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The NC DTL Home Base Team is thrilled to announce its newest team member, Corey McNeill. Starting Oct. 4, Corey will serve as the Product Manager for the Home Base Learning Management System - Canvas.
Corey currently serves as the Lead Teacher of Instructional Technology for Rowan-Salisbury Schools. While in RSS, he has also served as an instructional technology facilitator. Before working in Rowan-Salisbury, he was a high school science teacher in Cabarrus County. Corey’s passion in education entails working with our educators to provide high-quality education to our students through Ed Tech tools, sound instructional design, and reliable infrastructure. Corey is currently attending Western Carolina University, where he is working towards his doctorate in Educational Leadership.
Please help us welcome Corey McNeill to the NC DTL Home Base Team!
NCWiseOwl: FAQs, Parent and Student Toolkit Sections
An expanded FAQs is available in the NCWiseOwl Toolkit. The FAQs include general info, resource features and copyright. As a reminder, the toolkit now includes parent and student sections offering tutorials and accessibility info.
If you have additional questions or need support, contact Cynthia Sartain, cynthia.sartain@dpi.nc.gov.
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FALL RECONNECT
We’re excited to announce that our fall Media and Technology Directors’ ReConnect meeting will be held virtually on October 28, from 1-4 p.m.
If you are a district level or charter library media or technology director, we hope you will join us in this gathering where NCDPI DTL and guest speakers will be sharing information, providing Q&A opportunities, and offering participant-driven unconference sessions. Please help us prepare for this event by completing this survey. If you have questions, please contact Kathy Parker (kathy.parker@dpi.nc.gov) or Cynthia Sartain (cynthia.sartain@dpi.nc.gov). Looking forward to “seeing” you online!
https://ncdpi.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_beZxRX2ytnBUtnw
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INTERNET SAFETY FOR STUDENTS
School Leaders,
As students spend more and more time online, it is essential that we remind them of the dangers of inappropriate online activity, including viewing explicit adult content. This type of online content is prevalent, and it is essential that we educate students on its dangers and how to avoid them.
According to The Third Talk, an organization whose mission is to initiate conversations between parents and their children about avoiding exposure to explicit adult material online, the proliferation of this content virtually assures every young person in middle and high school will feel its impact, whether they personally view it or not.
Explicit adult content can have a negative physical effect on young developing brains. It can lead to depression, aggression, loneliness, and despair, as well as unrealistic relationship expectations, intimate partner violence, and even assault. Young people can also begin to normalize the actions they view online, facilitating potential child exploitation by adults and others.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force indicated that the number of cyber tips they received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has recently doubled. Online threats are growing and they are not going to go away, so it is essential that young people have the information and tools to deal with them.
Karen Fairley, Executive Director of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Center for Safer Schools, stresses the need to raise awareness with students of the potentially dangerous situations that they may encounter online, their role in protecting themselves and their friends, and the importance of reaching out to trusted adults for assistance and guidance.
To help raise awareness of this important issue, we encourage you to watch the Internet Safety for Children video and share it with your middle and high school students.
*This video was produced in collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Center for Safer Schools, the State Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and The Third Talk.
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COSN Trusted Learning Environment
The Digital Teaching and Learning Department has partnered with COSN to provide PSUs with support as they work to obtain the COSN Trusted Learning Environment Seal. The Program requires school systems to have implemented high standards for student data privacy protections around five core practice areas: Leadership, Business, Data Security, Professional Development and Classroom. School systems that meet the Program requirements will earn the TLE Seal, signifying their commitment to student data privacy to their community.
The supports that will be offered through this opportunity include:
- Free Application for the TLE Seal
- Participation in a collaborative statewide cohort of PSUs who are all working to earn the TLE Seal
- Resources and collaboration with COSN through a workshop dedicated to supporting those going through this process
- Roadmap for applying for the TLE Seal
- Customized feedback and benchmarking report
Those who participate will need:
- Up to 2 people to represent their PSU in the COSN TLE workshop
- A team within their PSU who will work on the items needed to earn the certification
- Time to dedicate to this application
We have a limit of 10 PSUs for this opportunity. If your PSU is interested, please fill out this questionnaire by 9/27/21. If you have any questions, please email Dr. Ashley McBride at ashley.mcbride@dpi.nc.gov.
COSN Certified Educational Technology Leader Course
As part of the North Carolina Digital Learning Initiative, NCDPI is partnering with the North Carolina Consortium of School Networking (NC COSN) to provide a 2-day immersion course to prepare North Carolina’s Digital Teaching and Learning Leaders for the Certified Education Technology Leaders (CETL) Exam.
The CETL is the first-ever aspirational certification for education technology leaders. It is based on a body of knowledge defining the skill areas critical to today’s education technology leaders: leadership and vision; understanding the educational environment; and managing technology and support resources. Specifically, the CETL is a rigorous, two-part exam that identifies those who have mastered the framework skills and knowledge needed to bring 21st century skills to schools. To sit for this exam, candidates must have a minimum of a Bachelor's degree plus four (4) years of education technology experience. Education technology experience is defined as demonstrable experience in the three overarching skill areas of the Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO:
- Leadership and Vision
- Understanding the Educational Environment
- Managing Technology and Support Resources
The exam will be delivered at NCTIES. The 2-day immersion course will be held on Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11 at Crossroads 2, Wake County Public School System. Through funding from the NC Digital Learning Initiative, NCDPI will be able to provide this course free of charge for the participants. This course would normally cost $655 dollars per person. For the school year 2021-2022, we can accept up to 40 new participants. Any person taking the course must also sign up and pay for the exam at NCTIES. The cost for the exam at NCTIES will be:
- Member Exam Fee - $299
- Non-Member Exam Fee - $499
- Retake Fee, Each Session - $200
Registration will be first-come, first-serve, up to 40 participants with only 1 opening per district. If less than 15 people sign up for the course, the course will not be offered. To sign up for this opportunity, please fill out this survey.
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Ashley McBride, ashley.mcbride@dpi.nc.gov, 931-619-7941.
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Digital Teaching and Learning, in partnership with Alexander County Schools and the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, is offering Create Your Own NC VR Adventure, Oct 11 - 14; a course for educators interested in empowering their students to create and construct knowledge using technology and virtual reality using a few simple tools many of us carry in our pockets every day. The Create Your Own NC VR Adventure Course puts the power of virtual reality into the hands of educators and students and connects it to literacy, science, social studies, world language, math and more. Learn how to create virtual reality projects to experience our state, local and national parks as well as historical sites.
For more information and to register visit the NCCAT website: https://www.nccat.org/events/15904-create-your-own-ncvr-adventure-cullowhee
SAVE WEEK
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Center for Safety Schools declared next week, September 20 - 24, 2021, as SAVE Week at schools across the state. The intent of SAVE
Week is to bring attention to school safety and Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Clubs, which are student-led organizations that encourage young people to take charge of keeping their friends, schools, and communities safe.
Please see the attached memo to learn more about how your school can get involved in SAVE Week and how SAVE Clubs in North Carolina reinforce school safety.
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GLOBAL EDUCATION IN A NEW WORLD
With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the field of education across the globe, K-12 educators will meet several peers teaching in other countries and discuss with a UNC faculty member the social and emotional impact of the pandemic. Professional learning hours offered. Register today and join us on Oct. 21, 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. https://worldview.unc.edu/programs/global-education-in-a-new-world/
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NCEES Webinars 2021-2022
NCEES Webinars are held most Tuesdays from 4-5 PM. Please click on the Titles to Register. A certificate to turn into your PSU for approval of .1 CEU will be provided to participants that complete feedback at the end of the live session. For descriptions and links to past recorded webinars, please navigate to NCEES Webinars 2021-2022.
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