Pennsylvania

10 things you can do to become a GREENER Teacher

1. Blackle.com instead of Google.com, black background on the search page. Blackle also has games. Does Blackle really save energy?
2. Green resources from DiscoveryStreaming. There is a documentary about the tornado that hit Greensburg, Kansas narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. This is how the town rebuilt with environmental impact being a requirement.  Also, PlanetGreen has a series by Bill Nye “Stuff Happens”.
3. Photo essays - created by animoto, photo story, PSA, comic, use DES clips to create something or Tips for a greener planet.(recycling)
4. Share materials through MediaShare - don’t use trees to print
5. Glogster - multimedia posters - BUT create it through glogster.com/edu
6. GoogleEarth - you can create a scavenger hunt for students to travel around the Earth.
7. Thinkgreen.com/classroom - A new partnership with DiscoveryEducation. This site has tremendous resources for teachers about recycling and sustainability including details about which type of glass is best recycled. This includes good lesson plans, worksheets, writing prompts and other links and resources. Be sure to get the ThinkGreen widget to show how much energy you saved. You can take the widget and put it on a website, or on a GoogleEarth placemark. How cool is that?!? Have some students count the recycled cans and/or bottles and post it on your school web page.
8. www.wecanchange.com - Siemens created a”We can change the world Challenge”. Great contest for kids/schools. There are fantastic resources for setting up the process in your school. There is a contest where the winners will be on the Discovery Show “Planet Green”.
9. donorsChoose.org - find funding sources from places you may not even know about.
10. teacherpaperless.blogspot.com - Follow this blog for ideas about how to teach without using paper. You can find all the presentations from the DENLC and DENPC on the National Blog on Monday.

Photo by Barbara Martin, June 20, 2009, Brandywine Zoo Wilmington DE

Learning at the DEN Symposium is non-stop. Today we had many choices of workshops and this one with Bran Fountain delivered many new ideas for use in the classroom.

You can use the funnies or comics for a timeline, historical figures, instructions, dialogue punctuation, character analysis, plot analysis, storytelling, pre-writing tool, post-reading tool, and teaching concepts. After a field trip to the zoo where kids take photos of turkeys, create point of view about Thanksgiving. Also teachers have used it for creating digital citizenship, point of view of planets talking to planets, world languages, and drawing.

Verbal linguistic learner - visual images from DES and point of view, placing characters in sets and backgrounds encourages spacial learning.

Mathematical/Logical - how would you create the layout

Kinesthetic/Bodily -  using Goanimate (some questionable content) you can create action figures, use with grammar, science concepts, replay stories or book reviews in student’s point of view,

Interpersonal: Who are your characters friends? Using software called Pixton. Can have photos of people talking, animals conversing,

Musical/Rhythmic: personal stories, poetry illustrated

Comic Life now available for the PC as well as the Mac. Pixton is web based. FTC has a book of how to use Comic Life by a DEN STAR. Stop by their booth at NECC. You can export them to the web. Use for life cycle of cateillar, photo sharing, step by step process(FCS cooking or science lab example).

GoAnimate - put DES in the background by using images, photos or movies. Can grab images from flickr.com and cut part of it to your screen. You can use audacity to add voice. BE aware that this is not an education only site.

Xtranormal -Text to speech animation video. You can put it on DES images or chose the backgrounds they have in their set. You can select the voices, but it is very computer-like. Can use it as a conflict-resolution scene, can use as a book report, weather report. BE CAREFUL there are some inappropriate actions or already created videos. You should create and download yourself to YouTube. There is a pay version for about $30 per year. Teryl Magee is in contact with them to work with an educational version and she will let us know what happens. The FREE version has 2 characters and basic backgrounds.

Pixton - They have a school version and it is FREE. You can move the individual body parts by clicking on them - be careful what your kids will do with it!

Brads presentation is available on MediaShare “Learning through the Funnies!!”

Time flies, especially at this time of year.  I can’t believe that NECC is just around the corner.  If you are planning on attending, 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 WorkshopsJoin 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.

For those of us who are not going to NECC this year, hopefully DE will run back channels so we can attend virtually.  More about that later.

Our wonderful community is approaching another birthday at NECC in a few weeks.  We hope you can join us on June 27, 2009 (9 AM to 3:30 PM) for an engaging day of networking, professional development, fun and of course, birthday cake, at the world headquarters of Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, MD.

As part of this year’s celebration we are looking to showcase “digital bulletin boards” that reflect what the DEN means to our STARs.  What is a digital bulletin board you ask?  Well, it could be a PowerPoint slide that links out to all the cool things you’ve done with the DEN.  Or it could be a Voicethread, Inspiration map, Glog, etc.  The format has to be digital, the content has to be DEN and bonus points for creativity.

 We will display the digital bulletin boards during our pre-NECC event and allow everyone to vote. Everyone who submits an entry will receive a DEN baseball cap and the winner will receive a super deluxe pack of DEN swag as well as the fame and fortune associated with winning. And you DO NOT have to be present to win.  Every STAR is encouraged to submit his/her own digital bulletin board.

 Please send your entries to Lance Rougeux (lance_rougeux@discovery.com) by Friday, June 19, 2009.

 Image Citation:

birthday cake. Discovery Education. 2009.Discovery Education. 5 June 2009<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>

Dorman’s Trouvailles 

DEN has outdone itself again, ending an amazing month with a stacked lineup of opportunities for its STARS. May 26 pitches a double-header: our last webinar of the school year, and the first-ever DENny Awards. We all know a STAR who has gone above and beyond for the DEN, or maybe we never forget to read a special STAR’s blog–every day. Why not take two minutes to recognize those STARs by completing the nomination form today. It’s due May 25, so you have today and tomorrow to nominate a fellow STAR. Then, on May 26, when we talk about all things DEN, we’ll also recognize some STARS who have shined extra brightly this year. Don’t forget to click here to register for our end-of-school-year webinar too.

The last Geocaching 101 webinar for the first-ever DEN National Geocaching Day is May 27 at 7 pm ET. You can register here to join one of our DEN geocaching experts as you get the basics of a tech-savvy treasure hunt. Check out the DEN National blog for resources and a list of a STAR Tech-Trek near you. And then, while you’re at it, join a group and have a great time, DENs way of saying thank you for a great year.  My first experience with geocaching was with Bridget Belardi after her presentation at DEN LC National Summer Institute last year.  I admit I was just a bit skeptical; it was hot and did I want to go on a techno-treasure hunt.  Let me tell you it is the most fun ever, so if you are just a tad like me and are wondering…just do it.  You’ll love it.  Promise.

Our good friends at Teach4Learning gave DEN STARS a great tool, Frames 4, during National DEN Teacher Appreciation Week. Now they have graciously offered us a webinar to teach us some tips and tricks using Frames. Join us this Friday, May 29 at 4:30 ET.

Learn how students can use the integrated drawing tools in Frames to illustrate their own stories, tell digital stories, and create animated Flash® movies.

To register, click here.

To wrap a great month, DEN ends with its first-ever National Geocaching Day on May 30. Don’t forget to check the national blog for STARS who are leading geocaching in their states.

Note: Copied from National Blog

June 27, 2009
9 AM to 3:30 PM
Cost: FREE

Discovery Educators are invited to join us for an engaging day of networking, professional development and fun at the world headquarters of Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, MD.  The day will give you the opportunity to network with colleagues from all around the world prior to NECC and provide you with amazing professional development sessions 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

• Director’s Cut: Animoto, MovieMaker, and Premiere Elements

• And more!

Space is limited.  Registration closes June 5th.  Enroll today!

We know that DEN pioneers firsts, and today brought yet another. If you missed FETCs Virtual Conference, now you can view it on demand, at your convenience. Let’s give a virtual applause to the Florida DEN/LC for creating two firsts: first LC virtual conference and first on-demand viewing. Bravo!

If you missed attending, you can “attend” by clicking here. The virtual conference offers incredible resources to download, all free and available to qualified registrants until July 23, 2009, 5:00 p.m. ET. You will find virtual events exploring the most pressing issues related to 21st Century Skills, from your desktop—at your convenience! Check out the on-demand sessions, excellent speakers, networking and product demos—at NO CHARGE!
And there you have it: fast, free, fun firsts–the cutting edge that only DEN delivers.

FETC Virtual Conference
Technology
Education
In-Worlds
DEN Trifecta
Turbo Tagger

Note: Copied from the National Blog.

We’re looking for a few good DEN (sorry, couldn’t resist)!

Seriously, the DEN has doubled in size since last year and this amazing growth has a lot to do with our incredible DEN Leadership Councils.  We are in awe of the work they have volunteered to do to make the DEN community what it is today.  Wouldn’t you love to be part of these incredible groups of STAR DEs?  Now’s your chance.

In order to provide the necessary support to ever-growing state-level DEN communities, give new STAR Discovery Educators the opportunity to take an active leadership role with the DEN, and allow current LC members a break (if they choose) we are starting an annual LC election process.

From now until Friday, May 15, 2009 you have the opportunity to express interest in staying active as an LC member, joining an exisiting LC or helping to launch a new LC.

Every STAR Discovery Educator is encouraged to formally express his/her interest by completing the self-nomination form.  You will select which leadership role(s) you are interested in as well as provide a brief statement of interest that will serve as your “campaign speech” should someone else wish to be considered for the same leadership role.

In order to be considered for the Chair, Blog Coordinator or Events Coordinator roles you must serve on the DEN LC for at least one year as part of the Events Team or Blog Team.  For new LCs this does not apply.

For more details about the DEN Leadership Councils including the roles, responsibilities, benefits and the election process please read the DEN LC Overview.

If you have any questions, please post them as comments on the National Blog so everyone can see the response.

One of the best things about DEN is the network, and Jennifer Dorman is like Christmas; she’s the gift that keeps giving.  Under her tutelage, I’m getting comfortable with anchoring PAs blog, and with her help, I’m learning how much she really did.  For her, it has always been intuitive; for me, it is always a learning curve, and I’m enjoying the ride.  Copied from Dorman’s Trouvailles, here’s the update on FETC Online (I may learn how to spell in French yet).

Before we Spring Into Action at the DEN Virtual Conference the DEN will also be participating in FETC’s first online conference.

What is FETC Online?

The award-winning producers of FETC and T.H.E. Journal invite you to participate in a FREE virtual conference for K-12 educators and technology staff exploring the most pressing issues related to 21st Century Skills.

Join your peers and industry experts as they investigate a range of compelling topics including:

• Career and technical education
• The Obama administration’s global workforce development agenda
• Digital teaching methods and tools

Stop by the DEN virtual booth on April 23 from 11 AM to 7 PM EDT.  For more information and to register check out http://virtual.fetc.org.