E35 Virginia's Cyber Range

E35 Virginia's Cyber Range

Virginia Cyber Range is an incredible free resource for Virginia schools who want students to learn how to defend against cyber attacks without putting their school's network in danger from hacking, phishing, and ransomware. Dr. Shannon Beck shares how the program, based at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, offers a secure, web-based space that provides state of the art instruction, lesson plans, and an online community of learners. For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/iJgZMnH9Mso [https://youtu.be/iJgZMnH9Mso]

E34 Maximizing Technology for English Language Learners

Holly Sawyer at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake loves her job teaching English Language Learners, and she works hard to make sure that her students get the chance to learn the language of computer science while also learning English. For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. ttps://youtu.be/iqZFo2R2F2I [https://youtu.be/iqZFo2R2F2I]

E33 Meet Computer Science Educator of the Year Deb Crawford

In this episode we meet Dr. Deborah Crawford, the Virginia Department of Education's Computer Science Educator of the Year for 2025. Her work, with many other partners, has brought world class Data Science instruction to both teachers and students in grades K-12. For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/RHA2-mWKRwI [https://youtu.be/RHA2-mWKRwI]

E32 Classroom Humor: Tips from the Pros

Host Tom Landon sits down with two stand up comedians and educators who use humor to help teachers improve their practice AND get through the day smiling. Esteban Gast and Devin Siebold were both keynote speakers at the 2025 VSTE Conference and they willingly shared how "keeping it light" can improve classroom connections. For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/1FsrqGhgV_8 [https://youtu.be/1FsrqGhgV_8]

E31 VSTE Champions

On this episode of ActiVAtED Learning we meet the winners of the 2025 VSTE Awards for Coach of the Year, Leader of the Year, and VSTE Honors. Chad Huff is theInstructional Technology Specialist at Corporate Landing Elementary School, Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Jennifer Thomas is the Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Library Media Services for Portsmouth Public Schools, and is the 2025 VSTE Leader of the Year. Terry Lowry was awarded the VSTE Honors of the Society. She's been a beacon in Virginia’s educational technology landscape for decades. Beginning her career as a teacher and later serving as Director of Technology at Wakefield School, she has consistently demonstrated the vision and courage to transform teaching and learning through technology. For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/nUYMITsPMA8 [https://youtu.be/nUYMITsPMA8]