Registration for the SCETV workshops being held March 17-19, is now open! Don’t miss this great opportunity to attend fantastic and free staff development. Visit the StreamlineSC website to register. Planning for a DEN STAR event during the workshops is underway and more information will be available soon. You definitely don’t want to miss the fun!
Please mark your calendars for these other important dates:
March 5 - DEN Institute Applications open
April 2 – LC election process begins
April 24 – Spring Virtual Conference
May 22 – Geocaching Day
June 26 – ISTE Pre-Conference in Denver, CO
Please contact the Leadership Council if you have any questions about upcoming events. We hope to see you all soon at the March workshops!
Discovery Education’s first Science conference takes place this weekend!
This Saturday, January 9th, join science educators across North America and attend SCIcon 2010. Several lucky folks may be able to attend a local event, but EVERYONE can be there virtually.
Here is just a taste of what you will find at SCIcon2010:
Change the Present, Change the Future
with Lance Rougeux
In our opening session we present our overarching theme for the day - change.
Our students are leading the green revolution and sustainability is an engaging topic for every grade level and subject area. In order to engage our students in the curriculum and prepare them to be agents of change in the future we need to constantly assess our instructional strategies and the resources we employ. Help your students change the world every day by 3 o’clock using the digital tools they love. Customized placemarks in Google Earth and digital posters with Glogster. Virtual labs about alternative energy sources and digital storytelling projects with a green screen. You’ll learn a new idea for every day of the week.
Where Do Old Sneakers Go to Die? Real-World Science
with Mike Bryant
Have your students ever asked you this question: “When am I going to use this in real life?” In this session, we’ll provide the answer as we use digital resources to investigate the science of everyday life.
Do Try This at Home: Fun, Easy and Effective Experiments for Your Students
with Mike Bryant and Brad Fountain
In our closing session we’ll stream out live to watch science in action as our DEN managers demonstrate several fun experiments that you can do with your students.
Want to know more? Download the flyer and share with a friend. Post it in your school’s workroom or on the door of every science educator you know! Just don’t miss the opportunity to learn ways to integrate digital content into the science classroom while keeping science hands-on.
Happy New Year from your SC DEN Leadership Council! We all hope that you are looking forward to a year packed full of professional growth and development opportunities, as well as chances to meet and greet with your fellow DEN mates.
It’s common knowledge that the best educators are lifelong learners, but keeping up with the ever changing trends in educational technology is not easy. Traveling to attend workshops and training is one of the biggest problems we face, and our state has been hit pretty hard by budget cuts. So how in the world can you attend training and grow as a professional? Ask and you SHALL receive!
The wonderful folks at Discovery Education and ETV know how important it is to continue learning, so they have made every effort to provide some fantastic, FREE training near you. Every month is full of opportunities to learn from the best.
DEN webinars will continue to provide you with some of the hottest topics around…while providing you with the best seat in the house- attend from your classroom or home computer. Or why not grab a group of friends and attend from the local coffee house? Click here for a schedule of events. You will also find the link to register for events you’d like to attend.
Need a more hands-on approach? Then check out what ETV has put together at a location near you! Here you will find dates and locations of hands-on workshops with ETV’s team of gurus. Contact information is provided, so be sure to let them know you’re interested!
What else is out there? Are you conducting free online or on-site training? Why not schedule your own event and let us spread the word? Leave a comment below to let the SC DEN know what other resources are available.
Another EdTech has pulled together South Carolina’s best and brightest STARS!
Last week, educators from our wonderful state traveled to Myrtle Beach for some fun in the…well, not much sun at all. What we DID find were fellow DEN members and STARS who were ready to learn, collaborate, and share.
STARS were all over the Grand Strand convention center. Doing what you may ask?We could be found strutting our stuff to a room of eager audiences, as well as in the exhibit hall- manning vendor stations and building connections with future STARS. And if you didn’t catch a STAR at the Convention Center, then you were sure to see them rubbing elbows with crews from ETV, Know It All, and ITV at Amici’s on Broadway.
Did you attend EdTech? Got a funny story to tell? Care to share a new site you discovered? Would you like to post photos from the DEN event at Amici’s? YOU CAN DO IT ALL!
Leave a comment below for us to see, or email photos to the DEN Leadership Council and we will post them to the blog. We would LOVE to hear from you!
EdTech 2009
It’s almost time for SC EdTech! Join some of your closest DEN friends and discover new ways to integrate technology and education. If you’re attending or presenting leave a comment below and let us know!
DEN Virtual Conference:Tech-or-Treat
Join thousands of educators online as the DEN team goes house to house to explore the many digital treats available to educators today. The date is Saturday, October 24. The SC DEN will not be holding an in-person event for this virtual conference, but we do plan to hold an on-site event in the spring. Register here for this event.
Become a DEN Guru
DEN Gurus are STAR Discovery Educators who possess expertise of one or more pedagogical topics (e.g., Differentiated Instruction, Project Based Learning, etc.), have demonstrated their expertise through a variety of professional experiences, and advocate for the meaningful integration of Discovery Education digital content across their area(s) of expertise.
DEN Gurus will be promoted throughout the community as thought leaders in the educational field and have the opportunity to share their expertise in a variety of ways.
DEN Gurus will:
- be featured as regular contributors to the National blog
- present their own featured DEN webinar
- represent the DEN at a major educational conference
(registration and travel expenses covered by the DEN)
Learn more about this exciting opportunity, or go ahead an apply here.
We will be having a DEN STAR dinner and presentation on Thursday, October 15, at Amici’s Bistro at Broadway at the Beach. We’re going to share some of the new StreamlineSC resources and enjoy time to network and eat a fabulous meal.
We plan to start at 5:00 so that we can have a short presentation before the meal. See our flyer for more information. We need everyone who wants to attend to RSVP by October 8th. Complete the online form to let us know if you can join us.
Space is limited so please RSVP as soon as possible. We hope to see you there!
Directions from The Convention Center (A) to Broadway at the Beach (B):
View Larger Map
Every fall, South Carolina gears up for our state technology conference, and this fall is no different!
EdTech takes place in beautiful Myrtle Beach, where DEN Stars can be found shopping and just having fun at all the different places the Grand Strand has to offer. But Stars are happiest at the conference, where we network and learn from all of the great sessions that are given. For more information on registering, visit the EdTech website’s registration information. Already know that you’re ready to sign up? Then you can either register online, or submit a paper application using the 2009 registration form.
Now it’s time for YOU to let us know if you’re going to be there or be square! Post a comment below to let the rest of the DEN know if you’ll be attending. Are you presenting any sessions? Tell us that, too!
An update from the SC DEN Leadership Chair:
Hi SC DEN STARS!
I hope everyone has had a restful and productive summer. The SC DEN Leadership Council is getting excited about the upcoming school year. StreamlineSC has added DE MediaShare and DE Health to the StreamlineSC resources. These will be great additions for all teachers and students in our state. The DE Streaming site has also undergone a make-over with new search features and a new look.
SCETV Workshops
These will be held this week from July 28-30. If you’re registered to attend on Tuesday, July 28, arrive early to sign up for our 3:00-4:30 pm DEN geocaching event. Space is limited. Tom Taylor will be leading everyone in a fun geocaching activity around the SCETV buildings. We will provide dessert, and Justin Karkow from Discovery will be here with prizes for the prize drawing.
SC EdTech
Start planning now to attend the SC EdTech conference from October 14-16 in Myrtle Beach. Click here for information on registering. We will have an evening DEN event on either Oct. 14 or 15. More details to come!
Keep Your STAR Status
In order to maintain your STAR status, you must report at least two of your events for the 2008-2009 school year by August 31, 2009.
What is an Event? An event is any time you share the power of Discovery with 3 or more colleagues. Share an integration idea over lunch with your grade-level team. Demonstrate to your peers how you use a Virtual Lab in DE Science. The list is endless.
Log in to the DEN website and you’ll see “Report Event” If you are not sure of how many events you’ve reported send an inquiry to den_events@discovery.com. Or visit the direct link to the event report page.
DEN Summer School Webinar Series
Get ready for a new school year with the DEN! The entire month of August is jam-packed with free webinars.
Digital Storytelling Week – August 3-6, 2009
Leadership Week – August 10-13, 2009
Science Week – August 17-20, 2009
Web 2.0 Week – August 24-27, 2009
Tell a colleague, invite your principal and join us for Summer School with the DEN. Enroll today!
All sessions begin at 11 AM ET.
Save These Dates!
DEN streamathon – September 23, 2009
Fall Virtual Conference – October 24, 2009
Please e-mail me or other LC members if you have any questions about the upcoming events or if you’re interested in helping out at an event. Our 2009-10 Leadership Council members are:
Julia Davis - Events Coordinator
Amy Dent - Events Team
Cathy Nelson - Events Team
Kathy Seibert - Events Team
Beth Thrailkill - Events Team
Jessica Donaldson - Blog Coordinator
Jennifer Thornsberry - Blog Team
Debbie Jarrett - SCETV
Donna Thompson - SCETV
I look forward to hearing from you!
Donna Teuber
SC DEN Leadership Council Chair
SC DEN Stars had a great time on Saturday, May 30th, at the first annual DEN Geocaching Day.
We met at the West Columbia Riverwalk and spent the morning looking for geocaches. Families were invited and this was a great time for children and adults as we went under bridges, over rocks, and into holes to find the caches.
The morning culminated with us planting a DEN travel bug and placing our own geocache. You can start tracking the progress of our travel bug by getting a login to http://www.geocaching.com and going to this link.
Use the travel bug lookup (upper right of the screen) and paste in this number: TB2JWYH. 
You can track our Discovery cache by going here. The cache name is River Monsters.
Did you attend the event? Tell us about your experiences by posting a comment to the blog below. Didn’t get to attend, but are an avid Geocache fan? Share with the DEN how you use GPS activities in your school or classroom, or just tell us your favorite story about searching for caches!
Not sure if geocaching is for you? Then check out some of these photos from our event…that should convince you to get started!
A note from the LC Chair:
Greetings!
The best plans sometimes get changed! The city of Columbia is having a Spider Lilly Festival in the afternoon on Saturday at the Riverfront park. Because of this, the park will be closed in the morning. So, instead of meeting on the Columbia side of the river, we’ll meet at the West Columbia Riverwalk which is right next to New Orleans restaurant. We’ll meet near
the ampitheater at 10 am. The directions are below:
To the West Columbia Riverwalk - 121 Alexander Road, Columbia, SC 29169
From West Columbia
Go down Meeting Street toward the Capital. Make a right onto Alexander Road before the Gervais Street bridge. You will see the
amphitheater and the parking lot on the left beside New Orleans Restaurant.
From Columbia
Go down Gervais Street toward West Columbia. Cross over Gervais Street bridge. Make your first left onto Alexander Road. You will
see the Amphitheater and the parking lot on the left beside New Orleans Restaurant.
From Spartanburg
Go down I-126 from Spartanburg toward downtown Columbia. Veer off onto Huger Street. Go down Huger Street about 1 mile and make a right onto Gervais Street. Cross over Gervais Street bridge. Make your first left onto Alexander Road. You will see the Amphitheater and the parking lot on the left beside New Orleans Restaurant.
Please go to the Discovery blog and add your name to the spreadsheet of people who will be geocaching. You may need to scroll down a bit on the page. Discovery will be using this list to award prizes later next week.
We’re excited about seeing everyone on Saturday. We will have some breakfast snacks and then learn how to use the GPS receivers to navigate to several caches in the area. We will also plant our own SC DEN cache with an offical DEN travel bug. I look forward to seeing you! Please contact me by e-mail if you have any questions.
Donna Teuber
SC DEN Leadership Council
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