Pennsylvania

The EdTechConnect
series of FREE webinars continues with STAR Discovery Educator Carol Anne
Maguire.
Carol will be sharing her experiences with Rock Our World, an
international project involving 18 countries spanning the entire globe. Students and teachers come together to learn
about each other through podcasting, movie making, and face-to-face video
conferencing. Carol’s webinar will take place on October 18^th at
5:00pm EST. Also, looking beyond
October, we have David Warlick lined up for November 15th and Will Richardson
for December 13th. Please mark your
calendar for all these events, registration information will be posted on the Blog in the
upcoming weeks.

Marcus Hill is Discovery’s new Professional Development
Coordinator and is in charge of the online webinars available through
unitedstreaming. These webinars have some amazing topics that will definitely
get Discovery Educators excited.  Some courses include Google Earth,
Digital Storytelling, PowerPoint Lessons, and of course the Builders.

I’m attaching the calendar for the rest of September and October. However, the
best
way to find them is to go the Professional Development Section of unitedstreaming.

Download Sept_Webinar_Calendar.pdf

Download Oct_Webinar_Calendar.pdf

From now until the end of October, if you attend one of these webinars and post a  comment sharing what you have learned with your fellow members you will receive
a special surprise!

Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of visiting Jim Hopton and Peggy Barger at Jefferson Morgan Elementary school to celebrate their victory for PA’s March Blogging Contest.
  The Jefferson Morgan Elementary School staff welcomed me with smiles and appreciation when I arrived with pizza for the entire staff.  For the contest, Jim and Peggy recruited their colleagues to help post 64 comments on their Blog titled Let’s Go Paperless.  Their creativity, determination, and strategic planning resulted in a WIN for their school. Congratulations…It was great meeting all of you!!

After my pizza party, I traveled north to visit Barbara Bianco at Falk Laboratory School, a unique K-8 school located on the University of Pittsburgh campus.  I presented to a small group of staff members who were excited to learn about digital media and all of the new features in unitedstreaming.  I appreciate all the teachers who came to my presentation at the end of a very long workday in between their evening meetings.    

My travels continued on Wednesday and Thursday to host two wonderful Days of Discovery; one at Beaver Valley IU 27 and the other at Riverview IU 6.  The educators at both IU’s were enthusiastic about learning how to integrate digital media into the classroom.  We created video libraries, writing prompts, and quizzes to take back and use in the classroom.  Hopefully, the attendees will share the resources they created with their colleagues and continue to integrate technology into their classrooms.   

I’m currently in Virginia meeting with fellow field managers from Florida, Maryland, Virgina, New Jersey, and New England. Saturday I’ll be heading to California to help Jannita (Southern CA Field Manager) host some Family Cosmeo Nights.  If you need anything please feel free to e-mail or call.  Also, when you get a chance, check out the Blog below to see pictures from our Mining event from this past Saturday.

Our mining trip began gloomy but the rain held out and we had
a fantastic time touring a mine and visiting a mining village. We spent the day learning and experiencing a
piece of PA History.

Our educators
traveled deep into the oldest operating anthracite mine and ventured through the tunnels
capturing digital media of the mule-way, mine shaft, underground hospital and
much more. Then, our adventure continued
to the village of Eckley, a company mining
town built during the 19^th century. We visited churches and homes with authentic memorabilia from this historical
time. Please feel free to check out our
pictures from this exciting event on flickr by searching “PA Curriculum”.

STAR Discovery Educators are entitled to an exclusive
discount opportunity from Discovery Education and InFocus! 

The DEN wants you to teach brilliantly, and maximize the
value of engaging multimedia content from Discovery Education. Through
this partnership, STAR Discovery Educators can purchase the IN24 multimedia
projector
from InFocus at an incredible price of only $480.00.

This promotion is available only to STAR Discovery
Educators. Limit 5 projectors per STAR
Discovery Educator. Contact your field
manager for more details.

EdTechConnect

Join us online for the first
EdTechConnect of the
2006-2007 school year!   Discovery Education is proud to feature Joe Brennan on Wednesday Sept. 20 at 5:00PM EST.

Who: Joe Brennan is a STAR Discovery Educator who recently retired from
Niles Township High Schools and is now an independent consultant specializing
in digital storytelling .  A former Spanish teacher who coached both
soccer and basketball, Joe first became interested in educational video and
multimedia because of his visual approach to teaching and coaching.  Joe
is an Apple Distinguished Educator and the Illinois Computing Educator’s
Educator of the Year in 2003. 

Topic: The Incompleat Guide to Digital Storytelling - An overview
of the tools and resources available to students and teachers to help them
share information and inspiration with the rest of the world. From PowerPoint
to podcasting to professional video editing programs, classes can collaborate
on exciting projects that extend their learning far beyond wall the walls of
their school.

Cost: FREE!

This webinar will be limited
to the first 200 people, so register
now!

If you have any questions
about EdTechConnect or
registration, contact Steve_Dembo@discovery.com

2007 PETE&C

Pennsylvania Educational
Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C) will be held February 11-13, 2007
at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. The last day for educators to submit proposals to present material at
this year’s conference is September 30, 2006. Conference organizers are looking for volunteers from all academic areas
to share their expertise by presenting hour long sessions. All primary presenters will receive
complimentary registration for both conference days (a $175.00 savings)! This is a great opportunity for all our DEN
members to share educational technology strategies with fellow educators and
conference attendees. It’s time to shine
STARS…Let’s show PA the power of DEN. For
more information check out the PETE&C website and submit your request for
participation today!!

A Word from the Community

 From Maria Johns

"The Montgomery County Science Teachers
Assoc. Annual fall conference will be held at Perkiomen Valley High School on Thursday,
Oct. 19, 2006 from 3:45 to 7:00. 

Maria Johns from Montgomery County
Intermediate Unit will be doing two sessions on the use of unitedstreaming in the
science classroom. The MCIU and
districts have subscribed to unitedstreaming for the districts. For registration information on the
mini-conference go to: www.mcsta.org.”

From Joreen Kelly

"Would
you believe that the second week of school I’ve been called for Jury Duty.
Sadly, that meant that my Monday kids haven’t really seen me yet this year,
since last Monday was a day off. What I did was videotape myself teaching a
different section and making up an outline of the lesson. That way all the
substitute had to do was plunk in the tape and pass out the papers."

From
Sean Recke

“Adam is 7 years old and has been diagnosed with a
very rare and fatal disease called Niemann-Pick Type C. There is no cure for
this brutal and unforgiving disease. There are about 100 cases of this disease
in the United States. We need to raise awareness about this disease so we can try to
find a cure. http://raceforadam.org/
We need Help!! We need to raise funds and awareness about this disease so we
can try to find a cure. We are doing wristband and t-shirt fundraisers and have
a 5K run/walk for a cure on May 20th at Lehigh Parkway at noon. You can register
online at: www.eteamz.com/walkforacure or contact Matt Tobias at mtobias@stsd.org 


We are also holding a Golf outing at Southmoore Golf Course on September 17,
2006 starting at 1pm. We are looking hole sponsors. Please contact Bob Creveling
for more information at: rcreveling@psea.org
All of the proceeds will be sent to the Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation http://www.nnpdf.org/ and the Ara Parseghian
Medical Research Foundation http://www.parseghian.org/apmrfweb/”

Okay Super STARs this is a great opportunity for you to shine and get some fantastic goodies along the way–This is just one of the many benefits for STAR Discovery Educators.

For the 2007 School Year, we’ll be rolling out new benefits and programs for STAR Discovery Educators. Our first new initiative is the DEN Extra Credit Program.

The DEN Extra Credit program will provide STAR Discovery Educators an opportunity to earn technology for the classroom by partnering with Discovery Education on various activities. Whether writing lesson plans for existing content, or reviewing academic content of new videos, the DEN Extra Credit program will provide a wide variety of opportunities for STAR Discovery Educators to contribute their expertise to further the success of the DEN and Discovery Education as a whole.

As a reward for your efforts on each project, participating members will receive various technology products for their classroom. Depending on the size and scope of the project, these products may include wireless presentation devices, digital cameras, LCD projectors, SmartBoards and various technology packages for larger initiatives.

By joining DEN Extra Credit, you are not obligated to participate in all of the projects; we’ll simply communicate each new project and initiative to the DEN Extra Credit team and you can select the projects in which you are interested in participating. For each project, we’ll provide you with the scope, timeframe, skill sets required as well as the technology reward for the project and you can determine if you want to join that particular assignment.

To apply to join the DEN Extra Credit Program, please send an email to Debbie_baillie@discovery.com to sign up and receive further details and information on the first set of "DEN Extra Credit" assignments

Events and Trainings are the heart and soul of the Discovery Educator Network.  We know that getting educators together to collaborate and share about technology in the classroom is incredibly valuable for everyone.  However, there simply aren’t enough Field Managers to go around and visit every school, conference, or ed. tech event….. so we rely on our members to help reach their neighbors!

Here are a few training related ways that count towards your activity in the DEN:

Attend Event
Throughout the year, I will let you know about exciting DEN trainings in our region.  To find out about trainings happening in our area, make sure to check out our Delaware-Pennsylvania Blog.  I will definitely keep you informed on upcoming events you can attend. 

Host an Event (3 or more people talking about unitedstreaming)
As I meet more and more educators in the area, I am amazed by the incredible talent and creativity represented.  It’s time to share that knowledge with everyone.  You may think that everyone knows how to do what you do…. but that’s not the case.  We’re constantly learning new things from one another.  Host a few DEN events to share the creative ways you are using unitedstreaming and technology in your classroom! 

Report Event - Just the basic details!
As you host events this year, be sure to let me know a few basic details.  I know that several of you are already doing it, so tell me about it and brag on yourself.  You can e-mail me with the information or send me this document Download den_event_summary.doc …whichever is easier. 

If you have any more questions about trainings or events please feel free to e-mail me at anytime. 

Get Active in the DEN

With the new changes in the DEN, many members have been requesting information on how to stay active.  So, whether you are brand new to the DEN or not sure of the resources available to you, I’d like to help you find ways to become active in our community.  Over the next few weeks, I will post a variety of different ways you can become or stay active in our network.  I will begin this week by posting a summary on Events & Trainings.  So, keep your eyes peeled on the Blog for this post and more engaging activities that count toward your active membership. 

STAR Educators

On September 1, all STAR Educators should have received an e-mail from Discovery Education with a link for a special back-to-school gift.  In order to receive this gift, you must click on the link (included in the e-mail) and complete the survey by Friday, September 15^th at 5:00pm. Fifty-seven Pennsylvania & Delaware Educators have already signed up for their free gift but we still have sixty-nine STAR educators who need to complete this survey.  Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity—fill out your survey today!!

A Successful Night of Food & Fun

Last Thursday, I had a wonderful time eating, relaxing, and chatting with numerous teachers from the Pittsburgh area.  We all met for dinner at the Rock Bottom Restaurant in Homestead PA.  I loved hearing all the classroom success stories and incredible unitedstreaming implementation strategies being shared by everyone there.  We had a fantastic dinner and everyone made it home in time to watch the Steelers game.  Thanks to everyone who came out to meet me, it was great to put faces to some of the e-mails I have been receiving. 

Upcoming Events

I am still taking names for anyone interested in coming on the Coal Mining Tours in Eastern PA.This event will take place on Saturday, September 23^rd from 9-3.  Please e-mail me if you are interested in attending…for more information Download mine.pdf

Also, here are some upcoming events/conferences you might want to attend, mark your calendars:

TRETC                        2006 Three Rivers Educational Technology Conference

• The conference will be November 8^th & 9^th at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh PA
• Steve Dembo from Discovery Education will be one of the keynote speakers
• For more information check out their website: http://www.tretc.org/nuke/index.php

Day of Discovery/Science Fair

• Scheduled for December 5, 2006 at Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh PA
• I will send out more information in upcoming weeks

Webinars

Just a reminder… Webinars on the new features of unitedstreaming and the builders will be this week. The meetings are schedule for Tuesday 9/12 at 4:00pm EST and Thursday 9/14 3:00pm EST. I sent an e-mail with the details last week.  Please be aware that the default time zone on webex may be set for central time.  You can change the calendar time under my webex/preferences. (However, don’t be alarmed if the time is different) Just show up–Let me know if you need more information. 

Have a great week and keep in touch

Message from Betsy Whalen, Director of DEN National Programs

In the days since the death of Steve Irwin, we’ve received a number of comments from DEN teachers about the difficulties their students are having dealing with this tragedy.  According to news articles posted the other day, psychologists have said that adults need to realize that for children, Irwin’s death has a similar impact as Kennedy or Princess Diana’s did for adults and we can’t underestimate the importance of helping them deal with losing someone that many young children felt personally connected to.

In light of that, we’d like to reach out to the students in the DEN community and provide them with an opportunity to express their feelings about the Crocodile Hunter by writing letters to the Irwin family to communicate their condolences and provide some thoughts on why the Crocodile Hunter was important to them.

If your DEN members’ class, or select students in the class, would like to contribute letters, please ask them to package individual letters in one package and send them to:

Betsy Whalen
Discovery Education
1 Discovery Place
Silver Spring, MD 20814

We will package all of our DEN student letters up and deliver them directly to the Irwin Family through Animal Planet.

We’ll also keep you updated on the development of the the Crikey fund and other ways students may be able to participate to feel connected to the Crocodile Hunter.