In this episode we chat with instructional technologists at the 2023 VSTE conference and visit Ware Elementary in Staunton City, Virginia to meet a prospective teacher who started his career as a school custodian before being encouraged to become a teacher by his principal.

For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.
https://youtu.be/BORlh53iAXQ

Suffolk Public Schools is the host of an annual robotics challenge sponsored by Penn State and the US Department of Defense. ActiVAtED Learning Host Tom Landon traveled to Suffolk to talk to Christine Lafferty and John Littlefield to learn more.

For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.
https://youtu.be/tk31J8Xfmbk

Caren Daniels of Hugo Wilson Middle School in Chesapeake, VA is the 2023 Middle School Computer Science Teacher of the year. But her dedication to students goes well beyond the classroom, and she feels strongly that the most important skills kids can take away from her class and robotics club is the ability to solve problems by adapting and improvising.

For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.
https://youtu.be/wowzkApEMQg

Blacksburg Middle School librarian Kelly Passek is the current president of the Virginia Association of School Librarians, and has a reputation as a library innovator. She went viral during the pandemic for a pioneering partnership with Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet that helped her deliver books by drone to students during the summer, but among the faculty at BMS she's better known as a reliable instructional partner with a passion for teaching kids about media literacy. ActiVAtED Learning is produced by Blue Ridge PBS in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Society for Technology in Education.

For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.
https://youtu.be/6o6VxCuACI0

Logan Childress went from being a band teacher to setting up and running two Virtual Reality Labs for Bristol City Schools. He joined ActiVAtED Learning host Tom Landon in the lab at Virginia High School to talk about how he did it and what he's learned in the process.

For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.
https://youtu.be/3YQ6IByuUtU

When two newly-minted instructional technology resource teachers went to the administration in Washington County, Virginia with an idea for a mobile technology lab, they were met with a resounding YES, after which they had to figure out how to make it happen. Andrew Smith and Thomas Larimer join Activated Learning podcast host Tom Landon to share how they created a trailer that contains drones as well as virtual reality and robotics equipment. Now that trailer travels the mountain roads of their rural county to bring state of the art learning opportunities to teachers and students while maximizing the investment in teaching tools for the county.

For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.
https://youtu.be/aB2tzFICy4c

On this episode we travel to Henrico County to visit with Yvette Lee of J.R. Tucker High School. Mrs. Lee is a finalist for the 2023 Presidential Award for Math and Science Teaching sponsored by the White House and the National Science Foundation. She talked about the challenges of learning how to teach American students after leaving South Korea. We also caught up with Louisa County Technology Coach Nikki Wagoner at the 2023 VSTE Conference in Roanoke.

For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.
https://youtu.be/frp48O6GSlY

During the pandemic, Rocky Run Elementary School in Stafford County, Virginia formed a team of teachers, learning specialists and their instructional technology resource teacher to tackle the challenges of remote learning. Now, two years later the team is still meeting and sharing ways to improve instruction through blended learning and communication. Host Tom Landon was joined by three members of the team who shared what they've learned in hopes that others might benefit. Recorded at Blue Ridge PBS' podcast studio during the 2023 VSTE conference.

For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.
https://youtu.be/pKOrVGB6aM4