North Carolina DEN

First day of Fall 2009 - Northern Hemisphere For the Northern Hemisphere, as in the United States, Canada and most of Europe, Fall begins on September 22, 2009 at 5:18 pm EDT. Fall is also known as autumn - and lasts from the autumnal equinox (September) to the winter solstice (December).In checking my calendar for this coming last full week of September, I noticed a free webinar about H1N1 preparedness. This month our local schools have reported 55 cases of H1N1. I was surprised at this number of cases. What really got my attention what that the first week of September, the schools reported 16 cases. Seven days later–39 cases. Are we taking enough precautions?

Virtual Conference: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 9 AM to 4 PM ETI know this is not until the end of October, but I was able to register online and saved the day on my busy calendar. Join thousands of educators online and in-person as the DEN team goes house to house to explore the many digital treats available to educators today. During this unique 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.The day will feature special presentations from Justin Karkow and Steve Dembo along with a host of other great sessions guaranteed to satisfy your digital sweet tooth. To register for the virtual sessions visit: http://LINKS.discoveryeducation.com/virtualconLast but not least, I have to share a photo of my first grandchild and me: Proud grandparent? Naw…not much. 

Spring Into Action at the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) Virtual Conference on Saturday, April 25th (9 AM to 3 PM EDT).  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 attendees have the flexibility to attend online or in-person at one of many regional events hosted by the DEN Leadership Councils.

For more information and to register visit: http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/denvirtcon.

It’s my favorite time of year again - the leaves are turning, the air is crisp and - it’s time for NCETC!! This year’s theme is “Unlocking the Power of Technology in 21st Century Schools!”

For anyone new to technology education in this area, the North Carolina Educational Technology Conference  has been an outstanding conference for educators for 21 years now. Held annually in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Koury Convention Center, this year’s conference will be from December 1- December 4 and expects to see some 2000 educators.  There are pre-conference workshops Monday and Tuesday, regular sessions Wednesday and Thursday and too many special events to list. You’ll find more information, a schedule,  and registration information at the conference website:

http://www.ncetc.org/index.htm

This year our own Nicole Gray will be presenting a session on Virtual Fieldtrips…using Google Earth and DE streaming. She’ll  be sharing the project she created at the DEN National Institute. I know we will all want to make this session!

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there! 

Here’s a cross-post from the National DEN Blog …

DEN Virtual Conference: Registration is Now Open!

Join us in-person, online or both, on Saturday, October 25th for the DEN Virtual Conference.

Registration is now open!

The DEN Virtual Conference features an incredible lineup of online presentations including “Power Up Your Professional Learning Network” by STAR Discovery Educator Jennifer Dorman. Check out all of the sessions here.

You can register to attend virtually or join us at one of 17 in-person events hosted by the DEN Leadership Councils. Either way, you will learn powerful ways to integrate digital media and Web 2.0 tools into your instruction as well as discover an abundance of resources to expand your own personal learning network.

Share the news with your colleagues by sending them the DEN Virtual Conference Flyer. For more information, visit: http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/fall-virtual-conference

Discovery Education will be hosting two-day regional conferences designed to enhance your use of Discovery Education’s digital media resources.

Check out the details for the Southern Regional DEN Conference:

Southern Regional Conference
October 3-4
Huntsville, AL

WOW!!  The National Institute for DEN STAR educators is this week in Silver Springs, MD at Discovery’s Headquarters!  The Institute is PHENOMINAL!!  What a treat - from Hall Davidson’s amazing tips for adding media/streaming into Google Earth to Steve Dembo’s animated keynote on the wonderful, free social networking, video broadcasting, & web 2.0 resources (such as twitter, ning, mogolus, ustream, etc.) available to engage our digital learners.

And we can’t forget the fabulous break-out sessions - Podcasting, Geocaching, Second Life in DEN, and of course Joe Brennan’s awesome video editing session - Lights! Camera! Education! Each day offers lots of resources with great collaboration and networking with our fellow STARs.

Three of the NC DEN Leadership Council (Judy, Nicole, & Deb) take a break from the Discovery Carnival for a quick photo with Brad Fountain (South Region DE Account Manager).

Thanks Discovery Education!  We love the DEN!!

Discovery Education has a stellar representation at NECC 2008 - as usual…great sessions, great people, and good fun.  Today, Lance Rougeux gave a fabulous session on 50 ways to Use Discovery Education Streaming in your classrooms.  One of the new things I found out was that as of last week, you can now search the video segments for specific state standards (it’s not just the main videos any more)!!   Thanks Discovery Education…this will definitely come in handy for classroom teachers!

I also discovered that if you search for AFI in the Streaming search box, you’ll get an amazing resource from the American Film Institute Education Center.  This phenomenal resource assists in contextualizing screen education in contemporary education practices.   As stated in the teacher guide for episode 1 (there are 9 episodes in all), the “AFI Ed process is designed to allow student learning to emerge from creative collaboration and critical review of students’ work, rather than from more traditional forms of classroom instruction.”  Throughout the 9 episodes and other AFI informational videos (Actor Sean Austin from Lord of the Rings hosts some of the videos), you will be given step by step guidelines on how to effectively utilize this curriculum in your classroom.  If you have Discovery Streaming…definitely…check it out!

The Discovery Education booth also gave fabulous sessions on digital storytelling, using Google Earth with streaming, and much more!  Really great stuff!!!

 Did any fellow bloggers out there attend NECC 2008?  Anything great to share?  Whether you were able to make it or not to San Antonio…you can still check out the website  http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2008/and search the handouts and papers link and check out the session websites, handouts, ppts, etc. 

Another great year at NECC - there are so many great sessions this week.  For me, it started off even before reaching San Antonio.  On my connecting flight from North Carolina (in Atlanta), we were in line with Kathy Schrock - WOW…an honest to goodness techno-star!!!

And then today, I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful exhibitor’s session at NECC focusing on Project K-nect which was implemented in four of our North Carolina high schools (Carver HS from Winston-Salem Forsyth County; Southern HS from Durham, and Dixon HS & Southwest HS from Onslow County).

Project K-nect is designed to create a supplemental resource for secondary at-risk students to focus on increasing their math skills through a common and popular technology – mobile smartphones.  Ninth graders in four NC public schools received smartphones during the Spring 2008 semester to access supplemental Algebra I content aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, as well as their teachers’ lesson plans and course objectives.  Students had the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with each other (using blogs, videocasts, instant messaging, etc.) to help them master problem solving skills.  The smartphones and cellular service were provided free of charge to the students and their schools due to a grant provided by Qualcomm, as part of its Wireless Reach™ initiative. 

For more information on this amazing 21st century project and future implementation - go to http://www.projectknect.org/. 

Project Manager, Shawn Gross - Project K-Nect
Microsoft Booth @ NECC 2008 (San Antonio)

So who’s heading to San Antonio??  Any session in particular you want to attend?  Maybe you want to hear North Carolina’s very own, David Warlick talk about “Our Students  Our World” or Kathy Schrock discuss online communities.  You can’t miss Alan November’s session on designing rigorous and globally connected assignments or Tammy Worcester’s integrated technology projects.   The list goes on and on…

But…Did you know that Charolotte Mecklenburg School District will be presenting at the conference?  Kennan Goodman will be providing a poster session and share how science students in North Carolina used software and Internet technology to enhance their performance in class and in several statewide science competitions.  Great Job, Charlotte-Meck - spread the word about the great things happening in our North Carolina schools! 

And of course, Discovery Education will have a fabulous booth - stop by booth# 8155 and check out the latest and greatest.  And we’ll probably be posting a blog or two while we’re there!   Check out more on NECC 2008 at http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2008/.

Add a comment and let us know what sessions you’re excited about attending!