Tomorrow begins a two day workshop of learning and fun at The Seik Conference Center at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. One of the tri cities of the capital district area of NY, Troy will prove to be a place where the DEN Regional Conference will make a name for it’s first annual.
Dennis Swain, our regional rep, has been working hard to make this a truly memorable event. He has organized a fantastic line up of speakers and presenters from both Discovery and surrounding states. 
I am hoping my colleagues from Schenectady City Schools will get to experience the excitement and fun I’ve had during the past few years as a STAR Discovery Educator.
Check out the agenda of events. I’ll keep you posted!
Mark Sanborn’s new book, The Encore, effect is truly an encore to his previous releases: The Fred Factor and You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader. It is scheduled to be available to the general public tomorrow. While on vacation a few weeks ago, I decided to take the preview copy (see previous blog at http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/tstandhart/2008/08/23/something-new-and-remarkable-is-coming/ )to the beach and begin reading. A few hours later I finished up with a sunburn (because I don’t tan and I wasn’t paying attention) and more of Mark’s remarkable wisdom for leaders, and people in general, in any profession. It would be easy for me to highlight each of the chapter in the book, but that would spoil it for all you Mark Sanborn fans. So I’ll just give you a little peek at what you can expect. One of the reasons why I like Mark’s book so much as he provides simple, attainable steps in his books supplemented by real life stories. The Fred Factor is about the real Fred the postman and the quality and caring he puts into his profession. In You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader, Mark’s Six Principals of Leadership are followed by stories of real people like Andrea, the office aide in a school who was a true leader. In In The Encore Effect, Mark starts off by saying there is no silver bullet to success by just reading what he writes about; you learn by applying his lessons and discovering how they work for you. He talks about how the group The Eagles: John Wood, a Microsoft millionaire; and Sammy Koenigsberg, a produce farmer in Matthews, NC use Marks lessons to “give encore performances” and become truly remarkable in their profession. I am a teacher of Family & Consumer Science, a course in which students learn life skills; including leadership and self actualization skills. My students will benefit tremendously through what Mark writes in his book. Mark’s Pyramid of Possibility will be a poster in my room for my students to focus on while learning about his 6 areas to become “remarkable” people. Not only will my students benefit, his lessons inspire me and will my colleagues as well. Although many teachers have heard some of his lessons previously, it doesn’t hurt any of us to hear these again: “ You have to reach those you teach”, “ Give feedback and encourage” ,“Engage your audience.” For anyone who wants to move from the ordinary to extraordinary, Mark’s new book is for you. Once you read it, you’ll want to go back often to tap into the number of ways you can become a “remarkable” person.
Last Thursday I had to opportunity to attend a day long (free) event sponsored by Technology & Learning, HP and Intel. The day was filled with opportunities to actually see, and try on my own laptop, applications and tools which can be used in the classroom.
The event was structured to emulate a day in school. Participants experienced a period by period schedule of the day by attending Math, ELA, Science and a professional development class. During each class we learned of new software, gizmos, gadgets and opportunities to integrate into those classes. We were actually in the role of a student.
Some of the products we were able to explore were Adobe Elements, Premiere and Contributor; the use of theSmartboard, HP laptops and tablets, PASCO Science tools, k-12 School Solutions by Spectrum, planning and instruction information by KNS; DYKnow applications and a great Math gaming program by Tabula/Digita. If you are planning on attending NECC in San Antonio, be sure to visit these booths.
Upon convening in homeroom before the end of the day, there was a give-away of some terrific prizes. ( No, I didn’t winL) There was also some information about HP’s Teacher Experience Exchange. You can sign up at http://h30411.www3.hp.com/.This event was the last in a series offered this year. If I heard correctly, they will be offered again next year. Check out the event schedule periodically at http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/ to find out the dates for next year. If you can possibly attend, it is a worthwhile day.
For additional information and some great blogs go to http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/blog/archives.
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:
Come on……….. what are you waiting for? Visit the DEN at http://community.discoveryeducation.com/
Web Wednesday is a feature of the online Big Deal Book.
This Wednesday’s theme is Communication and Collaboration.
Check out the book for more online deals. You’ll find everything from grant opportunities to free and inexpensive finds.
Cooperative Arithmetic
Discover how to teach math as a social activity. View “Cooperative Arithmetic,” an online video in which a master teacher establishes a cooperative learning environment for teaching mathematics in an upper-elementary classroom. In addition to a narrative that explains the thinking behind the five overlapping constructs demonstrated in the video (professional planning and reflection, climate and community, direct instruction, infusion, and student reflection and self-assessment), the site offers free downloadable lesson ideas, teaching procedures and student self-evaluation rubrics.For other ideas on how to create a collaborative learning environment in your classroom, see below.
Team Up for Success!
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Try the free cooperative learning activities on this site to help your students experience academic success by working collaboratively.A Winning Combination!
A team of researchers at Brandeis University has put a new spin on the traditional spelling bee format in an effort to prove their theory that neither head-to-head competition nor pure cooperation is the best way to motivate students. The environment that best engenders education and innovation, they say, is somewhere in the middle. To test their hypothesis, they’ve developed SpellBEE, a free interactive, multiplayer game.The game is distinctive in that it sets up an entirely new relationship among players. Instead of trying to defeat one another, players are motivated to help one another learn. An online assessment component allows teachers to track student performance and help plan the next steps for student improvement.Be sure to check out PatternBEE, GeograBEE and MoneyBEE as well.
Meet Grammar Girl, Get It Done Guy, Mighty Mommy, Legal Lad, Money Girl. Modern Manners Guy and Sales Guy of Quick and Dirty Tips. Each character provides short, practical and entertaining advice to help you and your life be better. 
The Quick and Dirty Tips are available in :
- Podcasts read by a host
- Transcripts from the podcasts which are available on QuickAndDirtyTips.com
- Audiobooks
- Books – look for the Grammar Girl book coming in 2008
Visit http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/.
Here is a list of 100 popular tools for learning compiled by the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. They are categorized in the following three areas:
- Personal Tools - to manage your own personal learning
- Authoring Tools - to create, host, deliver or manage learning/performance support solutions
- Operating Systems and Platforms
Thanks to the Discovery Educator Network, I use over half of them and I am familiar with about 90% of them. How about you?
Check out the list at http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/toolbox2008.html.
I recently added a post about Blooms Taxonomy revised to include the use of technology at http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/tstandhart/2008/04/01/your-students-will-bloom-while-using-technology-your-classes/.
Tom Hanson of Open Education contacted me to share what he posted about Blooms. You can find his post and blog at http://www.openeducation.net/2008/04/11/blooms-taxonomy-and-the-digital-world/.
Enjoy.
Been there, done that? I’m sure that’s what most of us are saying. However, it won’t hurt to review now and then.
Here is an article including a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy using verbs and a digital taxonomy map: http://www.techlearning.com/shared/printableArticle.php?articleID=196605124
Great stuff to share with colleagues and administrators.
Cross posted from the DEN National Blog
Next week, the EdTechConnect series is going to feature Anastasia Goodstein, author of the book Totally Wired and the Ypulse weblog. She has been featured in newspapers, interviewed on various news broadcasts and a national presenter. We spoke on a panel together at the Office 2.0 conference, and I can tell you that there are very few people who truly understand the ‘internet generation’ better than Anastasia.
On Wednesday, March 26th, she’ll be sharing her experiences and ideas with you! Come hear first hand what teens and tweens are REALLY doing online, and what we as educators should be doing about it. Based on hundreds of interviews and memoirs, Anastasia can speak with authority about where the line between digital safety and digital citizenship should be drawn and how to speak to both sides of the issue.
Click here to register for the webinar.
Cross-post from 21st Century Learning
David Jakes has come up with a series of questions districts should begin contemplating in an effort to evaluate and make changes as we move through the 21st century.
Here is a sample of questions posed to professional educators:
The Professional Educator:
1. Are you a life-long learner? How do you demonstrate that? Do you have your own personal learning space? Will you build the skills, live the skills, before you expect your kids too?
2. Are you a member of a learning network? How does that impact what you do in your learning space? How do you contribute to the learning spaces of others?
4. Do you have 15 minutes to devote to your own personal and professional learning and the development of your learning space? Are you willing to live it and breathe it before your kids have to?
Click Here to read the entire article: http://www.21centuryconnections.com/node/456
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008
DEN Virtual Conference Presentations
Keynotes:
Lost in Translation, presented by Lance Rougeux
Revenge of the Digital Immigrants, presented by Hall Davidson
Virtual Breakouts:
Building a Bigger Builder, presented by Matt Monjan
The Bionic Lesson, presented by Mike Bryant
50 Ways to Spin a Digital Story, presented by Steve Dembo
Bonus:
DEN in Second Life demonstration, presented by Lori Abrahms of the DEN Second Life Leadership Council
On Saturday, Feb. 2, Schenectady was host for an in person event as part of the first DEN Virtual Conference. The presentations were fantastic (as always) the food was great, the people were terrific (both in person and in cyberspace) and,of course, the sharing and learning couldn’t be beat. Below are some blog posts where you can read all about the days events.
A huge thank you to the Discovery family for an awesome Saturday. I would also like to thank my colleagues and their guests for attending the event in Schenectady. And a HUGE thank you to Sal DeAngelo for assisting with the event and taking photos of this spectacular opportunity.
Blogs about the DEN Virtual Conference:
Pennsylvania DEN
Susan Dornberg’s Blog
Maine DEN
Mark your calendars, now!
February proves to be another fantabulous month of webinars from Discovery Education. This month’s EdTech Connect on Feb. 20 will feature Vicki Davis, author of Cool Cat Teacher Blog and winner of best blog in 2006. She is an educator and co-founder of Women of Web 2. This will be one of those webinars not to miss.
Vist https://discoveryed.webex.com/ec0509l/eventcenter/event/eventAction.do?siteurl=discoveryed&theAction=listevents_date to register for any of the webinar offerings.
What an opportunity! On Saturday, February 2, Discovery Education will be hosting its first ever Discovery Educator Network Virtual Conference!
During this unique professional development experience you will connect with educators 
across the country either in person or online. If you would like to attend in person, the conference will be located in many venues across the state, but in my neck of the woods it will be held at Schenectady High School . If you would like to attend online, you can do so anywhere there is an Internet connection.
Register Here for the event either online or in person, and to find out where there is an in person venue near you.
For more information about the in person event in Schenectady, NY click here virtual-conference-flier-schenectady.pdf
Sessions:
Keynote - “Lost in Translation” presented by Lance Rougeux Times: 9-10 am EST / 8-9 am CST/ 11-12 PST
How many of your students are bilingual? An easy way to find out is through a simple math formula. Take the number of students in your classroom and multiply it by one. There’s your answer. All students today are bilingual and d 4n tongue dey knO so weL L%kz fune & cn b kind of hard 2 rED, @ lEst 4 adults. So how do we meet the needs of our students when we’re the second language learners in the classroom? In this kickoff session, we’ll take a look at ways we can use media and other technologies to help get us up to speed and speaking their language.
Keynote - “Revenge of the Digital Immigrants: Teaching with Media Technology”presented by Hall Davidson Times: 12-1 EST/ 11-12 CST/ 9-10 PST
What veteran teachers suspected the research has finally proved: 21st Century students are different. With different attention spans, higher IQ test scores, and social networks, their sophistication comes earlier—with a different skill set. There is a silver lining: We can teach this “New Brain” more effectively, more efficiently, more engagingly. We have the technology! Media has evolved and education must evolve to match.
“50 Ways to Spin a Digital Story” presented bySteve Dembo Times: 1 -2 EST/ 12-1 CST/ 10-11 PST
An in-depth overview of the digital media available in Discovery Education Streaming and 50 different ways to tell digital stories using it. DE Streaming provides your classroom access to thousands of videos, images and audio clips. Learn how to integrate them into cutting edge Web 2.0 sites to make your students’ digital stories come alive!
It’s going to be GREAT!
Register Now!
