As you all have figured out, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I hope you’ve checked out the DEN National Blog for the freebies and discounts that can be found there. Maybe some of you heard about and took advantage of the free burrito from Chipotle yesterday. Hopefully, your administration has done something special for you as well.
Here at the Texas DEN Leadership Council, we want to be sure that y’all know how much we appreciate you! You may remember that the Discovery Educator Network’s motto is “Connecting Educators to Their Most Valuable Resource . . . Each Other!” Those of us who have taken the steps to become STAR educators and participated in the vast array of professional development and networking offerings know that the DEN holds true to its motto and that if we didn’t connect with each other, we would be struggling, for sure!
Thank you for being a part of the team of dedicated teachers who regularly integrate technology into the classroom experience. Thank you for sharing with others so that our combined expertise can reach a new level beyond our singular expertise!
Sony and Intel, with the support of ISTE100 and Edutopia, are sponsoring a student film contest. Entitled “Technology in Motion: Vision of the Future”, this contest “encourages students to share their vision of how technology will shape the future.” According to the official website:
Every school that submits a qualifying Call for Entries form will receive a Technology in Motion launch kit, which includes:
- Free copy of Sony® Vegas™ Pro 8 Promotional Edition video editing software
- Free Sony Vegas Pro 8 video tutorials ($24.99 value)
- Free copy of the Digital Video and Audio Production Vegas Pro 8 teaching guide ($49.95 value)
- Free 1 year subscription to Edutopia magazine
The catch is that you must submit your plan to submit an entry by Friday, February 22! Once you’ve done that, you have until April 11 to actually submit your entry. Visit the official website by clicking HERE. Remember, you must submit your intent to enter by 12:00 a.m. on February 22 (would that mean by midnight tonight(the 21st)?). Hurry over there now just to be sure!
Calling all Texas educators! Polish your spurs and c’mon down! Special events are happening all next week at TCEA in Austin and in Second Life! PBS TeacherLine of Texas and ISTE invite you to a special event on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 4:30 pm slt. IM Joie Despres in SL for the details and get ready to “scoot a boot”!
If you will be attending TCEA and would like more information about the in-person event, email Malinda McCormick for details.
In case you haven’t noticed yet, the latest DEN Educator Spotlight shines on our very own Hank Caruso! Hank has been a very active member of the DEN and can be spotted presenting on various Discovery streaming topics all over the state! Run over to the DEN website to read all about it and be sure to post congratulatory comments here. Way to go, Hank!
Texas educators met in Second Life and in real life (San Antonio) on December 7 for an overview of some of the things the DEN in Second Life can offer educators. Check out the blog post here.
I’ve been attending the NSTA conference in Birmingham, Alabama, the last couple of days and I’ve been pondering something that has occurred to me at other, similar events. Just what does technology mean to educators?
I work in somewhat of a technology “bubble”. My school district is has a one-to-one program in its high school and spends a good deal of money on various programs and subscriptions to empower teachers to actively use technology on a daily basis in our classrooms. The school I work for is exceptionally technology rich. Any staff development that I attend for my school or for my district has an implied “bring your laptop” policy, and everyone just knows that they need to show up charged and ready to go.
Whenever I venture out of my bubble and attend events outside of my district, I am amazed at what a difference the support from my district makes. I’ve been to technology conferences where not only does nobody attending have a laptop, the facilities that are provided for presenters are about 5-10 years behind the times. The NSTA conference is no different - the first session I walked into had an old-fashioned overhead projector sitting up front with an apologetic presenter explaining that it was the best she could find and that she’d had to revise her whole presentation to accomodate the outdated technology. I recently presented at a regional TCEA conference and found myself having to think on my feet to adapt my presentation to accomodate older desktop computers and a class full of educators who needed a much more basic workshop than what I had prepared. I try to remind myself that outside of my bubble, resources I see as being simple and basic can be ooos and ahhhs for someone else.
So my question to you is: what does technology mean in your classroom? In my classroom, technology means utilizing web 2.0 resources like Animoto and VoiceThread, using online interactive lab simulations, digital storytelling projects, and using email to communicate with parents and students. Professionally, technology also includes wikis, Twitter, Second Life and other means to collaborate and share with educators from all over the world.
Comment and share - What is technology for you? What things hinder you in your district? In a perfect world, what technology would you use in your classroom? Do you think there can be too much technology in a classroom? Let’s get this discussion started!
I saw a news article this morning about a rare map that will be going on permanent display at the Library of Congress. This map, the 1507 Waldseemuller map, is unique because it is detailed beyond what was thought to have been known at the time it was made, and it is the first map that ever had the name “America” on our continent.
Reading about this map reminded me of a couple of websites that are valuable to use in your classroom when you are “traveling” with students. The first, which many of us are already familiar with, is GoogleEarth. Within GoogleEarth, you can see many of Da
vid Rumsey’s vast collection of vintage maps superimposed over the satellite images. Visit David Rumsey’s website to see even more maps.
Another great site is Zoom into Maps. This free site gives students many different activities, along with different kinds of maps, sorted by categories such as Military, Pictorial, and my favorite, Unusual. There is even a nice graphic organizer available for use with a map lesson.
These sites are great tools, not just for the social studies classroom, but also for science classrooms, art classrooms (just look at the artwork on some of those vintage maps!), and English classrooms, as well. Comment here if you use one of these, or have another site that would be useful!
Sunday in church, a woman told me about a new program her son is participating in. This program has been going for awhile and is affiliated with about 12 different regional service centers in the state of Texas. I have to wonder how I managed to not know about it until someone outside of education told me!
Anyway, it is the Texas Virtual School (TVS). This is an alternative which is affiliated with the public school system. Students can take core classes, AP classes, foreign languages, and driver’s ed — all from the comfort of their home. I see this as an excellent option for those seeking credit retrieval, early graduation, or who are from rural school districts who cannot offer the rigorous AP courses. Post a comment here if you have had any experience with the virtual school — do you teach a class? have you known students who’ve attended? I’m really curious about whether this could be a way to cushion the impact of the new 4×4. Give me your thoughts!
Ok, everyone — here’s our chance to make sure that a fellow DEN STAR gets to carry the torch at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing! Linda Bilak, of New York, has been selected as one of 20 finalists and now it is your chance to vote! Visit the Lenovo site and cast your vote for Linda now!
It’s been awhile (a little over a month), but we are back in the blogosphere! If you were subscribed to the old blog, your subscription should have moved with the blog. If you were not subscribed, you need to be! Just click the box that says “Subscribe” and you are halfway there!
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