DEN: Florida

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

DEN pre-conference was an awesome day of learning. We held school at DEN Headquarters in Silver Spring,  MD. DEN head quarters is a beautiful place, if you are ever invited GO!!!  Even though,  we were treated as students on this day (being required to have Hall passes) we were definitely  given a fantastic day of EDUCATION. Two classes I attended and recommend:

Learning Through the Funnies with Brad Fountain

Learning Through the Funnies presentation

Top Ten FREE Web 2.0 Sites with Steve Dembo

View his presentation here

For those of you unable to attend, DEN has linked some of the presentations: Discovery School at NECC 09  Remember you can use these presentations as events with your faculty & staff .

This was posted by Lance on the National Blog…If you are not subscribed to it through RSS or Feedblitz I would highly recommend it. It’s quick and easy, just enter your email address on the National Page and voila! You’re Done! For those of you that are not STAR members at the present time, it’s NEVER too late. The only way to become a STAR is to apply.

Tom

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 Lance Rougeux 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. 

As the DEN grows, we want to encourage our members to grow with us.  Therefore, we are enhancing the Discovery Educator Network so that we can offer special recognition and opportunities to members that actively participate.

The most significant change to the structure of the DEN is the addition of a new level of membership. Beginning September 1, 2006, every unitedstreaming user who registers on the Discovery Educator Network website will be considered a Discovery Educator. A new membership level—STAR Discovery Educator—has been added to recognize the outstanding efforts that many members have shown in the past year as they have shared their expertise and insights with others.  You will be receiving an email on September 1, 2006 detailing your specific level.

BECOMING A STAR DISCOVERY EDUCATOR OR MAINTAINING STAR STATUS

- Facilitate and report at least two events.  Any time you share the power of Discovery Education with 3 or more educators, you are hosting an event. 
Examples include:
– Facilitate trainings, workshops or presentations that incorporate Discovery Education products such as unitedstreaming, Discovery Education Health Connection, Cosmeo, and Learning Adds Up.
– Share an integration idea over lunch with a group of educators.
– Demonstrate a skill involving unitedstreaming to co-workers before, during, or after school.
– Present unitedstreaming integration ideas during local, regional, state, or national conference sessions.

AND

- Complete any combination of two of the following:
– Attend a STAR Discovery Educator event such as a face-to-face workshop, webinar, Digital Connections session, or a regional or national DEN event.
– Recruit others to become Discovery Educators.
– Disseminate information related to Discovery Education products and services with the use of a tool such as a newsletter, podcast, blog post, or journal article.
– Upload a resource to the Discovery Educator Network website.
– Contribute to Discovery Educator Network website blogs and/or discussion boards.

ANNUAL RECOGNITION

Each year on July 31, we will review the participation of STAR Discovery Educators around the world.  Educators who continue to share, connect and inspire others, as measured by the activities described above, will maintain their STAR Discovery Educator status and continue to enjoy exclusive STAR benefits.  Some of these benefits include the opportunity to attend regional and national institutes, participate in exclusive contests and promotions, download resources and publish personal blogs on the DEN website, and maintain access to a Discovery Educator Network Field Manager.  Educators unable to actively participate over the next year will not retain their STAR status, but will still be welcomed to participate on the Discovery Educator Network website.   

Over the next year, we want to provide opportunities for you to grow along with us.  If you have any questions, please contact me at karen_seddon@discovery.com

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

P.S. Yes, comments on this post count too! 

We need your help South Florida!  We all know that it’s summer and you can do things in a more relaxed style, but we need your help to finish our end of the school year goals.  Discovery is trying to get a feel for how we can serve you and bring you the most valuable professional development in digtial media.  By completing this survey, you will give us very valuable insight as to how we can serve you better. 

And of course, any South Florida DEN member who completes the survey and let’s me know by July 21st gets a bonus $10 DEN dollars!

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

(By Brad Fountain - Field Manager North and South Carolina)
Have you noticed the new search feature on the NEW unitedstreaming site?  Are you aware of all it can do.  You might consider it an advanced filtering system for the purposes of this post I am going to refer to it as the ability to "Drill Down" because it allows you to delve into the depths of your search and subject matter.  So let’s take a look…
When you type in your first keyword and click go you will notice numbers appear next to the media types, subjects, and grades.  This lets you know how many assets we have that fit into each category.  Of course some cross multiple categories.  Now the advanced trick to start doing is to "Drill Down" according to your needs (I will highlight this process in the PowerPoint below).   So let’s just say that I am a 7th Grade Science Teacher.  I can first click under grades on 6-8.  This will narrow my results to just material that fits that grade range.  Also notice the breadcrumbs that are on the upper left side telling what you have narrowed by as you continue to "Drill Down".  Now I can narrow by my subject, which was Science.  I can now Drill Down further within Science by choosing a topic such as Earth and Space Science.  Finally I Drill Down by sub-topic such as Oceans.  This wonderful new tool will allow you to Drill Down and find exactly what you are looking for.  Give a try during your next visit to unitedstreaming.

Download drill_down_powerpoint.ppt

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

(from Chris Marshall - South Texas DEN Field Manager)

The NEW unitedstreaming is here and each day this week we’ll be presenting a new feature here on the blog.  So be sure to tune in each day to find out about something new.

So listen up for today’s feature.  Have you ever wished you had cool sound effects when editing your digital story or the sound of wildlife in the background of your PowerPoint about the rain forest?  Well, the NEW unitedstreaming has added over 3,000 audio files.  These files can be streamed or downloaded just like the videos and it’s just as easy to do.  Download this PowerPoint tutorial to learn how.  Download using_audio_files.ppt

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

The new unitedstreaming will include innovative teacher tools, such as the Assignment Builder and Quiz Center, allowing educators to select content for student access.  The new Writing Prompt Generator tool will work with any image on unitedstreaming allowing you to create your own writing prompts.

Teacher-Managed Student Access
Students will be able to access and explore teacher-selected assignments, quizzes and media published to the Student Center and accessible from anyplace.  Student usernames and logins will allow easier tracking of student activity.

Professional Development Enhancements
The Video Library of Best Practices will include topics such as differentiated instruction, technology integration, classroom management, and parental involvement.  In addition, new live curriculum-based Web Seminars on science, language arts, social studies and literacy will be led by visionaries in education technology.  The technology integration demonstrations will provide weekly teaching tips and “classroom quick start” ideas as well as “how-to’s” on using leading educational software including: Inspiration, iMovie, Adobe Premiere Elements, Microsoft Office and PowerPoint.

New Upgrades to Administration Tools
The new Server Manager and Network Manager will allow for easier management of server storage space, content downloads and auto-updating of software application to give greater content control.

Take the lead and share what you have learned thus far about the new unitedstreaming.  To learn more, go to http://www5.unitedstreaming.com/comingsoon/

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

Besides an enhanced site design, the new unitedstreaming will include improved search functionality for more accurate results, faster.  A dynamic drill-down navigation menu will drive targeted search results. In addition, you will continue to have the ability to search by keyword, subject, grade or curriculum standard.

New Video Content
More than 1,000 new titles will be added over the course of the Summer and
2006, including: Foreign Language, Secondary Math, Science and Language Arts Current events videos.  High-quality videos from leading educational publishers will include: Discovery Channel, Channel 4, BBC, and Math Mastery. 

New Media
The new unitedstreaming will appeal to different learning styles with our expansive audio library of sound effects, songs and animations, searchable by keyword.  Animated textbook diagrams will help add dimension and intrigue to key concepts.  A new library of primary images of shapes, colors and objects will appeal to elementary teachers.  New images of historical events and cultural figures will also add value to the collection.

New Teacher Preferences
The new unitedstreaming will allow select content to be personalized to grade and subject.  Create a customized homepage to view weekly updates of new and most viewed videos.  Archive created assignments, quizzes and writing prompts in personal folders.

To learn more, go to http://www5.unitedstreaming.com/comingsoon/

Last week’s winner of the May Tips, Discovery, Deliver, and Document contest is Debbie Bohanan, our MOXIE DEN member from Reedy Creek Elementary School.  She won a $20 gift certificate to iTunes that she received through email. Her name was drawn by Bob Abraham, DEN member at Poinciana High School while we were training how to put unitedstreaming movies on our Palm TX handhelds.  Teachers are permitted to download unitedstreaming videos to their handheld devices for face to face instruction.

As always, I am
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen

PS - Don’t forget the Launch Party!   (Scroll down to the last post for the details.)

Introducing the new unitedstreaming 

As a Discovery Educator and leader in digital media, you are one of the first to learn about the new unitedstreaming.   Discovery Education unitedstreaming—the largest and most up-to-date library of video content and teacher resources—is getting even better.  Coming early this summer, the new unitedstreaming will deliver new and enhanced features, as well as additional content titles and tools, through a redesigned, even easier-to-use website.

Why change it?
Because you asked and we listened. As educators become more savvy and innovative in using multimedia in their lessons, unitedstreaming continues to grow and support your efforts. We did extensive research and incorporated feedback from focus groups, surveys, school visits, usability testing and more, to ensure the new unitedstreaming is exactly what you need.

How will it affect me?
The new unitedstreaming will put the power of classroom multimedia in your hands by giving you more tools and more control. It will be customized to you and your preferences, saving you even more time and making you more effective. Additionally, the ever-expanding content library will ensure you can get the most relevant and up-to-date content to support all of your lessons and initiatives.

Stay tuned for more details on the new unitedstreaming or consider joining Danielle Abernethy, Matt Monjan or me for our first Launch Party of the summer, Tuesday, June 6th at 4:30pm.  If you live in the Orlando area, you have three options:  1) you can meet Danielle at Panera Bread in the Mall of Millenia, 2) you can meet Karen at her home in CyberSpot or 3) you stay at your own cozy home and link up with our parties by a webinar. For the rest of South Florida, you only have option #3, unless you want to come visit. More details are coming!  Save that date. Cyberspot_.kmz       

As always, Iam
Ubiquitously yours,
Karen