DEN Blog Network

It really has been an amazing week.  Within the last few days, I’ve gotten emails alerting me to no less than three STAR Discovery Educators who have won rather prestigious awards!

Carol Anne McGuire, vision specialist and mastermind behind the Rock Our World project, has been honored by ISTE as the 2008 Outstanding Teacher of the Year!

McGuire was nominated by ISTE’s California affiliate (CUE, Computer Using Educators) for her dedication to creating educational resources that aid blind and visually impaired students with the core curriculum. McGuire has been recognized for her work internationally in Israel, Japan and Russia. She is also well-known for her “Rock our World” project that uses technology to help students collaborate across geographical boundaries on songs, movies, and stories.

She wasn’t the only one honored by ISTE this year though.  Lisa Parisi, along with Christine Southerd, Brian Crosby and Martha Thornburgh have won second place for the 2008 SIGTel Online Learning Awards.  Major kudos to everyone who participated in hte “Mysteries of Harris Burdick Collaborative Writing Project.”

Sponsored by ISTE’s Special Interest Group for Telelearning (SIGTel), the Online Learning Awards recognize creative educators worldwide for their pioneering use of telecommunications networks to provide innovative learning opportunities for students in grades K-16. The awards will be presented at the National Education Computing Conference, to be held June 29 through July 2 in San Antonio, Texas.

Finally, Scott Holcomb and his team at Memphis City Schools have been honored by Sonic Foundry for their innovative use of MediaSite.  They have won the 2008 Schoalstic Achievement Award, which recognizes a school district or other organization serving the K-12 educational community that harnessed the poewr of rich media to improve communication, learning and outreach.

Congratulations to all of our award winners, we couldn’t be more proud to have you as members of our community!

On the last day of August many of you are celebrating a successful first week or two of school while others are getting ready for a post-Labor Day start to the new year.  As you ready your classrooms with new posters (especially that really cool Meerkat Manor one) and bulletin boards, and get your first month’s lesson plans in place, while also setting up your rosters and grade books, don’t forget another really important back to school essential…your STAR status!

I’ve talked to a bunch of Discovery Educators this week about what you need to do to keep your STAR status.  Essentially, you have to show that you are active.  One way we measure that is by checking to see if you’ve reported at least two events in the past year.  Since we  launched the STAR level last year, there are many of you who need to report two events from last year, while others don’t have to do so until this year (starting now).  For all the details, here are the links to a couple blog posts that will tell you what you need to do and when.

Keeping STAR status for 2007-2008

What is an event?

If you have any questions, let us know.  And, don’t worry.  We’ll send out a final reminder soon to anyone who needs to fulfill the requirements for staying a STAR this year.

Have a great weekend and check your inboxes for the DEN Weekly Updates that will be starting again next Friday.

Just a quick reminder that if your school is interested in taking us up on the special STAR pricing for Discovery Education Science Connection, the deadline is June 15, 2007.  If you want a run-through via webinar, have a special request or just have some questions, contact me (lance_rougeux@discovery.com). 

We still have some space available at the DESC Summer Institute (August 13-16, 2007), so if you decide to go with DESC I’ll find room for you or a colleague at this exclusive professional development event.

As you know, STAR Discovery Educators are asked to report at least two events each year in order to maintain their STAR status and all the benefits that come with it.  So, what is an event? 

Any time you share the power of Discovery with other educators (3 or more), you are hosting an event.

For example:

• Lead an after-school training on how to use the Assignment Builder in unitedstreaming
• Host a grade-level meeting during lunch to show your colleagues how to sign up for the Science Connection trial
• Sponsor a summer workshop where you and your colleagues create multimedia presentations or Google Earth tours with unitedstreaming videos embedded
• The list is endless!

After you have conducted an event, make sure to report it!

Note: Events must involve direct instruction or coordination on the part of the STAR DE.  Although we absolutely value and support STAR DEs who send out weekly newsletters, blog posts, tech tip emails, etc., they do not count as events.  They do however count toward overall activity in the DEN so keep it up

More information on the definition of a DEN event can be found below.
Download what_is_an_event.pdf

On September 1, 2006 we introduced a new level of membership in the DEN: STAR Discovery Educator.  STAR Discovery Educators are the most active participants in the community and in return, they receive all sorts of additional benefits. 

As we approach the end of the 2006-2007 school year, we want to make sure that all of our STARs keep their special status for next year.  So…

If you joined the DEN before September 1, 2006, report at least two events you conducted that took place during the 2006-2007 school year and you will maintain your STAR status for the 2007-2008 school year.

If you joined the DEN on or after September 1, 2006, you will automatically enter the 2007-2008 school year as a STAR.  During the 2007-2008 school year you will have to report at least two events to keep STAR status for the following year.

When we announced the new level of DEN membership on September 1, 2006, we stated that a review process would take place at the end of July to determine STAR status for the following year.  We are extending that deadline until the end of August 2007 so our current STARs who will be conducting trainings, leading grade-level team workshops, etc. in August will have the chance to stay active and keep their STAR status for the 2007-2008 school year. 

If you are not sure if you reported your events for this school year, just send an email to app_den@discovery.com.  If you have any other questions regarding your STAR status for next year, post a comment or send me an email.

Make sure you stay a STAR!  We have a lot planned for next year.  More webinars.  More events.  More promotions.  More chances to connect, share and discover with your colleagues. 

I’ve been to a lot of events recently where I’ve heard STAR Discovery Educators talking to each other about the DEN and how much they value the community.  Inevitably, someone who is not familiar with the DEN asks, "What is a STAR Discovery Educator and why would you want to become one?"

So, I took some time to highlight some of the many benefits of being a STAR DE (it may take a minute to load).  Feel free to share it with your colleagues and get them excited about what the DEN has to offer.

We are thrilled to partner with the American Film Institute (AFI) to offer an incredible professional development opportunity to our STAR Discovery Educators.  On Tuesday, April 24th and Wednesday, April 25th, join us in Baltimore, MD for 21st Century Filmmaking Skills in the Classroom.

This two-day intensive workshop focuses on the process and tools for using digital filmmaking in a standards-based classroom with the intent of increasing understanding of core subject matter.  Designed for K-12 teachers of all subjects, school media specialists, lead teachers, school-site practitioners and facilitators interested in 21st Century literacy.  This hands-on workshop directly aligns with AFI’s Lights, Camera, Education! curriculum now available in unitedstreaming.

The workshop is being sponsored in conjunction with this year’s MICCA pre-conference workshops.  However, STAR Discovery Educators do not need to pay.  Simply contact me (lance_rougeux@discovery.com) to register.  Space is very limited.

More workshop details:
21st Century Filmmaking Skills in the Classroom
Tuesday, April 24 (10:30 am - 3:45 pm)
Wednesday, April 25 (10:30 am - 1:00 pm)
John Hopkins University Downtown Campus, Baltimore, MD
Cost = $0 (for STAR Discovery Educators)

Since it’s the holiday season, I assume your principals, tech coordinators and PTA/PTOs are looking for that perfect gift just for you.  Well, you can remind them that there is a little more than a month left on two special offers for STAR Discovery Educators.

InFocus Promotion

Details:  STAR Discovery Educators can purchase an InFocus IN24 projector for just $480 (after $100 mail-in rebate) with free shipping.  Or, instead of the $100 rebate, you can choose to get a spare lamp for your new projector.      

Also, you get to choose either a carrying case that fits the projector perfectly or an extra year’s warranty.

Limit:  Five projectors per STAR Discovery Educator

Expiration:  The offer expires on 1/31/2007 (while quantities last).

eInstruction Promotion

Details:  STAR Discovery Educators can purchase the CPS IR 32-pad system from eInstruction at an incredible price of $995 (plus shipping).  This is a discount of over 50% from eInstruction’s base pricing of $1995.

Limit:  One CPS IR system per STAR Discovery Educator

Expiration:  The offer expires on 1/31/2007.

For ordering information and other questions regarding these two exclusive STAR Discovery Educator promotions, contact me at lance_rougeux@discovery.com.

As a result of a number of questions related to the DEN National Poster Contest, we are pleased to announce an extension to the deadline and apologize for any inconvenience surrounding the submission process to date.

Entries will now be accepted until Monday, January 15, 2007 (5:00 PM EST).

To submit your entries, please follow the three steps below:

Step 1

Mail your release forms to:

Discovery Educator Network National Poster Contest
1560 Sherman Avenue
Suite 100
Evanston, IL 60201

Step 2

Email your student applications to:

educator_network@discovery.com
Subject: DEN National Poster Contest

Step 3

Send your students’ images to us via flickr.  Here’s how…

For each student entry (limit five per STAR DE in each grade category), send an email to:

given25with@photos.flickr.com

Subject: Your First Name and Last Name – Your Student’s First Name and Last Name (e.g., Joe Smith – Susie Johnson)

In the body of the email, “tag” the image based on the grade category by typing one of the following:

Tags: k2
Tags: 35
Tags: 68
Tags: 912

Note: k2 (Kindergarten through Second Grade), 35 (Third Grade through Fifth Grade), 68 (Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade), and 912 (Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade)

And, don’t forget to attach the image

Even if you have already submitted your entries, please re-submit by following the three steps outlined above. 

Thank you so much for your cooperation.  Good luck! 

Contact me at lance_rougeux@discovery.com if you have any questions.

As an added benefit of being a STAR Discovery Educator, we are pleased to offer you a special discount opportunity in partnership with eInstruction! 

Through this partnership, you can purchase the CPS IR 32-pad system from eInstruction at an incredible price of $995 (plus shipping).  This is a discount of over 50% from eInstruction’s base pricing of $1995.

Contact your field manager for more details.