DEN Blog Network

You probably know that I always stress writing as the basis of good storytelling. And you know that you can’t tell a good story without getting your facts straight. So, with that in mind, the DEN would like to get your story. If you have participated in the Discovery Educator Network or ever attended a DEN sponsored event, could you take 5 minutes and give us your thoughts?

In what has become an annual summer event for me, I spent the last few days right outside of our nation’s capital at Discovery headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. As usual, it was a great opportunity to reconnect with my colleagues from both coasts, my neighbor Steve Dembo (who I almost only see when we’re on the road), and DEN STARS, old and new, from around the country.
We offered a 2 hour version of the full day “Lights, Camera, Education!” workshop and our STARS rose to the occasion. After a little more than an hour of “this is what you would have done if we had the time,” they had less than an hour to plan, shoot, and edit their door scene. With so little time, creativity just burst forth. Inspired by Steve’s “Social Networking/Web 2.0” morning keynote, one lady got through her door by Plurking a friend to come open it from the inside. And another, perhaps camera shy team, filmed a lonely water bottle trying to get back into the refrigerator with the love of his (her?) life. Happy ending! See the YouTube embed at the end.
Yesterday, before I jumped on the Metro and headed to Reagan airport, I was able to join a group that went over to the Discovery production studios just a few blocks away. As usual, the red carpet was out. I took a little detour to peek into the editing suites and was invited into one where the man at the controls was working on a promo for Renovation Nation.
Rejoining our group at the main stop - the green screen studio, we had a crash course on chromakey and lighting before taking turns in front of the camera where Ted Koppel, among many others, works. It is amazing how much thought and equipment goes into getting it just right (perfect actually) and how closely we can mimic almost all of that with our students. It was also inspiring to see the educators in my group take to the green screen stage, step in front of the camera, and make on the spot clips thanking school boards and administration for their support. They also welcomed students back for the year and one even wished her son and his growing family well as he prepares to deploy for Iraq.
Wish I could have stayed through today to see everybody’s final projects. Boom-de-ah-da!
Now, the water bottle and the door…

Continuing to catch up to the end of January, here are some of my highlights from FETC

On Tuesday as I was just about to board my plane, Hall called asking me to find a DVD of the first Matrix movie while I waited for him in the Orlando airport. Fortunately, they had one and he used a scene perfectly to set up his presentation on using code to get the most out of Google Earth or commandeer an iPod. I’ve said it before, though maybe not here, there is a lot of James Burke/”Connections” like thinking in Hall’s presentations.

We also got to listen to Scott Kinney rehearse his introduction of keynote speaker, Jeff Corwin. In spite of a mysterious voice from next door, Scott remained poised and packed a lot in a little time to prepare the audience for a very special keynote.

Wednesday morning was a special, preconference DEN get together with many fine presentations topped of with a potpourri session done by our own attending DEN members. Then we hopped a bus for Downtown Disney and lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. There was just enough time for us to get in a little shopping before heading back for Jeff Corwin’s keynote (we’ll get Lefty that light saber next year, Steve). Jeff Corwin’s keynote lived up to Scott’s intro and all attendees received a DVD of Jeff Corwin exploring Florida’s ecosystem.

That night I joined Apple and other Apple Distinguished Educators for dinner and a tour of Full Sail University in Winter Park. Talk about just in time learning! They accept and graduate students preparing for the entertainment industry every month except December. Their 178 acre campus covers an old shopping mall and two office parks, and includes a backlot street that is about a block long. Among the awesome collection of studios and editing suites were a number of green screen sets including one that is almost two stories high! Visit the website. It really does their philosophy and programs justice.
Thursday I got to spend a little time in the booth, visiting vendors and dropping in on presentations. That evening, while the DEN crew was turning the corporate presentation room into a classy reception area, I was very privileged to be sent across the street to accept an award from “Technology & Learning” magazine. “An” award turned out to be four! Discovery Education Science and Discovery Education Health were recognized with 2007 Awards of Excellence from the magazine, while Discovery Education streaming Plus and PowerMediaPlus each received a Legacy Award for “standing the test of time and evolving.” Then back to the redecorated Discovery room to celebrate those awards, the DEN and each other. And a big tip of the hat to Discovery’s Jen O’Brien who kept the red carpet rolled out and the corporate room organized and looking good in all its many roles.
Friday was basically a travel day as I raced back to Chicagoland for a couple of presentations of my own Saturday morning and the impending birth of my grandson (who accommodated my traveling with his own premiere just after midnight on Saturday). I did, however, manage to sit through a dry run of Hall’s newest preso, “Revenge of the Digital Immigrants,” and catch some of Jannita’s presentation on Digital Storytelling (looked good, JD!) on Friday morning.
So, after I take another look at the Super Bowl commercials, I may just be (temporarily) caught up.

Yesterday, as I finished off the last of the candy from my Florida “excursion” goody bag and tried to organize all the stuff I’ve collected during the summer and as I prepare to present at my first professional development days of the new school year later this week, I found myself feeling very grateful. Though I have been retired for a full academic year now, I had the busiest and most rewarding summer of learning in my life.

I got to help stuff all three of our DEN summer institute goody bags and am intimately aware of all the thought and care that went into sharing mementoes of each participants’ geographic area and educational duties. From clever poems and hand-made souvenirs, to post cards, bookmarks, and all matter of rocks and shells that tell a story, each bag was quite a lesson in history and geography. And on top of that there were those great projects and “cruising with the stars” tidbits. Thank you for taking the extra time in your already busy professional life to be an active member in a vibrant network of learners who help to make education come alive for so many students.

But the biggest thanks has to go out to our institute queen and chief organizer, Jannita Demian. Most of you know what it’s like to put together a staff development day in your district and I bet many of you are involved in preparing and supporting your local and state conferences. You can imagine what it’s like taking your one week show and all it’s equipment on the road to share in three states! As Darcy White put it, “Bezerkeley!” So a big “WHOO-HOO!” and the coveted finger of appreciation to Jannita for pulling and holding us all together this summer.

Many of the summer’s sharings can be found in Hall’s “Keynote Sharing” posting and on the ‘07 Institute wiki: http://dni07.editme.com/Berkeley.
Group picture credit - thanks to Anne Truger via Flickr

My summer of learning and sharing at institutes came to a screeching halt yesterday as I waved good-bye to a few van loads of DEN attendees bound for a day in San Francisco. My cab for the Oakland airport arrived just a half an hour later to begin my journey back to the heat and humidity of the Chicago area. Visiting California’s Berkeley campus these last few days was truly moving (and it wasn’t just because they assured me on check-in that I was staying in one of the new, quake proof dorms).
First, there was the “history.” Hall and I were so excited in our reminiscing about Berkeley’s role in the social activism of the 60’s that it drove one of our younger colleagues to Wikipedia to check our facts. We were glad to see that community awareness is still alive in the form of several agencies and national institutes that we passed by or saw advertised around campus.

Then there was the movie making project the ten teams of DEN educators took on. After a quick intro to the AFI ScreenEd manual and clips on unitedstreaming, we dove right into the basic door scene and the extended “not in Kansas anymore” follow-up. I am just amazed at how well and how enthusiastically educators have accepted the challenge and run, stumbled, fallen, and jumped right through the door and into another world. From keeping your heart healthy, to a teacher eating vacuum and clothes dryer, and right down to a “psycho” talking toilet, creativity and fun brought learning to a whole new level. And those #$!@%& dorm keys came back to haunt me when I found mine in my pocket as I went through airport security. I had to leave the gate area to get to a mailbox and then go through #$!@%& security again.


Here’s a PDF version of the Makin’ Movies presentation that I shared and the Sean Astin overview of the ScreenEd program and video clips is here on the AFI site.
So as my very full summer of sharing and learning draws to a close, I hope I can keep track of all of the wonderful tips and sites I picked up as well as stay in touch with Steve Dembo, my institute roomie through three states and two countries.

Well, maybe a dolphin or two or eight or ten. And the bluest water and widest range of blues you’ve ever seen. That’s professional development Florida DEN Institute style! It’s hard for me to put a strictly digital storytelling spin on the last six days of sharing because it’s really all about bringing it all together.

At the risk of playing favorites with team presentations, I am going to spotlight one project that not only tickled my funny bone, but fed my love of puns. Those who remember “The Dating Game” would love the bachelorette diamond (in the rough?) trying to blindly choose between (“don’t take me for”) granite, igneous (“we could have a hot time”), and sedimentary (“many layered personality”) in a multimedia lesson design to teach about rocks. After listening to and watching the presentation, students have to make the diamond’s choice for her based on scientific reasons.

And then there was one that used the credit card “priceless” format. What a great way to highlight or summarize just about anything. They focused on our learning experiences, but consider Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” - Conquering Gaul: 100,000 denarii; crossing the Rubicon and taking over the senate: 1,000,000 gold talents; trusting Brutus and ignoring the ides of March: priceless!

A cultural P.S. that may be a reflection of the times. On my only trip off the boat, Hall and I went looking for a steel drum band CD in Nassau. Nothing. Nada. Rien. Lots of blank stares until Hall found a guy willing to download some songs from iTunes, but he didn’t have any blank CD’s to burn them onto. Finally, some locals directed us just off the beaten path where we found one single album languishing in a stack behind the register. And then when Hall brought it back and played it, it sounded suspiciously like a synthesizer with sampled steel drum tones!