makerspaces, virtual reality/augmented reality, robotics, and personalized learning as defined by the 4 pillars.
These competitive grants are intended to support North Carolina PSUs as they address challenges, harness opportunities, and leverage resources for digital-age teaching, and learning.
During this round of Digital Learning Initiative Grants, there is one Request for Proposal application, Planning. Applications are due April 30, 2021. Please refer to the RFP materials on the Digital Teaching and Learning website for detailed information about this grant opportunity and submission guidelines.
Applications must be:
- Submitted by 5:00 P.M. on April 30, 2021
- Formatted as one single pdf document
- Named “DLI Planning Grant Application Your PSU Name” - Make sure the PDF Filename uses this naming structure.
- Submitted via Google Form at http://bit.ly/DLIUpload. Please note, this is case-sensitive.
If you have any questions, please email Lindsey.Sipe@dpi.nc.gov and/or Julie.Gurganus@dpi.nc.gov
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UNC World View Summer Program: Culture and Arts on a Global Stage
Musicians and poets, artists and dancers have played and written, painted and danced their way around the world through centuries - illuminating the time and the interplay of peoples and societies. In this program, Culture and the Arts on a Global Stage, UNC World View provides a professional development program for all K-12 and community college educators to explore examples of the ways different cultures use the arts to celebrate, reflect, document and heal their societies. The arts have a unique ability to open new dialogues and stimulate ideas which leads to a deeper understanding of our global connectivity.
UNC World View participants will be introduced to a variety of cultures and explore ways in which culture and the arts can be integrated across disciplines and grade levels. University professors and performing artists will share their expertise and their craft. Global education and area studies resources will be shared by representatives of UNC and Duke National Resource Centers. Join us this summer to gain new knowledge and resources to prepare students to engage in our interconnected and diverse world. 1.0 CEU / 10 PDCH offered. Scholarships available! Register today: go.unc.edu/WVJune
About World View:
World View is a public service program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, providing global education professional development since 1998. World View equips K-12 and community college educators with global knowledge, best practices and resources to prepare students to engage in our interconnected and diverse world.
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