AKA Riptide Furse

Here is just another example of the great people I have met through Twitter and the DEN.  @CLykowski shared this photo with me that her daughter took because of my name. This TOTALLY made my day!

Full size

Flickr: Flickr 888

I love, love, love Flickr. I think if a teacher wants to have a digital camera in their classroom they must sign up for a Flickr account. There are just too many ways to use the photos not to require it. If I could, I would forbid printing the pictures using the color printers at school. You take digital pictures - USE THEM DIGITALLY.

Well now Flickr also does cool projects that you can say you were a part of. So join in the fun. Coming up in just over a week is Flickr 888. How cool is that? Here here is what they posted on their blog.

How can you participate? Take a photo any time during the twenty-four hour period that’s August 8th where you are and then share it with the group. We’ll accept one (1) contribution per Flickr member into the group from noon PST Friday, August 8th until Tuesday, September 2nd, noon PST, 2008.

What do Whale Sharks, Hammerheads, Mako Sharks and teachers have in common? They can all be seen at the DEN in Second Life “Swim with Sharks Underwater Scuba Adventure” on Monday July 28th at 5 pm SLT (5pm PST, 7 pm CST and 8pm EST)! Everyone who pre-registers will receive a complete Scuba Diving outfit with equipment for free. (If you miss the pre-registration you can still participate however you will not get the free equipment.)

Yes, you heard it here, the DEN in Second Life will be journeying to the depths of the ocean with  “http://www.padi.com/padi/default.aspx” PADI (Prof. Association of Diving Instructors) as our guides. Our underwater adventure will begin with a fun scavenger hunt on the Dive World Sim (complete with prizes of course), continue with our journey to the ocean depths with our capable and knowledgeable guides from PADI and then end with celebratory dancing at the Tiki Bar. It’s going to a be a wonderfully fun learning experience and we want you to join us!

Even if you have never set foot in Second Life we can help you! Please sign up for a dive time  “http://densl-sharkdive.wikispaces.com/“. (If you need additional help getting on the island please indicate that on the wiki and we will contact you for a time.)This is a great opportunity for you to get involved with the DEN in SL and see just what kinds of things are possible in Second Life. We hope to see you all there soon!

Event: Swim with the Sharks Underwater Scuba Adventure
When: Mon July 28
Time: 5 pm SLT (5pm, PST, 7 pm CST and 8pm EST)

RSVP: Pre-register by Sat July 26th  “http://densl-sharkdive.wikispaces.com/”

Remember Shark Week begins on the Discovery Channel at 9PM EST on July 27.

DEN Blog Network » DEN Regional Conference Schedule Announced!

This is a cross post from the National blog.

DEN Regional Conference Schedule Announced!

Can’t get enough of the DEN’s amazing professional development events?  Good!  Today we are thrilled to announce a series of two-day conferences designed to enhance your use of Discovery Education’s digital media resources.  The DEN Regional Conferences (August through October) are spread out all over the country so that we can reach as many STARs as possible.

Check out the details for a DEN Regional Conference near you.

Central Regional Conference
August 1-2
Dallas, TX

Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference
August 1-2
West Long Branch, NJ

Midwest Regional Conference
September 20-21
Glen Ellyn, IL

Western Regional Conference (CA)
September 27-28
Van Nuys, CA

Northeast Regional Conference
September 27-28
Troy, NY

Southern Regional Conference
October 3-4
Huntsville, AL

Western Regional Conference (CO)
October 10-11
Thornton, CO

Details:
Attendees must RSVP for a regional conference, be accepted, and attend both days.  There is no registration cost associated with attending these two-day conferences. Additionally, DEN will provide your meals during conference hours.  Travel costs are up to you.

Just like any other DEN experience, attendees will leave tired and energized at the same time.  But most importantly during your two days you’ll be sharing and learning with other educators who are passionate about using technology in their classrooms. And, when it is all over, you’ll return with new skills that are guaranteed to help you reach your 21st century students.

Posted on May 16, 2008 in Uncategorized by Lance Rougeux

It is my extreme pleasure to share that some of the members of the DEN in SL leadership council will be guests on the Women of Web 2.0 podcast tonight at 9PM EST. Please join us as we talk about the Discovery Educator Network. http://edtechtalk.com/WomenofWeb2.0

You can also head over to their web site and join the WOW2.0 community. http://www.womenofweb2.com/ 

Here is JM and myself at the after party for the movie trivia we had at the DEN prior to the Oscars.
posted by Riptide Furse on Eduisland II using a blogHUD : [blogHUD permalink]

I’ve been meaning to write about the awesome experience that I had attending the virtual conference. I had a great time assisting in the VA DEN/DEN in SL event at the Discovery building in Silver Spring. It was even better seeing the many people that I connect with in my personal learning community in different events. I learned so much.

Tracy Standhart created this FANTASTIC group of links from the different presentations. Head over to her Google Pages page and check out these very valuable links.

http://tstandha.googlepages.com/denvirtualconferencecooltools

Virginia » DEN Virtual Conference at Discovery Headquarters

Heather over at the Virginia DEN blog has setup some great information for people in the Washington, DC area that might want to attend the DEN Virtual conference in real life with fellow educators. So take a look at her post and the links at the top of the page for information about choosing your meal from Potbellies, how to get to 1 Discovery Place and more.

You don’t have to be a Star educator to attend. All educators are welcome.

Make sure you follow the links to register and do it before the cut off deadline. Space is limited but remember if you don’t registered by the deadline you can still attend all of the fun virtually!

I had a great time at my lunch with the Mythbusters. I got to sit at a table with Adam and Jamie sat at a different table. We had a great time talking about the different memorable episodes. Here is some of the stuff I learned:

• Safety is a key concern. They do take great care with everything they do and realize that it is not just their personal safety at risk but that of their crew too.
• Adam has twins
• They get ideas from people sending them in.
• One of the most recent episodes also proved to be the most controversial - The Plane on a Treadmill
• Adam is a great storyteller
• He wants to be give a TED Talk
• We talked about the video 5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do
• He said he would possibly come in to Second Life for a stint

It was just a great time. I want to thank Matt and Lance and the whole DEN team for this opportunity. I became famous by proxy just by meeting them.

Just reminder that Star Educators received access to DE streaming Plus. It includes the Planet Earth series.

from www.youtube.com posted with vodpod

I am proud to call Elaine a colleague and a friend. She is part of the DEN in SL LC and may be better know to you as Celestia Cazalet.

Elaine Plybon, blog coordinator for the Texas DEN Leadership Council, needs YOU! The Irving Independent School District in Irving, Texas, for which she works, has an annual Technology Media Fair. This year, the district has opened up several categories for online judging. The hope, above all, is that this will help keep district students excited about technology and about sharing their work with a global audience. This is where you come in. The contest is in need of judges. Anyone who has an interest in technology in education is qualified to be a judge. All the projects can be judged from now until January 7, 2008. There are six categories and levels from K through 12^th grade. Anyone who chooses to judge can judge as many or as few entries as they would like. Would you consider helping with this cause? You can do so by judging, obviously, but also by sharing the word with other education professionals through your own blogs, twitters, feeds, and other social networking venues. The district would love to see judging from all over the world, so let’s get this DEN machine rolling!

To judge the projects, go to http://www.irvingisd.net/mediafaironline and click on the judging link. When judging, please include your name and email address. Your email address will not be published. It will be used for security only. Please expect an email from our administrative staff confirming that the address listed next to your name is a valid email address.

Thanks!

Elaine Plybon
Science Instructional Specialist
The Academy of Irving ISD
Office: Room 117 IPC: Rooms 126 and 222