Arkansas DEN

Tired of the heat? Tired of those same old boring days of no students in and out?  Ready to get back to school?  Well , it is just about that time for educators that have been on summer break.  Most of us have been to several workshops and picked up idea after idea and now it is time to get those ideas into the classroom.  Maybe you are wondering exactly how to apply those ideas .   A great source is the Educator Resources tab here in the DEN.  Checkout the great lessons already there for you provided by other STAR educators.  Then when you brainstorm that great idea… upload and share with others. 

We already have a wonderful list of 50 ways to use Discovery Streaming. Star Members attending the DEN LC in Maryland put their heads together and created a few more ways.  Two  Kansas Leadership Council members spent extra time creating their 25 additional ways to share Discovery Streaming.  With each new idea is also an idea to add a new technique like keynote (for Mac users) and imovie.  If you or  colleague are using Discovery Streaming just to show videos…”rethink” . Use some of the ideas that are here for you to share or create your own and share them with other educators in the DEN.  Good luck with your creation! 

The AR DEN Leadership Council spent the week in Silversprings, Maryland at Discovery Headquarters.  The LC was able to meet and share ideas with other LC members from across the US.  Discussion on planning events for Star Members was a hot topic. Everyone had the opportunity to stand in front of the camera at the Discovery Studio to shoot footage in front of the green screen.  We went to breakout sessions to learn how to use Twitter, plurk, flickr and other tools to connect with tech.

 Fourteen of us took off on a geocaching excursion in DC and was able to locate one of our caches. Found our first cache in a ”sugar high” place.  We decided someone had to have removed our last cache we searched for. DEN is the BEST!

Workshop #2      (Limited Seating-first come, first serve)
{Registration Begins February 1st and Closes February 13th for this Live -
one hour “Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0″ Webinar to be held on
February 15th from 10am to 11am. This one hour live Webinar is available
for Members only in the Arkansas IDEAS Learn Now! system. [
http://www.arkansasideas.org ]http://www.arkansasideas.org}

Webinar # 2: Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0:
Designed and delivered by Kathy Schrock, one of the most recognized names
in school technology integration, this IDEAS workshop will allow you to
use some of the most popular tools to enhance your own professional
development, as well as share your expertise with other educators.  This
workshop combines a one-hour webinar with online readings, activities, and
handouts to expose teachers to meaningful ways of integrating technologies
into the curriculum.

It is hoped, as you read articles, watch videos, and listen to podcasts,
you will always be thinking about ways these items can enhance your
classroom practice. In the Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks, technology
acquisition is embedded in the content-area documents. However, this
workshop is not about the technology itself, but how it can be used in
meaningful ways, when appropriate, to allow additional collaboration
between colleagues, teacher and students, and students themselves.

This workshop will begin with a 1-hour live webinar hosted by Kathy
Schrock on Friday, February 15th from 10:00 - 11:00 am, and will continue
at your own pace with online activities until all of the topics have been
explored.   Both the webinar and workshop materials will be available
solely through the Arkansas IDEAS portal.  Seats for the live webinar are
limited to 45 and will be on a first-come, first-served basis so it is
important to register with IDEAS early for this exciting event.  If you
miss the live event, the webinar will be recorded and available via the
IDEAS portal.
About the Presenter:
Kathy Schrock is presently the Administrator for Technology of the Nauset
Public Schools in Orleans, Massachusetts. She is internationally known in
the education field as the creator of Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
(http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide), a Web site started in June of
1995 to help fellow educators identify curriculum-related Web resources to
enhance their units of study.
Kathy is the author of numerous articles and reviews in such publications
as Creative Classroom, Classroom Connect, Multimedia Schools, Technology
Pathfinder for Teachers and Administrators, and Technology Connection and
is the author of six technology-integration books for educators. She
received her BS in elementary/special education from Rutgers College in
1979 and her MLS from Rutgers Graduate School of Library and Information
Studies in 1981. Kathy also currently serves on the ISTE Board of
Directors.

For Arkansas IDEAS Learn Now! system registration questions for these
first come, first serve, limited seating “live” Webinar Workshops in the
Arkansas IDEAS Learn Now! System:
Contact Technical Support by E-mail: [ mailto:arideastech@aetn.org
]arideastech@aetn.org

You must have access to your State Teacher Identification Number (STIN) to
register as a New Member in the Arkansas IDEAS Learn Now! system. Once
registered, you will have access to thousands of ADE-approved Online
Professional Development Hours.

For questions regarding the content of these Live Webinar workshops
contact:
Dr. Cheryl Murphy
Program Coordinator, Educational Technology
University of Arkansas
255 Graduate Education Building
Fayetteville, AR  72701
479-575-5111 or 479-530-2365
[ mailto:cmurphy@uark.edu ]cmurphy@uark.edu
[ http://etec.uark.edu ]http://etec.uark.edu

Every where you look, you see someone with an earpod hanging out their ear.  Even my 4 year old granddaughter keeps her mp3 player going as she sings to Hannah Montana. The busy life we all have keeps us from enjoying some things we need to stop for.  Thanks to podcasts, we can still keep up with what is going on and still keep going.  Discovery has helped with that task so you don’t miss some of your favorite Discovery shows.  Just checkout the link and Take Discovery wherever you go! 

Join us for the 1st ever Discovery Educator Network Virtual Conference on Saturday, February 2nd!

Connect with educators from all over the country during this unique professional development experience where you can attend, in-person, online or both!

The DEN Virtual Conference is a national event that provides educators a unique opportunity to experience Discovery Education’s high quality professional development. Participants have the flexibility to attend the DEN Virtual Conference online or in-person at one of many regional events hosted by the DEN Leadership Councils.

The day will feature keynote presentations from Discovery’s own Hall Davidson and Lance Rougeux that will be broadcast to each of the regional gatherings. In between the keynote presentations, participants will attend breakout sessions presented by local STAR Discovery Educators.

Educators who cannot attend an in-person regional event still have the opportunity to participate virtually in the full-day conference. Special breakout sessionspresented by Matt Monjan, Mike Bryant and Steve Dembo will be broadcast throughout the day.

To register for the DEN Virtual Conference or to see if there is an in-person event in your area, visit the registration page here. Seats will fill up at the regional locations quickly, so make sure that you RSVP for this FREE and unique opportunity ASAP!

I’ve been working with my students doing projects that involve podcasting. Today, I received an email from a friend that found a site she knew I would just love!  She was so right, Learn Out Loud is a wonderful place to hear different podcasts that cover subjects of all types. It also features a section on video podcasts. I’m still learning techniques on podcasts, but we all know, the learning NEVER ends!

As we all start a new year, let’s recall the saying “Out with the Old and in with the New”!  I’m sure a lot of you have already started with the mind set of getting things around the house in order or maybe even looking for a “new” you.  What about getting rid of those “old” lesson plans and adding some “new” ideas to them.   Maybe you want to have students do more than just an “old ” book report….try turning it into a book talk podcast.  Once the podcast is complete, you can link it to your school website so students and parents can log on and listen.   Maybe you want to add a little music to a project.  Checkout this great project and location of music  in 366 Days of Music.

Let’s keep on sharing and learning together.

Well…crash is not a pleasent word. My system went down just before break and I finally have my information back.  It was great to see the comments from Arkansas DEN members upon my return. Some upcoming events were mentioned for us to remember.  First on the list will be AAIM (Arkansas Association of Instructional Media) to be held April 20-22 at the Doubletree Hotel and Robinson Auditorium in Little Rock.  The other event will be Hot Springs Technology Institute - June 16-20! We hope to have a DEN  get together at both events. So mark your calendars.

It is great to be back in action with the DEN.  The Arkansas Leadership Council is very excited about getting things going again.  We have several plans in place for the DEN to get together. Get the word out that we are back!