User Guide
VTcite Users Guide
This Users Guide documents the history of the VTcite project and provides instructions for how to use many of the most common features found at VTcite.
(NOTE To Users/Members -- (dated 3/3/2010) ... because the user interface to the VITA-Learn (previously VTcite) portal is currently under construction, this user's guide does not accurately reflect how the site works or is organized. However, many of the basic steps, such as creating a forum post, are pretty much the same. So, please read the user's guide with this caution in mind. Once the web site interface becomes established, we will edit this Users Guide to more accurately reflect the current organization and use of the site. Thank you for your patience. -- The Drupalers Team)
About the VTcite Project
 participants
Vermont CITE (Vermont Commons for Information Technology Educators) is a web-based professional learning community for Vermont educators. Its origin can be traced to a Title IID, Enhancing Education Through Technology grant sponsored by the Vermont State Department of Education in November 2005.
In response to this initiative, VITA-Learn, Vermont Institutes, and the University of Vermont joined together to propose the development of a community of technology leaders to:
VTcite provides support for a growing community of technology integration specialists, librarians, media specialists, teachers, and administrators who focus on technology integration as a vehicle to support student achievement improvements.
The goal of VTcite is to build a professional learning community of technology leaders and Vermont educators to lessen the sense of isolation that many technology specialists and teachers feel in the struggle to provide leadership and professional development in their local schools.
The portal (VTcite) is an open space where educators with similar interests meet and exchange ideas. VTcite is a tool that provides a shared repository for field-recommended resources, a searchable database, communication forums for innovations and collaboration, and a calendar of events for professional development opportunities. Any educator interested in participating in VTcite is welcome to self-register and join our community.
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First VTcite Cohort
First VTcite Cohort
The first cohort of VTcite participants were a group of 30 talented and dedicated educators who worked together to build resources and provide reflection about the effective use of technology in K-12 classrooms. We want to acknowledge and thank these exceptional people for their efforts in initiating the development of VTcite.
They are:
| Robin Bebo-Long | Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union |
| Ed Bianchi | Chittenden South Supervisory Union |
Sally Bisaccio
| Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union |
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| Teresa Caron | Orleans Essex North Supervisory Union |
| Alida Ciampa | Norwich School District/SAU 70 |
| Margaret Cintorino | Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union |
| Vinnie Covino | Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union |
| Lucie deLaBruere | Franklin Central Supervisory Union |
| Brucie Donahue |
Washington South Supervisory Union |
| John Downes | Essex Town School District |
| Joanne Finnegan | Chittenden East Supervisory Union |
| Kevin Grace | Addison Northeast Supervisory Union |
| Eric Hall | Washington West Supervisory Union |
| Dave Hansen | Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union |
| Cecelia Hunt | Addison Rutland Supervisory Union |
| Brenda Macdonald | Southwest Vermont Supersiory Union |
| Kay Marcelle | Washington West Supervisory Union |
| Ann Margaret McKillop | Rutland-Windsor Supervisory Union |
| John McSweeney | Washington Northeast Supervisory Union |
| John Minelli | Hartford School District |
| Susan Monmaney | Montpelier Public Schools |
| Jerry Piette | Orleans Central Supervisory Union |
| Robert Sargent | Orange East Supervisory Union |
| Christina Scheindel | Orange Southwest Supervisory Union |
| Amy Truchon | Burlington School District |
| Tommy Walz | Barre Supervisory Union |
| David Webb | Orange Windsor Supervisory Union |
| Steve Webster | South Burlington School District |
| David Wells | Washington Central Supervisory Union |
| Jane Wilde | Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union |
Photos (1)
VTcite Photo Gallery (1)
March 2006 Kick Off Meeting
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Photos (2)
Dynamic Landscapes May 2006
VTcite participants attended the Dynamic Landscapes conference sponsored by VITA-Learn in May 2006. The following movie depicts a group work session that followed the conference.
VTcite Phase II
Phase I of the “Statewide Technology Integration Grant” set out to establish a professional learning community that would allow participants to support each other and other Vermont educators. By creating the Vermont Commons for Information Technology Educators, Phase I provided a rich experience for thirty Vermont educators. It was clearly effective in increasing participants understanding of the critical connection between effective teaching practices and technology integration, in expanding each individual’s “human network” through the use of electronic communication tools, in creating and identify resources that would support this learning community as it strove to support Vermont educators in effective technology integration, and in expanding participants leadership skills as they investigated the critical role that leadership plays in successful technology integration. There is evidence from the Phase I participants commitment to the project, where thirty participants were initially involved and thirty participants were still involved in the end, that we can count on them for participation and leadership in Phase II.
However, this newly organized professional learning community is still in its infancy and needs leadership and structured support to continue and expand its mission of providing assistance to Vermont educators to appropriately integrate technology to impact student learning. Further, it must construct a self-sustaining capacity that allows it to flourish and expand in the future without the benefit of monetary incentives but rather built on the realization that we can make greater and faster progress by adopting the idea that the whole possesses much greater power to effect change than the sum of all its parts.
During Phase I of this grant it became very evident that electronic networking alone would not meet the needs of the participants. Again and again, they articulated the importance of face-to-face contact between participants. In fact, the more the participants connected in person the greater became their communication in using the VTCITE web portal. This Phase II proposal will address this critical issue of combining face-to-face meetings with on-line communications to more broadly support this endeavor.
Phase II of VTcite
The program will...
- Re-engage the original participants while giving them more direct ownership in the project.
- Use the experience and expertise of the original participants to move the project forward and recruit new educators into the project for the purpose of expanding the knowledge and resource base available.
- Promote the VTCITE site as a valuable networking and resource tool for all Vermont educators by making linkages and connections with other educational organizations and entities in a variety of ways.
- Make direct and meaningful links to the Riverdeep Learning Village and promote the use of this tool for all Vermont educators.
- Utilize the existing Vita-Learn regional structure, human resource, and network to promote expanded participation in the professional learning community through the use of regional meetings and to foster regional leadership around the VTCITE work.
- Develop an effective plan for sustainability
- Continue the technical and human interface development of the VTCITE portal
Re-engaging the Original Participants
In Phase II of the “Statewide Technology Integration Grant,” the investigation between effective teaching practices and successful technology integration must continue for the original participants. They must continue to expand their own ability to support effective technology integration, continually increase their leadership skills, continue to identify resources, and actively participate in the professional learning community. They will accomplish this by leading other educators in their VITA-Learn geographic regions of the state in a process of building their local communities and then impacting the VTCITE community at large. This process will allow past participants to lead new participants through learning and sharing experience somewhat similar to those they experienced in Phase I. This grant will support them by providing opportunities to increase their capacity in these areas through structured regional and on-line activities. This will continue by having them provide leadership to participants in the project. They and those they work with will continue to create and identify resources to support technology integration specialists as well as Vermont classroom teachers.
Vermont Grade Expectations and NCLBA Requirements
The linkage between Phase II and the Vermont Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities and requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) should be evident. The database of resources being built in VTCITE is directly linked to the Vermont Standards and are being referenced by a variety of criteria, including linkages to the Vermont Grade Expectations in Information Technology. In accordance with NCLBA expectations that all students be technologically literate by the end of eighth grade, this resource base categorizes and recommends technology-rich resources and activities that are both field tested and age-appropriate. By building the capacity of those who support technology integration in their schools, we support Vermont teachers in using technology to both improve student performance in all areas including the attainment of both basic technology 21st century literacy skills.
Professional Development Experiences
Led by one or more of the leaders of the Phase I grant, original participants will engage in a series of professional development activities dependent upon the role they wish to play. These will include...
- Offering an on-line learning experience similar to what they participated in during Phase I to new participants from their VITA-Learn regions and developing a regional project for new VTCITE participants that builds on the professional learning community.
- Become experienced users of the Riverdeep Learning Village and assist in promoting its use by Vermont educators.
- Planning for and leading regional face-to-face meetings
- Develop a program that allows them to promote and sustain on-line forums organized by state-wide participant interests.
- Develop a program that supports the addition, screening and dissemination of resources.
- Create a program that allows participation to build connections to all Vermont educators and establish linkages to other Vermont educational organizations in a variety of ways.
- Continue to develop the VTCITE functionality and interface.
Expand Active Participation
Phase II will involve new participants in this professional learning community and provide them with professional development experiences in the use of educational technology that will strengthen their capacity to support teachers in their schools, expand their “human support network,” and create/identify high quality resources. While expanding their human network through participating in this professional learning community, they will (learn how to) use electronic communication tools to collaborate between themselves and provide assistance for others. They will examine the role of leadership and seek to expand their own ability to provide appropriate leadership themselves while at the same time providing information and support for other levels of leadership (instructional leaders, teacher leaders, student leaders, etc.) in order that they may expand their vision and increase their capacity to support the use of technology for improved student performance.
The full proposal is attached below.
Community Projects
VTCITE Phase II Community Projects
Community Projects are one way to get more people involved in the Community. During Phase II of this building a professional learning community project we hope to bring up to 50 additional people into the VTCITE community through project participation.
If you are interested in participating in a project or just want to learn more about it, please contact the Project Facilitator.
Listed below is a brief description of some of the projects. Others are still under development and will be posted on the VTCITE web site when they are ready.
Learning in a Virtual Environment – VITA-Learn in Second Life
Facilitator: David Wells
Second Life is an engaging virtual environment that promotes learning and collaboration across geographic boundaries. Our group will establish a presence for VITA-Learn in Second Life where members can collaborate and learn both among themselves and with leading educators from across the globe.
Contact Information: dwells@ejhs.k12.vt.us
Number of Participants Needed: 5 additional ones welcome but no stipend.
Compilation of Professional Development Contacts to Support Technology
Integration Facilitator: Joanne Finnegan
Professional development is crucial for implementation and integration of technology in education. I propose to form a team to gather resources that other technology integration specialists have used/are using when they offer professional development in their schools and districts. Many of us tend to create what we need as we need it. If we have a central database of materials to choose from, including handbooks, tutorials, outlines for classes and workshops we have taught, reading materials we have used, and links to online resources, it would save us all time and effort as we prepare for our own in-house offerings. I also propose that we form a list of Vermont educators who are “experts” in one area of technology integration upon whom we could call for ideas, information and help.
Contact Information: Joanne.Finnegan@cesu.k12.vt.us
Number of Participants Needed: 5
Mapping Implementation of Tech GEs
Facilitator: Eric Hall
Our goal is to collect Vermont examples of integrated units and projects aligned with Tech GEs. Teachers who are just beginning to incorporate technology into their instruction need strong peer models and concrete local examples of successful and effective integration.
Contact Information: ehall@wdsdvt.org
Number of Participants Needed: 4
Professional Development to Go
Facilitator: Lucie deLaBruere
Mobile, flexible technology has increased our ability to participate in professional development where we participate from different locations and even at different times of the day.
This project is for the Teacher on the Go, who is looking for a way to distribute and receive professional development without the constraints of participating at the same time and from the same location as everyone else. We will learn to use I-Tunes, I-Pods or alternative mp3 players, and Web 2.0 tools to organize, distribute, and receive professional development. We will learn the tools and strategies, as well as develop a series of "playlist" around professional development topics that can be used by others who chose to offer professional development using these "PD To GO" strategie. Participants who don't already own an IPOD can apply their stipends towards the purchase of a a new I-Pod.
Contact Information: ldelabruere@gmail.com
Number of Participants Needed: 5
TANDBERG Video Systems Professional Development
Facilitator: Jerry Piette
The ORLEANS CENTRAL SUPERVISORY UNION (OCSU) become part of a USDA for Distance Learning Technology grant in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire. (documents detailing more specifics of the grant are available). It is my proposal to create a team of teachers from the various schools in this Supervisory Union to develop and implement a strategy plan that will best utilize this video system among teachers as well as members of the community.
Contact Information: jpiette@ocsu.org
Number of Participants: 3
GEOSS: Grade Expectations using Open Source Software
Facilitator: Bob Sargent
A group of teachers will work together to produce activities that address the Vermont Information Technology Grade Expectations (VITGE) using free and open source applications (FOSS). These might be pre-existing activities, like those made at the Milton school, that are adapted to open source applications, or brand new activities. The main idea behind the project is to develop a library of activities that support Grade Expectations using Open Source Software, GEOSS activities. The GEOSS activities would be posted as resources on VTCITE in the form of ISO CD images that could be downloaded and burned to make a project CD with everything a teacher would need in the way of support materials and computer applications to implement the activities on the CD. A project forum would be established for threaded discussions concerning the coordination and development of activities.
Contact Information: rsargent@wrvs.us
Number of Participants Needed: 5
Turning Data into Information
Tommy Walz twalzbsu@u61.net
Rob Stalling rstalbsu@u61.net
Click here for to download presentation given at Dynamic Landscapes, May 16, 2008
Core Expectations
VTcite II Core Expectations
The following core expectations must be considered an integral part of all Phase II work. As appropriate, these beliefs must be integrated into all program development. Professional development will be provided in these areas as deemed necessary by Core Team and Phase I leaders.
- Successful technology integration occurs when teachers use effective teaching practices. Activities must include professional development in this area.
- Teachers themselves must have/develop 21 Century Skills. Activities must include professional development in this area.
- Teachers must be knowledgeable and skilled in Media Literacy. Activities must include professional development in this area.
- A key to successful technology integration is to provide leadership and/or support for school leaders in all of the above areas. Activities must include professional development in this area.
- Riverdeep Learning Village is a powerful tool that will be available to all Vermont educators. VTCITE participants must be actively engaged in using the site by adding resources, and promoting effective use locally.
- A Learning Community in Vermont must “connect” both in-person and through electronic means. Projects & activities will be developed around the use of the VTCITE Forums to promote the core expectations. Participants will promote the development of this Learning Community through the use of VTCITE in their regions and local schools. Further, participants will commit to meeting at least 3 times a year in a face-to-face situation during professional development meetings developed and led by VTCITE core leadership team.
- Vermont has defined technology literacy through the Vermont Technology Grade Expectations. Projects and activities will promote & support effective and deeply embedded integration of the Grade Expectations into the content areas.
Phase II Cohort
VTcite Planning Team
| Ed Barry | Milton School District |
| Jon Bellum | University of Vermont |
| Peter Drescher | Drescher Educational Technology |
| Paul Irish | VITA-Learn and Burlington School District |
| Sandy Lathem | University of Vermont |
| Joyce Morris | University of Vermont |
Team Leaders
| Ed Bianchi | Chittenden South Supervisory Union |
Sally Bisaccio
| Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union |
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| Teresa Caron | Orleans Essex North Supervisory Union |
| Vinnie Covino | Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union |
| Lucie deLaBruere | Franklin Central Supervisory Union |
| Joanne Finnegan | Chittenden East Supervisory Union |
| Eric Hall | Washington West Supervisory Union |
Cecelia Hunt | Addison Rutland Supervisory Union |
| John Minelli | Hartford School District |
| Susan Monmaney | Montpelier Public Schools |
| Jerry Piette | Orleans Central Supervisory Union |
| Robert Sargent | Orange East Supervisory Union |
| Christina Scheindel | Orange Southwest Supervisory Union |
| Amy Truchon | Burlington School District |
| Tommy Walz | Barre Supervisory Union |
| David Webb | Orange Windsor Supervisory Union |
| Steve Webster | South Burlington School District |
| David Wells | Westford Elementary School |
| Jane Wilde | Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union |
Phase II Photos
VTcite strives to build a human network of Vermont educators through both face-to-face and virtual connections. The following are pictures of the many people involved in this work.
March 07 Meeting
March 2007 Meeting
Vermont Fest Meeting
Jim Moulton
Community Projects Group
Vermont Fest Meeting 2007
Phase II Photos - Dynamic Landscapes May 08
Dynamic Landscapes Meeting - May 16, 2008
 Ed Barry |
 Jerry Piette |
 Final Phase II Meeting |
 pd2go.wikispaces.com |
 Lucie delaBruere |
 Lauren and Hector |
| ... |  George Reynek |
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Phase II Photos - March 2008 Meeting
March 2008 Meeting
Capitol Plaza, Montpelier, VT
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee & Conversations
9:00 - 9:15 Introductions and Welcome
9:15 - 9:30 Introducing Peter Drescher
9:30 -- 11:00 Community Presentations (10 minutes each)
11:00- 11:15 Break
11:15- 11:45 Drupal Report - Jon and group
11:45 - 12:00 Users Guide - Sandy
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00-1:15 Forum - Sandy &Group
1:15-1:30 Resources - Joyce & Group
1:30- 1:45 Paperwork/Dynamic Landscapes - Paul
1:45- 2:45 Meet in Groups (future planning)
2:45- 3:15 VITA-Learn Regional Group Updates - Ed
3:15- 3:30 Closure
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Phase III - Creating 21st Century Classrooms: Connecting the DOTS
Creating 21st Century Classrooms: Connecting the Dots
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The third phase of the Title II D funding created a professional development program entitled Creating 21st Century Classrooms: Connecting the DOTS. This professional development program is made possible through a competitive application process sponsored by the Burlington School District.
The following institutes have been offered:
The DOTS III North and DOTS III South cohorts began work in January 2010. Professional development institutes will be held during the summer of 2010, with completion in mid-August. The Project Director for this VTcite/DOTS initiative is Ed Barry, of the Milton Town School District. Sandy Lathem (of Academic Research and Consulting Services and an adjunct professor at the University of Vermont) is co-facilitator of the program. Paul Irish of the Burlington School District oversees project management and finances.
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All of our work is supported by content area experts from the Vermont Department of Education (Peter Drescher, Arlyn Bruccoli, Sigrid Lumbra, Gail Hall, Lindy Johnson, Kathy Renfrew), and well-known Vermont consultants (Kathy Barwin, Sue Monmaney, Katie Reen, Shannon Leslie, Marny Frantz, and others).
The map (above) indicates the areas of the state from which educators have been drawn. These institutes have engaged approximately 180 Vermont educators in this collaborative learning experience.
Click on the map to learn more about the schools that have been involved to date.
What are the DOTS?
21st century classrooms are ones that incorporate the best practices and research about how students learn best. These practices are often facilitated and supported by effective and intentional technology integration. The DOTS institutes combine these practices with an introduction to Web 2.0 tools and applications. To see what we mean by "connecting the dots," please review this short slide show.
The Transformation of Education in Vermont
This professional development program serves to support the Vermont Board of Education's Transformation of Education in Vermont Initiative. To learn more about this initiative and its critical importance to Vermont's future, please click here.
To Learn More
Additional information concerning each of the DOTS - 21st Century Classroom institutes may be found by clicking on the links below for each institute.
For more information, contact Ed Barry, Sandy Lathem, or Paul Irish.
DOTS I -- Summer Institute 2008
DOTS I - Summer Institute 2008
The first offering of 21st Century Classrooms: Connecting the DOTS was held during the summer and fall of 2008. Thirteen teams (of three people each) were invited to attend. The organization of this institute depended heavily on a full week institute that was held at Champlain College. The teams involved in this institute created units of study with primary focus on either social studies or science.
We extended the deadlines for this initial group to allow more time to complete the units of study that eventually were uploaded to the Learning Village data base.
Associated files, such as the course syllabus, are attached.
Highlights from DOTS 1
Core Beliefs Podcasts -- http://vtcite.org/forum/204
The educators from DOTS I created a wonderful series of podcasts that describe 21st century skills. Each of these may be found in the VTcite forum entitled Core Beliefs Podcasts. These podcasts are as entertaining as informative and Vermont educators are urged to use them to spark discussion about these vital skills in your schools.
VTcite Resources - Web 2.0 Tools
DOTS I teams created creative and practical descriptions/tutorials of many web 2.0 tools. All these resources are available to anyone on VTcite.org.
- Google Earth, Google Sky, and Google Maps
- Google Sketch Up Quick Start Guide
- Blogging Presentation
- Moodle Handout
- Graphic Organizers (YouTube Video)
- Google Docs Information
- Picasa & Flickr
- Social Networking & Education
- YouTube & Education
Units of Study
The content teachers from each team created standards-based units of study which are accessible via the Vermont Learning Village Portal. To obtain an account to Learning Village, please contact Arlyn Bruccoli.
DOTS I - Teams and Participants
The VTcite Summer 2008 Institute involves over 40 educators across Vermont. They are:
Course Planners/Facilitators
 Ed Barry |
 Sandy Lathem |
 Paul Irish |
Vermont Department of Education
 Peter Drescher: Educational Technologist |
 Gail Hall: Science Content Specialist |
 Arlyn Bruccoli: Riverdeep Learning Village |
| ... |  Sigrid Lumbra: Social Studies Content Specialist |
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Participant Teams
 Nova Stars: Carol Renca, Laura Botte, Janelle Gendimencio Burlington School District |
 Localvores: Leslie Striebe, Jonah Ibson, Bob Sargent Waits Rivers and Orange East SU |
 Capitol Clickers: Donald Taylor, Melissa Pierce, Lauren ChabotMain Street Elementary, Union School, Montpelier |
 Barre Rocks: Linda McSweeney, Tom McSweeney, Jody EmersonBarre SU |
 Rutland High School: Pam O'Neil, Deb Jiloty, Ron EisenmanRutland High School |
 Glover: Jeff Coburn, Jerry Piette, Bob TownsendGlover |
 EMS Terrific Trip: Brent Truchon, Kathy Gallagher, Daryl KuhnBurlington SD |
 Milton Matters: Colleen O'Brien, Erica Goodrich, Catherine ReenMilton SD |
 Xstream Portal: Joanne Finnegan, Maria Germano, Bryant PlessBrowns River, CESU |
 Limping Along: Jeff Guilmette, Kurt Sherman, Dave DavidsonEssex Junction |
 Randolph Wizards: Tina Scheindel, David Roller, Lindsay MeterRandolph Elementary, Orange Southwest |
 Essex Eagles: Lisa Fernald, Susan Miyomoto, Joseph WhiteEssex Town School District |
| .. |  Irasburg: Gerry Whitaker, Karen Hamelin-Britch, Sean WallaceOrleans Central SU |
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Photo Gallery - Summer Institute
DOTS I memories from our week together at Champlain College, Summer 2008
 Morning Session: We begin August 4th |
 Morning Session: Our Work Begins |
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 Joyce Morris and Inquiry-based Learning |
 Podcasts Presentations |
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 Don Taylor |
 Lauren and Melissa |
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 Ed and Student-Centered Learning |
 Wikis to Go |
 Edmunds Team Presents |
 Google Earth and Much More! |
 Sandy and Dave |
 Kathy Barwin and Joe |
 Teams at Work! |
 Talking Together |
 Di and UbD |
 Getting Units into Learning Village |
 Hard at Work! |
 Team Work is Hard Work |
 Sandy Carriker Evaluates Progress |
 Thanks Craig For Helping |
 Ever Hear of YouTube? |
DOTS II North -- Summer Institute 2009
DOTS II North -- Summer Institute 2009
The second offering of Creating 21st Century Classrooms II: Connecting the Dots was held in 2009. A competitive application process was initiated in the fall of 2008 and twelve teams of three educators were once again selected to participate.
The format of DOTS II North in this second rendition shifted a large portion of the graduate course work to an online format (see syllabus). This online course began in January, 2009 and continued through May, 2009. During this time, participants were asked to participate in four of five online modules. The modules covered:
- Backward design (from Understanding by Design)
- Assessment (from Understanding by Design)
- Differentiated Instruction
- Student-centered Learning
- Project and inquiry-based Learning
- National Educational Standards and 21st Century Skills
Following this online portion, all teams convened at Champlain College for a five-day institute. During the institute, teams presented new web 2.0 tools and worked to complete their units of study to be stored in the Learning Village portal.
In addition, participants from DOTS I were invited to attend a five day short course on using Moodle to support their units of study. Eight participants from DOTS I attended the Moodle workshop.
Web 2.0 Highlights from DOTS II North
- Animation, GoAnimate
- Jing
- Voice Thread (pbwiki link)
- Photo Editing and Sharing
- YouTube, Teacher Tube, UStream, and Google Video
- Social Bookmarking
- Twiddla
- Wikis
Units of Study
The content teachers from each team created standards-based units of study which are accessible via the Vermont Learning Village Portal. To obtain an account to Learning Village, please contact Arlyn Bruccoli.
Teams and Participants
DOTS II North Participants (Names are listed left to right.)
 Team U32.0: April Peet, Christopher Grantz, Jane Tolassi, U32 Montpelier |
 Team Uplift: Kim Ransom, Beth Carini, Linda McCuen, Fair Haven Union |
 Team PDF: Deborah Rossell, Kathy Hevey, Kim Chase, Hunt Middle School |
 Team Blink: Nicole Pfister, Michael Eppolito, Lauren Baker |
 Team Sutton House: Robert Metz, Ellen Matthews, Eric Brunvand, Shelburne |
 Team Rebels: Kris Larson (far left; other members not visible), Central School, South Burlington with Sigrid Lumbra (in front of room), DOE |
 Team Humanities University: John Mitchell, Joe Guarino, John Minelli, Hartford School District |
 Team Thunder Cats: Alexa Hart, Dante Napolitano, Jerry Bowers, Missisquoi |
 Team Deep Thought: Bob Dunn, Richard Szymanski, Meagan Normand, North Country Career Center and High School |
 Team Kali: Dave Miceli, Meg Kenny, Kendra Larson, Burr & Burton |
 Team Team Pride: Erica Goodrich, Kendra Gorton, Jen Cummings |
 Team Northeast Hornets: Christina Boissoneault, Stephanie Stecklare, Thad Gembczynski, Enosburg |
 Peter and Ed at Lunch: Peter Drescher, Ed Barry |
 Paul Irish: Paul Irish, Burlington School District |
 Sandy: Sandy Lathem, University of Vermont |
 Arlyn: Arlyn Bruccoli, DOE |
 Gail and Lindy: Gail Hall, Lindy Johnson, DOE |
 Kathy, Paul, Sigrid: Kathy Barwin, Paul Irish, Sigrid Lumbra |
 Sue: Sue Monmaney, Montpelier |
 Sue and Sandy: Sue Monmaney and Sandy Lathem
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DOTS II South -- Summer Institute 2009
DOTS II South -- Summer Institute 2009
To increase participation from educators located in the southern regions of Vermont, another competitive application process was conducted. Participation in this case was restricted to teams of educators from Southern Vermont, defined as south of Route 4. The application process was conducted in early 2009 and participating teams were selected by early May 2009. The first meeting of the DOTS II South cohort was held in May at Southern Vermont College in Bennington.
The format of this institute did not include an online component and was compressed into face to face meetings held in July and August, 2009. The syllabus and course packet reflects this organization, although the expectations of the graduate course work remained fairly consistent. This cohort is still at work creating their standards based units of study which will be completed by January 15, 2010.
Web 2.0 Highlights of DOTS II South
Units of Study
The content teachers from each team will create standards-based units of study accessible via the Vermont Learning Village Portal. These units will not be available until after January 15, 2010. To obtain an account to Learning Village, please contact Arlyn Bruccoli.
Teams and Participants
DOTS South 2009 Teams - Southern Vermont College
 Jeremy Kelloway, Jeanie Phillips, Patricia Gutierrez Chester Andover |
 Christina Smith, Russell Williams, Sean Gould Bellows Falls |
 Kevin Coen, Kirsten Aiello Monday, Angelo Jardina Springfield High School |
 Emily Biolsi, Michele Ricci, Deb Burrell Stockbridge Central |
 Jeff Vandivere, Nathan McNaughton, Lisa Mobus Springfield/Riverside |
 Kristeen Chambers, Caitlin Reck, Cynthia Hughes Springfield |
 Sally Hayes, Shannon Walters, Dale Pecor CP Smith |
 Pam Hunter, Kathryn Byrne Grossarth, Jason Grote Wells Village |
 Kelly Ahlfeld, Cindi Roberts, Jennifer Bloomingdale Mettawee |
 Sally Bisaccio, Amy Thivierge, Mike DiMaio Mount Antony |
 Michelle Mazzola, Dan Sherman, Jennifer Parker Bennington Elementary |
 Amanda Bickford, Dinna Ivey, Lexi Rella Manchester Elementary |
Video Highlights
Video Highlights
Short video clips from DOTS professional development sessions.
DOTS III North - 2010
Twelve teams from the northern region of Vermont were selected to participate in DOTS III North, as follows:
DOTS III North - 2010
| Calais Elementary | Elizabeth McCarthy (Technology) Katrina Rob (Math, Grade 4) Damien Middelton (Social Studies, Grade 5-6) |
| Derby Elementary | Jeanne Beaudry (Social Studies, Grade 6) Nicole Laramee (Math, Grade 5-6) Hugh Handley (Technology) |
| Essex Town School District |
John Synnott (Social Studies, Grade 7-8) Kimberley Musante (Technology) Shawn Willis (Math, Grade 7-8) |
| Hardwick Elementary | Elizabeth Miller (Math, Grade 5) Carolyn Aiossa (Social Studies, Grade 5) Maria Everett (Technology) |
| Hardwood Union | Chris Whalen (English, Grade 11-12) Nicole Schaeffer (Social Studies) Matt Henchen (Technology) |
| North Country High School |
Renee Berthiaume (English, Grade 9-12) Colleen Healey (English, Grade 9-12) Marsha Middleton (Technology) |
| Rivendell | Gabi Martino (Technology) Ellen Fisher (Social Studies, Grade 6-8) Kathy McGowan (Math, Grade K-8) |
| Robinson Elementary | Frank Spina (Technology) Ruth Beecher (Social Studies, Grade 3-4) Peg Brakeley (Social Studies, Grade 5-6) |
| St. Johnsbury | Eric Matte (Math, Grade 7-8) Andrew Morris (Technology) Leslie Ercole (Math, Grade 7-8) |
| Walden School | Melissa Piscitelli (Social Studies, Grade 7-8) Tammy Russell (Math, Grade 7-8) Sigurd Anderson (Technology) |
| Washington Central - U32 |
Hollis St. Peter (Math, Grade 7-8) Rachel Collier (Math, Grade 7-8) Jane Tolassi (Technology) |
| Woodstock Union HS | Julian Underwood (Technology) Virginia Dean (Social Studies) Erin Danner (Math) |
DOTS III South - 2010
DOTS III South - 2010
Twelve teams were selected to participate in DOTS III South for 2010. The participants from these teams include:
| Bellows Falls High School |
Tiffany Tobin (English, Grade 9-12) Michael Norkun (Science, Grade 9-12) Wesley Vaugh (Technology) |
| Bellows Falls High School |
Holly Falzo (English, Grade 9-12) Matthew Willis (Social Studies, Grade 11-12) Wesley Vaugh (Technology) |
| Bellows Falls Middle School |
Emily Graves (Technology) Mary Lou Martin (Science, Grade 7-8) Dennis Ladd (Language Arts, Grade 8) |
| Flood Brook Union | Darcy Perry (Technology) Tracy Zaino (Math, Grade 7-8) Victoria Winokur (Science, Grade 6) |
| Grafton Elementary | Beth Ann Drinker (Literacy, Grade 5) Deborah Noe (Literacy, Grade 4-5) Katherine Kane (Technology) |
| Kurin Hattin School | Richard Long (Social Studies, Grade 4-8) John Mozley (Language Arts, Grade 6-8) Tom Fontaine (Science, Grade 4-8) |
| Manchester | Seth Bonnett (Technology) Matt Smithwick (Language Arts, Grade 7-8) Scott Diedrich (Science, Grade 6-8) |
| Monument Elementary | Carrie Gardner (Language Arts, Grade K-5) Barbara O'Callaghan (Technology) Kathleen Bacus (Science, Grade 4-5) |
| Mt. Anthony | Laurie Jameson-Palmer (English, Grade 7-8) Allison Brigham (Science, Grade 8) David Hansen (Technology) |
| Mt. Anthony Union HS | Sharon Watson (Language Arts, Grade 7) Amy Moriarty (Social Studies, Grade 7) Orion Hazard (Technology) |
| Poultney High School | Melissa Kristiansen (Technology) Linda Paquette (English, Grade 7-8) Charles Adams (Science, Grade 7-8) |
| Twin Valley Middle School |
Anthony Daniels (Technology) Jessica Hammond (Science, Grade 7-8) Yolanda D-Alessio (Math) |
Calendar
VTcite Calendar
VTcite maintains a calendar of events. You can access the calendar by clicking on the Calendar tab at the top of the screen. 
Any registered user can post events to the calendar.
Add Event
Any authorized user can add events to the VTcite calendar. The option to Add Event is located at the top of the Calendar screen in a submenu.
Creating An Account
Creating a VTCite Account
To obtain a VTcite account, you must self-register. VTcite accounts are open to anyone who supplies a valid account name and email address. Accounts are valid as long as the user maintains an active presence in VTcite. Accounts that are inactive for over a year will automatically be deleted. The following steps describe the account creation process.
The link to create a new account is located on the Home page of VTcite underneath the User Login dialog box.
Account Information
Type in your preferred user name and press Tab. In the email field, type a valid email account.
Join a Regional Group
You have an option to subscribe to any of the VITA-Learn regional groups during the registration process. If you place a check next to one of the boxes, you will automatically receive an email message whenever a post is made to that Group.
Enter Security Code
Finally, you'll need to type the security code you see on your screen. This feature protects VTcite from spam and other annoying accounts being created.
Create New Account
To create the account, click the Create Account button at the bottom of the page.
Email Verification
After you click the Create Account button, you will see a message informing you that you will receive an email notification that you must respond to in order to complete the account creation process. Be sure you check your email and follow instructions to complete the registration process.
Forums
Discussion is held in the Forums feature of VTcite. You may view Forum postings without logging in to VTcite. However, if you want to post a topic or reply to an existing topic, you must first log in to VTcite.
Getting to Forums
There are two ways to navigate to the Forums feature. You may click on the Forums tab in the top navigation bar:
You may also click on any of the New Forum Topics listed in the center bottom block of each VTcite page:
Participating in Discussions
This image provides an example of a forum discussion currently underway. The following are options you can choose:
Subscribe Post
"Subscribe post" will notify you via email if someone posts a new comment in that forum.
Add New Comment
Add a comment if you would like to participate in the thread of
conversation. You can ask a question, add your opinion and share resources by clicking on "Add new comment."
Email this Page
"Email this page" is a great option if you would like to share this thread with a colleague.
Submit New Forum Topic
Submit New Forum Topic
‘Submit new forum topic’ will allow you to create a new forum topic.
Type a subject that best describes your thread.
Select a forum that best fits your thread.
You can create the body of your thread in any word processing program. This allows you to use features like spell check. You can then cut and paste it into the body window on the site.
If you would like to use features like bold, italic and bullets you should create those once you have cut and pasted into the body section of the forum.
Descriptions of the various options for formatting the body text may be found in the following section, Editing the Body Text.
Editing the Body Text
The body of a forum topic is entered in the Body dialog box. You will notice that it a few simple editing tools are available for you to use, as follows:
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Highlighting TextThese button provide you with Bold and Italics. Select the text your want to highlight and then click either button to add the effect. |
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HyperlinksThis button allows you to create hyperlinks, but if you type a full URL using http:// for web page addresses and email addresses, these will turn into links automatically. |
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ListsThese buttons allow you to either add either bulleted or numbered lists. |
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Add Image URL:When you click on this icon, you will be prompted to enter a complete URL where the image is located. Type (or paste) this information and click OK. Next, enter the "alternate text" identify the image and click OK. The image appears in the Body Text dialog box. For example: |
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Toggle HTML Mode:If you know HTML coding, you can edit the body text in HTML. This icon toggles back and forth between WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing and HTML editing. |
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Change Block TypeYou can change the size of the font by using the different HTML heading sizes. Note: The smaller the number, the larger the size. |
File Attachments
File Attachments
You can attach files to your forum topic posts. You may attach an image file or a text file. The options to do this are located below the Body dialog box.
File Attachments
To attach a file, click on the File Attachment link to expand it. Your screen will appear as:
Click on the Choose File button and locate the file on your computer.
Once you have done this, your screen will appear similar to the following:
The final step is to click the Attach button.
Once the file has been located and attached, you will see a new box that verifies the attachment. It will appear similar to the following example:
Note that multiple files may be attached.
Submitting Your Post
Preview
If you'd like to see how your post will appear prior to submitting it, click the Preview button at the bottom of your screen. This command allows you to see how your post will appear and allows you to continue working on it.
Submit
When your post is ready for submission, scroll to the bottom of your screen and click the Submit button. Your post will now be listed with the Forum you have specified and be available for others to read, comment, and reply.
Email Subscription
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SubscribeIf you would like to be notified when someone posts to your thread click on ‘subscribe.' |
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You can see and manage all your subscriptions via the My Subscriptions feature. |
RSS Feed
About RSS
VTcite forums support RSS, which stands for "Really Simple Syndication." RSS allows you to subscribe to a variety of web content and "aggregate" that content in one location for easy retrieval. Rather than have a lot of emails sent to you whenever something new is added to a forum, you can choose to have all the Forum topics added to an aggregator site of your choice.
 RSS |
The RSS icon is located at the bottom of the Forum you are viewing. To create an RSS feed to a forum, click the RSS icon. |
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You will be asked to choose an aggregator site where the feed will be directed. The first aggregator site listed is Bloglines. However, if you click on the pull down box, you will see that other well known aggregator sites are listed. |
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Select an aggregator site such as Bloglines, Google, Yahoo, or another of your choice. Click the Subscribe button. You will be taken to the aggregator site. If you don't have an account with the site, you will be prompted to create an account. After you have completed this process, you will be able to read current VTcite Forum posts on your aggregator page. |
Groups
The group feature provides a private area for groups of users to collaborate and interact. Some group features are:
- You can hold conversations. This is different from the general VTcite forum area in that these conversations are group-specific.
- Create wiki-type documents using the group write feature. One purpose of group writing is to take the 'Team Learning' that occurs in conversations and to create knowledge that the group can return to when developing vision.
- You can upload files for your group to share.
- You can email all members of your group.
- You can view and add events to your group's calendar.
Joining a group
Not all groups are listed on the registration form, or you may wish to join a group after creating an account. This is possible by visiting the Groups page. First click on the My Groups link in the sidebar.
Then click on the Groups tab to see the full list of non-private groups.
You may join any open group by clicking on the Join link and confirming your wish to join the group. You may also request membership to a moderated group by clicking on the Request membership link and confirming your wish to join the group.
Managing a group
The group manager is person who creates the group. When creating the group, you should consider the following subscription options:
- Do you want subscriptions requests to be automatically accepted? Or do you want this feature moderated, by invitation only, or completely closed? If you select closed, users will not be able to subscribe or unsubscribe.
- Should people be able to subscribe to this group during registration?
- Do you want your group to appear in the groups directory, or do you want this to be a private group and only visible by its subscribers?
How to create a group
Any authenticated user may create a group. Following are the steps.
- Click "Create a Group." This is the a bullet under you name in the right hand navigation bar.
- The "Submit group" opens.
- Enter a "Group name."
- Enter a "Description" for the group. This description will be seen when the group is opened and in the groups' directory.
- Enter a "Welcome message." This message will be sent to any authenticated user who becomes a member of this group. Consider including any information the user might need to participate effectively in the group.
- Optional "Upload Images:" You can add an image to your group page by clicking attached images.
- Click "Choose file"
- A typical "open" window will appear. Navigate through your computer files to find and select the image file you want to use. Click choose.
- Give the image a title that will appear with the image. This is not necessarily the name of the file.
- Choose how "Membership requests" are handled. Do you want anyone to be able to join? Do you want to accept/deny requests to join? Do you want to reserve the group for those who you invite? Do you want to assign membership? Click the bubble next to your selection.
- Choose how authenticated users can find your group using any of the following 3 check boxes. Choose "registration form" if the group is open or moderated and you want people to see to option to subscribe to the group when they join vtcite. Choose "list in groups directory" if you want the group listed in the group directory. Choose "private group" if you don't want the group to be visible to non members.
- Optional "File attachments"
- Click "Choose file"
- A typical "open" window will
appear. Navigate through your computer files to find and select the file you want to attach to your group main page. Click choose. - Choose "Attach."
- Submit. Click permit to create your group.
Navigating VTcite
VTcite is easy to navigate. You may move to various features in a number of ways:
- Tabs
- Breadcrumbs
- Side Bar Menus
- Up/Down Links
- Bottom Blocks
Tabs
VTcite uses Tabs at the top of your screen to help you move to major
features, such as Pure Vermont, Resources, Forums, Calendar,
Professional Development, News, User Guide, and About Us.
Breadcrumbs
As you click on Tabs and links (shown in orange), you create a trail of breadcrumbs that appear at the top left corner of your screen. You can click on the breadcrumbs to retrace your steps and return to previous selections. For example:
This example shows that the user started from the home page, then clicked on User Guide, then Groups. To go back a previous page, the user would simply click on the word in the breadcrumbs.To go back to the user guide or Home, the user would simply click on the word in the breadcrumbs.
Side Bar Menus
The Side Bar can also be useful when navigating. In the Users Guide, for example, the Side Bar displays the organization of the pages in this section. It can be used to move from page to page within the Users' Guide.
A further explanation of the Side Bar is shown here.
Up/Down Links
When you are working within a feature that has multiple pages, you are able to move up and down by pages within that feature. For example in the Pure Vermont section, you'll notice that the organization of the pages is listed at the bottom of each page. Use the Up link to go the first page, or click on the next link in the list to move to the next page. For example:
Bottom Blocks
Check out the bottom blocks at the end of every VTcite web page contains for lists of new resources, new forum topics, and to see who's online.
News
VTcite News
Items of interest to the VTcite community are posted periodically on the News page. You can read the news by clicking on the News tab at the top of the screen.
When you click on the News tab, you'll see a list of recent topics, as shown below. Click on the title of the post (in green) and you'll be able to read the full article. The news page allows you to add comments to postings
Side Bar Menus
After you have logged in to VTcite, your account name and menu options are listed in the side bar located on the top right side of your screen. For example:
The options displayed under your account name allow you to manage your account. With this menu, you can create groups, list the groups you belong to, change your account settings, or log out.
Log Out
Notice that the log out command is located in the side bar. Please remember to log out, especially if you visit VTcite on a public computer. If you don't explicitly log out, the next time you point your browser to VTcite, you will notice that you will still be logged in.
Side Bar Menus
The side bar menus are also used to display menu options that are available to you when you are using different features in VTcite. For example, when you first log in and are on the home page, the Right Side Bar includes a list of upcoming calendar events. For example:
The Left Side Bar provides options for searching and accessing VTcite resources.
To search for content found only in the Resources feature of VTcite, you may use the Search Resources box located in the left side bar of the screen.
Random resources are listed in the block below the Search Resources. The resources listed in the Random Resource section change as you navigate through VTcite.
You may also click on a word or phrase in the tag cloud to find resources contributed to VTcite after July 2009.
Resources
Resources may be viewed by all but only registered VTcite members can create a resource. Registration is free.
To begin, simply click on the Resources tab at the top of your screen or on the Resources link located on the VTcite home page.
Finding Resources
There are three ways to find resources:
1. You can use the links in the menu to drill down into specific categories.
• The Role of the User (i.e. classroom teachers, tech facilitators, administrators)
• Vermont Grade Expectations (i.e., the GE's)
• Grade Level Clusters (i.e. pk-3, k-6, middle, high school)
• Type of Resource (i.e. Software, blogs, courses, etc
2. You can do a site search for a specific term and see what comes up.
The search field is located in the upper right hand corner of all the main pages. Just put in your descriptor (Earth Science) and all resources, forums and posts with the term Earth and Science will appear with this term bolded.
You will probably need to do an advanced search and focus only on 'resources' because a site search will also find information in blogs, books, and forum topics, but hey, that's not all bad either.
3. You can use the advanced resource search to find specifically tagged resources. Click on the resources button and a submenu will appear.
Advanced resource search is located on the right of the brown submenu.
When this menu opens click the boxes pertaining to the information you are interested in locating.
Rating Resources
Rating Resources
An important part of managing resources is quality rating. Every resource at VTcite can be rated and there is an area for providing comments.
Resources can be organized by rating and the comments provide a place for educators to add important feedback about a resources value or application. You need to be a registered member on VTCITE to rate and comment on resources.
Please rate a resource after you have examined it. You are rating the usefulness of the site to you or others. You are not rating the way the resource has been written up.
Submitting Resources
Submitting Resources
*You need to be a registered member of VTCITE to submit resources.
Submitting resources is an important feature of VTcite and is part of our original mission.
Before submitting your resource:
- First check to see if the resource or something similar already exists. We have tried to organize resources by the name of their website.
- If this is a new resource, submit it, but when doing so, be very thoughtful about the tags you associate with a resource. Quality tagging helps others find resources and makes overall organization of the site more efficient.
To submit your resource:
- After logging in, click on the resource link and scroll to the bottom of that page. There you will find submit a resource.
- Please make sure to use the NAME OF THE SITE, not the subject, as the TITLE unless this is a reference to a subject in a specific blog or uploaded document.
- Weblink TITLE should reflect the name of the particular page
- Weblink URL: can include http:// The easiest way is to copy the URL from the website and paste it in.
- Field Tested: Please indicate if you have personally applied what you learned from using the site you are adding as a resource.
- Description: This is where you describe your resource and how you used it, if applicable. Please try to be specific in describing the recommended resource
- Click on Categories to add selection attributes to help users find your resource. To select more than one item in a pull down menu that are not necessarily contiguous
- in a MAC, hold down the APPLE KEY for non-contiguous items. To select contiguous items hold down the SHIFT KEY.
- On a PC, hold down the CONTROL Key to select non-contiguous items and the SHIFT KEY to select contiguous ones.
- Attached Images lets you easily browse and attach an image to help illustrate the recommended resource in your description.
- File Attachments enable you to browse for a document(s) on your computer and attach it for others to download. You can attach most of the standard file types: .doc, .ppt, .pdf, .mov, etc…
- Submit Just click and submit and your new resource will be added to VTcite.
Pure Vermont
The "pure Vermont" tab on VTcite is a listing of Vermont organizations and/or groups that support Vermont educators, especially in the area of educational technology.
To see more detail about each of the listings, click on the title.
The following image, for example, provides an illustration of the screen if the Vermont Department of Education, Educational Technology were chosen.
