Pennsylvania

Our friends at Tech4Learning are sponsoring a timely contest–Dear Mr. President.

With today’s struggling economies and natural resource questions, the government needs your help. President Obama has named you as his chief student adviser. What issue would you like him to address in the near future? Why? What should he consider?

Create a 21st-century position paper to share your issue.

Deadline: Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Judging
Entries will be judged by a panel of artists and computer experts for creativity, originality, and style!

Entries could include:

* issues web sites
* print advertisments
* documentaries and docudramas
* and more!

Prizes
Prizes will be announced and awarded on Monday, May 18th, 2009!

1st place - Ages 4-8
iPod Shuffle for you & a pizza party for your class
1st place - Ages 9 and up
iPod Shuffle for you & a pizza party for your class
2nd place - Pizza party for your class
3rd place - 2 gallon specialty popcorn tin for your class
Honorable Mention (2) - Tech4Learning mug of candy

Submissions and Requirements
This contest is open to K-12 students around the world. Submit your entry as a single file or combination of files in the following formats:

* Pixie (.pxi)
* ImageBlender (.ibf)
* Twist (.twi)
* MediaBlender (.prt)
* Frames (.fra)
* WebBlender (.wbs)

Please send your entries to:
contest@tech4learning.com

Your submitted file should include your first name and school in the file name and must include a text box or text layer with the following information:

* Your first name and last initial
* Your age
* Your full school name
* Your city and state

Don’t have these Tech4Learning tools?
You can download a 30-day evaluation for: Frames, ImageBlender, MediaBlender, Pixie, Twist, or WebBlender

Tech4Learning
Contest
Education
Technology
Web 2.0
Turbo Tagger

Copied from the DEN National Blog

A virtual drum roll please… We are thrilled to officially open the application process for the Discovery Student Adventures Pilot Program.

Join us as we discover more of our incredible planet earth together with adventure trips to Australia, South Africa, and China. In order to participate in this pilot trip, you must be a STAR Discovery Educator. Not only are you able to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity, each STAR selected will be able to choose four of their students to join them on the adventure!  This is at no cost to you or your students!

So with no further ado… here’s the official wording and post importantly the link to apply.

In 2010, Discovery Education will launch Discovery Student Adventures, education-based international trips 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 once selected for a trip, 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 educators that teach 5th through 12th grade.

We invite you to fill out an application for the opportunity to travel with us, giving us your thoughts and opinions along the way to help make Discovery Student Adventures a unique, premiere student travel program that brings the world to life for students and the teachers who lead the trips.

Australia
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 – Thursday, June 11, 2009
Description: Melbourne, Ayers Rock, Townsville, Great Barrier Reef

South Africa
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Description: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Kruger National Park

China
Tuesday August 4, 2008 – Tuesday, August 18, 2008
Description: Beijing, Chengde, Luoyang

Travel Dates are estimates only and subject to change.

To apply please visit https://discoverystudentadventures.wufoo.com/forms/pilot-program-application/

The application will be closed on Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 5 pm PST. All applicants will be informed of their status by April 1, 2009.

Cross-posted on Cliotech

I know that a few others have blogged about this contest, but it’s a really great idea and I wanted to share it here as well.

BrainyFlix is endeavoring to help students better prepare for the SATs through a mode of learning that research has proven to be very powerful for 21st century learners - video. Here is the contest overview.

We’re trying to help kids prepare for the SAT by offering fun and free videos about SAT vocabulary, made by YOU!

We’re offering $600 in prize money to the video that receives the most number of votes. $200 of the payout will go to the maker(s) of the video and $400 to the class or school club of his/her choice.

And to make this viral, we’ll give out 1 free iTunes download for every 5 videos you submit or referrals you provide.*

Contest has begun! But don’t worry there is plenty of time to get involved. Students can submit entries until March 16th, 2009

*iTunes downloads available for first 1000 videos only.

Here are the contest rules:

Make a video about any SAT/ACT vocabulary word of your choosing from this list. On that list, we’ll show you how many videos have been submitted for each word. Please choose one without any videos submissions.

1 video for 1 word, but you can make as many videos as you want.

Anyone can enter the competition! Just remember that part of the prize money has to go to a U.S. high school or middle school of your choosing.

All voting will happen at BrainyFlix.com, so make sure your video includes the following text: “Vote for this video at www.BrainyFlix.com/xxxxx”. And substitute the “xxxxx” with your vocab word.

Important contest dates:

• Video submission opens: 1/1/2009
• Video submission ends: 3/16/2009
• Voting opens: 3/23/2009
• Voting ends: 4/5/2009
• Winners announced: 4/13/2009

More information including video guidelines and posting instructions is available on the contest guidelines page.

Here is an example of a student-created video for the contest.

Click here to review the word list or click here to enter your video into the contest.

By the way, here are two other great online applications for practicing SAT vocabulary: FreeRice and Verbalearn.

SAT
vocabulary
BrainyFlix
students
education
technology
Turbo Tagger

That’s right . . . The PA DEN is proud to share that our own Maryann Molishus has received the prestigious Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award.  Maryann is a 2nd grade teacher at Goodnoe Elementary School in the Council Rock School District (Newtown, PA).

Here is a little more information about Maryann (copied from her award notification page)

From social studies to math, second-grade teacher Maryann Molishus makes the curriculum vivid through technology at Goodnoe Elementary School in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Students learn to produce webinars, digital photography and podcasts with authors of books they are reading—projects that helped all of her students meet district benchmarks in reading. Molishus combines geography and poetry to help students track the Iditarod. Students get to know the mushers the way some children know baseball players, with fifth graders serving as team sponsors. She involves her students in the Habitat Project, a yearlong collaborative effort during which small student groups investigate a specific habitat, culminating in eight-foot murals painted to include all animals and plants researched. Another hallmark Molishus project is a science unit on balance, culminating a five-day Science Circus Camp with a “Cirque de Balance” show for parents. Known for her creativity and persistence with academically or behaviorally challenged children, Molishus motivated one struggling student by involving her in a yearlong study of the city of Philadelphia, with support from classmates. As a Keystones Technology Integrator for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Molishus provides professional development at school and district levels. She serves on the Superintendent’s Professional Advisory Committee, as a teacher representative on the board of the Council Rock Education Foundation, and as a grant reviewer for the Classroom of the Future program—a good fit for an educator who prepares her students to succeed in the 21st century.

Maryann learned that she had received this honor at a surprise school assembly, which is part of the Milken Educator Award National Notifications.  Local media covered the surprise notification:

“I’m still shaking,” Molishus said after the assembly at Goodnoe Elementary School in Newtown. “I’m just really honored because there are so many good teachers in our district. And the kids are still buzzing. It’s nice to share it with them.”

Per Milken rules, the awards must be kept secret until names are announced, so no one knew, officials said. So, when the entire school, including Molishus’ second-grade class, packed the school’s gym, the students and staff thought they were there for an assembly with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Instead officials called Molishus’ name.

The Milken National Educator Award (most commonly known as the Milken Educator Award) provides public recognition and an unrestricted financial award of $25,000 to elementary and secondary school teachers, principals and other education professionals who are furthering excellence in education.

In addition to the honor of receiving the award, Maryann will be attending the Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference.

I hope that all of you will join me in congratulating Maryann for this awesome honor! We are so lucky to have Maryann in our professional learning community.

Come on, PA Discovery Educators, nominate the DEN for an Open Web award.

Mashable is proud to present the second annual Open Web Awards.

Open Web Awards is the only multilingual international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Through an online nominating and voting process, the Open Web Awards recognizes and honors the top achievements in 26 categories. This year, we’re partnering with over 100 blog partners, Poll Daddy for extra security and ease of voting and extending the nominations period and voting rounds for greater participation.

Nominations will be held from November 5th till November 16th 2008. The first and final voting rounds will be held from November 19th till December 15th.

Where do they come up with these challenge names?  Well, I love this one - The DENliest Catch!

 Here are the details copied from the national blog.  Come on, PA, let’s help out “Captian” Monjan set sail with the Mid-Atlantic DEN!

The DEN fleet has left the harbor and is looking for a bountiful fall harvest of STARs from all around the country. It’s a short season and the six DEN captains need your help catching new STARs.

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

Calling all PA Discovery Educators . . .

The Mid-Atlantic had been totally rocking the Spring Training Challenge until THIS WEEK!  The South region has just passed us.

We need your help to regain our #1 ranking.

What can you do to help?

1. Report your events (click here to be reminded of what is considered an event)
2. Help grow our network by recruiting your colleagues to join the DEN and become a STAR

If you have any questions, contact Matt Monjan, the Mid-Atlantic account manager.

Copied from Matt Monjan’s blog.

Join us on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 6:00pm EST for the first ever Mid-Atlantic DEN STAR Drive-in.

What will the drive in feature be you ask? The DEN of course!

We’ll have our DEN Stars take you behind the scenes and explain why they joined and discuss what they feel are the most important reasons for joining. We’ll also explore the DEN website, walk through the Star application process, and, of course, give out prizes!

Now what would a good Drive-in be without Popcorn?  Well you’ll get that too - but to do so you’ll need to go to and fill out the registration form by Wednesday, April 24, 2008 - so that I can send it to you!

This session will be delivered over Webex in a Webinar format. To join the Webinar on April 28, 2008 at 6pm please do the following:

1. Go to https://discoveryed.webex.com/discoveryed/j.php?ED=96399582&UID=0
2. Enter your name and email address.
(This meeting does not require a password.)
3. Click “Join Now”.
4. Then call 866-469-3239
5. Dial in the meeting number 559 413 441 and press the # sign
6. Then press the number 3 and the # sign

And of course - there will be prizes:

The first 5 people (Stars to-be) to fill out their applications and record an event (become a Star) will receive a DEN baseball cap.

And the first DEN Star to recruit 5 or more new stars (they have to complete the entire application including recording an event) will receive a Planet Earth DVD Box set.

So don’t delay fill visit and fill out the registration form today!

So, the race is on . . . which region will win the title, the glory, the cool DEN prizes?

The annual DEN Spring Training Event is underway.  Here are the details (shamelessly copied from the DEN National blog).  You can track our status online as well.

DEN Spring Training is back! This year the DEN coaches are scouting talent for the All-STAR team as well as looking for some new prospects to join the DEN squad. You have a couple ways to impress the coaches during DEN Spring Training and earn some DEN gear.

Renegotiate Your Contract
Every year STAR Discovery Educators are asked to report at least two events they have conducted in the past school year in order to have their contracts renewed for the following season (i.e., maintain STAR status for next school year). Give your agent some additional leverage to land you a big contract by reporting more than two events.

Any STAR DE who reports at least three events for the time period of September 1, 2007 through June 6, 2008 will receive a DEN Water Bottle as a signing bonus.

What is an event?

Click here to report your events.

Recruit a Rookie
We’re always looking for new prospects who can throw a 90 mph fastball or embed a DE streaming video into PowerPoint. If you help us find a rookie sensation, we’ll hook you up with some new DEN gear.

Any STAR DE who recruits a new STAR Discovery Educator before June 6, 2008 will receive a DEN baseball jersey. Note: The STAR DE you recruit must have his/her contract officially signed by June 6, 2008 (i.e., he/she must complete all parts of the application process by June 6).

Help Your Region Win the Pennant
Your DEN Account Managers are looking to you to help them bring home the pennant for your region. The DEN Manager whose region has the most new STAR recruits during DEN Spring Training will win the coveted Discovery Educator Network Louisville Slugger straight from the factory in Kentucky.

State Challenge
The state with the most STAR Discovery Educators recruited during DEN Spring Training will receive a Day of Discovery featuring Hall “of Famer” Davidson and other major leaguers from the DEN team.

 In summary…

• Report at least 3 events and earn a DEN water bottle
• Recruit a new STAR and earn a DEN baseball jersey
• Help your DEN Manager win the pennant by recruiting new STARs
• Get Hall and the DEN team to host a Day of Discovery in your state by recruiting the most new STARs

I have full confidence in the mid-Atlantic region.  Here are my reasons:

1. We are among the first states to host the DEN, a state Leadership Council, and a DEN regional institute.
2. Edulebrities (edu-celebrities) Lance Rougeux and Scott Kinney hail from our fair state
3. We have a very active DEN with members who are busy hosting events and, most importantly, reporting all events
4. The interest generated at the PETE&C DEN Pre-Conference Extravaganza is sure to attract lots more STARs to the PA network
5. We are leading as of Week 1
6. We got the “Mojo”