DEN Blog Network

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!

Quite a shake up in the standings this week! Coach Randall’s West Region pulled into second place and Gummy Bear Bryant’s Midwest squad jumped into fourth. A total of 23 different states have reported new STARs so far and the momentum continues to build.

In other spring training news, managers Swain (neck), Karkow (shoulder) and Fountain (hand) are all on the DL after suffering minor injuries playing Rock Band at the DEN’s League meetings this past week in California. We expect them all to return to action next week.

Are you and your students excited by the DE 3M Young Scientist Challenge? You certainly should be! There’s plenty to be excited about. From the $50,000 in bonds for students and the all expenses paid trip to DC for the teachers, there’s some serious prizes at stake! And it’s easier than you might think to participate.

Don’t believe me? Then let Hall Davidson lay it all out there for you. Last night was the first of seven webinars he’s hosting to ensure that you and your students know everything you need to about the DE 3M YSC Challenge. He’ll go over the details with you, but also give you the inside track on how you and your students can get yourselves in the running.

April 21st, 2:00pm EST - Teachers and Students
April 22nd, 1:00pm EST - Teachers and Students
April 23rd, 3:00pm EST - Teachers and Students
April 23rd, 6:00pm EST - Teachers only
April 30th, 8:00pm EST - Teachers only
May 6th, 6:00pm EST - Teachers only

Teacher & Student Description: These webinars will cover the basics of creating and uploading videos for the challenge. Students will learn how to create videos from cellphones, cameras, or webcams. They will learn to edit with or without computers. They will learn their range of free editing software and learn how to create digital videos even without a camera. Most importantly, they will learn that enthusiasm, problem solving, and communication skills are key to winning the Challenge. This a challenge very much in the spirit of Mythbusters. Technology tools will not be a barrier for Young Scientist Challenge Participants.

Teachers only Description: Teacher webinars will cover the basics of creating and uploading videos for the challenge. Teacher will review how video content can be created from cellphones, cameras, and webcams. They will review free and low-cost editing software for polish and control of their video. They will be given the overall goal that enthusiasm, problem solving, and communication skills are key to winning the Challenge. The Challenge is in the spirit of Mythbusters. Teachers will also be given tools to encourage students to enter. Note: The Teacher category for the Young Scientists Category is open exclusively for members of the Discovery Educator Network.

Congrats to Stacy Kasse, Meg Griffin and Eric Strommer whose names were picked from the crab pot to attend the dinner with the captains of Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.