DEN Texas

Another DEN Star has been featured by Smart Technologies also: Linda Rush.  See her quote at http://downloads01.smarttech.com/media/edcompass/october2009/edcompass-oct09issue.pdf , page 6

Lori Reed, a Texas DEN Star Educator, is featured SmartTechnologies website.  Catch her shining moment at http://smarttech.com/ ! 

What creative ways do you have to use interactive whiteboards, like the Smart Board, with Discovery products? 

If you have a special  moment -  such as being featured on a website, presenting at a conference, receiving an award, or presenting a unique tech-enriched lesson using Discovery products, please let us know.   You could be our next Shining Den Star!

Mary Carole Strother:

·         ebooks for ekids  02-10-2010 TCEA Presentation - 50 Minute session #100527

Elaine Plybon:

·         Thursday, 02/10: Getting Started in Second Life - TCEA 90 minute workshop 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. session #100081

·         Friday, 02/11: Discovery Streaming Exploration: Discovering What We Already Have! - TCEA 3 hour workshop 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. #100127

Linda Rush:

·         Photo Productions and Creation on Wed. 2/9  TCEA from 12-3 p.m. session #100761

·         iPods are Educational on Wed. 2/9 TCEA from 8-9:30 a.m. session #90618

·         SMART Lessons for Primary Classrooms on Thurs. 2/10 TCEA from 8-11 a.m. session # 100759

·         Digital Storytelling on Thurs. 2/10 TCEA from 2-3:30 p.m. session #1000538

Beth Weeks

·         2/11/10 at 8:00am Making Waves with Technology TCEA - this is about our summer technology Camp

·         Assisting on a presentation on 2/11/10 TCEA at 3:30 Stream Live Video and Announcements to web for Free

Lea Anne Daughrity

·         October 28, 2009 Region 4 Technology Apps Conference, Bringing Kinder Art to Life Literally

TCEA - the Texas Computer Educators Assocation  — has opened nominations for their 2010 Educator Awards.  Catagories include Classroom Teacher, Library Media Specialist, Instructional Tech Specialist, and more.

 Now, we know that DEN members and DEN Stars are some of the best when it comes to using technology in education, but we would like for others to know also!  How about nominating a great DEN member you know for one of these awards?

For more information, go to:

http://www.mguhlin.org/2009/10/tcea-educator-award-nominations-now.html

Welcome back to school everyone! This is starting to look like one of the more exciting years yet with the Texas DEN. Please keep coming back to the blog this year as we will be keeping it more current throughout the year with the help of several Leadership Council Bloggers. Stay with us as we share new resources, DEN news, and event announcements.

New STARS
Please welcome new Texas DEN STARS that have joined during this summer. Give a big TX DEN Howdy to: Senyda Elizondo (Pharr), Ana Centeno (Glenn Heights), Pam Donze (Flower Mound), Angela Conrad (Kingwood), Linda Cross (Tuscola), and Sylvia Basaldu (Corpus Christi).

New Event: Texas DEN Photo Walk 2009
The TX DEN Leadership Council is organizing a great opportunity for the amateur and dangerously talented teacher photographers in the state. On September 12th, several cities will have small groups of teachers enjoy a Photo Walk, where the group will travel together taking pictures that support the day’s theme. Each city will gather afterwards for lunch and select their three favorite photos of the morning with each winner getting a prize that day.  For more fun, each site will upload their top three photos for a state-wide contest with bigger prizes for the top three photos.

The event is free and open to all in the Texas DEN. Come back soon for more registration details, but keep the morning of the September 12th open!
Happy New (Academic) Year!
From all of us on the Texas Leadership Council, we hope you have a fantastic and successful year.

(Okay, start humming in the background now… “Take Me Out To The Ballpark..”)

Hey, it’s still summertime and Discovery Education is bringing more fun to Texas!  I’ve been a part of numerous Discovery Institutes and Days of Discovery and none of them failed to deliver on the promise of great professional development.  Account Manager Justin Karkow is providing another opportunity for learning about how to deliver creative ways to engage student with digital media.

It all happens on Saturday, July 25 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Participants will learn new tips and tricks for using some favorite technology tools in the classroom as well as see some of the new changes with Discovery Streaming.  There will be a lunch served and the day ends with fun and prizes!

I’ve yet to attend a Day of Discovery that didn’t fill up quickly, so register soon to get your place reserved!

When: Saturday, July 25, 2009
Where: Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford St, Houston, Texas
Time: 8:30 – 3:30 (followed by an opportunity to attend batting practice)
Cost: FREE! (does not include parking or admission to the game afterward)

Join us at A Day At The Park With Discovery Education!
Registrations link: https://discoveryed.wufoo.com/forms/a-day-at-the-park-with-discovery-education/

(..you can continue humming as you fill out the registration form..

Day At The Park.pdf

Actually, for three teachers and 12 students, an adventure has already begun! The Discovery Student Adventure pilot program to Australia has started. You can follow the blog HERE.

For us Texans, the excitement is building for our representative, Linda Rush, and four students from the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, who will leave on their adventure to South Africa on Tuesday. Linda and her students will be blogging, Twittering, and sharing photos throughout their two-week trip.

If you’d like to follow Linda and her students on their trip, following is the information you’ll need:

Blog: Discovery Student Adventure to South Africa

Linda on Twitter: LRushDSA (you can also click on the widget to the right to follow Linda)

Of course, you can watch the Texas blog, as well. Linda will be guest blogging once she returns so that we can all catch up on the great adventures she and her students experience.

Tonight was the first-ever DENny awards - given to outstanding STAR educators and Leadership Councils for outstanding commitment to the DEN. There were lots of great awards given out to so many deserving people!

One of those people is our very own Leadership Council chair, Linda Rush. She was awarded a Leadership DENny for her work with the Texas Leadership Council.

Another of our Leadership Council members, Beth Weeks, won an award for sharing so many resources on Media Share. Way to go, Beth!

In addition, the Texas blog won an award for being one of the best LC blogs. Look for new “bling” on the blog in the near future!

The DENnys were exciting, not just because they recognized the great work that has already been done, but because it inspires the rest of us to continue the work and make the DEN even bigger and better in the 2009-2010 school year!

This is one that everyone will want, but not everyone has just yet - read on!

Discovery Education streaming videos are now available in Flash! The catch is that it is not available unless your district DE administrator has requested it. So what are you waiting for? Get your DE administrator to call 1-800-323-9084 to get this great feature enabled for FREE!

Yes, that is right - having this incredible functionality is absolutely free to any district with a current DE streaming subscription - all you have to do is ask for it!

This is a great opportunity if you manage to be one of the lucky few! According to the Wall Street Journal online, STA Travel is giving students and teachers the opportunity to buy round-trip tickets to London or Paris for only $30. The catch is that there are a limited number of fares and the tickets will only be sold after noon tomorrow (May 20). You can either line up at the office or call 1-800-360-9273, but they will not sell the tickets before noon (CST). This offer is also open to full-time registered students aged 13 and up and anyone under 26. For additional information, read the article HERE.