"I Learn, You Learn, We Learn" Blog

Today is day one of the Leadership Council Institute at One Discovery Place in Silver Spring, MD.  It is great to see so many familiar faces, both from last year’s institute and from photos of others on blogs and webpages.

We were given our first task today – to create a 60 second video about how awesome the DEN is.  During this time we connected with other leadership council members from each region, took a tour of One Place with our most excellent tour guide: Dennis, and made an hour fly by by creating some fun! I’m sure the videos will be posted soon so everyone can take a look at them. 

The networking, new faces, old acquaintances, food and entertainment made for a fantastic first day.

Tomorrow approximately 60 DEN STAR Educators will converge on Discovery Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD.  If the week turns about to be anything like last year, it is going to be fantastic! What’s different this year is this particular week’s participants are associated with each state’s DEN Leadership Council. I imagine the week’s festivities will focus on how we can play more of a leader role within our schools, district’s and state by focusing on technology integration and 21st century skills in our schools.

I have always been interested in the qualities of being a good leader. I’ve poked around reading various books and articles on the subject though what I’ve learned from it all is not really rocket science. I have and continue to believe communication, caring relationships, hard work, integrity and trust are key to being a good leader.  Knowing this, I continue to soak up the expert’s wisdom about the subject if only to experience increased motivation from the monotony and difficulty we sometimes experience in our workplace. Sometimes it’s refreshing to hear a great speaker who can really get your juices going or read an author who seems to really care about what it takes to be a leader.

With that in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to share some of the Leadership Blogs I follow and some of the authors and speakers I enjoy.

Blogs I follow:

• LeaderTalk
• Leading Together @ TIE
• Non-Profit Leadership Innovation and Change
• The Practice of Leadership
• Dangerously Irrelevant

Authors of Interest: ( You can check out some of their books on my GoodReads Book Shelf in the left hand column of my blog)

• Mark Sanborn
• Pat Lencioni
• John Maxwell
• Jim Collins
• Cal Ripkin
• John Wooden

Last but not least, I keep coming back to a simple book I read a few years ago by Mark Sanborn called  You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader.  When I think about the DEN STARs, I think about this book. As many of us who are in education experience often, it is hard to be “considered” a leader without the title of principal or another type of administrator. Mark provides many ways of how non-titled people can make a difference; just as we are in the DEN.

Have a great week. I can’t wait to report back on what Discovery has in store for us.

Seems like everyone is having fun with WORDLE these days. Here’s one for the DEN! (Sorry if I forgot anyone)

Creating a WORDLE about personal characteristics would be a great activity for students and would make terrific bulletin board.

Enjoy WORDLE at http://wordle.net/

What do you get when you add 20,000 DEstreaming images ,Gimp and Dennis Swain? 

You get a fantastic DEN webinar (hosted by none other than the northeast’s own Dennis Swain)full of practical, easy and fun tips for using images from DEstreaming.

Dennis showed the webinar participants how to search for, choose the correct size for your project and how to edit the photo chose with Gimp. Gimp is a photo editing software you can download for FREE. You can find it at http://www.gimp.org/. 

Gimp can be used to easily crop this photo of the Roosevelt Bridge. 

Dennis didn’t forget the Writing Prompt Builder in DEstreaming either. He showed us step by step how to incorporate one of those 20,000 images into a writing prompt: a simple way to incorporate technology media into your classroom.

Thanks for your expertise, Dennis!

Whats Coming Down the Stream?  Where do I start? Lance and Steve provided an extensive overview of future learning experiences for Stars and future Stars. From regional events to hundreds of webinars…. there is something for everyone in 2008-2009!
Here’s a sneak peak at what the DEN is planning:

• Regional events in every corner of the country  http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2008/05/16/den-regional-conference-schedule-announced/
• New blog themes  http://www.teach42.com/2008/05/20/top-20-wordpress-themes-for-education/
• More blog information from regional managers (Go Dennis!)  http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/dennisswain
• Fall Virtual Conference in October
• Stream -a-thon in September
• Webinars galore!  https://discoveryed.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=discoveryed&service=6

Come on……….. what are you waiting for?  Visit the DEN at http://community.discoveryeducation.com/

 As STAR DE’s I think most of us know at least some of the uses for an iPod. Brad Fountain just posted a tutorial for Audacity on his blog . Personally I would like to see more about podcasting and uses of ipods on the DEN blog.

The article below is from The Clutter Diet and is written by Lori Morreco from LifeHack.com.  

What do you use your iPod for?  Submit a comment below to share your ideas and tips for using an iPod.

The iPod is an incredible organizing device! It takes many shelves worth of CDs and condenses them into one tiny gadget, thereby reducing clutter. The iPod (and iTunes) also took away the classic dilemma highlighted in the movie High Fidelity: Should you organize your music collection alphabetically by artist? Or by genre first? Now you can organize it any way you want with a couple of clicks.

Looking at the iPod from an organizer’s point of view, there are some great ways it can help you be more productive too. Here are a few:

• Drown out distractions.If you need shelter from the cacophony of the cubicle farm, many already know that headphones are a great way to escape. But even if you work alone as a telecommuter or solopreneur, your iPod can keep you from hearing the dog, the sirens outside, or even the neighbor’s television, allowing more concentration on your work.
• Time yourself.A little-known feature of the iPod is the “Sleep Timer,” located in the menu under Extras>Clock>Sleep Timer. This feature sets the iPod to turn itself off after 15, 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes of play time. Obviously, going to sleep with your iPod on is one way to utilize this, but I like using this feature to create breaks and ending times for my projects.
• Pace and focus yourself.Among the fantastic organizing capacities of iTunes is the ability to create Playlists… the modern day mix tape. Create and save a mix of music in exactly the order you want, from a variety of different artists if you like, and make it music that energizes you and allows your brain to focus best. For some people this is classical music, and for others this may be heavy metal. I like making up memorable names for my playlists—I have a techno mix that is for intense writing times on deadline, and I call it “TechnoFocus.”
• Hands-free reading.I do the majority of my “reading” with audiobooks, listening in the car, while exercising, or while doing mundane chores around the house. Before the iPod, this was cumbersome as a typical book can take as much as 7 CDs. I often am so caught up in listening to the book that I am surprised how much I have accomplished—wow, who cleaned out the refrigerator? Oh, it was me…

The most common question we get about iPods from our clients is, “Should I still keep my CDs now that they are on my hard drive?” It’s relatively easy to sell used CDs, so we think not, but you definitely need to have an excellent backup system to safeguard your collection should your hard drive fail. Some people do have a hard time parting with their beloved liner notes and the physicality of holding their favorite album, and if you do want to keep them, a great space-saving method is to use CD wallets instead of jewel cases.

Here’s a little bonus tip: I love using the Belkin “TuneTie” accessory to take up the extra cord of your headphones. It makes the excess cord much easier to deal with in a handbag or backpack. Go forth and be productive with your new iPod ideas!

 Am I glad Riptide’s April Fools day music post was a joke! I’ve been counting on Fred’s creations to help me create a library of music for my colleagues to use in projects and in upcoming Podcast workshops this summer.

Why don’t YOU join the fun?   Riptide needs names for his music files. Anyone can play. If you are reading this blog, take a gander on over to his at http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/fred_delventhal1/category/366-days-of-music/, select the music clips that don’t yet have names, give a listen and leave a name for the music clip by leaving a comment.  Get your students involved too.  This would be a great start to creative art and music classes!

Crossposted from DEN National Blog. Thanks, Steve.

What’s better than giving away a free wireless lab? Doing it again and again and again and again and again! This is the sixth year that CDWG and Discovery Education have partnered up to give away to schools free wireless labs, with all the bells and whistles of course. This year, they will be giving away FIVE labs, each of which will include:

• 20 notebook or tablet computers from HP, Lenovo or Toshiba
• 3 wireless access points from D-Link, Linksys or NETGEAR
• 1 Bretford mobile cart
• 1 Promethean interactive whiteboard
• 20 Promethean Activote integrated personal response system
• 1 video projector from Epson or NEC Solutions
• 1 document camera from AVerMedia
• 1 laserjet printer from Epson or HP

There are also plenty of other prizes to be given away as well.

Drooling yet? Of course you are. And I know what you’re thinking right now. “How can I get my name in the drawing?” It couldn’t be easier. Just go to the Discovery Education /CDWG partner site and enter there. Don’t forget, you can vote the ‘Chicago way’… early and often! You can vote once per day, and you’ll automatically be entered into the monthly drawings as well as the grand prize drawing.

If you want to see the full list of prizes and all the other details, you can read through the entire press release here. Good luck!

 Wow!  The Discovery Educator Network is hosting so many webinars in April I can’t possibly list them all here. Click on this link to see a calendar of all the webinars offered in April.

However, just to wet your whistle , I ‘ll just mention a few:

April 1st – Teaching the 21st Century Student with Brad Fountain - Listen to Brad’s ideas on incorporating skills in our classrooms that students are going to be expected to know as they move into the working world.  

April 23 – David Jakes – An expert in the field of instructional technology, you can learn more about David at his blog, The Strenght of Week Ties, and at JakesOnine.org.

 Register for any of the April webinars at : https://discoveryed.webex.com/mw0304l/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=discoveryed&service=6

Last night’sDEN webinar with Anastasia Goodstein, creator and author of yPulse Teen Blog, was a a terrific session focusing on what teens are actually doing on the internet. Turns out it’s not much different from years ago. They like to hang out, decorate their space, and socialize all in an effort to find themselves. What has changed is they are
doing it in a very different place – online. Think about it – malls and social hangouts aren’t as welcoming anymore, teens still have a lot on their minds (just as we did years ago), but they still need to talk with their friends. Social networking sites have become the “place” to hang, talk, decorate, and be a teen.

Anastasia, along with a number of webinar participants,agree the issue at hand  is we (parents and educators) need to begin a serious campaign on educating our students about the correct way to use computers, the correct way to socialize online, and what to do when a teen reads something disturbing to them.  Computer Ethics, Digital Citizenship and Internet Safety must become a staple in our education system and in our conversations with our children.  Computers and the Internet aren’t the culprits (contrary to what most school officials think) it is the people using them in the wrong way that is.

Here are Anastasia’s Top Ten things you can do to become a “Totally Wired” educator (and Parent)

1. Survey your teens – Find out where they go online, what they like to do online and how they use their phones and the internet

2. Lean on them – Not a computer wizard? Identify a teen who is and let them help in your class. It is empowering and validating.

3. Join a social network – Learn to use the tools your students are using

4. Be their guide – Help them learn to evaluate and find credible internet sources. Help them become information “literate”

5. Talk about and model appropriate use – No hidden camera photos of their friends,  what’s appropriate to post in a public forum and why, not using texting acronyms in English papers

6. Teach teens cyberethics -Incorporate ethics into any computer course and classes using computer labs,emphasizing what’s different about bullying online, the public nature of the internet, plagiarism and cheating

7. Identify the trailblazers in your field – Read their blogs, ask them to tell you what works and what doesn’t

8. If you are a trailblazer,spread the gospel. Find ways to get your positive experiences with technology out to others.

9.Support efforts to unblock appropriate social media – Educate your administrators on ways social networking can be educational and how some can be privatized

10. Practice Active Reputation Management- student blogging, portfolio sites, active use of privacy settings.

Here are some sites to help get you started:

• Google Tips forOnline Safety
• TenCommandments for Computer Ethics
• NS Teens
• AddressingCyberbullying in Classes
• Online Activity about Digital Citizenship
• WebWiseKids

Check out these webinar opportunities. 

In addition to learning about Discovery Education products, and the Young Scientist Kick Off, grad a favorite beverage of choice and tune in to check out some DEN favorites:

Hall Davidson – the funny man of the DEN
Joe Brennan – the story man of the DEN

To register, go to https://discoveryed.webex.com/ec0509l/eventcenter/event/eventAction.do?siteurl=discoveryed&theAction=listevents_date.

Wondering about the red arrow? Stay tuned…………………

Whoo Hoo! I just received my 2008 DEN Calendar.What an unexpected and terrific surprise! All of the webinar dates, as well as holidays and important technology events are listed for each month. Just another reason why it is truly an honor and a pleasure to be a DEN member. Thank you Discovery!

What Does Your Desk Look Like? If you are a follower of Viki Davis, AKA CoolCat Teacher,  it might begin to look like this:

In a recent DEN EdTechConnect webinar, Vicki Davis talked about her Flat Classroom Project based on The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.  What is a Flat Classroom? To ‘flatten’ or lower the classroom walls so that instead of each class working isolated and alone, 2 or more classes are joined virtually to become one large classroom. Vicki spoke of the 7 steps to attain a flat classroom and how each step represents part of a teacher’s toolbox to encourage virtual connectedness. For more about Vicki you can visit her blog at http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/.  To listen to the EdTechConnect webinar, watch for it to be posted at the DEN Webinar Archives.  

Discovery does it again.  Discovery Education Science Connection is available “free” for 60 days for you to share with your students. “Introduce scientific concepts through leveled reading passages and e-books, Fun-Damentals, and video segments. Addressing multiple learning styles, these resources also support literacy instruction across the curriculum. For example, students have the choice of listening to reading passages while they see highlighted text within the reading passage.”

To get your free 60 day trial go to http://science.discoveryeducation.com/sitenew/index.cfm?CFID=9640238&CFTOKEN=78766310.  

Click on New User Login. Type in DEN-ELEM for the passcode. If you already have a DEstreaming account you will be asked to enter it. If you do not have a DEstreaming account, you will need to answer the questions to create one.

Once you have had the chance to browse through the content, please leave a comment. If you teach in Schenectady City Schools, send your comments to me at standhartt@schenectady.k12.ny.us and I will surely pass them along to the appropriate administrators.

In an effort to streamline my existence in the craziness of cyber space, I find myself relying more and more on the great tools that Google offers. I think I’m becoming a Googleholic.
Most recently I tried my hand at creating a Google Web Page.  I must say it was very easy. Although not as robust as other web page creators, Google provides the basics. They even host the page for you.
This is great tool for creating simple hotlists, treasure hunts, or student project pages.
Here’s the one I created with a listing of some of the cool tools demonstrated during the DEN Virtual Conferece: http://tstandha.googlepages.com/denvirtualconferencecooltools