During Virginia Society for Technology in Education’s (VSTE) December 2016 board meeting, the Greater Richmond Area Technology Consortium (GRAETC) was approved to be VSTE’s first regional partner. Executive Members of GRAETC look forward to the growth this will bring to their consortium.
GRAETC’s vision and mission complements VSTE’s as it strives to promote excellence in education through professional development that supports the integration of existing and emerging technologies. GRAETC is focused on providing connected learning opportunities to build capacity around innovative and sound pedagogical use of instructional technology resources. One of its largest efforts each year is the EdTechRVA conference held each spring. Additionally, the GRAETC blog highlights educational technology and practices implemented throughout the Greater Richmond Area. GRAETC efforts impact educators and students from numerous school districts including Chesterfield, Colonial Heights, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Hopewell, Powhatan, and Richmond City.
There are many benefits to partnering with VSTE and becoming the first regional partner. We encourage other regional organizations to follow our lead! While every future partnership will be unique, regional partnerships strengthen both VSTE and each regional partner. With VSTE’s expertise and infrastructure, regional partners can expand their reach through better communication and organization strategies. In return, VSTE gains a wider perspective on what is going on throughout Virginia, which helps serve all members better. Creating a network of regional organizations bound together by the VSTE common thread will help connected educators widen their reach both in sharing and learning.
As a regional partner of VSTE, GRAETC is also able to offer automatic (free) memberships to VSTE when you sign up as a member of GRAETC. Stay tuned for more from GRAETC as we explore additional benefits of partnering with VSTE and other organizations across the commonwealth.