Tennessee DEN

Next week begins the summer webinar series from Discovery.  And they have picked a great line up for the first week!

Digital Storytelling Week promises to be a fantastic first venture into a month of weekly themes.  Here is the lineup for next week:

Monday, August 3 - Thinking Outside the Slide

Tuesday, August 4 - Digital Storytelling Made Easy with DE Streaming Content, Animoto, and Photo Story

Wednesday, August 5 - Director’s Cut: DE Media and MovieMaker

Thursday, August 6 - DE Media and iMovie

All times are 11 AM EST.  I hope to see you there!

One of the questions I get asked most often by teachers at my school is this, “How can I show a video from YouTube in my classroom?”  I’ve always sent them the way of Zamzar to download videos to a flash drive and show at school from there.  It works great, but it is limiting.  The broader question for me has always been, “How do I get kids to great content on YouTube and cut out all the junk?”

Drum roll please.

I am now using a fantastic site called Fliggo.  Fliggo sets up a video streaming site with a layout similar to YouTube.  You can upload your own videos or post a video from YouTube. (Currently, YouTube is the only video hosting site Fliggo uses).

Unlike using an embed code where the video is pulled into the school through the YouTube site, Fliggo actually hosts the video on their site.  Once you get your personal Fliggo site approved at school, all the videos play!

I pulled in a couple of videos I made, a few from the Palm Breeze Cafe series, and was ready to try it out.

I sent out a short email announcement about my site to the teachers at my school today.  I am already getting URL requests to load YouTube videos on the site for other teachers.

You can check out my Fliggo site here.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 28th!  We are hosting one of the most exciting DEN Events of the year in Chattanooga!

Want to learn more about taking better pictures?  Want to learn PhotoStory or iMovie?  Need lessons in advanced techniques for these programs?

Want to ride a really, really fast boat and tour the TN River Gorge area for fantastic nature shots?

Then you don’t want to miss this event at the TN Aquarium IMAX Theater.  We are doing a morning training, taking the 2 hour river tour, and then returning for some follow-up training to get your pictures out there for the world to see.

Here is our itinerary for the day:

8:45 to 9:00 - Check In at the IMAX Theater location

9:00 to 11:00 - PhotoStory and iMovie

11:00 to 12:00 - Lunch (this is on your own at your expense.  Sorry!)

12:15 - Report to the boat ramp - DON’T BE LATE!!

12:30 to 2:30 - River Gorge Tour

2:45 to 4:00 - Follow Up Training (We will use your pictures to create a digital story!)

BUT WAIT!  THERE’S MORE!

Included in the day’s activities is a FREE PASS to the Aquarium!  That’s right.  More photo ops!

PLEASE NOTE: This training is limited to the FIRST TWENTY PEOPLE to sign up.  Don’t be left on the shoreline.  Get on board quickly!  Need Directions?  Check here.

We’re sorry, but we not have nearly 60 people on our sign-up list.  We are not accepting any more applications at this time.  Join us again at our next event to be announced soon!

Use this form to sign up.  We will send you more information in your confirmation email.  The DEN will pay for your ticket for the boat ride.  All travel, parking, and lunch expenses are the responsibilies of individual attendees.

It is New Year’s Eve and time to consider what is coming up in the world starting tomorrow.  Yesterday, our TN DEN LC met in Knoxville to discuss training possibilities and Days of Discovery for 2009.  I have to say, I think we have some fantastic things in the works.

As we get activities finalized, be sure to find them here on the blog.  We are looking at possible dates in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, and yes, even Memphis!

You can make these “successful” events by attending one near you (and bringing friends along!).

In the meantime, here are some webinars from Discovery coming up in January.

Dr. Tim Tyson on EdTechConnect January 21st at 7 PM EST

During this webinar, he will share a glimpse of what he sees when he peeks into the Classroom of Tomorrow. A fresh look at what is now possible, this webinar may well challenge some of our current thinking about school structures, roles, and relationships.  Wow.

Shining Stars Webinar- January 6 at 7 PM EST

If every teacher is a Rock STAR, then this is your chance to shine! During these webinars, we will be featuring Shining STARs from around the DEN. Best practices, new technologies, collaborative projects… Come see what STAR Discovery Educators are doing around the world and learn from their experiences!

 Lights Camera, Publish! - January 13 at 7 PM EST

Come see ways to share your videos and learn from others. We’ll take a look at the American Film Institute’s ScreenNation, TeacherTube and a few of the winners in various education video contests.

Builders Tips & Tricks: Student Access Anywhere - January 20 at 7 PM EST

Host, Dennis Swain, says, “Did you know that you can quickly, safely, and easily share Discovery Education streaming digital media directly with your students on a one on one basis, and track their progress? The Builders include Assignment Builder, Quiz Builder, and Writing Prompt Builder. After demonstrating how these powerful digital media integration tools are utilized, I’ll review quick tips and tricks that make these tools even more accessible. I’ll finalize by creating a live quiz to email out to attendees to demonstrate how to share digital media directly with your students from anywhere they can get internet access.”

Discovery Education Science - Elementary school - January 9 at 1 PM EST

Discovery Education Science is the new online digital curriculum supplement for elementary and middle school science education. Enhance science instruction with up-to-date, standards-based resources coupled with a real-time assessment tool that allows educators to monitor student progress and recommend resources based on a students’ individual need.  I have to say, DE Science is fast becoming one of my favorite tools ever.

Discovery Education PowerMediaPlus - January 16 at 1 PM EST

This webinar will provide you with a guided tour through the many resources that PowerMediaPlus has to offer and how you can leverage it to increase student learning in the classroom.

I think that will keep you busy for January!  If you participate in one of these webinars, be sure to post a comment below to let us know what you thought!

And have a Happy New Year!

We arrived in Silver Spring around 11:30 AM and hurriedly threw our stuff into our hotel rooms and scurried over to the Discovery Headquarters for lunch.  Over the course of the next hour the vast majority of DEN LC members arrived.  We were immediately thrown into a group project (we love them!).  Our task? Create our own version of the Discovery “Boom-De-Yada” video that highlights what we love about the DEN.  We had two hours to write song lyrics, record video, take or download pictures, throw them all into the mix, edit, and produce our video.  No pressure, right?

In all, five videos were produced.  They were all excellent.  They were all different.  It made me realize once again that we cannot afford to pigeon-hole our kids into performing “one right answer” tasks.  When their imaginations are tasked their creativity compels them to make something totally different from their peers.  Each is great.  But enough of a soap box. Below is our team effort for Boom-De-Yada.  It is professionally amateurish.  We ran out of time before we could over dub voices at the beginning, so the silence you experience is not your computer.  Like Iron Man, don’t stop watching when the credits start to roll….