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DEN Summer Institutes: Edit the Wiki

If you have been accepted to either the DEN Leadership Council Institute (July 14-18) or the DEN National Institute (July 21-25), please take some time to visit the wiki and enter your information.

wikiJust click on either DEN Leadership Council Institute or DEN National Institute and update your information including your name, email, airport, arrival time and roommate (we’ll pair people up if you don’t have a roommate in mind).

Also, you can check out the FAQs which include most of the top questions you might need answers to.

DEN Weekly Update: 5-9-08

Enjoy the update for May 9, 2008.

My Favorite Teacher was…

We just posted our final two tokens of appreciation for STARs (35% DEN Store discount and the special DonorsChoose webinar for next week) and didn’t want to miss one more opportunity to celebrate and recognize our favorite teachers at the end of Teacher Appreciation Week.  We obviously have thousands of “favorite” educators - we affectionately call them STARs.  But the DEN team took some time to reflect on one teacher in particular who made a lasting impact in our lives.  We’d love to hear about the teachers that made that impact on you.  Just post a comment.

Lance Rougeux
marthaIt goes without saying that the teacher who has made a tremendous impact on me is a sixth grade teacher in the Harrisburg City School District (HCSD).  She was just recognized as the Teacher of the Year (Grades 4-6) for HCSD.  She is also my wife :) 

Steve Dembo
One of my favorite teachers was Mr. Martin, my 6th grade Language Arts teacher.  He gave extra credit for reading books and passing a test on them.  I finished that class with 197% and a reading habit that just won’t quit.

Jannita Demian
Mrs Onstott, my first grade teacher, was my very favorite.  I still remember sitting at the back table with my little readers and learning phonics!  But the true delight was when you were the “chosen” student to rub her back during the read aloud!  Can you imagine that?!?  Times have definitely changed!

Mike Bryant
Anthony “Tony” Amato, my 12th grade AP Biology teacher, encouraged me to study science in college.  He’s never hesitated to stick his hands in the guts of an animal to engage his students. 

Matt Monjan
Mr. Wright, who looked like Magnum PI, was my fifth grade gym teacher and used to take our class on outdoor adventures like zip wires and obstacle courses - and he used to drive us there in his Jeep - pretty cool trip for a kid in fifth grade!

Kim Randall
Ms. Dilts, my 3rd grade teacher was just awesome.  She would have popcorn parties for us after school if we volunteered to help out. It was a great way to avoid doing homework!

Justin Karkow
My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Tarantiles, was the teacher who inspired me to be a teacher.  He was very hands on, taking risks with technology (Apple IIe baby!) and with innovative techniques that extended beyond the walls of the classroom.  He turned kickball games into math lessons and the playground into a science lab.  Most importantly, he connected with us on a personal level.  The man could also play a mean game of H-O-R-S-E!

Dennis Swain
Mrs. Clark was a teacher at my Jr. High school, and she was my 9th grade Forensics team coach.  She was so encouraging and supportive, and a great coach.  I won the 9th Grade Extemporaneous Speaking competition for my district, and 2nd place at the regional level. I’ll never forget her, she had a tremendous positive effect on my life.

Brad Fountain
My favorite teacher was Jean Sanders, who taught 5th Grade at Martha Turner Reilly in Dallas, TX.  She was the first teacher I had that challenged the typical teaching practices.  We were required to give oral reports for every unit we studied and dress the part.  On one occasion she took me around the building to have me show off my Doc Holiday cowboy walk that I had incorporated into my oral report on cowboys.  It was in Mrs. Sanders’ class that I truly understood that learning could be enjoyable if approached from the right direction and that not everything to be learned came from a textbook.  She was a truly amazing teacher and as I stayed in touch with her through the years I learned how truly amazing she was as a person.

Don’t forget to share a favorite teacher from your life by posting a comment to the blog.

DEN Spring Training: Week 6

week 6 standings

Teacher Appreciation Week: Thank you, thank you

Before this really amazing week comes to an end, we have two more gestures of our appreciation and support for STARs.

den bagFirst, for today only all items in the DEN Store are 35% off.  Why 35% you ask?  If you think you know, post a comment to this blog post and the first STAR to answer correctly will get a free DEN duffle bag.

donors chooseSecond, many of you may have heard about DonorsChoose.org.  If not, DonorsChoose is an amazing site where teachers ask for stuff for their classrooms and very generous donors make it happen.  Check out a previous blog entry to learn more. 

Next Thursday, May 15 at 7 PM EST our friends from DonorsChoose will be leading a special webinar for STARs.  You’ll learn tips and tricks for getting your proposal funded.  Plus, one lucky STAR who attends the webinar will receive a $250 gift certificate toward his or her next proposal. 

Register today for this very special webinar about DonorsChoose.

More Appreciation for STARs from Our Friends at Animoto

Another “thank you,” this time from our friends at Animoto…

animotoSince launching Animoto in August of 2007, we’ve heard countless stories about how useful Animoto has been as a tool for educators to use with students. While we never originally thought Animoto would be something that could be used in the classroom, we’ve been both surprised and inspired by hearing how effective Animoto has been. We’ve decided we feel like this is one area we can do our duty to “give back” a little through “Animoto for Education.”

We’re willing to give free All-Access to any teacher who would like to use Animoto in the classroom. All-Access to Animoto allows you to make an unlimited amount of full-length videos, all of which can be downloaded. This may make presenting in class easier when an internet connection isn’t available.

The only thing we ask is that you keep us posted with the creative ways you find to use Animoto in the classroom. Please keep us abreast to any & all cool assignments you think of that involve Animoto! Send pictures, stories, assignment ideas or requests to get your Pass extended to Rebecca Brooks at rebecca@animoto.com.

How to use your extended All-Access code:

Go to Animoto & click on the sign-up link.

Complete your registration and enter your promo code: “discovery”

Upon successfully registering, your account will have an All-Access Pass until November 10, 2008. Without entering the code, you don’t get the Pass, so make sure to enter the code!

Feel free to use this code with your students if you would like to use Animoto in-class or with homework assignments. If you teach students who are under the age of 13 though, please be sure to check out the FAQ section of “Animoto for Education.”

EdTechConnect with Stephanie Throne and Grace Smith

I know it seems like the year has flown by, but it’s time to announce our last EdTechConnect of the year! Stephanie Throne and Grace Smith (STAR Discovery Educator) are authors of a book published by ISTE, Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classrooms. The two of them will be presenting “Using Discovery Education Streaming to Differentiate Instruction.”

In their book, Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classrooms (ISTE, 2007), along with various articles we’ve written, authors Stephanie Throne and Grace Smith discuss numerous ways that educators can use technology as a tool to differentiate instruction. In this webinar, they’ll explore some practical strategies and resources for digital storytelling that you can share with your students to help them craft a “21st century” tale. Some of the resources they’ll investigate include: United Streaming, PhotoStory 3, interactive comic strips, and PowerPoint.

Register now by visiting http://community.discoveryeducation.com/webinar

I hope to see you there. I’ll also be unveiling some of the featured presenters for next year’s EdTechConnect series, and trust me when I say you’ll be blown away by the lineup!

Celebrate National Teacher Day with Frames for all!

frames_banner.jpg

A special thank you from our friends at Tech4Learning in honor of National Teacher Day…

Thank you for all of your hard work as a teacher. As a small token of our thanks, Tech4Learning would like to give you, as a STAR Discovery Educator, a personal copy of Frames.  Frames is the perfect stop-motion animation tool for clay animation, time-lapse, and digital storytelling. Creating animation engages students in the curriculum, encourages problem solving, and provides a means to collaborate and communicate ideas.  Students can create stop-motion animated stories using pictures they have taken with a digital or DV camera, photographs they have taken of a clay animation, or original artwork they have drawn or painted in other programs. Students can save their work as movie or animation files to share online, in multimedia presentations or for inclusion in other video productions.  To learn more about Frames, please visit: www.tech4learning.com/frames
To receive your own copy of Frames, fill out the form at:

http://www.tech4learning.com/occasion/den_star_frames.html

Within 2 business days, you will receive an email with a URL where you can download a full-copy of the software as well as a Frames registration number.

To learn more about Frames, be sure to join us for our upcoming Discovery Educator Network Webinar!

Teacher Appreciation Week

teacher app week

Enjoy the first in a series of fun things we have planned for this really special week. This is one you can share with any of your colleagues. Have a great Monday!

Visit the Discovery Education Store now.

DEN Weekly Update: 5-2-08

Enjoy the update for May 2, 2008.

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