Tennessee DEN

Well, we’re near the end of another school year, and since I teach in a related arts class most teachers and administrators think there is nothing going on in my class between now and the end of school.  Field trips, unscheduled student meetings, and a host of other interruptions made it practically impossible to do anything constructive with my students today.  In one class, I only had 5 actually on campus to attend class!

So, I decided to do something constructive for me.

I spent the better part of each class period (when practical) visiting STAR DEN blogs. No, I didn’t waste my time with state blogs or national blogs or employee blogs. I started at the time of the long, long, long list of STAR blogs and began to work my way down.  At the end of the day, I had touched maybe 1/4 of the total blogs out there!

Of course, there are several blogs that were set up at the beginning of the year when hopes were high and dreams were unspoiled. Then…nothing.  I know how this feels.  My blog sat like that my first year also. I had a blog! Wasn’t that enough? For those, I hope I left some encouraging comments to pick up the keyboard and let us know how things are going.  We really are interested!

Others had been updated very recently, and I learned a lot about what was going on in the world. I found some great websites I hadn’t run across before (even on Twitter!). I stole, er, borrowed, er, discovered some really great instruction ideas. I made notes of things I would like to do differently next year based on the successes of others this year.  All in all, I had a great time!

I’ll have some more time on Friday, so I hope to go back through more of the STAR DEN blogs.  Look for the small bread crumbs I leave along the way!

After that? I’m thinking about setting up a new RSS reader account just for these blogs.  I just don’t know how to identify new ones after that.  That’s a job for Super Steve Dembo I guess.

If you haven’t been through the STAR DEN blogs, you owe it to yourself to randomly choose 10 or 15 and check them out.  Oh, and leave a few comment crumbs to let them know you came by.

We had a fabulous time Saturday at the American Museum of Science and Energy. The facilities sit in the middle of Tennessee’s former “secret city,” Oak Ridge. It was called the “secret city” because scientists were working on nuclear weaponry there during World War II.

Sally Walters was first at bat with “50 Ways to Use Unitedstreaming.” Of course, with only an hour to present, one can only cover about 8 or 10 ways! Sally has some fantastic examples of embedded streaming clips for younger elementary that she created for use at her school. Naturally, she had to spend about as much time explaining how these tools were made as she did describing how streaming clips were used! Our attendees just kept asking questions and making notes!

Karla Halcomb followed her to the plate with a workshop on Quiz Builder. Since our attendees had their own laptops and logins, they were able to create quizzes of their own while following along. Again, lots of questions from the crowd. Karla had answers for all of them!

Steve Dembo stepped up to virtual bat through a skype call to our guests. He spent about 15 minutes talking about the benefits of the DEN, STAR membership, Twitter, Skype, Yugma….well, you know Steve. He did a great job driving up the enthusiasm of the crowd. Before we were done, I believe everyone had signed up for a Twitter account and some have already used the Twitterator to follow the STAR DEN members in that group.

Batting clean up, the Supreme Commander of all things DEN in TN, Teryl Magee, took the group through the process of becoming a STAR DEN member. For possibly the first time since we began our workshops we had some who were already STARs! The rest were anxious to start the process and get their STARdom underway. Look for a big surge in STAR announcements from TN in the next few weeks!

We took a few pictures, but we were limited because the auditorium had to be really dark to see the images from the projector. Below is a short 30 second Animoto clip to show you a little that went on….

Image via WikipediaThis is just a reminder that the Tennessee Spring training opens April. 26 at 9:30 AM and will continue until 2 PM. Our training headquarters is the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, TN (outside Knoxville).

Imagine what it will feel like when you step up to the plate and take a good, hard, swing at the perfect pitch…fast and down the middle.  You can nearly the hear the roar of the fans as the announcer excitedly relates your play to the masses….

“She swings!   It’s a long, hard drive toward the left field fence!  She rounds first base by completing the training for The 3 Builders.  The ball is still flying as she takes second through integrating Discovery streaming across the content areas.  She’s rounding third… Yes! Yes! She’s achieved STAR status!  It’s a homerun for the TN DEN All-STARS!  Fans, it just doesn’t get any better than this!”

We’re taking the first 30 to sign up for Spring Training.  You can sign up by contacting us at the TN LC email.  Give us your name, location, phone and email, and the position your currently play in your area.

Hurry!  The roster is filling up fast.  Don’t be left in the dugout wishing you were on the field.  We’ll see you there!

Image from WikipediaThat’s right baseball fans! Tennessee Spring training opens April. 26 at 9:30 AM and will continue until 2 PM. Our training headquarters is the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, TN (outside Knoxville).

This is your opportunity to join the Major League with Discovery Education: We will warm up with “Learn how to create your own Field of Dreams with the 3 builders”, Go Extra Innings and “Learn how to Integrate DE streaming Across the Curriculum”, and finally “Hit a Homerun when you become a STAR Educator!” You won’t want to miss this great opportunity!

Bring your Laptop, if you have one, for hands-on pitching practice!

Concessions and 7th Inning Stretch Lunch provided!

The first 30 fans to sign up will get through the gate for free!

Reply quickly to reserve your seat behind home plate! Send an email to TN.DEN.Leaders@gmail.com. Please supply us with your Name, School, Email Address and Phone Number for Confirmation.

Play Ball!

Image from WikipediaMy traffic court appearance was today.  Yes, April Fool’s Day was the day I was summoned to stand before the judge and plead my case.  I knew all those episodes of Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, and Law and Order Criminal Intent (not to mention Matlock and Perry Mason) would eventually come in handy.

After begin sworn in, the judge asked me if I wanted the police officer summoned.  I declined.  I handed the judge proof of insurance (it wasn’t in my car when I was stopped) and had that charge dismissed.  Then, I calmly and succinctly explained what had happened at the roundabout.  It wasn’t me that failed to yield the right-of-way.  I was already in the roundabout when the police officer nearly pulled into my lane.  He had to slam on his brakes to keep from hitting me.

I wanted to say that if those blue lights hadn’t been on top of his car I would have been practiced various forms of sign language while making sure my horn worked loud and long, but I kept that version of events for the DVD Director’s Cut.

When I was finished, the judge smiled, sat back in his chair and said that the whole yielding thing (OK, that’s an ad lib) was hard to discern.  He took my story at face value and dismissed the charge…sort of.  If I don’t get another ticket during the next six months the charges will go away.  It wasn’t exactly the “not guilty” verdict I was looking for, but I walked out of the court house with my head held a little higher nonetheless.

I would like to think it was my excellent argument that granted me my victory.  But, in truth, I am more inclined to believe it was the general good mood the judge was in after his first case.  A 17 year-old girl approached the bench with her father….and her father’s attorney.  She was charged with speeding (47 in a 35).  The lawyer was there to declare her guilty plea and throw his client on the mercy of the court.  Come on, an attorney in traffic court?  At least he dressed for the occasion: white and Tennessee-orange checked searsucker pants, white socks, two-tone saddle oxford shoes, white shirt, orange tie, and….blue jacket.  What did the judge say? The lawyer should be glad the judge wasn’t an Alabama fan.

I knew it was going to be a good day.

(BTW: I have a new WordPress plug-in from Zemanta that automatically locates pictures that match my blog’s content.  One of the neatest plug-ins I’ve found for bloggers!)