Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone

Had a great time presenting at METC. With over 6 inches of snow during the two days the cab ride in was a little scary, and we had fun pushing the car up the hill after our DEN dinner. The sponsors from CSD were tremendous and I cannot thank them enough for considering me when scheduling their speakers. As promised all of the presentations have been uploaded and can be downloaded from here:

21st Century Teaching for 21st Century Students

Consumers to Creators

Fostering A Learning Environment for 21st Century Learners

We had a great group of teachers attend a webinar tonight on Podcasting in education. It was wonderful to hear so many educators excited about starting their own classroom podcasts. The program I mentioned in the presentation that I find the easiest to use is audacity and it is free for both mac and pc. On the mac side you can also use garage band, which is equally as easy to use. If you want to create a video podcast on the pc side I suggest using Photostory which is free and easy to learn to use. I look forward to seeing the world of podcast get a little more crowded in the weeks to come. (PS - ThePowerPoint from the webinar is here)

Thank you to everyone for their discussion and feedback on the presentation.  Please add additional comments to the blog so that I can continue to develop the presentation.  This was it’s first run so I want to continue to develop it.  The virtual conference was a phenomenal event and kudos to everyone who attended, participated, or presented.

Many of you asked about the photos included and the videos.  The videos came from Discovery Education streaming’s Human Body series.  The photos are a combination of personal photos, friends photos, and some from flickr.  If you want the video I can send it to you.

You can find the “Understanding Your Students’ iBrains” presentation here (My talking points are in the notes section of each slide).  It was too large to upload to my blog

The educators from the South Regional wanted to give a little shout out to welcome everyone attending the West Coast Regional. You can watch the video here.

Discovery Education has joined forces with Walden University, mimio, Adobe Systems, Inc., Elmer’s Products, Inc., and CDW-G to launch New Teacher Survival Central, a new website featuring a robust array of classroom tools designed to welcome and support educators new to the teaching profession.

Offering tips, tricks, tools, and practical suggestions for easing entry into the teaching field, educators will find valuable essentials such as classroom management techniques, ideas for connecting classroom activities to the curriculum, lesson plans, peer-networking resources, tools to create engaging learning centers, and more.

In the Technology 101 area of the website, educators can access concise, practical information on how educational technologies promote student engagement in learning and what tools are available for use in the classroom. Free K-12 student resources are highlighted for teachers in the Tech Tools for Students section of the site. With a variety of interactive games, virtual labs and lessons, new educators have access to a broad collection of quality tools that can help engage students across the curriculum.

Another section of the website, Homeroom Headquarters, allows educators to access information on the art of classroom management. Featuring actionable advice on creating a positive classroom environment, communicating with parents and managing students, this area of New Teacher Survival Central provides educators with tips and guidelines to help them run a classroom smoothly and efficiently. New educators also will find powerful videos covering a broad array of topics such as lesson planning, community and parental involvement, and using technology effectively.

In Survival Tool Kit: Best of the Web, useful websites for teachers are collected in one place. Highlighting the blogs, tutorials, curricular resources, and educational media outlets veteran teachers rely on each day, the Best of the Web provides a great library of Internet tools to both new and seasoned educators alike.

“Teaching is among the most demanding professions in the world,” said Scott Kinney, Discovery Education Vice President of Outreach and Professional Development. “New Teacher Survival Central provides new teachers a large assortment of valuable tools that will allow for immediate impact while furthering their professional development. I wish I had had access to these tools at my first position in the Sharpsville School District.”

In addition, New Teacher Survival Central is offering $50,000 in weekly prizes until January 31, 2009. One first-year educator will be chosen from all entries to win a grand prize package that includes five mimio interactive systems, 10 copies of Adobe Systems’ Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements Bundle, a color laser printer from CDW-G, a $2,000 Elmer’s Products’ Creativity Collection, and $5,000 in multimedia from Discovery Education. Veteran teachers are encouraged to spread the word to new teachers because the educator who refers the winner will win a $1,500 Elmer’s Creativity Collection and $5,000 from Discovery Education. New educators are encouraged to enter every week to improve their chance of winning.

Visit New Teacher Survival Central at http://www.discoveryeducation.com/newteacher.

What a great day yesterday was in Huntsville, AL. We had a great time learning all about Discovery Education streaming and the other great resources our attendees shared. (My personal favorite has to from zefrank.com and it is the frog. Makes me laugh EVERY time!!! Thanks Carolyn Rains).

For those who may not have been able to get all of the websites. Sharon Prohaska has provided a list for you. Thank you Sharon.

South Regional Institute Bookmarks

The presentation from the streamathon has been highly requested and is not finally here. For the scrolling ticker effect what I recommend is that you simply copy the slide from my powerpoint and paste it into your powerpoint. You can simply change the text section of the scroll to meet you needs. The application for the live web pages in PowerPoint only works on the PC side. The name of the add-on is LiveWeb and installs within PowerPoint so all you have to do is click insert and choose web page. Don’t forget you can add multiple pages at the same time and it will add a new slide for each web page you enter.

WOW!! You can do that with PowerPoint?

For all of you who love Google Earth, but wished you could embed your favorite Discovery Education streaming video the solution is finally here. For a while you have been able to insert flash video from YouTube and TeacherTube, but not from .asf, .avi, etc. Now with a relatively simple code you can insert your downloaded video from DE streaming into Google Earth. The attachment below provides step-by-step directions on the code, which can be copied and pasted directed into the description section of any placemark. Enjoy and share. Thanks to GE Lessons.com for the help.

KET EncycloMedia, a partnership between KET and the Kentucky Department of Education, offers teachers and students more than 5,000 videos, 50,000 video clips and thousands of digital images, all searchable by keyword, content area, grade level, and Kentucky academic standards.

KET is Kentucky’s most accessible and comprehensive educational institution, and a leading example of how statewide public television can work with education systems to improve teachers’ skills and students’ learning. KET’s top-notch P-12 educational resources – all aligned to Kentucky academic standards – are used by 97% of Kentucky public schools. KET also produces and delivers Kentucky-focused arts, cultural, documentary, and public affairs productions, as well as PBS programming, adult education programs and college-credit courses to viewers throughout Kentucky and in parts of seven surrounding states.

Here at Discovery Education, people are doing daily calisthenics, stocking up on coffee and preparing I.V.’s full of Red Bull.  And that can only mean one thing…  The third annual Discovery Education streamathon is coming!This year’s streamathon features presentations by all your favorite members of the DEN team, from Hall Davidson to Lance Rougeux, and each of our expert DEN Account Managers.  They’ll be sharing a series of information-packed sessions on how to integrate the newest online technologies used by today’s media-savvy students into classroom instruction. Among the topics slated for presentation are an introduction to streaming media, tips and tricks for integrating digital media with popular Web 2.0 websites, and strategies for incorporating free movie making tools and multi-media PowerPoint presentations into curricula. On September 23rd, from 9AM EDT until 9PM EDT, we’ll be sharing a new presentation every hour on the hour.  Learn about integrating video into Powerpoint during your free period.  See how to integrate Web 2.0 into the Builders over lunch.  Share the latest in digital storytelling techniques with your colleagues in the teachers lounge.  Come for 1 hour or spend the entire day with us!  We heard reports from some STARs last year that they set up a projector in an empty classroom, supplied coffee and donut holes and invited teachers to drop in throughout the entire event.  Any way you cut it, it’s a wonderful way chance to learn some new skills, collaborate with your peers and celebrate the new school year with Discovery Education! Click here to register for the event.