Discovery Education Virtual Conference

Discovery Education is presenting the Discovery Educator Network Fall Virtual Conference on Saturday, October 23rd at 9am. FREE!

The virtual conference is a great way to get some free professional development, learn about new things, and make new connections with other educators. You can attend online, at home, or there are even some in-person regional events hosted by DEN Leadership Councils.

There will be presenters from around the DEN (Discovery Educator Network) and some special guests.

I have attended these in the past and they are very good! I highly recommend them.

10 Great Free Resources from Discovery Education

Discovery Education is an excellent resource for teachers. Many teachers know about Discovery Streaming, the Discovery Channel, or even Discovery Middle School Science. All of these are fee based services, but Discovery Education also has some great free resources for any teacher. Here are my top 10 (out of the 25 or so they have that are free).

1. Web 20.10 - http://web2010.discoveryeducation.com/ - Access great content on Internet Safety, Media Literacy and links to Web 2.0 Tool. The site is rich with little flash videos detailing the explanation and use of Web 2.0 Tools in the classroom. This is a great resource for new teachers and veterans to learn about Web 2.0 tools.

2. New Teacher Survival Central - http://discoveryeducation.com/survival/ - Includes Tech Tools for teachers and students, New teacher blogs, classroom tools, and curriculum resources, Tips/tricks on: Classroom Environment, Classroom Management, Parent Communication, Cool tips on Green Screens and more!

3. Science Fair Central - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/?campaign=SFC - Great ideas how to create, launch and facilitate a Science Fair, including tips and ideas for student projects.

4. Discovery Education Lesson Plans - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/ - lesson plans for all different subjects, sorted by K-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

5. Siemens STEM Academy - http://stem.discoveryeducation.com/ - Premier online community designed to foster student achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math through the collaboration of STEM educators and sharing of best practices. Great resources, ideas, and more.

6. Kathy Schrock's guide for Educators - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/ - Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites useful for enhancing curriculum and professional growth. It is updated often to include the best sites for teaching and learning.

7. Science of Everyday Life - http://scienceofeverydaylife.discoveryeducation.com/ - Everywhere you look, there are wonders both big and small just waiting to be explored. Your school, your home, and your community are all boundless laboratories full of mystery, excitement and surprise. Join us as we uncover the magic all around us and tap the innovator within us…in the Science of Everyday Life. What a great way to connect science to students' lives and experiences by connecting science to everyday things.

8. Worksheets to Go - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/teachingtools/worksheetgenerator/wtg/index.html - great worksheets and activities for teachers to use. Sorted by subject and topic.

9. Puzzlemaker - http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/ - create your own puzzles. Create and print customized word search, criss-cross, math puzzles, and more—using your own word lists.

10. NASA at 50 - http://discoveryeducation.com/NASAat50/ - NASA at 50 highlights key innovations and milestones in chemistry, physics, engineering, and space exploration from NASA's fifty-year history. Each clip serves as a gateway for further learning in science and history and promotes critical thinking and inquiry as essential components of scientific literacy.

Students can enjoy NASA at 50 in video or audio formats that are compatible with common portable media players. In addition, teacher's guides are provided for each clip to facilitate integration of this exciting and engaging content into lesson plans.

Training resources for using Discovery Education resources:

Discovery Education Training Resources on Educational Technology Guy.

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2010/03/list-of-discovery-education-training.html

Discovery Educator Network Blog - http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/

Lots of resources, articles, how-to’s, links, and more.

My conference Schedule for October

It's Educational Conference Time!

Did you ever notice how you can go for a long time with a normally busy schedule, and then all of a sudden everything happens at once? That's me come October.

Here is my schedule of conferences I'm presenting at, all in the same week!

Saturday, October 16th - Glastonbury, CT
Discovery Education - Connecticut Day of Discovery (pre - CECA conference).
I'm presenting a session on all of the free resources from Discovery Education.
Free - limited space. Register soon!
http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/connecticut/2010/09/16/registration-open-for-free-ct-day-of-discovery-saturday-october-16-2010/

Monday, October 18th - Hartford, CT
CECA (Connecticut Educators Computer Association)
I'm presenting two sessions. One is on Innovative Free Technologies for Teachers and the other is on Creating a Personal Learning Network.
http://www.ceca-ct.org/page.php?pid=93

Friday, October 22nd - Tarrytown, NY
TechForum NY (sponsored by Tech&Learning Magazine)
I'm one of four panelists on a session entitled "Web 2.0 Smackdown" where we will share our favorite Web 2.0 tools for educators.
http://www.techlearning.com/events/techforum/newyork10/index


If you are in the Connecticut / Mass / New York area, come and check these out. They are all great conferences with a lot of great ideas being shared.

Any good conferences going on in your area?

Discovery Education Streamathon

The 5th annual Discovery Education Streamathon is September 14, 2010. We’ve got a full day of information-packed sessions on how to integrate DE streaming and the newest online technologies used by today’s media-savvy students into classroom instruction.


Discovery Education has some great resources for teachers to use in their classrooms and many of these resources are free. The Streamathon is well worth your time.


For more information on the DE Streamathon and to register, please go here:
http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/connecticut/2010/09/07/streamathon-2010/


For more information on the Discovery Educator Network, please go here:
http://community.discoveryeducation.com/


Related Posts:


Discovery Education Resources
Discovery Education Training Resources for Educators
Discovery Education Web 2.0 - Conquering Technophobia
Discovery Education New Teacher Survival Central

List of Discovery Education Training Resources

I found this great list of Discovery Education Training Resources on Jen Dorman's blog (she is a DEN Account Manager).

Most of the great resources Discovery Education has to offer for educators are listed here.

Training Resources

Discovery Educator Network

Discovery Education streaming - Links to service overviews, demonstrations, and efficacy research

Discovery Education streaming Getting Started Guide
Discovery Education Classroom Resources - Links to free resources, sponsorships, and competitions

• Puzzlemaker
• Lesson Plans
  
• Siemen’s STEM Academy
• Web 2010
• ReadyZone H1N1 - Continuity of Learning
• Ready Classroom - Emergency Preparedness
• ThinkGreen Classroom
• New Teacher Survival Guide
• Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
• Curriculum Center
• Brain Boosters
• Worksheets to Go
• Learning Adventures
• NASA at 50
• Understanding Epilepsy
• Discovering Diabetes
• Parent Corner
• Discovery Student Adventures
• Scotch Science Fair
• Siemen’s Science Day
• Siemen’s We Can Change the World Challenge
• USADA True Sport Award Program
• Fuel Our Future Now - STEM resources, Dash+, and Automotive Xprize

Tutorials and Learning Resources

• Glogster
• VoiceThread
• Diigo
• Google Tools (Docs, Earth, Maps, Calendar, Reader, etc.)
• Digital Storytelling
• Digital Storytelling with Web 2.0
• Blogging
• Podcasting
• Wikis
• Digital Learning Networks
• Copyright and Fair Use
• Project Based Learning (Challenge Based Learning) / Why Teach With Project Based Learning? / EL Project-Based Learning / BIE PBL
• Discovery Education - My Admin
• Discovery Education -My Classrooms
• Discovery Education - The Builders
• Widgets for the DE Builders

Related Articles:

Discovery Education Resources for Educators

Web 2.0 Conquering Technophobia

New Teacher Survival Central

Discovery Education STEM resources

Discovery Education STEM Connect is a great resource for teachers looking for more resources for teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

There are lesson plans, example projects, and resources for each area of STEM and they are divided by Grades 6-8 and 9-12.

The resources are very useful and easy to implement.

You do need an account to account to get to this page, but you can sign up for a free educator account (which also gives you access to the Discovery Educator Network which has even more resources).

Another Discovery Education STEM resource is the Siemens STEM Academy. This also has a great many resources for teaching STEM topics, including resources, links, and lesson plans. There are also professional development opportunities and Siemens Foundation grants and opportunities.

Explore them and see what they have to offer.

Web 2.0 Conquering Technophobia

Many teachers are intimidated by Web 2.0 technologies, or just don't know how to get started using them.

Discovery Education has a new free resource that can help these teachers. Web 2.0 Conquering Technophobia is great resource for teachers. It has lesson ideas, activities, explanations of Web 2.0 technologies, and more to help teachers learn how to use these resources in their classroom to improve teaching and learning and engage their students. Our students use a lot of these technologies already - why not use them in school?

There is also a downloadable PDF file with terminology, definitions and explanations.

The resources include lesson plans, activities, all about computers, links, and videos about different Web 2.0 technologies and how they are being used in the classroom.

You can also browse other free education resources while on Discovery's site.

(Here is my article on Discovery Education )

What did you think of this resource? Was it useful/helpful?

Discovery News

Discovery Networks has a great news site, Discovery News. The site has news articles and resources on Earth, Space, Science, Tech, Animals, and much more.

Like most Discovery products, it is well done and easy to find things. There is all kinds of breaking news, new discoveries, social issues, videos, discussions, and more.

This a great site to use with science students as a resource, or as a way to get discussions on different topics started.

Discovery Education

Discovery Education is a great resource for teachers. There are free, and fee-based resources available.

Free:

Discovery Educator Network (DEN) - the DEN is a community of educators who use Discovery Education resources in their classrooms. Members share lesson plans, tips, ideas, and more. I recommend that all teachers join. It's free. You can even become a STAR Discovery Educator.

Discovery School - in this section, you can find lesson plans, curriculum ideas, puzzles, worksheets, a guide to internet resources, lesson planner, science fair tips, and the New Teacher Survival Central, among other resources.

There is also a section with homework help available.

Discovery Partnered with CDW-G to create a whole section on Web 2.0 resources for educators and how to use them in your classroom. I highly recommend this section.

There are also resources for professional development.

Fee Based:

Discovery Streaming (once know as United Streaming) - schools or districts can subscribe to Discovery Streaming and gain access to tens of thousands of videos, video clips, graphics and lesson resources. Videos can be streamed over the internet, or downloaded for later viewing. Videos come from Discovery's excellent series as well as many other publishers.

Discovery Science - a great resource for elementary and middle school science teachers and students

Discovery Health - health topics and resources

Discovery Education has a huge amount of resources. I've only covered some of the resources. Head to the links and explore it for yourself. You'll be amazed at the resources available to you.

From my experience, all of them are worthwhile and relevant and very helpful.

New Teacher Survival Central

Discovery Education has a great site for new teachers. The New Teacher Survival Central has lots of great resources for new teachers (and veteran teachers) on technology, parent communication, classroom management, lesson plan resources, and much more.

There are tutorials and training resources that will help new teachers adapt to their new career. The Survival Tool Kit has a best of the web section with links to great web sites for educators.

The site is easy to navigate with great resources. I check in every once and while to see what's new that can help me in my classroom also. The site is great for any educator. Don't forget to check out the rest of Discovery Education's site also.

Lesson Plan Resources

As the school year comes to a close, I want to share some lesson plan resources with everyone so that you can review them at your leasure for next year.

The first one is Lesson Plan Central. This site is a large repository of lesson plans and links to lesson plans for every topic and grade level. It is easy to navigate, has a huge number of resources, and is free. There are some great lesson plans on this site. I have used some as is, and used others with my own modifications.

The second one is Discovery School's Lesson Planner. This site is an online lesson planner that any teacher can use. Lesson planner allows you to create and store your lesson plans in your account on their server. You can edit, print, or download your lesson plans to your ocmputer as needed. You can also link to other items you created on DiscoverySchool.com, such as puzzles, worksheets, and quizzes. This is a great resource for teachers. By keeping all of your lesson plans on a web server, you will have access to them from any internet connected computer. You can also use all of the other resources at DiscoverySchool.com. Discovery School has a ton of resources such as the ones listed above, Kathy Schrock's Internet Guide, Science Fair Central, and a Lesson Plan library of already created lesson plans. Discovery Education has a large number of resources for educators and a majority of them are free.

Discovery Education

Discovery Education is a great resource for teachers. I recommend it to my colleagues often and suggest that they create a free account on the Discovery Educator's Network (DEN). DEN has a lot of great free resources available, including uploaded resources from other educators. You can also apply to become a STAR Discovery Educator and become elligible for more resources. 

They have videos, lesson plans, games, and more.

This is the same company that brings you Discovery Channel, Discovery Streaming (formerly United Streaming), TLC, and more. 

If you already have a Discovery Streaming account, you can use that to sign in to DEN.

Go to the site and explore a bit. It is well worth the time.