Pennsylvania

I strongly encourage you to tune into three webcasts next week (Mon-Wed) featuring STAR Discovery Educator Julene Reed. Julene and colleagues will be discussing polar bears and climate change live from the tundra. Click here to learn more about this amazing opportunity for you and your students.

From the Learning Interchange blog:

Webcasts from the Tundra - Churchill, Canada
Near the Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada - not far from the town of Churchill, the “Polar Bear Capital of the World” - members of Polar Bears International, scientists, zoologists, educators, and students gather at different times each winter to observe and study polar bears in the wild.

During October and November 2009, a panels of experts will be conducting six webcasts focused on polar bears and climate change, live from the tundra. We invite you to join these webcasts which are correlated to the educational resources and lessons shared in this exhibit. For more details, a list of panelists, FAQ’s about the webcasts and scheduled videoconferences, and other related information, view the “Tundra Connections Information” page which is listed on the sidebar.

This year’s webcasts will include live shots and video clips of bears on the tundra!

November 2009 Webcasts - all at 11:00 a.m. CST
- Target Audience is Grade 9-12 and Higher Education, but applicable to younger grades and adults.

* Monday, November 9th - “Global Impacts, Warning Signs, and Inherent Issues”
* Tuesday, November 10th - “Conversations: Polar Bears, the Arctic, and Climate Change”
* Wednesday, November 11th - Taking Action, Making a Difference”

To view any of these webcasts, simply return to this site on the day of the webcast and look for the link to participate!

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS RELATED TO POLAR BEARS OR THE UPCOMING “TUNDRA CONNECTIONS,” PLEASE E-MAIL THEM TO THE ADDRESS BELOW. QUESTIONS FOR THE PANELISTS DURING THE LIVE WEBCASTS CAN BE SUBMITTED TO THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS:

rollingonthetundra@me.com

November Panelists include:

• Dr. Don Moore (Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo, Washington, D.C., PBI Advisory Council)
• Julene Reed (St. George’s Independent School, Memphis, TN, PBI Advisory Council, Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Advisory Council, Apple Distinguished Educators Advisory Board)
• Dr. Tom Smith (Brigham Young University, PBI Advisory Council)
• Geoff York (WWF-Arctic Program, PBI Advisory Counil

With well over 100 webinars, Discovery Education leads in professional development, without a doubt. So that you can plan (and register) in advance, here’s a smattering of several special webinars we would like to highlight.

Becoming a Storm Ready School Webinar
Monday, November 16 at 4 PM ET

Learn how your school or district can easily become certified as StormReady. Guest speaker Angelia Enyedi from NOAA’s National Weather Service will walk educators and district administrators through the simple process as well as the benefits of becoming Storm Ready. We’ll also hear from guest speaker Sharyl Wood of Nassau County, Florida’s school board on her district’s Storm Ready certification process and the improvements they’ve made to their overall plan for severe weather. Register today.

Elmer’s Glue Crew Recycling Program Webinar
Tuesday, November 17 at 7 PM ET

Save the bottles. Save the sticks. Save the planet! The Elmer’s Glue Crew Recycling Program is back with more fun and interactive ways to engage your students in recycling Elmer’s glue sticks from their classroom or even throughout their school. Join this webinar to learn how to easily get your own classroom involved, and hear from guest speaker Shannon Dominick, whose classroom won last year’s grand prize in the Glue Crew Recycling Program.  Register today!

On Wednesday, November 18th at 7pm EST, we’re thrilled to feature Gary Stager as our EdTechConnect speaker! There are few speakers that are more passionate, dedicated and devoted to bringing about change in education. If you’ve never had a chance to see him present before, you won’t want to miss this opportunity. If you HAVE seen him, perhaps on the Keynote panel from this year’s NECC conference, then I’m sure I don’t even need to say anything more to convince you to register. As David Thornburg has stated, “Some people think ‘outside of the box.’ Gary is unaware of the box’s existence!”

Creative Computing and the Case for Project-based Learning

Veteran computer-using educator, speaker and journalist Dr. Gary Stager will explore how project-based learning fuels creativity and amplifies the power of computing. This webinar will explore questions of “What is a project?” and “What are the essential elements of a good project?” The theory underlying such practice will be discussed and imaginative applications challenging each learner to maximize their potential will be shared.
Click here to register!

Consider joining us for as many of these webinars that your busy (upcoming holidays) schedule can accommodate. And here’s a sneak peek of things to come:

Save the Date! DEN’s Science Fest: January 10, 2010
More information to come about our first ever Science Fest, but we promise that it will be a great start to the new year.

Ever invent something on the fly in the classroom?  I did last week, looking for a five-minute filler that would wrap a class.  Enter Fast Five.  Post a mini-blog: 5 sentences or 5 minutes–whichever comes first–for five points.  Students seem to like it.  Here’s the DEN translation: 5 links to previously posted items or 5 minutes–whichever comes first–on weekly updates or new news.

Want to be a DEN GURU?

Want a DEN Hoodie?

Tech or Treat (new page link):

As part of our Tech or Treat theme, many STARs dressed up as their favorite Discovery personalities.  After a week’s worth of voting, we are pleased to announce this year’s winners (each will receive a HD Flip camera).

Christie Berrier, as the MythBusters

Bekka Stasny as The Deadliest Catch

Vasantha Rayman as the DEN STAR

Five minutes came first, so that’s all, folks.

We are very excited to welcome our newest DEN Leadership Council from the great state of Connecticut!  You definitely want to check out their blog. Their first event, blogged by Steve Sokolski, shows that a good time was had by all.  Great sharing and “take aways” already abound in CT, so you might want to check out their list of resources.

Chair - Joe Fromme

Blog Coordinator - Jane Cook
Events Coordinator - Pam Skelly

Blog and Events Team
Ann Barney
Barbara Haeffner
Lynn Reedy
Howard Gunther
Steve Sokoloski
Gary Webster

Don’t forget: Stop by the CT LC blog and say hello!

Cross-posted from DEN Blog

Presenting at state and national conferences near you, that’s where! We’ve put together an ever-growing list of presentations by STAR Discovery Educators at state and national conferences around the country. If you are attending a conference listed below, please stop by and show your support for your fellow STARs.

And don’t forget, if YOU are going to be presenting at a state or national conference, if you include Discovery Education in the title or description then you really ought to let us know. We’d love to add you to the list, and we also have a little something to send you! If you’d like to learn more, visit this page.

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?

http://www.youtube.com/adorasvitak#p/a

If you as an educator or your school district is looking for a fast way to connect with fellow educators, parents, or students instantly, then this Discovery Educator special offer might just be for you.

Back to School Offer from our Friends at Phonevite
Need an easy way to get in touch with parents, students and fellow educators instantly? Check out the special offer for Discovery Educators from our friends at Phonevite - http://www.phonevite.com/partners/discovery.

Here’s how it works:You can try it now for free; register today.

Discovery Education
DE Special Offer
Phoneville
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The end of summer vacation and back to school happens all to soon for some of us. Despite our love of teaching students, leaving a great summer filled with fun and relaxation still is hard. Judging from my PLN on Twitter and Facebook, many of you are already back for at least a week, some two. Still, it’s not to late to explore great resources from Discovery Education, the educational gift that keeps giving.

Here’s DE’s hottest new summer cool tool:

Check out COOL new ways to explore alternative fuels and the science of engineering during the last weeks of summer vacation. With all-new family activities for all grade levels, students can explore eco-friendly ways of traveling on a family road trip or use a bike to investigate vehicle efficiency.

Also online at www.FuelOurFutureNow.com, students can satisfy their need for speed and test drive investigative skills with dynamic videos and interactives.

PLUS: Don’t miss the Teacher’s Toolbox with custom curriculum, supplemental lesson plans and links to other great resources.

Accelerate your summer fun at: www.FuelOurFutureNow.com!

Discovery Education
Fuel Our Future Now
Teacher Toolbox
Discovery Resources
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