I saw in my Twitter feed that now you can create your own Google Search Stories, so I thought I would give it a try. I have to say it was easy and a lot of fun.

. From now until April 30, 2010 you have the opportunity to be a part of the DEN Leadership Councils for 2010-2011.  Here’s how it works. STARs who want to continue to serve on the MD LC can express their interest by completing this form All STARs who want to be part of the 2010-2011 [...]

Every year the DEN sponsors a national institute in different locations where Discovery STAR educators can share and learn together. From personal experience, I can say this is a wonderful experience that every educator should take part in at least once. I went in 2008 and I thought I learned more there than in San [...]

Sick and tired of winter? Have 5 minutes to invest in a little visual literacy exercise?  Try Twilk.com. You get an interesting visual representation of your PLN. I like my network even more when I see everyone in pictures.   What does your network look like?

PLN, or Personal Learning Network, is such a valuable asset for any teacher. I know I depend on mine for new ideas, tools to utilize in the classroom, and for support in my new adventures. It has taken me a couple of years to grow a solid PLN and I love that it continues to [...]

Hey MD DEN educators, on Wed night, February 10th, we are having a discussion about Quest Atlantis in Second life. Sholi Oh (Sarah Rolle in RL) will talk about her experience with Quest Atlantis. Quest Atlantis is a free, engaging 3D virtual world developed and supported by a team at Indiana University. This is a [...]

EduCon took place this weekend in Philly. While I didn’t catch as much as last year, I have been impressed with the Tweets. I have been wanting to attend this event, because it more than the tools. It is about the big ideas that will move school into the 21st century.  I consider myself a [...]

Steve Dembo in the past has written about becoming a rock star whether it is your own blog or presenting at conferences. I actually heard talk about at the DEN’s National Institute a couple years ago and the whole topic interested me. Not so much the rock star part, but the idea of sharing what you know [...]

If you hang around Twitter, Plurk, or Facebook there seems to be a bigger resolution than shedding holiday pounds and that is to capture 2010 in 365 photos. Many have set up blogs to upload pictures and add commentary. There are many tweets that share daily pics and even more about that worry about being [...]

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There is a something magical about a new year. It is a clean slate, a fresh start, and a year of new adventures ahead.  It is a time to plan out a year where you can be the best you possible. Whether it is with resolutions, goals, or even analogies, it’s good to have a focus. If [...]

Sign up for a Live event during SCICON NOW https://lrougeux.wufoo.com/forms/den-scicon-2010-kensington-md/ Please join us in K’town.  Connect with fellow teachers!  It’ll be fun!  Breakfast and Lunch provided!! 

Discovery Education has a two-part DEN challenge to motivate DEN LCs to participate in this challenge! Part One Any STAR Discovery Educator who enters the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge by January 31, 2010 will have his/her name put into a drawing to win a trip to the NSTA National Conference in Philadelphia, PA [...]

Join MD, DC  and VA STAR DEN leaders for an in-person event for SCIcon 2010 on Jan 9th.  Breakfast, lunch and prizes provided, what more could you want?   well, maybe the opportunity to connect with other exemplary educators during an awesome Discovery virtual conference!  Space is limited so register early! https://lrougeux.wufoo.com/forms/den-scicon-2010-kensington-md/

Wireless conductivity While I am far from being an expert on wireless, I am seeing a potential problem with wireless in schools. While working on a build project in SL I inadvertently returned a part of 2DP to the owner of the building, twice.  I think my problem was the wireless lag.  I lost control [...]

Pass the word: New site called STEM Connect. Free to all DE Streaming schools. Tons of great stuff in there (includes Mythbusters) Here it is  http://discoveryeducation.com/stemconnect/

The MD LC hopes everyone had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving! As this break comes to a close and the holiday begins, I pose a new challenge to the readers of this blog: Share your knowledge about technology integration with a colleague. What you may have been doing for the past three years might be [...]

Did you do your homework?  Join us for part 2 of our discussion on Tony Wagner’s book, “The Global Achievement Gap”  Bring a notecard with your favorite PBL sims and sites and your imagination!  We’ll be doing a little building and exploring along with our discussing.  Meet at the campfire Wednesday, Nov 11@ 2DP, 5pm [...]

Here are the top ten reasons to come to the Powering Up with Technology conference at Dr. Wise High School in Upper Marlboro: Meet Matt Monjan and learn how to utilize DE Streaming! Who would mind winning a new computer? Make new connections in your PLN Aaron Smith, the Art Guy, is presenting Art 2.0 at 1:45 [...]

  Virtual worlds, virtual field trips, machinima, teen grid, Quest Atlantis…. just to name a few of the topics discussed at the SL DEN campfire last night, Nov 4th.  We talked about the book by Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap. We agreed that the 7 skills in the book are essential. The hour flew [...]

The book discussion in SL TONIGHT! November 4th and next week on the 11th. We are reading Tony Wagner’s book, “The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need—And What We Can do About It”  Scott McLeod mentioned this book in the summer leadership webinar hosted [...]

One of my favorite Web 2.0 tools is Glogster! The simplest explanation of Glogster is a site where the user can create an online multimedia poster. Not only can you add text, but sound and movies including DE Streaming clips. If you are using it in the classroom, I recommend you use the Edu version [...]

The MD and VA LCs are joining forces at the virtual conference on Oct 24th.  Sessions will run all day at 1DP in Silver Spring and 2DP in Second Life. Register NOW!  Worried about joining us in Second Life?  Even though my hair keeps flying off, I find SL to be the best PD on [...]

If there is an organization that does a lot for educators, it would be the DEN. As much as I go around and encourage others to join the group, I even forget all of the opportunities there are for teachers. If you have just joined or haven’t visited in awhile I challenge you to try [...]