ActiVAtED Learning

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...

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 reli...

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...

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 Co...

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...

Katie Fielding is a STEM Coach for Prince William County Schools, and Chris Bugaj is an author and Assistive Technologist in Loudon County, VA. Host Tom Landon sat down with them at the 2023 VSTE conference, where Katie shared her experience as a child with Cystic Fibrosis and how that led her to become a leader in assistive technology and inclusion. Chris shared his thoughts on how assistive tech...

Emily Burrell has been a math teacher for over two decades and currently teaches at South Lakes High School in Fairfax, Virginia. In addition to teaching advanced mathematics she loves working with students in her Algebra Functions and Data Analysis courses, where her practical approach helps students see the connections between what students learn in class and their every day lives. In addition,...

Dr. Lisa Coons served in multiple leadership roles in K-12 education before being appointed Virginia superintendent of public instruction. She most recently served as chief academic officer for the Tennessee Department of Education, where she led all birth to grade-12 academic programming, including K-12 teaching and learning in language arts, mathematics, science, and fine arts; early childhood e...

Dr. Catlin Tucker is a leading Blended Learning expert who has helped teachers all over the world to personalize instruction and shift to sustainable student-centered workflows. ActiVAtED Learning host Tom Landon sat down with Catlin at the 2023 VSTE Conference in Roanoke, Virginia where she gave the keynote address. She shares her thoughts on Blended and Universal Design for Learning and the impo...