New Director of Modernization, Barry Pace
We are excited to announce that Mr. Barry Pace is the new Director of Modernization!
Mr. Pace has over 25 years of experience as a NC educator where he has worked to leverage technology within all aspects of public education. He has formerly served as the Director of Technology in Buncombe and McDowell Counties, and in March 2021, Mr. Pace was recognized as the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction K-12 Technology Director of the Year.
As a founding member of the DPI School Connectivity Team, Mr. Pace implemented bringing fiber to all buildings, visual literacy to every classroom, wireless connectivity and laid the foundation for one-to-one computing environments. In 2014, he returned to implementing technology at the district level by spearheading an aggressive one-to-one Digital Learning Initiative as Buncombe County School's Director of Technology. Currently, all 23,000 students in Buncombe are and have been one-to-one since 2018, and students without Internet at home have access to a mobile hotspot.
Mr. Pace looks forward to stewarding a statewide effort to implement a cohesive, sustainable, securable, and flexible set of modernized business systems designed to best serve a diverse set of K-12 public schools. He will begin the role of Director of School Systems Modernization on February 1, 2022.
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Digital Learning Initiative Grants' Request for Proposals
We are pleased to announce that the window for submitting request for proposals (RFPs) for the 2022-2023 Digital Learning Initiative Grants opened on January 7, 2022. During the 2022-2023 school year, there will be two RFP applications. This will include the reformulated Digital Learning Impact Grant and a mini-grant which will include an opportunity for a Professional Learning Grant as well as an Emerging Technologies Grant.
The DLI Grant Initiatives were approved on January 5, 2022, by the North Carolina State Board of Education. 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. As specified in the Digital Learning Plan, this grant program is intended to support the development and dissemination of local innovative digital teaching and learning across North Carolina. Please refer to the RFP materials on the Digital Teaching and Learning website for detailed information about this grant opportunity and submission guidelines.
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Open Grant Opportunities
In an effort to support innovative ideas across the state, the Digital Teaching and Learning Department would like to share various grant opportunities that can help to fund your ideas.
Check out our living document at: https://bit.ly/GrantRFPs
If you would like support in writing a grant, you can reach out to Dr. Ashley McBride (ashley.mcbride@dpi.nc.gov) or your local Digital Teaching and Learning Regional Consultant.
Registration for NCBCE’s 3rd Annual Ready, Set, App! Competition is Open!
This mobile app building competition is open to all NC high schoolers. It serves as a great opportunity for students to develop skills in design thinking by having them find creative and innovative solutions to problems in their community. In addition to this, students will develop skills in coding, graphic design, presentation, teamwork, critical thinking, and so much more.
Visit www.ncbce.org/ready-set-app to sign up.
For more information about the competition and its requirements, please read below.
Ready, Set, App! Quick Start Guide:
What: North Carolina Business Committee for Education’s Ready, Set, App! challenge is a mobile app development competition for high school students sponsored by Lenovo™. Student groups are asked to develop a mobile app to solve a problem in their school or community.
Who: Ready, Set, App! is open to all NC high school students. Students will participate in groups of 3 - 5 along with a teacher advisor or faculty leader.
When: Registration is open now until January 28, 2022. Projects are due April 1, 2022.
How: Student groups will create a functioning mobile app using a mobile app development platform (e.g., MIT App Inventor) to solve a problem in their school or community. They will then create a two-part video that includes an app pitch with demo, and a group reflection. Those videos will then be voted on, and the top teams will go to the final pitch competition where they will pitch their apps to a live audience and panel of professionals for the chance to win prizes courtesy of Lenovo™.
To learn more and register, visit www.ncbce.org/ready-set-app.
For any questions, please reach out to Ciera Tucker, NCBCE Program Manager, at ciera.tucker@nc.gov.
Follow our social media to stay up to date on the competition!
NCBCE Facebook, NCBCE Instagram, and NCBCE Twitter
 Spring 2022 Meeting
Dear Technology Directors, Chief Technology Officers, and Library Media Directors,
We are excited to share that the NC Department of Public Instruction's Office of the CIO and Digital Teaching & Learning Division, in partnership with NCCoSN, NCTIES, and NCET, is hosting the annual State Technology Directors meeting, Spring 2022 Re|Connect, for district level and charter library media and technology directors on March 2, 2022, at the NCTIES conference.
This meeting is intended to provide directors with updates about statewide initiatives, collaboration with colleagues, and opportunities to learn from each other as we build professional learning networks. This year, the meeting will be in Room 302 of the Raleigh Convention Center from 1-4:30 p.m.
Please help us make this event relevant to your needs by completing this survey by Friday, January 21: https://forms.gle/QriKNDV4Kn2uxzJ57. Your input will help us to plan the roundtable topics and facilitators.
We look forward to reconnecting with each of you in March! If you have any questions, please contact your Regional DTL Consultant or kathy.parker@dpi.nc.gov.
Kind regards,
Vanessa Wrenn
NCVR Adventures on the Road
🚚 We’re taking the NCVR Adventures workshop to a region near you! 🚚
The DTL Innovative Learning Catalysts are hosting 1-day workshops that are *FREE* to NC K-12 educators, media coordinators, ITFs, guidance counselors… VR headsets are not required - we’ll use the tech tools you already have on hand.
Learn how to positively impact student learning by creating innovative, literacy-rich, project-based learning experiences that will engage students in content areas from science and social studies to math and CTE using tools educators likely have in their classrooms right now. This engaging instructional strategy is applicable to all classrooms and open to anyone eager to take learners on adventures. Explore more at bit.ly/ncvrhome.
Registration for ALL locations/dates will go live Monday, Jan 24.
Please be aware that social distancing protocols will be in place and 😷 face coverings will be required for attendees at all workshop locations regardless of local policies.
Refreshments and lunch will be provided.
Dates & Locations:
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Monday, February 14 - Johnston County Schools AG Glenn Building, 501 S 2nd St, Smithfield, NC
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Tuesday, March 8 - Kannapolis City Schools A.L. Brown HS, 415 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, Kannapolis, NC
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Thursday, March 10 - Onslow County Eastern NC Regional Skills Center, Burton Industrial Park, 261 NW Corridor Blvd, Jacksonville, NC
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Friday, March 25 - Edenton Chowan Public Schools {school campus TBD - either John A. Holmes High School or DF Walker Elementary School}
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Tuesday, March 29 - Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Education Building, 4801 Bethania Station Rd., Winston-Salem, NC
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Thursday, March 31 - Moore County Schools Pinecrest HS Media Center, 250 Voit Gilmore Ln, Southern Pines, NC
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Friday, April 1 - NCCAT Cullowhee Campus
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Monday, April 4 - Wilkes County School Board of Ed, 613 Cherry St., North Wilkesboro, NC
Sessions are from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Space is limited per location.
Participants may earn 0.7 Digital Learning Competency CEUs.
For questions, please contact: Mollee.Holloman@dpi.nc.gov or Stacy.Lovdahl@dpi.nc.gov.
Building Engineers in K-5 Classrooms
Want to learn more about how to utilize high-quality STEM practices in your elementary classrooms? Want to see actual K-5 students in action, putting their programming and engineering skills to the test in real-time challenges?
The event includes
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FREE Registration - made possible through a partnership between NCDPI and the SERVE Center, hosted by Moore County Schools
- 2 Day Conference:
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Day One = "traditional" conference setting with hands-on concurrent sessions.
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Day Two = Elementary Robotics/Engineering Showcase with 250+ K-5 students + hands-on opportunities for attendees.
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Inspiring Keynote directly from the field and relevant to your classroom - Dante Poole: Principal, Aberdeen Elementary School
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40+ hands-on concurrent sessions from teachers and other educators across North Carolina
- Ability to connect with like-minded educators across NC
Learn more here: k5engineers.org/conference
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NCSLMA Winter Tune-Up Mini Conference
Sharing a learning opportunity on behalf of NCSLMA…..
SLMCs are invited to register for NCSLMA's second Winter Tune-Up virtual mini-conference, which is coming February 14-18! Once again, the NCSLMA Board is excited to offer both pre-recorded and live sessions led by expert presenters FREE for NCSLMA members. Not a member? Need to renew your membership? Not a problem! Head to the NCSLMA web site and click Join at the top of the home page.
Following the Tune-Up week, each Regional Director will lead a live session to provide members an opportunity to meet and greet friends and share ideas, concerns, and suggestions. Certificates of Attendance for the Winter Tune-Up and regional sessions will be provided for attendees to submit to their LEAs for renewal credit.
Check out more details and register on the 2022 Winter Tune-Up web page. Questions? Email robinrhodes@ncslma.org.
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NCWiseOwl Britannica Professional Learning Opportunities
Britannica has launched a comprehensive site that includes webinars and other helpful resources for educators including classroom teachers, school library media, instructional tech facilitators and coaches. Some offerings require registration to gain access. The link to this resource can also be found on the Professional Learning page in the NCWO Toolkit.
Contact Cynthia Sartain with questions @ cynthia.sartain@dpi.nc.gov.
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New Social Studies Standards in Schoolnet
The updated 2021 Social Studies standards are now live in Schoolnet! For the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year, educators will be able to see both the old and the new Social Studies standards in Schoolnet.
NCDPI is working with its content partners to realign and update Social Studies content for the 2022-2023 school year. The existing content aligned to the old standards will remain available for the remainder of this school year.
In the meantime, PSUs may choose to begin realigning local content now at their discretion. The old standards and aligned content will be retired over the summer and will no longer be available in 2022-2023.
Please reach out to John Mairs if you have any questions.
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 NCEES Premium Library w/EdStar Analytics - Webinar
Please share with your PSU Professional Development leads.
Growth, Goals & Credits in NCEES at NCTIES 2022
Did you know NCEES will be at NCTIES 2022?
Presentation Title : Growth, Goals & Credits in NCEES
Presenter's Name: Cami Narron, Room: 302B
Date: 03/04/2022; Time: 9:00
Join Us In Raleigh! March 2 - 4, 2022 at the Raleigh Convention Center.
NCTIES is a membership association for educators and educator leaders engaged in advancing excellence in learning and teaching through the effective use of technology. We are the North Carolina ISTE affiliate.
NCTIES 2022 Registration is now Open!
https://conference.ncties.org/2022/registration/
#NCTIES22, #NCNCEES
NCEES Self-Paced Course Catalog List Updated
Looking for a listing of self-paced courses available in NCEES?
Click here for the NCEES LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES CATALOG updated 01/12/2022. View Courses, Credit Types/CEUS and more, then return to NCEES > Professional Development Tab to search and start a self-paced course.
NCEES February Webinars
Please click on the titles below to register for the upcoming NCEES Webinars which are held most Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m. A certificate to turn into your PSU for approval of .1 -.15 CEUs will be provided to participants that complete the feedback survey at the end of each live session.
- 2/1/2022
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District Admin Creating Ad-Hoc Reports (1.5 hr)
- Target Audience: Staff with NCEES District Administrator Admin type
- 1.5 Hour hands-on training webinar for creating Ad-Hoc Reports in NCEES. Create reports on people, evaluation and observation statuses, professional development and more. Learn how to publish reports to other District/Site Administrators to run. A training site will be available for staff that are not currently District Administrators.
- 2/15/2022
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Deep Dive into PD Playlists in NCEES (1.5 hr)
- Target Audience: Professional Development leads with access to NCEES. Staff assigned in NCEES as PD Playlist Moderators.
- Want an easy to view dashboard showing staff completion progress in your locally required courses that are in NCEES? It’s time to set up a PD playlist! Track MTSS, ECATS, Mentor courses and more! Even track your local NCEES PD Office courses A training site will be available for staff that are not currently a PD Playlist Moderator in NCEES.
- 2/22/2022
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Export a Plan to PDF reports for District Administrators in NCEES (1.5 hr)
- Target Audience: Staff with NCEES District Administrator Admin type.
- Learn how to generate individual PDFs by the school location of your staff in NCEES. Generate reports to use to prepare for BT audits. Run End of Year Summary Evaluation Ratings reports to save a digital copy of those records. 1.5 Hour hands-on training. A training site will be available for staff that are not currently District Administrators.
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Memo: PSU COVID Reporting
Education Leaders,
During the month of January 2022, the state has experienced a severe increase in COVID-19 cases which is impacting personnel and some schools’ ability to operate. As a result, many PSUs have been required to close classrooms, grade levels, or entire schools. This has also led to an increase in the required reporting and questions regarding the proper path for deciding how, when, and what to close.
This communique will provide a refresher to PSUs on how to decide and report incidents.
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