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.
Looking for a great professional development opportunity? How about a FREE day of professional development?
Participate in the DEN Virtual Conference on Saturday, April 25th at New Berlin Eisenhower High School. Here you will have a chance to have fun with other great teachers and immerse yourself in a great learning experience. The day will begin at 8:30 and wrap up at 3:00.
If you can’t make it to N.B. Eisenhower, you can still participate from the comfort of your own home - just click on the link below.
DOWNLOAD this DEN Virtual Conference Flyer about the event to post in your Teacher’s Lounge or to share with your colleagues.
For more information, a schedule of events, and to register, click here.
Cathy Houchin (Watertown, WI & part of our WI DEN Leadership Council) has been adding some things to her http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/houchinc/.
She has a great post on using Audacity (which we use for our Lab Out Loud podcast) and another post on 180 Technology Tips.
Follow her RSS feed at http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/houchinc/feed/
Who else from Wisconsin has been blogging (either in the DEN or on their own)? Post a link to your blog in the comments.
Check out the Infinite Thinking Machine as this is one ed blog that you will DEFINITELY want to subscribe to today! I love the SHOWS hosted and produced by Chris Walsh of WestEd. 
The show notes are full of information and links to innovative educational tools and resources…start with textmapping, mashups, and seeing what our our own cool DEN dude, Chris Craft is up to in his Latin and Spanish classrooms!)
Kudos to Chris - these are AWESOME video shows for educators interested in
innovation and learning. There are three already posted and Calling Planet Earth even features our own Hall Davidson!
MO/KS Field Manager Linda Chiles, Hall, and moi enjoying Christmas 2005 touring the National Christmas Trees display in Washington D.C.
Check out the FAQ where you can find out about copying, sharing, and showing the ITM videos, sending in questions and how YOU can share an existing video or produce one to share via Infinite Thinking Machine! How about all those great instructional strategies YOU have developed using unitedstreaming.
1) Calling Planet Earth (features Hall)
2) The Write Stuff
3) Living in 3D
4) Vincert Cerf (one of the founding fathers of the Internet and worldwide leader on how technology impacts the world)
You will also find Education Product Guides linked on the STUFF page.
Be sure to check out Chris’ The Google Universe PDF jammed pack with valueable googly good Google info, links, etc.
I love great educational resources and the power of collaboration. That’s what’s so cool about the Discovery Educator Network! And, also one of the reasons why I applied for the position of Wisconsin DEN Field Manager… collaboration is how educators survive the uphill challenges we face.
Just found Steve Hargadon’s tremendous podcast and blogging resources. He has a great series of interviews with educational technology leaders like Vicki Davis, David Thornburg, and open source experts.
Today at 5PM Pacific Time Steve has a live interview with Larry Cuban, author of Oversold and Overused: Computers in the Classroom. His linked wiki allows us to post questions for Larry in advance His archive of podcasts provides asynchronous tapping of previous interviews that we miss. And, you can participate in the live chat via WebCast Academy during the interview, as well.
Steve is using blogs, wikis and podcasting in ways that open the doors for meaningful, engaging discussions around critical educational technology topics. The new Internet 2.0 tools are providing forums and seamless communications with lead experts that I could only have dreamed of back in the early net days!
Get out there and check out Steve’s work! EdTechlive.com is a great resource too good to miss!
Gee… I wonder if he is a California DEN Member!
How are you going to use blogs, wikis, and podcasting in your classroom? What hurdles are you facing? How do you get around those challenges?
Very, very cool collaboration tools…
Your thoughts?
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