VDOE is nationally recognized for its leadership in the use of technology. Here are some of the VDOE-led technology initiatives that support instruction and accountability in the commonwealth’s public schools.
Online AssessmentVirginia is recognized as a national leader in the area of online testing. More than 2.5 million Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments are taken online annually.
|e-Learning Backpack – This initiative provides every ninth grade student attending a public school that is not fully accredited with a tablet computer, digital content and applications and access to content creation tools. While much of the focus of the initiative is on the supplemental grants provided through the Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA) for eligible schools, the Virginia e-Learning Backpack Initiative is actually a broader initiative intended to assist all schools in the transition to tablet computers and digital content.|
|Infinite Learning Lab is standards-based, interactive animated lessons featuring Garfield the Cat and friends. The episodes reinforce core curriculum concepts in mathematics, science, and English as well as life skills development on topics ranging from diversity to online safety.|
|Learning Without Boundaries initiative, VDOE is exploring the potential of wireless mobile technologies to support and enhance teaching and learning.|
|free download of iTunes is available for PC or Mac.|
|Share the Skies initiative is the nation’s first statewide program enabling students to study astronomy during the day using research-grade telescopes. Students use the Internet to access and control telescopes in Western Australia and study the night sky of the Southern Hemisphere.
Digital BooksVDOE currently offers three digital Multi-Touch iBook textbooks, Economics, Personal Finance and Say "Cheese" Moon!. Economics and Personal Finance contain more than 2,600 pages of content, graphic novel scenarios, interactive activities, embedded review questions and an interactive graphing tool that enables users to manipulate variables and analyze information in graph and chart form. Say “Cheese” Moon! not only teaches readers how to use Virginia’s Share the Skies telescope but also teaches imaging techniques that can be applied more broadly for users of other Web-based observatories.
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- An Analysis of the Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) Program in Virginia (PDF) – Information Brief, January 2007
- Children and the Internet (PDF) – Information Brief, June 2007
- Cyberbullying and School Policy (PDF) – Information Brief, August 2008
- Division-Based Development of Open Education Resources (PDF) – Information Brief, February 2013
- Implications of Digital Conversion for Virginia’s Schools (PDF) – Information Brief, January 2008
- Instructional Technology Resource Teachers – Guidelines for Teachers and Administrators (PDF) – 2008
- Preserving Paper and Electronic School Records (PDF) – Information Brief, November 2007
- Sexting: Implications for Schools (PDF) – Information Brief, October 2009
- Technology Planning (PDF) – Information Brief, November 2007
- Virginia SchoolSpeedTest Results (PDF) –Information Brief, February 2014