DEN: Florida

Please watch the video of our Palm Beach School Districts for the MILLIONTH stream….

Hello World!

The November 7th Sea World event was a great eye-opener!

Our group’s quest was to find out as much as we could about sharks for the day.  We spent several minutes hunting and finding the ‘Shark Den’ and once we arrived, we watched the sharks swim and took many pictures!

From there, we went back to our ‘training room’ and created a glogster page with our shark information.  We added a link to an animoto video and researched the internet for great shark information.  Continuing with the theme of sharks, we found a website that had shark games!!

Follow our teams efforts…. here we go!

http://ascienceteacher.edu.glogster.com/Dennys-DOD/

By the Way…. Denny is our ‘Mascot’ for the FL DEN Leadership Council… watch for many many more visits and theme related events with Denny!!

NEFEC (North East Florida Educational Consortium)  recently purchased Discovery Education Streaming Plus and Discovery Media Share for all 15 member districts in North East Florida. The Discovery team held train the trainer sessions in Lake City for NEFEC members responsible for training in their home counties on July 20 & 21, 2009.  Welcome to teachers/staff in the following counties: Baker, Bradford, Columbia,  Dixie, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Nassau, Putnam, Suwannee, Union. PK Yonge DRS, Florida School for Deaf & Blind.

On June 24th and 25th, representatives from all fifteen of NEFEC’s member districts participated in the Summer Drive-In Conference entitled, “The Power of Less: Making the Most of Your Return on Investment”. This one-day, technology-centered event was held at Columbia High School in Columbia County on the 24th and replicated at Matanzas High in Flagler County on the 25th.

The conference consisted of two speakers that are on the cutting edge of integrating technology into best teaching practices, Hall Davidson from Discovery Education, and John Kuglin from the Eagle County School District in Colorado. Both speakers discussed the implications of technology on today’s learners, and the presentations touched on everything from professional networking sites to Twitter and cloud computing.

The day also included several districts showcasing their use of technology in planning and teaching to the individual learning needs of all students. Some of these presentations included:

How many of you are ready to unleash the true power of the iPod? I have been an observer and after seeing Hall’s presentation today, I need an iPod! Did you know that you can download any quicktime movie and place it on your iPod?  Probably.  But did you also know that you can take your RCA cables, reverse the red and yellow connections, hook your iPod up to the T.V. and present your movie on the television?  Did you also know that you can save your Powerpoint slides as jpegs and then also save them as a quicktime movie and show them on the telelvision?  The iPod is going to revolutize education.  Imagine loading everything you needed for a presentation on an iPod?  No need to bring the laptop with you, just sync up with the computer when you arrive at your destination and you are ready to present.  I am so excited about the educational uses for the iPod, now all I need to do is find the funding for it. 

Thank you Hall for your inspiring presentation on the use of iPods!

If you are an iPod user, how do you use it in the classroom?  We would love for you to share your ideas with the group.

Wow!  What an exciting week!  The pre-conference started Wednesday morning at Universal Studios.  When I arrived in the parking lot, Scott Kinney and Hall Davidson were in the car next to us.  Danielle got out and gave the lady in the car a big hug and they took a photo.  She came over and I introduced myself and she said, "Hi, I’m Kathy Schrock".  I smiled and said hello while thinking to myself, "I’m standing here with Kathy Schrock in the middle of the parking lot at Universal! Hummm…."

The day was off to a great start.  We had a wonderful tour of the park and had a great behind the scenes tour.  Our guides did a wonderful job. They took us into the Mummy ride and showed me things I never knew.  If you are waiting in line, there is a large box with a place for a hand on either side.  If only one person places their hand on the box, the symbol for evil appears on the ceiling above.  If two hands are placed on it (one on each side) the symbol for good will appear.  I had never noticed that before.  The creators of the ride consulted with experts from Egypt to make the artifacts as authentic as possible. 

Many of you probably remember the King Kong ride that use to be in the building that now houses the Mummy.  The creators at Universal wanted to make a statement so they created a gold miniature of King Kong and placed it in the treasure room of the ride.  The next time you are on the Mummy, see if you notice the statue of King Kong.  At Universal Kong still lives. 

We were able to tour the sound stages and discovered that Universal is a unique working studio because they have a covered breezeway that allows costumes, props, and actors to move from one soundstage to another without having to worry about weather conditions that could delay the production.  The Blue Man group will soon be added to the shows that are produced at Universal and they are currently looking for people to star in the show.  Maybe you will be the next member of the group.

The horror makeup show was very fascinating.  We learned about the material used to alter a person’s nose and even tried them on. The original use for Max Factor was horror makeup before it became available as a cosmetic.  There were many other fascinating stories but you really need to experience for yourself.  We had a thirty minute show condensed into ten minutes. 

Our project for the day was to create a digital story with pictures and audio.  Everyone went around the park snapping pictures and created a story about a school or learning in the future.  Playing with Kathy Schrock and other DEN members was a great experience.  We all practiced using several of the following programs: Audacity, Photostory, iPhoto,  iMovie, and Garage Band.  I will post my group’s Shrek School project as soon as I transfer it to this computer.

As a special note, I would like to say thanks to Discovery for offering us this experience and for inviting Kathy Schrock too!  She is a celebrity in my world.   I was so excited to share with my coworkers and friends that I met Kathy Schrock.  As we were waiting for Bill Nye I couldn’t control my enthusiasm any longer. I said, "Guess who I met?  Kathy Schrock!"   The first person said, "Who is that?" My bubble was burst because I thought everyone knew who Kathy was.  Then I shared it with a more techie person in our group and received the reaction I would have given, "Oh my gosh, you met Kathy Schrock?!?"  That’s when I realized that Kathy is a celebrity in our techie world and the rest of the world has not had the opportunity to know her yet.  I have to say she is a wonderful person and very down to earth.  I had such a great time with her and look forward to working with her again in the future.

For those of you who were unable to attend we also had two very special guests, Karen Seddon and Danielle Abernethy.  It was wonderful to see them and even though they are no longer our field managers they will always be our friends.  Thanks to both of you for establishing the wonderful network of teachers that we have in Florida.  We will always think of you fondly and wish you well in your future endeavors. 

What an honor!  Wendy Norton, STAR DEN member and her students from Bellalago Charter Academy in Kissimmee, FL witnessed the live downlink of the ISS (International Space Station) today at the Discovery Store in Orlando’s Mall at Millenia. I must say that when I came to the   have event, I was really coming to support Wendy and the kids but quickly came to see that I was living history.  The images were amazing and our astronaut was an awesome host. 

Channel 9 was even there to record this historic moment - the FIRST wayhigh definition live downlink from the International Space Station!  Check out the video on the WFTV (Channel 9) website.  It definitley helps to capture the excitement.  Wendy did a great job in her interview.

The kids were great and the Discovery Store even gave them a goodie bag complete with astronaut ice cream.  I’ll just let the pictures tell the story.

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference) is my favorite conference.  It is known as one of the best in the nation and is in our own state!  Last year, Danielle and I were just beginining as DEN Field Managers and had the privilege of hosting the first DEN preconference event for FETC ever.  It was informative and fun, but this year is even better.

On January 24th, 2007, the STAR DEN members will be experience professional development at Universal Studios! Rise and shine because we start rolling at 7:30 am and go straight through until 3 pm! We start with a behind the scenes look at the movie and ride magic. Just how do they get the Mummy to terrify you? What does a park need to know about setting? How can you recreate a tornado that will rock your world? Can make-up really turn the most beautiful creature into a thing of horror? Then we have the opportunity to work our own media productions, with the park at hand for any last minute footage. STAR DEN members who apply and are accepted will have a choice between Digital Storytelling or Enhanced Podcasting for their final projects which can be done in the park in teams or partners.

What: FETC Pre-conference Workshop at Universal Studios, Orlando
Who: DEN STARS (limited space!) Not from Florida? We have a few spots for you too!
When: January 24th, from 7:30 am to 3 pm
How: Fill out this short "quiz" to apply for a chance to attend.

Cost: Your dedication as a DEN STAR is payment enough. We are providing your ticket, the behind the scenes look and lunch in the park. And of course - door prizes!
Why: Because we think you deserve it and love to provide great

Please note: There is no cost to attend, but you must be a DEN STAR to qualify. We are also requiring our attendees to participate in a webinar before hand in order to give you plenty of time for the hands on learning.

Applications open today and end on November 30th. Selected applications will be notified by December 8 so they can make travel arrangements.

Hope you can make it!
As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

Saturday, Aug. 26th, the South Florida DEN joined 250 teachers on an entrepreneurial field trip with their own children and grandchildren.  The teachers watched hundreds of TREPs in action during this cool day at Wannado City.  The term TREP (enTREPreneur) has been coined to mean, "a 30-year old or younger who owns his/her own business."  While the teachers were in the auditorium, all their little "TREPs for the day" (their young guests) were treated to Circus College and actually learned to run the circus. 

In the teacher presentation, we heard alarming statistics from Broward County’s Career and Technical Specialist Debra Wells. She drove the need home to start our students early to make the relevant connection to school and work.

I showed "The Paper Boy," a unitedstreaming video about an young TREP and demonstrated how the teachers can create their own field trip to Wannado City using Assignment Builder and Quiz Builder in unitedstreaming. Since no one would want to walk around with handouts and resources, I created the little postcard above so that the teachers can get back to this blog for the electronic version of the lesson.  Check these Assignment Builder lessons out.

An entrepreneurial lesson for the students.

This quiz has only five questions. You can easily make on of these for your students in unitedstreaming!

A Quiz for them to try.

This lesson is designed for the teacher to plan an entrepreneurial lesson.

Lesson ideas with the Sunshine State Standards for the teachers.

Since unitedstreaming is VERY new in Broward County, the teachers asked me to post the informational link for them in BEEP. I also promised the avenue for you to the very cool, "Did You Know" PowerPoint.  I recommend scrolling to the bottom of Rachel’s blog for Maryland and looking at the .mwp file of the PowerPoint.  It’s smooth. 

I am waiting on some pictures from my DEN members about the day to give you all a sneak preview.  It sure was fun.  Check out Danielle’s little boy’s adventure.  Joey: Arrested in Fort Lauderdale.

As Alan November reminds us, "The real revolution is the ability to work without a boss."  Isn’t that what we all want for our students?

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

It is an amazing gift to travel to places in Florida that I would have never had the  opportunity to visit except that great teachers live there!  Last week I had the privilege to work with three distinct groups of educators:  the whole faculty of Coral Springs Christian Academy, some of our Palm Beach DEN members and the elementary computers teachers of Palm Beach County Schools. I also had a terrific gift because Shannon Gaumer, DEN Field Manager for PA/DE, came and trained with me!

After meeting with Wannado City to arrange for our Back to School event on Aug. 26th, I meet with Karen Dearen, Media Specialist for Coral Springs Christian Academy to make sure all our ducks were in a row for our Day of Discovery on Thursday.  The Headmaster and principals of CSCA gave each of their teachers a 512 MB memory stick for a back to school gift.  What perfect timing for unitedstreaming training!  Shannon and I were able to teach them how to download their movies to their memory sticks and especially how to take them out properly. Thanks Coral Springs Christian Academy teachers.  It was a great day.

On Thursday night we had a special treat.  Our little DEN in Palm Beach is quickly growing.  Each DEN member who came to dinner brought a potential DEN member and all but one signed up!  Shannon and I got a lot of crazy looks as we flitted around with our butterfly wings.  (I had to cut her out of the picture because her eyes were closed Sorry Shannon.)

Friday was a lot of fun.  32 elementary computer teachers came to Cookie Davis’s Media Center at Alexander W. Drefoos School the Arts. Poor Cookie, they had just jack-hammered her beautiful Media Center the day before to put in some new electric sockets and there was dust everywhere.  We all chipped in and got the place ready in no time.  After an intro to Visual Literacy and the famous Germs demo of the power of short video segments, the teachers rotated through three breakout sessions:  Assignment Builder (hands-on with Shannon), PhotoStory and unitedstreaming images with me and Writing Prompt and Quiz Builder with a very special secret guest presenter!  We also were able to present COSMEO and recruit a few more DEN members.  Go Palm Beach!

Special thanks to Lee Kolbert, our DEN leader with the mostest in Palm Beach County.  None of this would be possible without your leadership, Lee.  Thanks so much.

As always, I am
Ubiquitously Yours,
Karen

Get ready Florida teachers!  The South Florida DEN invites you to join us at Wannado City’s Back to School Open House event. This is an amazing opportunity for you (especially if you have kids) to come connect with one another and be amazed at what they have created at Wannado City for kids.  The day is absolutely FREE for you and 2 of your kids. Wannado City is an amusement park for kids to discover the enterpreneur in them.  It is truly a place where kids can do whatever they WANNADO! They can be dentists, lawyers, doctors, pilots, news reporters and a plethora of exciting career choices.

I had the privilege of meeting with Laura and Shelly, the marketing directors for Wannado on Tuesday and we knew immediately that we have the same heart for teachers.  Wannado City has invited all teachers in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami Dade Counties to come to the park on Saturday, Aug. 26th.  The South Florida Discovery Educator Network invites ALL DEN members to join us for a one hour sharing session and then a Day of Discovery in the park for FREE!  Incredible!

Here are the details:
Who?  Any elementary or middle school teacher in Palm Beach, Broward or Miami Dade Counties OR Florida DEN member.
What? A Day of Discovery in this incredible entrepreneurial experiment for kids.
When? Saturday, Aug. 26th 8:15 (check in) until you are done in the park.
Where?  Wannado City in the Sawgrass Mills Mall, Sunrise, FL.  See the their website for driving directions
How? RSVP by Aug. 22nd to Wannado City by calling 954.514.6057. You will need to bring you teacher ID at check in.  For more details, Download invites_wannado.pdf

For DEN members anywhere in Florida, you also need to RSVP to me by email: Karen_Seddon@Discovery.com by Aug. 22nd.  I am looking for only four (4) DEN members who are willing to share how they use unitedstreaming in their classroom for our own private party at Wannado City.  There will be a cool prizes for any of you who would like to present.

I will be creating a lesson plan for teachers to use to bring their classes to Wannado City that are correlated to the Sunshine State Standards and will be introducing the DEN to the the teachers from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami Dade.  It would be great to have some of your there is tell about your experiences in the DEN.

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen