Dorman’s Trouvailles

The 2009 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, hosted by the Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education, and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), is now open for entries.  In addition, the challenge has expanded to include elementary school students as well as middle school students this year.  The deadline for elementary level entries is January 31, 2010, and the deadline for middle school entries is March 15, 2010.  The goal of the challenge is to encourage K-8 students to design replicable solutions to environmental issues in their classrooms, schools and communities.

Recently, the grand prize winning team from the inaugural year of the challenge, Team Dead Weight from West Branch, Iowa, presented their project to an audience of peers, UN representatives and media.  View this video to learn more about the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge and Team Dead Weight: http://bit.ly/noUP7.

Need an easy way to get in touch with parents, students and fellow educators instantly? Check out the special offer for Discovery Educators from our friends at Phonevite - http://www.phonevite.com/partners/discovery.

I can’t believe that NECC is just around the corner!  I’m thrilled to be heading back to D.C. for NECC.  If you are planning on attending NECC, here are some things to work into your schedule.

We have a fantastic lineup of sessions for the June 27 Discovery Pre-Conference Extravaganza at One Discovery Plaza including:

• 50 Ways to Integrate Discovery Education streaming

• More and Muir Tech Tips for Going Green

• Staggeringly Good Things Mixing Media and Google Earth

• Get Your Og On: Blogs, Glogs and Vlogs

• Power Up Your Professional Learning Network

• Top Ten FREE Web 2.0 Sites

• And more!

Space is limited.   Enroll today!

Using Multimedia in the Classroom - NECC Workshops
Join mimio and Discovery Education at NECC in Washington, D.C. for free educator sessions to learn how you can quickly and easily create interactive lessons using mimio Interactive systems and Discovery Education content. Get tips and hands-on experience making your own presentations with our small group demo stations.  All attendees will receive a gift bag and Discovery Education streaming 30-day trial subscription, plus be entered into a drawing for a complete mimio Interactive system!

• When:  Monday, June 29th; 3:00 to 4:30; Tuesday, June 30th, 9:00 to 10:30

• Where:  Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street NW (3 blocks from the Convention Center), Farragut Square and Lafayette Park Ballrooms.

Seating is limited so arrive early to guarantee your space.

NECC Workshops Featuring Hall Davidson, Steve Dembo, and Scott Kinney

Eight Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with Video - Hall Davidson

Monday, 6/29/2009, 3:30pm–4:30pm WWCC Ballroom B

Follow video’s instructional path through Jing, Google Earth, blogs, Web 2.0, cellphones, flipcams, and edits. Touch assessment, teacher-training, evaluation. Web-based work has never been simpler.

From Banned to Planned: Cell Phones in Schools  - Hall Davidson

Wednesday, 7/1/2009, 12:00pm–1:00pm WWCC Ballroom C

Cell phones–like calculators–needn’t be banned from the classroom. Learn about technology use plans, model applications, best practices, amenable vendors, training, and bold thinking.

Moving Beyond the Information Age  - Scott Kinney

Wednesday, 7/1/2009, 8:30am–9:30am WWCC Ballroom A

Explore how consumers worldwide and students in your very own classroom interact with content differently than ever before.

The 10 Best Free Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers  - Steve Dembo

Monday, 6/29/2009, 8:30am–9:30am WWCC 146 B

Discover the 10 best free Web 2.0 sites and how to leverage them to transform learning–both your students’ and your own!

Check Out The Discovery Team Presentations at the Discovery Education Booth in the Exhibit Hall

The Discovery team will be facilitating presentations throughout the day on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Stop by to learn about some terrific ways to integrate high-quality digital media into engaging 21st century lessons.  Or, just stop by to tell us how you are using DE media with your students.

I am looking forward to visiting with you at NECC!

Ready Classroom: The Science of Hurricanes
Get ready for National Hurricane Preparedness Week and hear from NOAA Scientist Gerry Bell, Ph.D. - lead hurricane seasonal forecaster - in a webinar to learn about the science of hurricanes and how they are predicted.

Join us with your classroom at 1 PM ET on May 18, 2009.  Sign up today!

Check out one of the newest Discovery Education partnerships, Ready Classroom - a partnership with the Ad Council, Ready Kids, and Discovery Education.  On the site you can access emergency preparedness resources for students, teachers, schools, and families.  The National Preparedness Map provides information about the potential for national disasters in each state, video resources, and preparedness checklists.

It’s been awesome to spend time in DeKalb County, Georgia, with the educators from DeKalb County and the surrounding areas. Thanks to all the educators who attended the Day of Discovery for making my first event in Georgia a terrific one! And a HUGE “thank you” to Georgia Public Broadcasting and DeKalb County Schools for sponsoring the day and Arabia Mountain High School for opening its beautiful facility to host the event.

Since the title of my presentation was “Go Green with Discovery Education streaming” I thought it appropriate to post all the resources from my session online instead of printing paper copies for everyone.

50 Ways to Go Green with DE streaming

Video in PowerPoint 97 2003

Video in PowerPoint 2007

Widgets for Your Builder

Homophone Song (PowerPoint)

Homophone Song (MyPlick)

Discovery Education WM Think Green Classroom

All of the DE streaming media assets incorporated into this presentation can be downloaded online and the citation for each is included on the presentation slides. Don’t forget that you can access lots of additional integration ideas for DE streaming media in the Professional Development section of DE streaming.

Now’s the time for students to enter the nation’s premier science competition for grades 5 through 8.  The deadline for the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is May 20.

Over the summer, judges will choose up to 51 semifinalists: one from each state and the District of Columbia.  Ten finalists will be selected to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to compete in the final challenge in October. The winner will receive $50,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds ($25,000 cash value) and the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.” All finalists receive amazing once-in-a-lifetime trips.

Nominate your students today!

One teacher will be selected to win an all-expenses-paid trip to NYC to participate in the final competition as an honorary judge or host.

Underlining the importance of communication skills in the science field, the competition challenges middle school students residing in the United States to create a one- to two-minute video about a specific scientific concept that relates to innovative solutions for everyday life. Evaluated by a panel of judges, all video entries for the 2009 competition will be assessed based on creativity, persuasiveness, classroom suitability and overall presentation. Videos will not be evaluated on production skills and may be recorded on cell phones or simple digital cameras. All video entries must be submitted online at www.youngscientistchallenge.com  by May 20, 2009.

The video entry should use science to create an innovative solution to one of these everyday problems:

1. How can I play my music system for my own enjoyment, without disturbing the rest of the house?
2. What can I do to the soles of my shoes to make them better perform when I skate board?
3. What can I do to reduce the glare on my television when I’m playing video games?
4. What device or method can I create which might help lower my family’s heating or cooling bills?

For more information on the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, including submission guidelines and examples of entry videos, go to www.youngscientistchallenge.com

This Earth Day, start talking trash in your classroom!

What happens to the waste we all produce? When does it make sense to recycle? Can trash become energy?

Get answers to these timely topics brought to life at www.ThinkGreen.com/classroom, a new K-12 resource from Waste Management and powered by Discovery Education.

Complete with standards-based lesson plans, compelling videos, interactives, and Think Green® resources to engage students and extend the learning to the home, www.ThinkGreen.com/classroom is a powerful new suite of tools for educators seeking new materials to enliven environmental lessons.
Think green in your classroom just in time for Earth Day and visit www.DiscoveryEducation.com/thinkgreen to get started.

[Note: The information from this post came from DiscoveryEducation.com newsletter.  Do you want to receive this newsletter or other valuable educational news feeds from Discovery,]?  Visit http://www.discoveryeducation.com/, sign in with your DiscoveryEducation user name and password, click on My Preferences and set your e-mail subscriptions.  Or, visit the Discovery Education subscription center.]

  Our friends at Tech4Learning are celebrating their 10th birthday this year and somehow we’re the ones getting the presents!  Tech4Learning would like to give all STAR Discovery Educators a personal copy of their newly released Frames 4.

To receive your own copy of Frames, fill out the form at: http://www.tech4learning.com/frames/denstar.

Within 2 business days, you will receive an email with a URL where you can download a full copy of the software as well as a Frames registration number.