ActiVAtED Learning

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

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

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

Dr. Kim Richardson has had a long career in Hampton Roads, VA as a teacher, coach and administrator, and host Tom Landon caught up with her at the Virginia Society of Technology in Education's annual conference in Virginia Beach where they spoke before a live audience about coaching, continuous learning, and what she's learned about leadership.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/mkYmmGWy9JY

It's not always obvious when a student has a learning disability like dyslexia, especially when it's a smart and well-behaved child like Micah Vanover. His dad, Daniel is an ITRT in Wise County, and mom Katie is a reading specialist in nearby Lee County, but neither really noticed that Micah struggled with reading until they witnessed it themselves during the remote learning era at the start of COVID. They came up with an innovative solution by turning to audio books to help Micah follow the printed words as he read and listened. You won't want to miss this inspiring episode!For a video version of this podcast, please click the link below.https://youtu.be/DaIS_9rWrYY

One highlight of the annual VSTE Conference held each December is a chance to meet students as they model best practices for technology integration. This year we caught up with several girls using coding to learn about habitats, kids studying wind power, and podcast producers to talk to them about what they've learned through technology. Next we traveled to Galax in Southwest Virginia to meet an eSports team that's exceeding expectations as they compete against other teams from around the state.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/Y1Kmyh-b4OQ

Patrick Hausammann from Clarke County prides himself on keeping up with leading edge instructional technology, which is what led him to become an expert on best practices when it comes to Artificial Intelligence in the classroom and how to use it to streamline lesson planning and reduce the time and effort it takes to differentiate instruction for all learners. Host Tom Landon sat down with him at the 2025 Tech Splash event in Abingdon to learn more.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/rVE04Yxd8RY

Meet Matt Neale from Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke County. In May of 2025, Mr. Neale was named the 2026 Virginia Teacher of the Year. To learn more about the Teacher of the Year program, visit WWW.DOE.VIRGINIA.GOVFor a video version of this podcast, please click the link below. https://youtu.be/otf6eA4oWSY

As the Virginia Society for Technology in Education turns 40, we thought it would be great to talk to two folks who have seen the organization grow from their positions as some of the original Instructional Technology Resource Teachers, or ITRTs. Meg Swecker from Roanoke County and Jude Raffeinner from Carroll County join host Tom Landon for the Season 3 premiere of ActiVAtED Learning.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/P1QKiBmeH4U

Kathleen Fugle of Fairfax County Public Schools didn't know how much she loved instructional technology until she attended a workshop with her own children, and didn't know that it would one day lead to her being named the Virginia Computer Science Educator of the Year. Tom Landon sat down with Kathleen at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School to talk about her journey as an educator and what gets her excited about teaching.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/Fpd7MidFEaU

Victor Spadaro went to school to be a PE teacher and thought he'd return home to NY State to take over from his high school cross country coach when he retired, but instead relocated to Arlington, Virginia where Mr. Spadaro was recently named the Southern District Elementary PE Teacher of the Year. Through drumming, dance, and innovative games, he encourages movement in a way that includes all students.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/tQZ7H5z7AsU

Michael Carter grew up the son of a successful plumber and never considered that he might one day be not only a teacher, but the National Plumbing Teacher of the Year. But after 7 years of teaching at Gar-Field High in Prince William County, he wouldn't want it any other way. We spoke to him in his active classroom. On this episode of ActiVAtED Learning we'll also meet Morgan Nooney, who was named one of the Virginia Society of Technology in Education's Technology Coaches of the Year.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/UK7bfBTHy5g

Go Tec is a middle school technology program housed at the Institute for Advanced Learning in Danville, Virginia, but it's reach goes well beyond Southside. Julie Brown and Jake Taylor join Tom Landon to talk about this innovative approach to ensuring a ready supply of workers for Virginia's new economy.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/C9-a7xj30dY

Whether they're called coaches, ITRTs or STEM teachers, Virginia is blessed with technology leaders in schools who help teachers implement tech in classrooms. On this episode of ActiVAtED Learning, we visit educators who are teaming up to give kids meaningful, technology rich experiences. Guests include Liz Lynch of Patrick Henry Elementary in Martinsville, a finalist for the Presidential Award for Mathematics and Science Teaching, and Sarah Schaffner and Chrissy Richmond from Gainesville Middle School in Prince William County.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/_-eRY2WWIcE

Jeanne Dodd is an instructional technology specialist with Virginia Beach Schools, and she and one of her students joined us during the VSTE conference to talk about a podcast they created for families of veterans. Next we traveled to Hanover County to meet Avanti Yamamoto, the 2025 Virginia Teacher of the Year, to learn how her love for teaching shines through to her students.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/ulWjUhmVh8Y

Launching any new technology like AI in a school division can be difficult, but it's a lot easier when you first build a culture of collaboration and innovation. 2024 Virginia Superintendent of the Year Doug Straley and 2 time VDOE CTE Excellence Award winner Kenny Bouwens share how Louisa County's "Team LCPS" approach is resulting in widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence and the process they used to get there.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/iFdf6a9gCTQ

Rachelle Dene' Poth is a teacher, instructional technologist, and attorney who was an early adopter of Artificial Intelligence in the classroom. She joins host Tom Landon to talk about how teachers can dip their toes in the water when using AI, and about her own journey as an educational leader. The episode was recorded at the 2024 VSTE Tech Splash event in Abingdon, VA.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below. https://youtu.be/4bQAQeOQUus

In this episode of the ActiVAtED Learning podcast we travel to Norfolk to speak to Delrose Adkinson, an assistant principal who's on the "20 to Watch" list put out by ISTE and was a keynote speaker at the 2024 VSTE Conference.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/c-UaITPz9tE

Betsy McAllister is the STEM Teacher Specialist with Hampton City Schools, and she's also the Teacher in Residence with the National Institute of Aerospace. In that role she helps connect scientists at NIA and NASA with classroom teachers and students. One initiative involves data collected by students and shared with the scientific community. She joins host Tom Landon to talk about the ways that teachers can use top notch resources from NASA eClips and GLOBE with their students.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.ttps://youtu.be/hQx7sF38CmA

Goochland County Director of Instructional Innovation joins host Tom Landon for a discussion about how this small school division is using Virtual Reality applications to provide students a rich educational experience.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/h1t9SwtM_qo 

The Anatomage table is an advanced real-human-based education system that utilizes scans of actual cadavers to help students understand the systems of our bodies through 3D modeling. ActiVAtED Learning host Tom Landon visited Prince Edward County to talk to Michelle Kress, Instructional Technology Innovation Specialist to learn more about how students in this rural community are benefitting from this state of the art instructional tool.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/FvEv7n6P8Rs

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

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 technology can help ALL students, not just those with disabilities.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/qo-qdP8Nkig

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, a short conversation with Education Evangelist Wezi Thindwa of Adobe Systems was recorded at the 2023 VSTE Conference in Roanoke. Thindwa's role in the company is to help teachers implement student centered solutions in the classroom to foster creativity.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/-9l1k25ZNL0

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 education; voluntary pre-K and Head Start. ActiVAtED Learning host Tom Landon visited Dr. Coons at the James Monroe Building in Richmond where she shared her priorities for the coming school year and explained the principles behind All In VA, a high intensity tutoring program that is beginning to address learning loss in the Commonwealth resulting from the recent pandemic.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/XJmK94GJrdk

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 importance of book clubs and a life outside the classroom.For a video version of this podcast, please visit link below.https://youtu.be/G_7g3kZpbsw