Wisconsin

Join other educators as thousands around the country participate in the DEN Virtual Conference on Saturday, October 24th.  If you’re looking to attend in person, you can participate in New Berlin, WI.

The Discovery Educator Network (DEN) Virtual Conference provides an opportunity to learn powerful ways to integrate digital media and Web 2.0 tools into your instruction as well as discover an abundance of resources to expand your own professional learning network.  And, it’s free!

You are invited to an in-person event hosted by the Wisconsin Leadership Council, with support from the School District of New Berlin.

Virtual Presentations Include:

Can I Help You With That?                         

The Student as Collaborator, Creator and Director

Do You Have the Audacity to Podcast?

Thinking Outside the Slide

Putting the Bling in Your Builders              

What on Earth is a Gloggle?

Be Nice and Share: Publishing Your Media-Infused Projects for the World to See

Hands-On Sessions:

 SMART Board

Web 2.0 Tools

Building a Professional Learning Community

Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

For more information and to register visit:
 https://lrougeux.wufoo.com/forms/den-fall-virtual-conference-new-berlin-wi/

For a schedule of events, visit:

http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2009/10/09/tech-or-treat-dens-fall-virtual-conference/

If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Yurk at rachel.yurk@nbexcellence.org

Looking for a flyer to hand out to colleagues?  Download this one.

Saturday, October 10th marks a Day of Discovery you just might be interested.  Join fellow educators in Chicago at the Shedd Aquarium for a great day of learning.

This link provides you with more information about the schedule of events as well as a link to register.

Sept. 23rd is the big day - the Discovery Education Streamathon.  If you’re looking for more info check out the DEN National Blog.

Join several Wisconsin DEN members for the Susan Komen Milwaukee Race for the Cure®

Sunday, September 27, 2009
Race Day Registration begins at 7:00 am
First event begins at 8:30 am
Milwaukee’s Lakefront/Summerfest Grounds

Funds from the Komen Race for the Cure help support research, education, screening and treatment programs.

Registration: http://tinyurl.com/njf9a7

Our team is registered as Discovery Educator Network WI

Download this flyer to share with your friends and coworkers.

Yes, August rolls around and we are starting to think about the return back to school.  While some of those returning thoughts range from “I can’t wait” to “Noooooo!!!” we all know the time will eventually come whether we like it or not.  The return of school marks a new beginning for many teachers.  Time to meet your new group of students, time to work with new colleagues who have joined your school, and time to try out some of the new stuff you’ve learned over the summer.  It’s an exciting time and a busy time.

If you’re looking for a few resources to help you get ready for the upcoming year, checking out New Teacher Survival Central, part of Discovery Education.  This site can provide new and not-new teachers with helpful tips and ideas for getting back into the swing of things as another school year begins. I particularly like the Survival Tool Kit.  There are tons of resources for you to read through and take a peek at.  It’s well worth the time!

I saw this come across Twitter today. It looks like Discovery’s new service will embed digital media into the curriculum.  Check out the article - looks to be pretty good information.  The link below will take you to an article from THE Journal.  This journal, in itself, is a great resource.

Discovery Launches Service To Embed Digital Media into Curriculum

If you’re looking for continued learning this summer, look no further.  Discovery Education has an impressive schedule of upcoming webinars for you to choose from.  To register or check out the schedule, click here.

There are a couple scheduled yet for July, but the list of options for August looks good.

Our DEN Event at Miller Park has been rescheduled.

Join fellow educators at Friday’s Front Row inside Miller Park on Friday, August 21st from 2:30 to 5:00, for an afternoon of learning.  Meet members of the Wisconsin DEN Leadership Council, enjoy a little food, a few refreshments, some learning, and have some fun.  We will have a private room with wifi access, so bring your laptop if you’d like.

During the event, you’ll have a chance to mingle with fellow educators and hear a few brief presentations about the Discovery Educator Network.  Learn how to become a STAR, check out the DEN resources available on the web, and ask any questions you may have about Discovery Education.

There will be food and drink available as well as great door prizes.  Please join us!

RSVP to the event by completing this RSVP form!

PDF download: Miller Park Event Flyer

I posted this at my person on my personal blog as well, but thought this would also be a great place to share a few of my thoughts about the second day of the DEN LC.

For me, attending conferences is always a lot of fun. The sessions are usually very good, the venue is often a beautiful building, and the location is usually in a big city. Whether it’s WEMTA in Madison, NECC in San Antonio last year, the DEN LC Institute in Silver Spring, or NECC this year, the thing that amazes me most is the people.

The DEN LC this year was set up to discuss ways to improve our Leadership Councils. There was lots of great discussion, but some interesting tools were shared as well. While the tools will be helpful, I was amazed at the people who know so much about so many new tools. I thought I am fairly knowledgeable about a lot of the tools and sites that are out there - both tools that can benefit my students and myself, but boy, was I wrong. One person from the DEN LC in particular, Steve Dembo, amazes me every time I listen to him. He always has great stuff to share. What I really think is important, is his ability to share how the sites can be used effectively with students and teachers. That’s the important part.

This week at NECC, I know I’m going witness more greatness. I can’t wait.

Day one at the LC was focused quite a bit on improving the Leadership Council’s for each of the states.  We spent quite a bit of time discussing ways to get more organized and what the roles are for each of the LC positions.  One of the things that I really liked was the breakout sessions in the afternoon.  At that time, the LC Chairs all got together to talk about specific ideas related to their roles within the LC.  The Events team members did so as well, and I stayed with the LC Blog people.  Steve Dembo, who posts much of the information on the National Blog, shared some pretty good information about improving the WI DEN blog and the other state blogs.  We learned about some of the features within the blogging platform that is used for the DEN blogs.  Equally important was the time spent just discussing how each state uses their blog and what kinds of things they post.  We had time to take a look at the blogs from each state, which I thought was nice.  While I’ve briefly visited some of the other blogs in the past, having a longer period of time to dig in and really look at layout and content of the other blogs was very beneficial.