My name is Debbie Salahi and I live in California with my husband and our cat Daisy. I have been interested in computers since I was in high school. In those days computers needed a room to hold them.  Education is a second career for me. I started using digital media my first year of teaching. My students have had an edge from educational videos, listening centers and computers in the classroom to my recording books on audio tapes and videotape available with “library” checkout for home use. I was the technonology liaison for my school for several years.  I have become very proficient finding great websites for skill practice.  I guess I am really a Digital Immigrant because this is my first blog even though I have had the account for several months. I have not yet incorporated Web 2.0 tools into my classroom, but I am ready to start!

I have been teaching second grade for eleven years. I really enjoy children at this age because they are usually excited about learning. I teach in a Title 1 school located in Anaheim, California. A large percentage of our students are English Language Learners. Our school has been concentrating on student engagement as a way to increase our standardized test scores. I think media is an excellent way to increase student engagement. Screen media is very beneficial for visual learners, it provides picture support for my English Language Learners and the fast pace keeps their attention. The majority of clips I use are less than 5 minutes and many are about 1-2 minutes. My students know if they don’t pay attention right away it will be over. I do show many of the clips more than once. I think it reinforces what I am teaching when they also see it on a video.

Every event that I have participated in with Discovery Education has been very beneficial. Other teachers look to me to help them with technology. I have held mini trainings at my school for colleagues. I have assisted teachers in our school in setting up their accounts on Discovery, introduced them to the songs section on Discovering Streaming, and probably the most beneficial was providing CDs that referenced the videos offered through Discovery Streaming with the phonics and grammar of our Houghton Mifflin Language Arts program. 

When I attended the DEN National Institute in July, I realized how much more there was to learn. I am taking this class because it is a joint effort between Discovery and Wilkes.  

I use Discovery Streaming weekly in my classroom. I have identified numerous video segments that I have aligned to many of the second grade standards (“Legacy” content).  I want to learn how to create podcasts with my students and get them more actively involved in creating content. I want to learn what is appropriate for seven and eight year olds who don’t necessarily have access to computers outside of school. I am excited that I am taking Digital Media in the Classroom. The goal is more technology integration in my classroom.