DE Prof Development

On February 11 the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District initiated their 2010 DEPD training initiative by introducing 23 Directors and Specialists to the power of DE streaming. These educators, whose main responsibilities include supporting district classroom teachers with subject specific content, spent the day exploring the vast media library, teacher center and host of other resources available to them. The same group returned the next day to acquaint themselves with DE Science and DE Middle School Science. Meanwhile, across the hall, a second group of CMS educators, this time Reading Specialists and Coaches, were also being shown how DE can help them enrich the classroom experience for CMS students.

And so it began. Over the course of the following two months DEPD trainers Teryl Magee and Patti Duncan visited CMS four times to train selected teachers, coaches and specialists and prepare them to be the guiding force in their district for instructional change.

One “science lead” and one “site lead” per school, for a total of approximately 120 educators spent a total of four days each learning everything that they could about instructional strategies for using educational media to engage students and promote 21st century thinking skills.

The “site leads” trained with Teryl on DE streaming, multimedia presentations, student access and the DE Builders, and Web 2.0 tools. Patti guided three cadres of elementary level teachers and one cadre of middle school through DE Science, DE Science Assessment, student access and the DE Builders, and multimedia presentations. In addition, the reading coaches, directors and specialists all returned for a total of four sessions each to learn the same tools and strategies.

The experience was awesome for both trainee and trainer alike. CMS educators expressed a great deal of excitement about having access to these new tools and ideas for enhancing their curriculum. Teryl and Patti thoroughly enjoyed spending time with their attendees, getting to know them over the course of the two months and the wealth of “southern hospitality” they showed every day.

A foundation has been set in Charlotte-Mecklenburg for sweeping instructional change. These approximately 160 educators will be taking everything that they learned during this time back to their classrooms, their schools and their fellow teachers. The excitement is already spreading. Cadre members are reporting back that there is an increase in the use of DE by the faculty of their schools and that it is already effecting the way many of them teach.

We thank CMS for allowing us to effect such change in their district. With more trainings planned for later in the year we hope to reach even more educators and assist them in creating awesome learning environments across the area. DEPD and CMS… together we are blazing the instructional technology trail!

Discovery Education and Hawaii’s State Department of Education celebrated the launch of Discovery Education streaming on March 8, 2010. The kick-off began with a Day of Discovery hosting over 75 educators from across the state.  Educators enjoyed a keynote about the evolution of media in our society and our schools, breakout sessions, and a special ‘lunch and learn’ featuring Discovery Education’s Chief Environmentalist, Philippe Cousteau.

Later that evening, over 100 Hawaii educators, students, and other community members gathered for an Evening of Discovery featuring a Deeper Dive Digital Treasure Hunt through Discovery Education products and stations where participants could create their own movies, learn about internet safety, listen to Philippe Cousteau share his passion for the ocean, and watch a VIP Discovery Channel Screening.

March 9^th through March 11^th marked the beginning of a digital transformation across the islands.  With Discovery Education Professional Development (DEPD) specialists on every island, administrators, educators, and students were shown how to access the new tools and resources now at their fingertips.  DEPD specialists explained how to gather Math explanation tutorials, Language Arts songs, interactive Science glossaries, Social Studies video segments and much more. The sessions empowered educators and students alike to access the resources they need to satisfy their natural curiosity and enhance their learning.

Last week, the DEPD team, together with a few DEN account managers, hosted a successful Day of Discovery in Anoka MN. Even though temperatures were extremely cold, we were greeted warmly by over 150 educators and administ
rative personnel.

The day began with a brief opening session by Mike Bryant, which included an overview of Discovery Education and a quick review of streaming. A very special guest, Philippe Cousteau, followed Mike with and endearing, insightful and motivating speech about the progression of education throughout our country. Philippe talked in a warm and witty way about his experience with education and with teachers who made an impact on him when he was a student. The floor was then opened to the teachers who asked Philippe about his travels and his experiences with the marine life that he has encountered.

It was difficult for our DEPD team to follow Philippe! After all he IS the grandson of the famous Jacques Cousteau! However, we pulled it off effortlessly. The Anoka teachers rotated through several of our team members’ sessions: multimedia presentations, builder tools, student access, and 50 ways. Overall, the enthusiasm was high, and the interest level was peaked. We heard much positive chatter in the hallways between sessions; the teachers could not wait to get back to their classrooms to start using DE with their parents.

As with all good things, though, the day had to come to the end. We wrapped up the day with a quick debriefing and then bid all of our new teacher friends farewell. Overall, it was a successful day, and we were thrilled to have impacted so many educators in Minnesota.