Iowa Discovery Educator Network

Join the Iowa DEN for a webinar on the 6th to learn cool ways to incorporate DE streaming content into your lessons. I will be discussing unique web tools to use with the DE content. Some of the web tools I will discuss are:

Prezi, Webspiration, Wordle, iWeb, Google Earth, DE Calendar, Photobooth, Quiz Builder, Animoto, Poll Everywhere, and some other unique ways to incorporate DE content.

Topic: Iowa Discovery Educator Network Oveview
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm, Central Daylight Time (GMT -05:00, Chicago)

To register click HERE !

Join us this Thursday, September 17th for an brief intro to some of the new DE streaming features and learn some of my favorite uses of DE streaming in the classroom.

September 23rd is the date for the Fall Dicovery Education Streamathon.  You can register by going to the 4th Annual Discovery Education Streamathon!

There is also a Discovery Education Virtual Conference scheduled for October 24th.  Jane Suiter, our Iowa LC event coordinator, is planning a face-to-face meeting for DEN members in the Cedar Rapids area.  If you are interested in particpating, contact Jane at jsuiter@cr.k12.ia.us

Be sure to keep up with Iowa DEN activities and information at http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/iowa/ 

Also, please consider attending the Iowa Technology and Education Conference on Oct. 11, 12, and 13th at the Coralville Marriott. Mike Bryant from Discovery will be offering a workshop on the afternoon of the Sunday, August 11.  The keynote speaker on the 12th is Daniel Pink and David Warlick will be the keynote on the 13th.  More conference information can be found at: http://www.itec-ia.org/en/conference/

We would like to start having a few statewide DEN meetings via the Iowa Communications Network.  Anyone interested in assisting with setting up a meeting, please contact Ann Nicholson at anicholson@cr.k12.ia.us.

Finally, please encourage your colleagues to consider becoming STARS.  The process is easy and the benefits are fantastic!  Direct them to: http://community.discoveryeducation.com/star/index.html

Information from: http://wecanchange.com/national-winners/ & http://wecanchange.com/media-room/

Team Name Team Dead Weight
Location West Branch, Iowa
School West Branch Middle School
Students: Jathan Kron, Justin Roth, Brennan Nelson
Teacher/Mentor Hector Ibarra

Description: Team Dead Weight’s goal was to get the word out about the dangers of lead wheel weights in vehicles, and to help to phase out this hazardous material in the tire industry. This group of students presented to the City Council, Community School District and other civic organizations. The city and school districts were convinced; they agreed to phase out lead wheel weights in vehicles owned by the city and school districts. In addition, the students teamed up with several legislators to develop three bills proposing to phase out the harmful metal.

This grand prize-winning team receives a comprehensive prize package for their accomplishments, which includes an appearance on Planet Green, Discovery’s 24-hour eco-lifestyle network, a once-in-a-lifetime Discovery Adventure Trip accompanied by a Discovery TV personality, a $5,000 U.S. Savings Bond, a chance to present their project before a panel of environmental experts, a flip camera and a Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge eco-friendly prize pack of school supplies.

In addition to the above, the team’s advisor will receive free registration and hotel accommodations at an upcoming NSTA national or area conference, a one-year membership to NSTA and a 12-month subscription to Discovery Education Science, the digital content library designed to engage today’s technology-savvy students with science.

Congratulations to Mr. Ibarra and his students for an outstanding accomplishment. You are doing a great job of representing the state of Iowa.

DE Streaming and the Discovery Educator Network!

Learn exciting ways to incorporate Discovery Education Streaming media into your classroom from educators across the country. Learn how to use the Discovery Educator Network to further your own professional development and learn about new technology tools other teachers are using.

September 17th

3:30-4:30

During the webinar I will go over some popular and fun uses of DE streaming in the classroom plus share some cool new features of DE streaming. Also make sure to put ITEC on your calendars for next month for some great seminars on technology education and some amazing keynote speakers, Daniel Pink and David Warlick.

When: October 11th - 13th

Where: Coralville Marriott

Website: www.itec-ia.org

Four students from Cedar Rapids Kennedy recently returned from an experience of a lifetime. The students spent 12 days in South Africa learning about the culture, history, and wildlife of the area. Students recorded their journey on the Discovery Student Adventures blog site along with other trips occurring this summer to Australia and China. They used blogger to write posts, twitter to attach tweets to the blog, Picassa to add pictures to the blog, and YouTube to add video content to the blog. Each student did a tremendous job of documentingtheir experiences on the trip and each blog is unique from one to the other.

Some of the activities students participated on throughout the trip included diving with great white sharks, visiting townships, Nelson Mandela’s home, Kruger National Park, SANCOOB rehabilitation center, Apartheid Museum, Cape of Good Hope, an orphanage, and many more amazing places.

My words alone cannot express the excitement and sites seen on the trip to South Africa. The animals that we had the opportunity to see were unbelievable and the experiences at museum, townships, and the orphanage were priceless. Please take a look at the student blogs for the South Africa trip by clicking on the link above. Make sure to take a look at the pictures tab to see some of the incredible things the students had the opportunity to see.

If you have the chance to setup a trip on your own and take students I would highly recommend it. The experience I had working with the Discovery Student Adventures Crew was very easy and stress free. The parents and students felt up to date on all pre-travel information. There are a ton of exciting itinerary’s to look at and get students thinking about.

On May 30, 2009 we will host our first-ever DEN Geocaching Day!  Every STAR Discovery Educator is encouraged to venture out with some colleagues on May 30 and have some fun geocaching.  Do you want to join us?

For muggles (non-geocachers) and pros alike, STAR Discovery Educators Bridget Belardi and Conni Mulligan will host a “Geocaching 101″ webinar to get us ready.  The webinar will answer the basic questions of “What is geoaching?” and “How do I get started?”  as well as emphasize the curricular connections of geocaching.

The webinar will be offered three times:

• Wednesday, May 6, 2009 (7 PM EDT)
• Wednesday, May 13, 2009 (7 PM EDT)
• Wednesday, May 27, 2009 (7 PM EDT)

Register for one of the sessions today.

So now that you have a resource to get you started, what exactly will the day look like?  Well, we have a of DEN Guide (experienced geocacher) who has agreed to host an event in our area.

We will meet in room 68 at Kennedy High School and help you out with lunch.

Here is the site contact information with DEN Guide contact information.  If you’d like to attend the event send an email to the DEN Guide listed.

Cedar Rapids, IADEN Guide: Jane SuiterJSuiter@cr.k12.ia.us

The Discovery Educator Network is seeking feedback from educators who have participated in the DEN and/or attended DEN-sponsored events. This survey should take you about 5 minutes to complete. We really appreciate your feedback.

Spring Into Action at the DEN Virtual Conference

Spring Into Action with the DEN and join thousands of educators who are passionate about integrating media into their instruction and collaborating with each other to improve student achievement. During this unique (and free) professional development event you have the flexibility to attend online or in-person at one of many regional events hosted by the DEN Leadership Councils.

When?Saturday, April 25, 20099 AM to 3 PM EDT
Where?Participating ICN sites or in the comfort of your own home.
How much?Free.

The day will feature a special presentation from Chris Lehman, Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in the School District of Philadelphia as well as a great lineup of sessions from STAR Discovery Educators and the DEN team.

Registration opens on Thursday, April 2.

In-person Events at the Virtual Conference
The Iowa DEN Leadership Council is planning an in-person event to accompany the virtual sessions on April 25th.

Check the blog for all the updated information.

Australia, South Africa, and China + 9 DEN STARs + 36 DEN STAR Students + Your Dream Come True = A Discovery Student Adventure!

It’s the ultimate equation for DEN STARs and definitely our dream come true for you!  We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Discovery Student Adventure Program.

What’s a Discovery Student Adventure you ask?!?  Well, imagine being able to sign up and take your students to one of 8 amazing trips to the Arctic, Australia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador/Galapagos Islands, Italy/Greece, New Zealand/Fiji, and South Africa.  These trips are free to the educators and are of cost to their students.  These inaugural trips will launch during the summer of 2010.

But that’s 2010… what about 2009?!?!  Can I get a virtual drum roll please….

Let me introduce to you the opportunity of a lifetime….. The Discovery Student Adventure Pilot Program. In order to gather marketing materials and test run the incredible itineraries….. Discovery will be sending 9 DEN STARs to one of 3 locations (Australia, China, and South Africa)  But that’s not all… it gets better… each of these DEN STARs will be able to bring 4 of their students at NO COST!  That’s right DEN STARs… these trips are free for you and your students! (Note: We are looking for 5th-12th grade teachers and students ages 10-17)

I have seen the itineraries…. and all I can say is be prepared to be blown away.

What do you need to do to participate?!? Stay tuned as we will be posting a link to the application on the DEN National Blog in the coming weeks.

Here’s some of the official wording…

In 2010, Discovery Education will launch Discovery Student Adventures, education-based international trips for students to eight destinations including:  Arctic, Australia, China, Cost Rica, Ecuador/Galapagos Islands, Italy/Greece, New Zealand/Fiji Islands, and South Africa. 

To effectively integrate educator feedback into these inaugural trips, a select group of educators will have the opportunity to travel with Discovery in the summer of 2009 as part of a one-time special opportunity to pilot a Discovery Student Adventure trip.

Educators will serve as chaperones to a group of students, and will also be an integral part of selecting the students for these pilot trips. Travel program will be at no cost to the selected educators and students.  We are looking for students ages 10 through 17 and educators that teach 5th through 12th grade.

The three pilot trip destinations are Australia, China and South Africa.  Trips will provide for a variety of enriching and experiential activities from cultural exchanges, to community service, to science and exploration, to physically engaging adventure activities. 

So what do you think?!?  Do you want to join us for a Discovery Student Adventure?!?