Archive for August, 2007
Ok, so I said, ” 2nd life is crazy. Who needs to go in to a virtual world when you have enough issues of your own in your 1st (real) life?” Well I need to eat my words now. I signed up for the free account and I am hooked. Although I have only visited educational locations, I have to say I see the potential for education (professionals) utilizing Second Life for professional development. I have spent most of my time on EduIsland II. I was even able to pick up some cool free stuff (Tshirt, coat, and laptop) for my avatar.So how do you see Second Life?
August 28th, 2007
As an educator, I have always wanted to belong to a group that shared ideas and was basically as passionate about education as I am… Well, I am happy to say Discovery Educator Network is the place for me. I absolutely love this Network. If you are an educator and haven’t heard of the DEN find out about it today!
Its a place where you can virtually or physically meet other educators across the state, country, or world and share technology integration ideas and resources. DEN is a division of Discovery Communications and with strong support from a major corporation DEN offers Professional Development, special partnerships with companies such as eInstruction, premiere events of Discovery Channel shows, individual, and leadership council blogs, and free swag.
Of course to take part in this great experience you have to be a STAR member. But don’t fear! Its not hard! Its 4 easy steps…
1. Join the DEN/watch a short video on the benefits of being a member.
2. Apply – the application is 3 questions about you and technology plus something you used in your classroom with technology.
3. Attend a webinar with other potential members and a DEN manager.
4. Conduct and report an event – share something about technology and Discovery’s MANY products. Can be as small as three people and as large as a small city. 
Whether you use unitedstreaming, Discovery School, etc., I am sure you have something you can share!
And your in….
I am also very excited … each week DEN spotlights a new Educator and this week … It is ME! Very Cool! I have to say truly the best part of the DEN is a sense of belonging in our huge educational world. Knowing there are people out there who are like me who want to use more technology integration in our classrooms.
August 12th, 2007
I absolutely love TeacherTube! I learned about it a few months ago and every time I login to the site I find something I can use for training or would be great for a teacher to use in the classroom. If you haven’t visited TeacherTube and you are in education… I suggest you do.
You can find my favorite.. the perimeter rap by Mrs. Burk, How to create a MovieMaker video, The plain english on a wiki, and so much more. My latest favorite is the video below. The district I work for began classroom walk throughs last year and this video just makes me laugh.
The great thing is if you create content in your class that can share, all you have to do is upload the video and the world can see what you created!
Download Video: Posted by Jason at TeacherTube.com.
August 7th, 2007
August 3rd, 2007
A friend of mine sent me a blog post from TV Squad about Discovery Channel purchasing TreeHugger.com. Why would Discovery Communications need or want to do this? They are replacing Discovery Home with Planet Green which will be the first 24 hour channel devoted to living green. Treehugger will create content to put on the channels web page.
What does this matter to me? Well, I just think this is yet another step Discovery Communications is making to inform, educate, and practice what they preach. This summer I spent a week at the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring, MD. I was one of 43 Discovery STAR Educators invited to a summer institute sponsored by Discovery Education. The one thing that I thought was so great about the building was its “green” movement. Throughout the building there are recycling bins for plastic, cans, glass, white paper, etc. All designed in to the architecture and interior of the building. Even the bathrooms are green (not in color but function)! Outside the large corporate entity there is even a sensory garden full of beautiful plants, grasses, flowers, and trees. A serene place to eat or take a short break in the corporate world. Being from a small southern city with no where near the sophistication of a city outside of D.C., I was really impressed.
The impact of the acquisition of TreeHugger and broadcasting of Planet Green could truly have a substantial effect on our planet’s future. Thank you to TreeHugger and Discovery for helping all of us become a little greener.
August 3rd, 2007
