What a great way to begin Tech or Treat–making your own name tags. I must admit when we discussed it via one of our LC phone conferences, I wasn’t sold. It just did not begin to sound as neat as it really was. Thanks to Patti Duncan for the idea–and the recipe. I see more making name tags in our future. What fun!
Over the past few years, interactive whiteboards have become more and more popular in schools around the world. Many teachers are finding out how to effectively use this awesome resource while others are using them for glorified projector screens. Maybe we need to reiterate that these are INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS…meaning that they are for interacting. I cannot say that one board is better than the other because I have only been exposed to using the SMART brand versus the others on the market.
As a 2nd grade teacher, I became very curious when I was introduced to Smartboards and really found that by having my students use this awesome piece of technology that I could engage them like never before. From there, I became very curious, very focused, and very excited about what this was doing for me as a teacher. My students were used to having a smartboard, used to managing their personal space around the projector, and used to being engaged. I shared my passion with those around me and created a culture of learners in my building.
During my blog posts, I will share resources that I use on a consistent basis and tell stories about how students and teachers are using technology. One of the first piece of sharing is from a colleague of mine who is veteran teacher with a new passion for integrating technology with her students. Here is what she said after getting a smarboard in her class:
Good evening,I just wanted to thank you all for the mounted smartboard and projector. The smartboard and the programs we use in school have changed the dynamics of learning in second grade. Mounting the projector and not having shadows on our smartboard or to align it 10 times a day truly allows uninterrupted learning. I am enjoying showing my students audio, visual and kinesthetic ways to learn especially when they don’t know they are learning. These pieces of equipment and the time I am given to learn new technology including the distance learning have allowed me to define my teaching skills and are allowing my students to experience success with technology that increases their self awareness and self esteem. Thank you
Wow. This is what it is all about. Teachers inspiring students.
I leave you with one of my favorite sites to share. The site is called Teachers Love Smartboards. This site has ideas for any interactive board. If you check out this resource, you will find informative websites, video tutorials, and online training opportunities. Daily takeaway! BE SMARTER THAN THE BOARD…DON’T BE INTIMIDATED!
First of all, I want to say that it feels awesome to have been selected to be a member of the PA Blog team. I hope to blog on a regular basis and share resources and other great things that can be used in the classroom. This blog post will mainly be an intro so those out there can learn a little bit about me.
I am currently the Director of Technology Integration for Propel Schools. Propel is a group of charter schools located in the Pittsburgh area. I started teaching 2nd grade at Propel East and absolutely loved my job. Prior to spending 3 years in a second grade classroom, I taught 3 years teaching in an alternative setting. During my time in second grade, I really had the opportunity to explore some technology resources and found out that integrating technology was something that really engaged my students and made teaching so much fun! After my time in the classroom, I had an opportunity to leave the classroom and share my love for integrating technology with all 5 schools that are part of Propel. I absolutely love my job and really think that I have made some changes in how we as a district approach technology and how it is being utilized in the classroom.
Some of the things that I enjoy doing is spending time with my wife and 4 kids. I am an avid SMARTboard user and love to share all of the things I know in regards to integrating this awesome tool into the classroom. The school year has been off to a great, but very busy start for me. I’d like to apologize for the delay on my part in finding the time to introduce myself and get this blog started. I promise that I will do better at posting, and that you will find my posts to be helpful, informative and lots of fun!
Along with the many takeaways you will gather from my blog posts, I would encourage you to start any conversation about the resources I post.
Let’s start with this video about a child prodigy who integrates technology. Thoughts? Comments?
You might have noticed an absence of the Daily DEN Diigo Group Bookmarks on the PA blog. And you would be right. 
At our last Leadership Council phone conference, we decided to move the group bookmarks to a new page, which appears as a tab across the top of the blog, under the banner. If you want to access all the DEN Daily Group Bookmarks, just click on DEN Diigo Links and you will have the collective DEN resources at your fingertips. We hope you will like the change.
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Did you know?
“In a move that could help extend students’ learning after school hours, the state of Indiana, Comcast Corp., and Discovery Education have teamed up to provide students with free on-demand digital resources that are aligned with state standards.
Discovery Education On Demand By Comcast is a first-in-the-nation service that will give Indiana families instant, at-home access to educational video clips, hands-on activities, interactive content, subject guides, puzzles, and homework help tools. Content is available at no additional cost to local Comcast Digital Cable customers on their cable TV service and to all Indiana parents and students online.
Comcast Digital Cable customers in Comcast’s Indianapolis region, which includes Central and Northeast Indiana, can access Discovery Education On Demand By Comcast content through Comcast’s on-demand cable library by selecting “Get Local,” then “Education.” The content is available to Comcast Digital Cable customers at no extra cost, with the ability to pause, fast forward, and rewind selections.
Discovery Education and Comcast say they’ll soon begin a series of professional development events for educators throughout Indiana, designed to help them learn how to integrate digital media into their classroom activities.”
Above content from: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=60930&page=1
Curriki.org group sharing resources in order to establish rish curriculum shared amonsgt a vast audience. It is a combination of a wiki site and a curriculum resource.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of Discovery Educator Network group favorite links are here.
Did you know that 54% of 8-12 year olds will have cell phones by 2012? That is only 3 short years away! Over 148 million households will own video game consoles with Internet connections by 2012. In addition, 20 million Wii units have been sold worldwide in just 31 months and 300 million colleges and universities worldwide use Second Life to teach classes or conduct research. These facts are included in the article “Wired Up: Tunes Out” from Scholastic Administrator; August 2009 issue. You can find this and more at scholasticadministrator.com Be sure to read about how DEN Star Peggy Sheehy describes technology students at her school in Suffern, NY and the challenge of educating media savvy students.The article also mentions Vicki Davis, PA’s own Jim Gates, Allison Needham, and their opinions about today’s educational style for students.
Statistics say today’s student spends 6.5 hours a day in their “media activity” surfing online, playing video games, and creating or reading online content. The Pew American Life Project states that 93% of kids ages 12-17 go online. That is not so surprising nor is the 55% who use social networking sites. The shift for kids is from memorizing information to creating and consuming information that is interesting or relevant to them. So what are you, a web consumer or creator? Maybe a little of both most days.
Information from: Scholastic Administrator; August 2009. p52
Today, August 22, 2009 was teacher day at Staples in Kennett Square, PA. Meg Basilio and Robin Martin set up a DiscoveryEducation table along with several other vendors to showcase the DEN. I was baffled by how many teachers did NOT even know about DiscoveryEducation Streaming! The most common teacher that visited with us today was mathematics. Many have used DES and had wonderful things to say about the tools that they used. We suggested they look at songs, clip-art, lesson plans, the blogs and how to become a STAR educator.
Thanks to Matt Monjan we had some things to raffle off and some goodies I found at school to give a way. There were over 50 visitors to our table and we collected their names and email for the raffle, but really we will use it to send them notifications of DEN events in the area.
I learned a lot about the schools in our county and how the school block or do not block certain websites. I was shocked to learn that a neighboring school district blocks Google and Wikispaces. But that is not all. The teachers MUST lock up their projectors at the end of every class because there is a terrible problem with theft. It made me appreciate my district much more.
All in all it was a good day. I took along the stand up astronaut that I won at the DEN LC Symposium this summer and many people stopped to take their child’s picture with a cell phone. That was a big hit! So now I have 50 addresses to contact for a local show and tell of DiscvoeryEducation. It is a start for Chester County.
Can you name 5 tips that you use daily? Have you ever shared them with anyone, of course you did. We all have little treasures of tips that become our daily habit so here is your chance to share some. Add your 5 tips in the comments to share with the rest of the community. Here are 5 of mine:
Today I attended and presented at Propel’s Powerful Practices Technology Conference at the Propel Montour school in Pittsburgh. Our own Discovery Star and Leadership Council Blog team member Joe Oliphant organized this event… and I must say, he did a remarkable job! The turnout was fabulous, with many eager teachers ready to pounce on new resources and tools for the upcoming school year.
We were also very fortunate to have our DEN Geekybird (Matt Monjan) leave his nest and share not one… but two awesome Discovery Education presentations with us!
As I sat in on his presentation… I looked around the packed room and everyone was sleeping hanging on to his every word as he showed 50 Ways to Use Discovery Streaming. (Matt jokes that they were snoring 
) Visit the Bird House to view his presentations!
After lunch and a few give-aways, everyone was off to find their next choice session to attend. Matt presented Discovery Education Is Pretty Suite and showed off the great content that Discovery Education offers. The presentations were great, and ranged from curriculum specific sessions to Web2.0 to Geocaching and more.
SMART Technologies was also on hand to show us many of their awesome tools and products. I enjoyed watching the interaction and collaboration of the attendees with the Smartboard and Smart Table. I just love the hands-on interaction these products provide. What a great way to enhance instruction!
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