Tennessee DEN

Earlier this month we had our first TN DEN Event in Knoxville.  Several DEN members met at the Preservation Pub in Market Square for a summer evening concert with The Wailers.  It was a fun evening with good music and great company!  We hope to have many more DENners with us at our next DEN Event!

Samsung began a contest in April that offers a grand prize of $200,000 in merchandise.  Half of that is in Samsung hardware.  The other half is in Microsoft software.  There are also six First Place winners that will receive $30,000 in Samsung and Microsoft merchandise.  The contest ends July 22nd.

What do you have to do?  Write a 100 word essay that addresses the question, "What is the single most significant benefit that technology can provide in the classroom?"  You can submit your entry online here.

This contest is open to students (under 13 must provide a parent’s email), teachers, administrators…basically anyone with an email address.  You can enter one time for every email address you have.  Between my wife and me, we have eight.  (Of course, I can create up to 100 on my website, but who can write that many essays?).

I have emailed all teachers and administrators at my school to encourage them to enter.  While I would love for our school to wind up with any prize from this contest, I would also like to see a DEN member write the winning essay.  Why?  You get a new laptop, dude!

Take a few minutes and read the rules (the criteria for judging are very clear), and then fill out the form.  Good luck!

Our East TN DEN Event is filling up fast!  We can only take the first 30 people, so you want to reserve your spot today.  Sign up by emailing Teryl Magee.

We also received an update from our fellow DENners in the west.  Here is what they had to say:

Hello from the West Tennessee DEN! 

The DEN members on this end of the state are all district Instructional Technology Coaches who conduct PD sessions at schools, so we have wonderful opportunities to meet with teachers (and principals) and introduce them to unitedstreaming, our favorite online resource!  We especially love the new writing prompts that have been added in recent months.

Our end of the TN DEN has posted a few unitedstreaming- and DEN-related podcasts and MediaSite presentations on the Memphis City School site, available for viewing by anyone inside or outside of the district. 

This summer we will offer day-long courses: Online Resources for Elementary Teachers and Online Resources for Secondary Teachers, which will focus on both unitedstreaming and NetTrekker.  We’ll also be offering PowerPoint for Elementary Teachers, which will touch on the availability of images from unitedstreaming’s image library.

We’re already talking to administrators about technology professional development for next school year.  We hope to be able to introduce new teachers to unitedstreaming and support current teachers as they integrate more technology into their teaching.

Go DEN!

Cindy Putnam

Jeff Baxter

Scott Holcomb

Jason Parrish

Just a reminder that Friday, May 4th at 1 PM (EST) there is a very special webinar with Allan Butler, producer of The Science Channel’s first ever: Space Week.  An added bonus is that your students can talk to a real Astronaut.  Astronaut Ken Reightler has been added to the webinar!  Ken is the Vice President and Program Manager for Lockheed Martin Space Operations in Houston, Texas.  I had the chance to meet Ken when he visited our school last year.  He gave a very inspiring talk and the students loved it!  If you would like to participate in DEN’s Earth and Space Virtual Project, there’s still time to register. If you would like to register for the webinar or would like more information about Ken Reightler, click here. 

Make plans now to attend a “Day of Discovery” six hour workshop on Thursday, June 28 at the Sarah Simpson Technology Center. Plans are in the works for a great event!

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Topics for the day using Unitedstreaming will include the Three Builders, Digital Storytelling and Google Earth tours. At the session in the afternoon, try your hand at creating a project and learning how to become a Star Discovery Educator! Lunch will be provided! Limit of 30 participants!

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Register for the “Day of Discovery” by emailing Teryl Magee

TN.DEN.Leaders@gmail.com

Be sure to include the following information:

Name, School, Subject/grades taught, summer contact phone number and email address.