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.

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.

What better way to “Get in the Swing of Things” for school than to have an awesome Wisconsin DEN event at Miller Park.  Recently, about 15 Wisconsin Star DEN members and others gathered for a great afternoon at the Milwaukee Brewer Stadium.  The event, held on Friday, August 21, was a great way for DEN members to connect and learn about the latest and greatest there is with Discovery Education.

Rachel Yurk, Wisconsin DEN Chair, Chad Lehman, Wisconsin DEN Blog Coordinator, and Tony Heinowski, a member of the Events Team, helped coordinate this event.  Here’s what Rachel had to say about the event, “It was a fantastic opportunity to ‘get your head in the game’ with fellow educators.  We need to gather like this to learn more about what we all do and improve our own beast practices.”
The event started with a tour of the beautiful park.  After the hour-long tour, DEN members met in a club house room and got an opportunity to hear from Mike Bryant, Wisconsin Discovery Educator Account Manager.  Rachel Yurk also presented information about an upcoming Race for the Cure Event.

Fellow Star Educator Rita A. Mortenson was back from the Discovery Student Adventure Trip in China, and was able to give a glimpse into the life of what she and her 4 students from Verona Area High School got a chance to experience while in China.

The event contintued with some door prizes, laughter and great conversation amoung other educators.  It was really such a great opportunity to connect with others and learn more about the upcoming Wisconsin and Regional Events.  A special thank you to Rachel and others who helped organize this event!

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’m sorry to say that heavy storms last night have caused damage at Friday’s Front Row and Miller Park.  In addition, they do not have power.

There, we have the CANCEL the scheduled event for today.  We will keep you posted if and when the event is rescheduled.  Thank you to all who registered in advance.

In an earlier post, we told you about a little get together at Friday’s Front Row at Miller Park.  If you are planning on coming to the event, we need you to RSVP so we know numbers ahead of time and can get food ordered.

Please RSVP here - https://discoveryed.wufoo.com/forms/wisconsin-miller-park-den-event/

Hey, the school year is over, let’s celebrate.

Reserve JUNE 19th from 2:30-5:00 for a little celebration!  Join some members of the Wisconsin DEN Leadership Council at Friday’s Front Row, inside Miller Park in Milwaukee for a little food, a few refreshments, some learning, and 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 presentations by some of your fellow DEN members.  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! 

The Wisconsin DEN LC has a new blogger - me!  My name is Chad Lehman and I’ll be taking over the blogging duties here at the DEN Wisconsin LC blog.  I’m new to the LC, but have a been a DEN member for almost a year.  I’m really looking forward to learning more about the use of technology in the classroom.  In addition to this blog, I have my own blog that I’ll continue posting to at least on a weekly basis.  Once in a while, I’ll cross post, but hopefully that won’t happen too often.

A little about me - I’m currently an Library Media Specialist working in a K-5 public school in West Allis, Wisconsin.  I previously taught third grade for eight years before moving to the library to become more involved with technology.  On a weekly basis, I see all of the students at my school for one hour.  Grades three through five come for a one hour block, splitting their time between the library and computer lab.  The kindergarten through second graders come for 2 half hour classes - one in the library and one in the lab.  Most of the time, I really like my position, but there are quite a few times I miss being a classroom teacher.  Outside of school, I enjoy watching and playing just about all sports.  The Wisconsin weather doesn’t allow me to golf as much as I’d like, but perhaps my family has a little to do with that as well.  I have two elementary aged children who are starting to get into more and more activities, which makes me feel a little like a soccer mom when I cart them all over the place!

That’s about it for now, I hope you stop by on a fairly regular basis to check out what’s going on with the Wisconsin DEN LC!

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.

Join us for the 1st ever
Discovery Educator Network
Virtual Conference!
Saturday, February 2nd
8 AM - 2 PM

Connect with educators from all over the country during this unique professional development experience where you can attend in-person, online or both.

The DEN Virtual Conference is a national event that provides educators a unique opportunity to experience Discovery Education’s high-quality professional development. Participants have the flexibility to attend the DEN Virtual Conference online or in-person at one of many regional events hosted by the DEN Leadership Councils.

The day will feature keynote presentations from Discovery’s own Hall Davidson and Lance Rougeux that will be broadcast to each of the regional gatherings. In between the keynote presentations, participants will attend breakout sessions presented by local STAR Discovery Educators.

“Lost in Translation” presented by Lance Rougeux
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

“Revenge of the Digital Immigrants: Teaching with Media Technology” presented by Hall Davidson
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.

Educators who cannot attend an in-person regional event still have the opportunity to participate virtually in the full-day conference. Special breakout sessions presented by Matt Monjan, Mike Bryant and Steve Dembo will be broadcast throughout the day.

To register for the DEN Virtual Conference or to see if there is an in-person event in your area, please visit: http://Community.DiscoveryEducation.Com/virtualconference

Seats will fill fast, so make sure you RSVP for this FREE and unique opportunity ASAP.

Here are our Wisconsin Locations. For more information, e-mail the contact person:

MADISON - Cathy Houchin
(Webster Elementary School; Watertown)
NE WISCONSIN - Keith Schroeder
(Marinette)
MIWAUKEE METRO - Rachel Yurk
(Hartland-Lakeside School District)
VERONA - Rita Mortenson
(Verona High School)