Is that high of attending the Virtual Conference wearing off? Ready for more? Get ready for the CUE LA Tech Fair. From Voicethread to SMART Boards to Google, this program looks to be packed with sessions for everyone. Ted Lai is the keynote speaker. And of course, some of our very own STARS will be on hand to navigate you through the riches of Discovery Education Streaming.
Where: Mullholand Middle School When: Saturday, November 14 8:30am-3:30pm Cost: Just $35 for CUE members & $45 for non-members
Breakfast and lunch provided
Since our pal Dave Kootman has gone over to the “dark-side!” (LOL) I’ve volunteered to take on the roll of Nor CA blogger for the DEN. I’m really excited…so here it goes.
I spent the first weekend in March attending the CUEconference (Computer Using Educators) in Palm Springs! This was by far the BEST CUE of all. You see, this CUE was all about networking F2F with my DEN PLN… it was truly a STAR-Studded affair!
Below is a list of the resources that were shared during the Walk with the STARS session:
Genny Kahlweiss- Genny is CA DEN’s leader and had great resources to share!
The Space Place-Visit this NASA site for everything space related!
Dave Kootman’s site- Native Consultingcontains too many cool resources to list here! Select Handouts & Downloads tab. Scroll to Cool Ten (Latest) Websites. Check out the Woices website….really cool!
Dennis Grice- It was such a treat finally meeting Denise F2F. He’s one of the creators of the Dating Game Rock Video!
Martha Snyder- a Nor Cal DEN LC member shared her use of NINGto create staff networking sites.
Suzzane Wesp the creator of the famous Homophone video found exclusively on DE Streaming has now created a multiplication video called You can Multiplyby 12…Look for it in DE Streaming!
Alice Mercer- Shared VoiceThread. Alice’s student’s create math tutoring videos and use VT so other students can leave comments or questions. Check out ed.Voicethread too.
Jannita Demian’s – Jannita shared a plethora of sites that you will want to check out.
Christy G. Keeler, Ph.D - Visit a Virtual Museum and learn how to build a PowerPoint in perspective! Scroll to the bottom of Christy’s blog to find the templates to begin creating your own .ppt in perspective. This is a must visit site!
Ray Waller- Ray created quite a stir when he showed off his xtranormal movie creation featuring Matt and Jannita! Xtranormal allows users to create 3D movies in minutes that can be uploaded to YouTube.
Matt Monjan- Discovey’s Media Share – allows district users to upload, categorize and share videos. MS not only allows for searching media by state standard it even allows for embedding videos outside of streaming! Wait there’s more! MS can bulk upload your PowerPoint’s and will be ready for live viewing in less than fifteen minutes.
Phew! So many great resources to check out and so little time!
With CUE this weekend and many more conferences coming up, I thought it would handy to share some tips on how to get the most out of ‘conference season’. OK there’s not really a season, but whether your going to your first conference this year or attend several each year, these tips may help you enjoy the conference experience and get more out of it.
Turn your cellphone on vibrate. Sure, your at a tech conference and everyone is sporting the latest & coolest handhelds. But you’ve come to the conference to meet face-to-face with other educators. Engaging interpersonally helps build your network and prevents scowling looks from the presenter & attendees when your ringer goes off in the middle of a session.
Bring a water bottle and/or personal coffee container. You’ll want water more than you think (hello, Palm Springs!) and this also makes you a more green conference-goer by not contributing to the pileup of disposable water bottles/coffee cups you’ll see everywhere in the convention center. If you’re on a budget (and what teacher isn’t?) also consider bringing your own snacks - conference food hover around baseball stadium prices. Of course, it pays to be in DEN - they’re more than generous in keeping attendees happy & fed at their sessions.
Plan ahead. If there’s an intro session, attend it. You’ll get a good preview of what the speakers are like and perhaps find others interested in the same sessions.
I know some in the tech ed community will disagree with me on this one, but take notes on a notepad. I still use resources I wrote down in conference sessions over two years ago. Of course, they’re now bookmarked in Delicious or a blogroll somewhere, but I wouldn’t have remembered them if I hadn’t written them down. You can use your laptop, but it’s more cumbersome and restrictive. What if you & some newly made friends decide to go out for lunch in town but you’ve got your laptop? You’ll have to carry it or go back to the hotel to secure it somewhere, this takes too much time. You can twitter, blog, facebook, & skype out your notes. Besides, if everyone is blogging, facebooking or otherwise backchannel during while a speaker is presenting, I wonder how much of the content going on there is discussion vs. distraction?
In the expo hall, check out both new & older vendors - even ones you already use. Sometimes old vendors have upgrades or new products. If you’re like me, you may not always sign up for their email updates (just to keep my inbox manageable) but that means you could be missing out on something new & cool. It also pays for the reps to connect your face & name should you ever need a favor.
With our CA state budget & many schools facing cutbacks, make a list of goals of what you want to learn or people you want to meet. “What new ways do I want to use tools we already have? Are there free resources that could do the job of that software tool I’ve been eyeing? What am I going to share with my colleagues when I return?” If you’re in a session and it’s not meeting your needs, leave. This is your valuable time (and possibly money). If you don’t see another session in the schedule that looks worthwhile, head to the expo - it’s likely a less crowded time to get goodies and see exhibits.
Volunteer! You belong to the greatest professional network in education. If there’s a DEN booth, ask if you can help out. The smiling face or the authentic testimonial of another teacher is what got many of you into the DEN. While volunteering you’ll meet lots of people and gain stronger knowledge by sharing with others (just like teaching). Besides, if you don’t yet have any DEN gear, this might be a way to swing some. Afterall, you can’t represent with sporting some cool Discovery swag.
It’s CUE time in CA. If you haven’t already registered, the annual conference in Palm Springs is just around the corner. Go to http://www.cue2009.org/ for more info. And of course, what would a conference be without a DEN party? Not much I tell you. Join us for the CUE Conference Celebration at Boomers on Friday night. Here’s the invite: CUE_Celebration_Invite. See you in Palm Springs!
It’s 2009 and there are some great DEN events headed your way. It starts with next weekend with the Orange County CUE Tech Fest. Come hang with fellow DEN members and bring a friend. We still have some limited space, so don’t wait to RSVP! Hope we’ll see you there!
Here are the details:
When: Saturday January 24, 2009
Where: Watson’s Soda Fountain, 416 E. Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92866
The CUE conference started off with a bang this last weekend as the organization gave two awards to DEN stars. Jannita Demian, who we still claim as our California DEN mother, was awarded the Technology in Learning Leadership Award. This is given out to a member of the educational technology community whose contributions advance the mission of CUE. Mike Lawrence, the Executive Director of CUE, recognized that Jannita’s enthusiasm inspires teachers all over the country. Jannita’s husband and parents were in attendance to watch her accept the award, and the first few rows in the large hall were filled with exuberant DEN members. Check out her unique acceptance speech video link below. Kim got a little excited and started clapping with camera in-hand - we’ll excuse her for getting lost in the excitement. Those with balance issues and any Houghton-Mifflin representatives beware:
DEN stars Karl Forest and Karen Green each won the Gold Disk Award for their contributions to educational technology and their long-term commitment to CUE. Carol Anne McGuire also received the Oustanding Teacher award for her work with visually impaired students and the “Rock Our World” international collaboration project. Discovery Education is proud to have these outstanding amongst it’s many talented teachers and for their contributions to DEN. Way to bring home the hardware!
CUEtoYOU is proud to announce a special partnership with the
American Film Institute (AFI) and Cal State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB).
CUEtoYOU will host the AFI Screen Education workshop at the CSUMB Language Lab
on Saturday September 22nd. In this hands-on workshop, teachers and
administrators of all grade levels and subjects will learn how to use filmmaking
as a tool to engage student learning. Through experiential lessons, participants
will learn to shoot, plan, edit, and critique film and make connection to their
curricula. The workshop is lead by Frank Guttler, Associate Director of the
American Film Institute K-12 Screen Education Center and lead professional
development trainer for the last 5 years.
The
workshop runs from 9:00am to 5:00pm on September 22nd. Coffee and refreshments
will be served at 8:30am and a working lunch will also be included in the
workshop. The cost to CUE members is only $155. Non-members merely pay an
additional $40 for a full year of CUE membership. (Bring your own digital video
camera and tape if possible.)
It never fails… every training I am at, teachers need more money to purchase more resources. Well, grants are where it’s at… go get it! It’s like little money trees… but you have to be willing to climb the branches. Some of them are much easier than you think!
So, I was on our CUE website (www.cue.org) today, checking out upcoming dates. (SAVE YOUR CALENDAR FOR MARCH 1-3… BEG YOUR ADMINISTRATORS NOW TO SEND YOU… AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PRESENTING… THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 9/4/06)
Okay… back to my point… I was browsing around and found a TERRIFIC link called the "Grant Wrangler" … a free program that searches out educational grants for K-12 schools. So go there now…. www.grantwrangler.com!
And sign up to become a CUE member if you haven’t… they have sooooo many great resources available to you!
Wow! What a whirlwind the day was… but at the end of the day I stood back and watched the most 130 amazing educators I know networking… breaking down the barriers of their school, district, county, and region… truly connecting with their most valuable resource… each other!
The halls were truly buzzing with the word of our big DEN event, as educators dropped by early to see if there was anything they could do to help out. It didn’t take long before Everyone started lining up for this DEN only event!
It was inspiring to see our Discovery Educators begin connecting, even before they crossed through the doors. All attendees received t-shirts, luggage tags, posters, a variety of other goodies, and a catered Mexican dinner. Some even were big winners in our raffle. Steve Dembo spurred the crowd on by showcasing the website and giving us a short lesson on blogs and podcasting. Hall Davidson was his entertaining self. Corona Norco Teachers from Highland Elementary shared how they overcome obstacles of funding for technology. All of these components added up to an extremely successful 1st annual CUE DEN event.
A special thanks to all those who helped Susan and I prepare for this event… Ray W, Marie, Gene, Ray H, Craig, Lindsay, and Mark.
So let’s hear it… what was your favorite part of the night… who did you meet… what did you learn… what was your favorite CUE session? Inquiring minds want to know!
Discovery Educator Network is pleased to announce a private Discovery Educator only event on Friday, March 10th in Mesquite Room B from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The evening will highlight the arrival of our new website and on-line community. Guest speakers will include Steve Dembo and Hall Davidson.
Note: You do not need to attend the CUE conference to attend this event. Make sure you join us before the event poolside for a special CUE Ball featuring some of our DEN members as they perform a live music concert!
You must RSVP for this event by posting a comment here. More information will be sent out closer to the event, only to those who RSVP. Please post a comment if you plan on attending with your name. If you plan on bringing a guest, please include their name also.
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Hope we’ll see you there!
