Tennessee DEN

Today, we leave for NECC in San Antonio, TX.  Yes, that’s 16 hours from here.  Some of the TN LC will pile into a car and drive as far as our little eyes and brains can stay alert, then spend the night and hit it again tomorrow.  We will update this post often over the next several days, so check back at least daily.

Our itinerary includes a pre-conference event with the DEN.  We will be at a working ranch for the day.  No laptops we are told, but plenty of photo ops.  Should be some interesting ones to add to the blog!

We also hope to meet face to face with dozens of people with whom we chat, blog, Skype, and Tweet.  Of course, the multi-football field size exhibit hall alone is really worth the drive.  Lots and lots of networking to be done at NECC!

Then there are the breakfasts, dinners, and other parties hosted by companies with whom we work at our schools.  I will also be participating in a forum with Scholastic while at the conference.

Oh, and there are a few workshops going on, too.  Check back soon!

Don’t be caught by surprise when school starts!  DE Streaming has been made bigger and better than ever, but it doesn’t come without some twists and turns along the way.

First of all, there are a LOT of videos that were added from shows you love.  For instance, the new, just-completed show “When We Left Earth” has many video segments added to DE Streaming.  In addition, the quality of the videos has improved (even older videos have new compression settings).

Second, there is now a classroom management area in the Teacher Center.  For the first time, your kids have access to DE Streaming through their own personal log-in!  Now, instead of assigning a code to every builder you create, your builders are stored in classrooms for kids with one log-in code to access them all.  Much smoother!

There are other improvements, but I’m not going to tackle them just yet.  For now, you may find parts of DE Streaming not cooperating with you.  Sit back.  Take a deep breath.  The tech department is aware of several bugs and glitches, and they are working hard to get them straightened out.

I will post some video tutorials a little later to this blog (when everthing seems to be working smoother).  In the meantime, there are some webinars scheduled hosted by Mike Bryant of Discovery.  You can check out his blog and webinar schedule here.

Let us know what you think of the changes!

This weekend the TN DEN LC, along with our Discovery Rep Brad Fountain, presented a Day of Discovery at Woodland Middle School in Brentwood, TN.  Despite our late efforts at getting the word out about this series of workshops, we had nearly 70 in attendance on a beautiful summer’s day!  Many thanks to Mrs. Fizer and her fantastic support staff for their efforts in making this a remarkable day!  Woodland Middle School is an awesome learning environment for both students and teachers.  Thanks also to TAMS President-Elect, Jubal Yennie, for helping us find Woodland MS and working with us to integrate the Day of Discovery with the TAMS Summer Conference.

We were able to obtain a booth at TAMS to talk to people about the DEN and STAR membership.  Teryl and I talked to several interested teachers throughout the morning.  More staff development may be headed our way! Woohoo! Go DEN!

The TAMS workshop was not without its problems.  We were scheduled to do a session on the 3 Builders in DE Streaming.  However, the day before our presentation Discovery rolled out a brand new-and-improved builders’ site.  Unfortunately, not all the links were working and the “My Content” folder had not been integrated into the changes.  When you add to that the fact that the Franklin Marriott wanted $150 to put an Internet drop in the room and my  Verizon USB modem connection kept disconnecting, the workshop was slightly less than stellar.  The atttendees were very understanding and still seemed to get some things out of it that helped them.

Look for some training on the blog about the changes to the builders as the links improve.  If you are responsible for training teachers at your school about all things Discovery, then you will want to plan some time to talk them through these changes.  If you need someone to train in your district or at your school, leave us a comment at this blog and we’ll talk to you about what we can do to help.

As always, even with the minor glitches, Discovery Rocks! Thanks to everyone who helped make both days a success.

The TN Day of Discovery is scheduled for Friday.  Yes, that’s this Friday, June 20th, at Woodland MS in Brentwood, TN.  The response has been overwhelming.  We only have a few limited seats left for this event!

The Day of Discovery begins at 10 AM and concludes at 3 PM.  Lunch is provided, and the entire event is free.  Yes, FREE.

The day will include a keynote by Brad Fountain of Discovery Education titled “From Consumers to Creators” and the following workshops: 50 Ways to Integrate Discovery Streaming, Digital Storytelling (for Mac and PC), Discovery Streaming Basics, and Web 2.0 in the Classroom.  And the great part is you get to attend all 4 sessions!

If you have not registered yet, follow this link to get your name on our list and guarantee your seat at TN’s Day of Discovery.

On a side note, if you are attending TAMS at the Cool Springs Marriott on Saturday and Sunday, be sure to come by Tim and Teryl’s workshop on “Campaign Promises: 3 Builders in Every Classroom.”  We’ll show you how to utilize the 3 Builders of Discovery Streaming in your classroom in 45 minutes or less.  Don’t miss it!

This past Monday, June 9th, three of the members of the TN DEN Leadership Council conducted a Discovery Streaming Basics workshop at Powell Elementary in Powell, TN. We had nearly 30 in attendance, and nearly all the attendees were brand new to Discovery Streaming. It was awesome!

Since the DEN loves to eat, we began the day with some goodies from Panera. Teryl Magee introduced the workshop and presenters. Tim talked for a bit about the basics of Discovery Streaming with explanations of how to search, the types of resources available, and more. Karla spent her time quickly going over the 3 Builders and then focusing on the Quiz Builder.

Powell Elementary is equipped with a Mac lab, so everyone had a laptop to work on. The most exciting part of any training is watching the teachers in attendance working side by side, helping each other with questions, and doing what they do best….teaching.

Our thanks to all those at Powell who made this day possible. I’ve included a short slideshow below built using SlideRocket. SlideRocket is still in private beta, but when it launches it could make PowerPoint obsolete!

(NOTE: If video will not play, try this link)

We have finalized the plans for a June “Day of Discovery” at Woodland Middle School (thanks to Principal Fizer and her staff) in Brentwood, TN on Friday, June 20th. Our Day of Discovery is being held in conjunction with the Tennessee Association of Middle Schools (TAMS) state conference at the Cool Springs Marriott. TAMS has over 400 educators pre-registered for their event on Saturday and Sunday. We have room for 60 or more at our free event on Friday!

You don’t have to be a member of TAMS to attend the Day of Discovery. This workshop is open to elementary, middle, and high school teachers from both public and private institutions. And what an exciting day it will be!

We have Brad Fountain from the Discovery Educator Network delivering our keynote address. Brad works with the TN Leadership Council to help arrange events just like this one.

So, what will we cover? We will talk about 4 technology areas of interest to teachers in Tennessee: Digital Storytelling (for both PC and Mac), 50 Ways to use Discovery Streaming, Web 2.0 in the classroom and beyond, and Discovery Streaming basics. In addition to Brad, we will have Teryl Magee, Sally Walters, and myself providing these workshops.

The Day of Discovery will begin prompty at 10 AM and conclude at 3 PM. Lunch is provided for all attendees. And the best part? It is all free!

Watch this blog space for more detailed information, a URL to sign up, and directions to Woodland Middle School. For now, you can sign up here if you plan to attend the event. Seating is limited, so don’t delay! We’re bringing 2 van loads from Cleveland. How many can you bring with you? Oooh, that sounds like a challenge. Check back soon!