North Carolina DEN

On May 30, 2009, North Carolina educators participated in the 1st DEN Geocaching Day at two locations:  Etowah and Kinston

Etowah, NC

Twelve geocachers began the day at the newly opened Etowah Public Library where they learned about how GPS satellites work, GPS devices and Geocaching.  They then spent some time looking for some small caches around the library as they learned to use their GPS devices.  They were given many examples of how to tie geocaching to any curricular area as well as time to collaborate and connect with each other.  Their adventure then took them to the Etowah Park where they found two geocaches.  The first one was found very quickly; but, the second one proved to be a bit more of an adventure.  After using the clue given to them on the geocaching.com website, the cache was found covered with ants. Their geocaching experience ended with Julie’s Sub and Sandwich Shop providing a wonderful lunch and lots of prizes from Discovery.   

Kinston, NC Twenty three cachers started the day at Golden Corral for breakfast and some general geocaching hints. Our adventure was the First Battle of Kinston Tour, which consisted of 12 new caches and a history lesson at each stop.  Included in each cache was information needed to complete a puzzle that would reveal the location of the last cache.  The travel bug was launched at the 3rd stop on the tour.  Cachers met at the Kinston Visitor’s Center and received a button proclaiming they finished The First Battle Tour of Kinston.  Our reward for a long morning of caching was the delicious lunch awaiting us at Subway.  Everyone was pleasantly surprised at the nice prizes and lunch.

On June 27th, there will be a second event:  The Battle of Wyse Fork, which will also consist of 12 new caches.  Join us if you can.

Fifteen states will participate in the first-ever DEN Geocaching Day and North Carolina is one of them! 

Two events are planned for Saturday, May 30, 2009 in which educators are invited to learn about geocaching and using GPS devices.

Location #1 - Golden Corral - Kinston, NC

• Time:  8:30-
• Contact:  DEN Guide: Lee Yahnker, dragonflyly@netscape.net 

Location #2 - Etowah Public Library - Etowah, NC (15 miles South of Asheville)

• Time:  9:30-12:30
• Contact:  DEN Guide: Conni Mulligan
  connimulligan@gmail.com

If you have ever asked any of the following questions:

• What is GPS?
• What is geocaching?
• How do I get started?
• How can I use this with my students?

Then, you should contact one of the DEN Guides above to participate in this wonderful opportunity.

The Fall Science Supervisors Meeting was held in Charlotte, NC, October 29, 2008, in conjunction with the North Carolina Science Leadership Association (NCSLA) meeting and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) regional meeting.  The purpose of these meetings were to update districts on current North Carolina issues and national initiatives in science education.

• Elementary, Middle and High School Science and Graduation Project- An effort is being made by districts in our state to share what I would call: “tips and tricks”.
• New Units aligned to Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy- CD containing the science curriculum units in K-12 Science are ready. Participants received three CDs. One K-5, one 6-8, and high school. This resource will be available online soon. It was announced that the resource will be password protected for copyright reasons. Also, the units have include SIOP strategies for ELL students. My teachers will like that. Thanks NCDPI!
• Standard Course of Study Revision- is currently slated for June 2009! That is right, not a draft, the final version. Science textbook adpotion will follow for the coming school year (’10-’11).
• Two Science Competitions- Science Fair and Science Olympiad.
• CCSSO STEM education initiative update- I must have been checking my BlackBerry’s email or Twittering when this topic was discussed. Sorry!
• Testing updates- One thing that I did not know about EOG test schools in Science for grades 5 and 8, is a push to make the test scores a part of the ABC Performance Composite, which would not effect ABC Bonus Money. I am not going to say what I want about that pot of money, it would not be politically correct- wink wink. Oh, and this appears to not be “writing in stone” at this point in time. So, stay tuned middle school folks.
• Presidential awards (PAEMST)- packet contains a flyer. Interesting point here was a we are encouraged to nominate a middle school science teacher.
• Professional Development Opportunities- Teacher Academy
• MSP Project updates
• Exemplary Science programs- opps, must have been looking in my bag os swag…If you are reading this post and you were there please add your snap shot.
• Future Meetings and Institutes- lots of dates or ideas about possible future dates for meetings. One proposed meeting is a Spring Science Supervisors Meeting. Hey that would be cool. IMHO, we need to have it at Wrightsville Beach. Like the week after school ends.
• Ready, Set, SCIENCE! - Thanks to Bev Vance for a great overview of this great resource.

Edd Dunlap, Science Section Chief, Ragan, Spain, and Benita Tipton, you guys rock! Ok, enough brown-nosing. Oh, one more thing- As much as the Westin charges for rooms, it is hard to believe they wanted to charge for WiFi in the rooms. Capitalists!!!   [Maybe I could have left that out]

Have you heard that “inquiry” is now referred to as “Science as Practice”?

Have you heard? The DEN just announced the DENliest Catch Fall Promotion:  http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2008/09/26/denliest-catch-08/. 

Let’s go SOUTH REGION - we can take it this time.  Last Spring, Kim Randall and her dedicated team of DENners in the West won it.  We can do it South Region.  Let’s get out there…talk to all your fellow teachers, colleagues, anyone who will listen and encourage them to become a STAR. 

It’s easy…have them log-in to their Discovery Education account…click on MY ACCOUNT and under MY PROFILE…select BECOME A STAR DISCOVERY EDUCATOR and presto 1, 2, 3!   You will be asked to update your profile and then be directed to the STAR Application.   We can do it!!!!!! 

If you recruit a new STAR by December 1, 2008 and report your catch, you can pick from the following:

• Deadliest Catch Season 4 DVD set
• Planet Earth: The Filmmaker’s Story
• Mythbusters Season 4 DVD set

In addition the crew that recruits the most STARs will walk away with bragging rights and a very special DENliest Catch chicklet to post on their blogs, websites and email signatures.

Meet your captains:

Kim Randall guides the Wild and Wacky Western
AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR and WA

Justin Karkow commands the Center of Attention
AZ, KS, MO, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, UT and WY

Mike Bryant skippers the Dawn Treader
IA, IL, IN, MI, MN and WI

Dennis Swain leads the Northeastern
CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI and VT

Matt Monjan navigates the high seas with MPEG: Queen of the Mid-Atlantic
DE, MD, NJ, OH, PA and VA

Brad Fountain captains the Southern STARs
AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN and WV

Let’s make Brad proud!!!!

Just a reminder - today is the AWESOME streamathon…so join in the fun - CLICK HERE!

 Don’t forget to check out the amazing Brad Fountain (our South Region DE Account Manager) at 4pm for his “WOW!  You can do that with DE streaming and PowerPoint?” Session.

As many North Carolinians prepare for Tropical Storm Hanna…we just thought we’d share a fabulous interactive website to track the current storms - http://www.stormpulse.com/.  Be safe, everyone!

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!!

We’ve had a few updates on the the NC DEN Leadership Team…so, we thought we’d post a new slideshow.  Congrats to Judy on her new media coordinator position and to Aaron on his new little one!

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!