Matt's Media Tips Aggregated

Mattrsquos Monday Morning Media Tips 919Welcome Back to School

The bells are ringing and the classrooms are set Welcome back to school Now that the chalk is settled (can you still use that pun in todayrsquos digital world) Irsquom bringing back Mattrsquos Monday Media Tips and tricks

This year I thought Irsquod try a new format Let me know what you think

In each issue Irsquoll try to include tips and tricks as they relate to the Discovery Education STREAMING SCIENCE and the Discovery Educator Network Global Community

I will also update the tip sheet with our list of ongoing free webinars - make sure you take advantage of them - they are nothing short of awesome

From time to time you I may throw in a cool iPad tip or app a story from the road and of course I welcome your thoughts tips and tricks as well I love to brag about my friends - thatrsquos you there reading this paragraph

If you have a hankering to share please send your tips tricks andor stories to matt_monjandiscoverycom

Embedding an E-Reader Into A Writing Prompt

Do you have any struggling readers in your classroom Are you working with ELL students Are you a Foreign Language Teacher How about a teacher who is working with early readers If you answered yes to any of the above than this tip and trick is custom made for you

In this morningrsquos media tip Irsquom going to show you how you can use a free podcasting tool and embed it into a Discovery Education Writing Prompt Assignment andor Quiz Builder

Letrsquos start off by putting your any fear aside These steps are easy And since wersquore buds - Irsquove also taken all of the ldquoscary stuffrdquo out and replaced it with a soothing and easy-to-follow screen cast featuring none other yourrsquos truly You can get this step-by-step video by logging into wwwdiscoveryeducationcom and typing in ldquoaudiopalrdquo into your search bar and then downloading the movie You can also get it by clicking on this link

Donrsquot feel like downloading the movie No problem print these instructions out and follow along Note the steps for embedding an E-Reader are the same for the Assignment Quiz and Writing Prompt Builder but wersquore going to use the Writing Prompt Builder in this example

Step 1 Log into wwwdiscoveryeducationcom

Step 2 Find the Writing Prompt Builder in the My Builder Tools

Step 3 Click on the Create New Writing Prompt link

Step 4 Fill in all of the fields and click on the Save and Continue button

Take Teaching to the Next Level Where Microscope and Mouse MeetConnecting to a

Global Community of Educators

Step 5 Save the Writing Prompt in your ldquoMy Contentrdquo (even better - create a new folder and place your Writing Prompt there)

Step 6 Click on the Edit button in the first box and search for a video image article etc to add to your prompt

Step 7 In the box below click on the Edit button and type in the text that you want your students to answer

Step 8 Highlight your text and copy it

Step 9 Open up a new windowtab in your web browser and go to wwwaudiopalcom

Step 10 Click on the ldquoGet Yours its Freerdquo Button

Step 11 Click on the ldquoTrdquo - Text to Speech button

Step 12 Plop in our text and click on the ldquoSay itrdquo button

Step 13 Enter in your email address in the ldquoStep 3rdquo section

Step 14 Go to your email and click on the link from Audiopalcom

Step 15 Click on the red ldquoCopyrdquo button

Step 16 Click back on your Writing Prompt window

Step 17 Click on the HTML button and then right-click and choose paste in any white space

Step 18 Click on the Finish Editing and the yellow Save and Continue button

Step 19 Assign your prompt

Step 20 Now hold your thumbs up and ask your self - ldquoWho has two thumbs and can embed an E-Reader into a Writing Promptrdquo Answer - This guygal - thatrsquos who

Note that you can choose a different native speaker to say your text aloud That means that you can enter in Spanish French Japanese words and more and have Audiopal say them in a native accent - great for Foreign Language instruction

Discovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar Schedule

Dates Time (EST) Link

919 7pm - 8pm

Discovery Education Science Middle School 101

919 7pm - 8pm

Blogging Basics Getting the most of your DE Blog

920 7pm - 8pm

A Scientific Approach to Science and Engineering Education

920 7pm - 8pm

Supporting Literacy with Digital Tools

920 7pm - 8pm

Engaging Students through the Student Center

922 7pm - 8pm

Have you Ever Wondered Sparking Your and Your Studentsrsquo Curiosity

922 7pm - 8pm

Back to School with Discovery Education Maximizing Student Engagement Using Discovery Education

What is a DEN Star Member

I found this article about Discovery Education Science - check out the great teacher examples

Exert from Edutopiaorg - Cooking Up a (Virtual) Laboratory Discovery Education Science Delivers

These digital resources from interactive glossaries to lab simulations help teachers engage students

In an ideal world teachers would engage students one-on-one and foster a learning environment thats as dynamic and promising as the kids themselves They would present lessons with panache assess student comprehension along the way and give kids a chance to apply their newfound knowledge immediately Classes would inspire students at all levels to explore topics more deeply and allow them to pursue their curiosity independently Some teachers say this Edutopia is now a little easier to implement in the classroom thanks to Discovery Education Science for Elementary a digital service from the company behind the Discovery Channel

Tracie Belt [DEN Star] a life science teacher at Shorecrest Preparatory School in St Petersburg Florida says Discovery Education Sciences reading selections image library and video clips make it easier to do integrated curriculum projects that connect language arts history technology and science If her students are learning about American colonial times in history class for example she might assign readings and videos about diseases from that period The students can then use the services movie clips to make an Apple iMovie read about the discovery of germs in articles and e-books or write papers or give presentations based on what theyve learned

The new method of teaching is trying to get kids to think and this is the best tool Ive ever used for doing just that Belt saysDiscovery Education Science brings all of the digital resources together in one place so students can navigate through

them at their own pace and make decisions about the information images or video clips they will incorporate into their work Moreover they can do all of this independently

I think it is really important because twenty-first-century teaching is all about collaboration Belt explains I dont want collaboration to mean just group work I need projects in which all students have a part but they are individually accountable

You can read the full story by going here

Mattrsquos Monday Media Tips 926A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words

You probably already know that your access to Discovery Education STREAMING and Discovery Education SCIENCE provides you access to thousands of images clip art and sound effects (28000+ images and clip art and 3000+sound effects)If you knew that - kudos If not - what a great Monday Morning surpriseBut letrsquos take it up a notch How do you think these images and resources could assist you when you start to plan lessons using the Common Core Standards How about ELA History Math or Science lessonsIf that question has you scratching your head leaving your computer screen for another cup of coffee or throwing your hands up and sending you back to a warm comfy bed - donrsquot worry - Irsquove got a few ideas to share with youToday wersquore going to explore how we can combine Discovery Education images and sound effects and more with a few Web 20 tools to work on

Comprehension and Collaboration

bull Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats including visually quantitatively and orally

bull Evaluate a speakerrsquos point of view reasoning and use of evidence and rhetoric

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Take Teaching to the Next Level Where Microscope and Mouse MeetConnecting to a

Global Community of Educators

Common Core Standards ELA

bull Present information findings and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization development and style are appropriate to task purpose and audience

bull Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations

bull Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate

Craft and Structure

bull Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text including determining technical connotative and figurative meanings and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone

bull Analyze the structure of texts including how specific sentences paragraphs and larger portions of the text (eg a section chapter scene or stanza)

Of course we want to foster a sharing community so please feel free to send your tips tricks andor stories to matt_monjandiscoverycom so that I can highlight you in the next edition

Speaking of sharing - check out this weekrsquos Educator Spotlight

Discovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar Schedule

Dates Time (EST) Link

927 7pm - 8pm

Jumping in the Digital Stream

927 7pm - 8pm

Blogging Basics Getting the most of our DE Blog

928 7pm - 8pm

Discovery Education Science TECHBOOK Best Practices from the Classroom Journals and Notetaking (Great for Science too)

929 7pm - 8pm

Effective Evaulation with the Techbook Assessment Manager (Great for Science too)

929 7pm - 8pm

Back to School with Discovery Education Maximizing Student Engagement Using Discovery Education

What is a DEN Star Member

Educator SpotlightCheck out what DEN Star Molly Hay principal of Spring Creek Primary School is doing with her staff Mollyrsquos started a DEN (Discovery Educator Network) Club at her school The club will meet monthly to share ideas and best practices with each other Molly will be providing PD hours and even Discovery door prizes All meetings are going to be limited to an hour and will be at her Springcreek Computer Lab And I love Mollyrsquos challenge to her staff ldquoYou donrsquot have to commit to all meetings - but I bet if you come once you will not want to miss another onerdquo

Letrsquos get startedGetting to the core with word clouds

Yoursquove seen them before lots of words (some bigger than others) on screen paper billboard etc Therersquos actually a word cloud about the DEN on page two Go ahead and scroll upback and check it out Irsquoll wait here for you

Welcome back ) Word clouds can be used in a variety of ways For example you can use a Word Cloud to

bull Work on predicting Copy and paste text (DE STREAMING articles song lyrics andor speech transcripts) into a word cloud generator and then ask your students what they think the subject matter big idea or theme could be

bull Jump quickly to the main idea The bigger a word appears on your screen the more frequently it was used in the text This can be a great indicator of the importance of that word or theme Try searching for ldquoKennedyrdquo and then ldquoAudiordquo in your media drop down box Then click on the ldquoRelated Materialsrdquo tab Cut and paste the transcript into a word cloud generator to see which words appear

bull Use a word cloud to reinforce vocabulary or work on new words Bolster your students knowledge by entering in key vocabulary terms and then asking students to identify which words are new to them Then challenge them to create their own word clouds that can help explain the term

bull Analyze a famous poem or literary work - bonus points if you can have your students represent their own poems in a graphic form - using a word cloud

bull Embed your word cloud into PowerPoint and link words to additional slides On each corresponding slide have students find and embed a sound effect image or video that complements a termword

Two great word cloud generators include wwwwordlenet and wwwtagxedocom They both work the same but tagxedo actually letrsquos you create different shapes for your word cloud

Creating a story with PhotoPeachMove over PhotoStory 3 Take a hike iPhoto Irsquove got an even easier tool to use than you guys I love PhotoPeachcom PhotoPeach is web-based which means

1 It can be used on any type of computer (Mac PC Netbook)

2 You can start on on computer and finish on another (ie start in a lab and finish at home)

3 You can embed into other digital places - blogs web pages wikis etc

4 Others can comment on your work

Where can I access this fabulous tool you ask

Go to wwwphotopeachcom and create a free account Once you do yoursquoll be prompted to upload pictures to their site As mentioned on page one - you have access to thousands of high-quality imagery inside Discovery Education You are definitely encouraged to use them

Once you have uploaded your pictures create a title select a song and submit your story Your story will play However you can enhance your story with captions and quizzes

To add them click on the orange button and then click on the ldquoEdit Caption ampPhotosrdquo link There you will be able to add words under each photo that you select If you click on Quiz you can even add a multiple choice question to your story

Herersquos a link to a story that I created with elementary students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools We were working on Mood as well as descriptive language I picked out the images and had the students work in groups to create the sentences and story They had to use the vocabulary that they were working on that week They also chose the music - they had a great time with that part

Going outside-the-box with Museum Box

Ok if yoursquore moving from left to right - as most readers in the US do - then yoursquoll see that Irsquom kind of scaffolding a bit here

Museum Box (httpmuseumboxe2bnorg)is a unique and very cool way to present your information in a 3D and dynamic way

This site provides the tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box What items for example would you put in a box to describe your life the life of a Victorian Servant or Roman soldier or to show that slavery was wrong and unnecessary

You can upload your Discovery Education images video text files PDFs sounds and links Or you can use their library of material

You can also use a box for all sorts of things like

bull Enhancing vocabulary lessons - vocab box

bull Delivering a book report - book box

bull Examining a period in history - industrial revolution box

Mattrsquos Monday Media Tips 103Opening Up Closed Captioning

There are many great reasons to used closed-captioning in your classroom They include1 Assisting those students who are hearing impaired2 Addressing your students who are readwrite learners3 Helping your students who are struggling readers4 Reaching your English Language Learners5 Emphasizing a grammar or vocabulary lesson

And the list goes on and on This week I wanted to bring your attention to the 24000+ Closed-Captioned videos that you and your students can access In addition I am going to share with you a few tips and tricks that will show you how to

1 Find and download Closed-Captioned videos both on a PC and Mac2 Edit the captions to

1 Make them larger or different colors2 Change the text so that the words meet the reading level for your students3 Change the language of the text (default is English)

Sound cool Awesome Letrsquos get to work Oh and by the way - remember that you can always click on the word Help up there in the upper right-hand corner of your screen Go ahead and take a gander - itrsquos to the right of the blue Search box Once you click on the word Help type in ldquoClosed-Captioningrdquo in the Search Help bar and you will and you will find this information as well (see image on right)

Take Teaching to the Next Level Where Microscope and Mouse Meet Connecting to a Global Community of Educators

Step 1 Finding Closed Captioned Videos

Finding them is pretty easy and there are many different ways that you can sort Discovery Educationrsquos vast resources to find a Closed-Captioned video One way is to simply type in a keyword and then on the left-hand side in the Narrow My Search box scroll down and see if Closed Captioning is listed under the words ldquoBy Video DetailrdquoAnother way to find the CC videos is by clicking on the Advanced Search link Then type in a keyword check the Closed Captioning box and click on the blue Search button at the bottom of your screen

Step 2 Downloading Closed Captioned Videos

Once yoursquove found your video yoursquoll need to download both your video and the CC file Yoursquoll need to have both files saved on your computer in order to edit and play the CC file Remember that once you download a video you donrsquot have to worry about buffering eitherBefore you download make sure that your download type is set to QT for a Mac or Windows Media Player for a PC You can check by clicking on the words ldquoDownload Typerdquo located underneath the big box that says ldquoPlayrdquoTo download the video right-click on the little icon that looks like a filmstrip with a down arrow on it (it should be on the right-hand part of your screen) To download the CC file right-click on the the CC icon and save it somewhere on your computer

Create a folder and save both files in that folder on your computer

Step 3 Telling Your Media Player to Play the Captions (PC Instructions)

Still with me Good Now we need to tell your computer to play them Herersquos howOpen up your Windows Media Player (WMP) If you donrsquot see your WMP tool bar hold down your ALT key and press the letter ldquoTrdquo and click on the the word ldquoPlayrdquo Then scroll down and select ldquoOn if Availablerdquo

Discovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar Schedule

Dates Time (EST) Link

103 7pm - 8pm Discovery Education STREAMING 101

104 430-530 PM How to upload students in Bulk

105 7pm - 8pm Engaging Students through the Discovery Education Science TECHBOOK (Great for Discovery Education Science Users too)

106 430-530 PM How to upload students in Bulk

106 7pm - 8pm Blogging Basics Getting the most out of your Discovery Education Blog

What is a DEN Star Member

More Things I Thought Yoursquod Like To Know

From the Customer Support Team

The 10 most frequently asked questions and the answers to them

1 How do I Create Students using Bulk Imports How-to Screen Shots and How To Video

2 I forgot my username and passwordSend username and password - How-to Instructions and Screen Shots

3 User Transfer Move a user - How-to Instructions and Screen Shots

4 Discovery Education Assessment Bulk Import ToolHow-to Instructions Videos and ScreenShots

5 School Passcode ndash Who has it and how to find itHow-to Instructions and Screen Shots

6 Cookies and Cache ndash Caching on Userrsquos computer Site sends me back to the login screen Cannot log into the site but do not receive an error messageHow-to Instructions and Screen Shots

7 Firewall amp Filter Exclusions - Caching at Network level - How-to Instructions and Screen Shots

8 I receive error messages when trying to play videos ndash Customer has Local Host or Network ManagerHow-to Instructions and Screen Shots

9 Play amp download videos and video segmentsHow-to Instructions Videos and Screen Shots

10 Video is not playing in a particular format or any format and there is no Local Host or Network Manager ndash Please email Education_Supportdiscoverycom and we can escalate the issue to our Content Team

Our customer support team is available to answer any questions at 1 -800-323-9084 1 (Mon-Thu from 8am-7pm and Fri 8am ndash 630pm EST) if you have any questions They are always happy to help

Got it Good One more step Pull up your tool bar again and click on the word ldquoToolsrdquo Select ldquoOptionsrdquo and then click on the ldquoSecurityrdquo tab Then place check marks inside the first box ldquoRun script commandsrdquo and the last box ldquoShow local captions when presentrdquo Click on Apply andor Ok and yoursquore set You donrsquot have to do these steps again for this machine

Step 3 Telling Your Media Player to Play the Captions (Mac Instructions)

For Mac users there are a few more steps (I know This is the one thing that is actually more complicated on a Mac) But no worries here is a link to a pdf that includes great screenshots and instructions - CC on a Mac

Step 4 Changing the Captions (PC)

Open up the folder that you created that now contains both the video and smi file Right-click on the file that ends in smi and choose to ldquoOpen Withrdquo Notepad The code will appear and look a little like the Matrix Donrsquot worry - itrsquos really not that scary To change the size simply find ldquofont sizerdquo at the top of the code and change ldquo10rdquo to ldquo20rdquo To change the color simply go down to where it says ldquocolor whiterdquo and erase the word ldquowhiterdquo and type in ldquoYellowrdquo Note yellow on a black screen is statistically proven to be easier to read To change the text scroll down and look for a spoken line of dialogue and change it Save your Notepad (do not choose Save As) and congrats you are now a Coder

Step 4 Changing the Captions (Mac)

Open up the folder that you created that now contains both the video and smi file Right-click on the file that ends in smi and choose to ldquoOpen Withrdquo TextEditapp The code will appear and look a little like the Matrix Donrsquot worry - itrsquos really not that scary To change the size simply find ldquofont sizerdquo at the top of the code and change ldquo10rdquo to ldquo20rdquo To change the color simply go down to where it says ldquocolor whiterdquo and erase white and type in Yellow To change the text scroll down and look for a spoken line of dialogue and change it Save your TexEditapp (do not choose Save As) and congrats you are now a Coder

Closed Captioning Stories from the Classroom

Janet Hallstrom a Tech Coordinator in Clay County Florida teaches this trick to students that are in the upper level French classes These students in turn translate the CC files into French and provide their authentic work to the elementary kids The reason Clay County has a large Haitian population and they use this technique to help teach the primary kids English

Mattrsquos Monday Media Tips 1017Stick it To IT (Get it IT as in technology and IT as in ldquoitrdquo- sigh - itrsquos Monday)

I know I know - we missed a week I do apologize for that - I was off canvasing the country in search of neat ideas to share with you Since we last spoke (or you read) I have been up and down the east coast OH and over to TX So without any further ado - Letrsquos get sticky with wwwStixycom Let me just say I love this site It is a lot like wwwwallwishercom only without the constant crashing and better embed features From Stixyrsquos site

ldquoStixy helps users organize their world on flexible shareable Web-bulletin boards called Stixyboards Unlike most personal productivity or project management software Stixy doesnrsquot dictate how users should organize their information Users can create tasks

appointments files photos notes and bookmarks on their Stixyboards organized in whatever way makes sense to them Then they can share Stixyboards with friends family and colleaguesrdquo

Now how can you use this tool in your classroom Well letrsquos take Science Literacy as an example Say wersquore working on the how a larvae turns into a butterfly or maybe wersquore keying in on photosynthesis

First letrsquos find images from Discovery Education STREAMING and their definitions from Discovery Education SCIENCE and upload them to wwwstixycom After the content is uploaded to Stixy simply drag your photos into a bulletin board Next cut and paste the definitions into the yellow sticky pads that Stixycom provides you Then share the link with your class Once your students click on the link theyrsquoll be taken to your Stixy bulletin board Then itrsquos just a matter of moving and matching the definitions to its corresponding image (great if you have a SMART Promethean or some other type of interactive white board)

Take Teaching to the Next Level Where Microscope and Mouse Meet Connecting to a Global Community of Educators

So cool right Well it gets cooler my friends Not only can you collaborate on images and sticky notes you can also upload pdf docs andor Word documents Have you seen the Discovery Educationrsquos Speech Transcripts or Lodge McCammonrsquos song lyrics Irsquom just sayinrsquo

Do you see where Irsquom going here

What about using STIXYcom for peer review

How about working in teams during the creative writing process

Finally you can lock down a bulletin and password protect it you can send out emails and invite people or embed on your website or blog The possibilities are great with this site and Discovery Education so I hope you stick with it )

Discovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar Schedule

Dates Time (EST) Link

1017 7pm - 8pm Discovery Education Science Middle School 101

1018 7pm - 8pm Reaching all Students with Project Based Learning

1018 8pm - 9pm Seasonal Science Stream Pumpkin Patch Science

1019 130 -230PM - STUDENT WEBINAR

Making a Difference Through Conservation With Discovery Channelrsquos Dave Salmoni

1019 7pm - 8pm STEMulate Students Mids with Creative Web 20 Sites

1022 900 AM - 300 PM

2011 Fall Virtual Conference

What is a DEN Star Member

Two cool iPad Apps that are great for Digital Storytelling

1 Check out the ToonTastic app ($199) for digital storytelling Students are prompted to follow a story arc (setting climax resolution etc) by creating and animating characters for each stage of their story They can draw their own characters gain inspiration from other lsquotoonsrsquo that have been created use some of the stock images andor combine original artwork with the stock images to create a unique and animated story Whatrsquos more an onscreen narrator describes each

stage of a story and then asks students to respond accordingly

2 Check out the Puppetpals app (FREE) Similar to Toontastic this app is a great tool to use with digital storytelling One thing that I really like about this app is that you can use your own photos and animate them Which means that you can grab some of the great National Archive imagery from Discovery Education and animate it - ie you can bring Abe Lincoln Dr Martin Luther King or other great leaders to life

More Things I Thought Yoursquod Like To Know

And speaking of Literacy - check out Jennifer Everettrsquos comments in this weekrsquos Educator SpotlightJennifer is a teacher at High Street Primary school and she is doing amazing things with Discovery Education and her elementary students Here is a snippet from arecent email

bull I created an assignment on What we use Money Forbull The students all were able to log in (using the lap tops) and

they all were awesome at itbull They were prompted to say if they were under 13 years of

agebull They clicked yes they were--therefore it then wanted an e-

mail address to send things to so had them enter my everettjpiquaorg address

bull They opened their Student Center and there they were able to view all of their assignments related to the lesson on money

bull We talked about what Status means and how that shows me what stage of the process they are at with each area

bull They viewed a 4 minunte video on How and Why we useneed money

bull They clicked the writing prompt that I created and then wrote a short 2-3 sentence statement about how they have used money in their life

bull They clicked SUBMIT TO TEACHERbull Then their status changed to submitted on their writing

prompt in their student centerbull Then I received a reply from each students account saying

that they completed a writing prompt

ldquoOK--I am in in teacher heaven right nowI have students using words like

bull submitbull student centerbull spell checkbull video clipbull volume controlbull text boxbull assignments

I could go on and on--but I will quitrdquo Tomorrow I will check over their writing submissions that have been submitted to me and give them repliesand then we will move on into the next part of the assignment

A Spook-tac-u-lar experience

October 22 is right around the corner and that means it is almost time for the Fall Virtual Conference Please join in on the fun There will be prizes for best costumes and lots of other goodies Session descriptions are herehttpwwwdiscoveryeducationcomVirtualConference2011

Herersquos a list of all of the in-person eventsMedicine Hat AB Canada (Register here)

Birmingham AL (Register here)Anaheim CA (Register here)

Costa Mesa CA (Register here)Los Angeles CA (Register here)

Meridian CT (Register here)Orange Park FL (Register here)

Palatka FL (Register here)Atlanta GA (Register here)

Glenn Ellyn IL (Register here)Bossier City LA (Register here)Mandeville LA (Register here)

Auburn ME (Register here)Rockville MD (Register here)

Battle Creek MI (Register here)Branson MO (Register here)St Louis MO (Register here)Goddard KS (Register here)

Chocowinity NC (Register here)Madison NC (Register here)Camden NJ (Register here)

Port Chester NY (Register here)Harrisburg PA (Register here)Lexington SC (Register here)

Cope SC (Register here)Poundmaker Cree Nation SK Canada (Register here)

Knoxville TN (Register here)Houston TX (Register here)

Pasadena TX (Register here)McKinney TX (Register here)Muskego WI (Register here)

Donrsquot see your location listed Then organize your own in-person event for the Virtual Conference Head over to our Meet Up site and add your location there Then promote it via Twitter Facebook Email Plurk and any other way you can think of Come Tech or Treat with us

Rock on Jennifer Way to go

Mattrsquos Monday Media Tips Itrsquos All About the Stories

With Halloween just around the corner I thought it would be appropriate to highlight a few applications that you could use to tell some really ldquoghoulrdquo stories

Treat 1The first free application that I want to share with you is a site that I learned about from Wes Fryerrsquos presentation during the 2011 DEN Fall Virtual Conference His presentation was amazing and inspiring Wersquoll be posting the entire conference (including Wesrsquo presentation) at wwwdiscoveryeducationcomwebinars You can also check out Wes Fryerrsquos fantastic site and resources at httpwwwspeedofcreativityorg

wwwAudioboocom (how appropriate is this name for Halloween) is a site that allows you to create and share audio

From there siteAudioboo is the simplest way to share audioIts fantastic for many things Impromptu interviews that you can put on your websiteambience that just sound wonderful music youve made yourself a record of your children growing up or even a full blown radio show You can use it for reporting for story-telling educational use or quick tips Think of it as your audio digital archive your web connected dictaphone or simply a great way to let your friends know what youre up to Audioboo works on iPhone Android and Nokia devices and you can also record via the web Soon well be adding Blackberry and Windows Mobile Our mission is to be the one platform you use when you want to record audio share it or keep it safe for the

Take Teaching to the Next Level Where Microscope and Mouse Meet Connecting to a Global Community of Educators

Treat 2Ok wersquove covered publishing audio but how about images I love wwwposterouscom for this Like audioboo you can use smart phones (Android and iPhones) to publish on-the-fly You can also

use email andor their website to publish and comment on your images I like this

easy tool to use on field-trips with roving reports scavenger hunts digital storytelling and more If yoursquore a Principal you can use Posterous during your walk-throughs to capture and share best practices with the rest of your school and of course spread your kudos

Discovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar Schedule

Dates Time (EST) Link

1025 7pm - 8pm May I have your attention please The following is THEIR safety announcement

Great tips for creating Student PSAs

1026 7pm - 8pm Siemenrsquos We Can Change The World Challenge

Awesome and Free Project Based Learning Challenge

1027 7pm - 8pm 2011-2012 Read to Succeed Program Overview

Check out the new and exciting changes to the 2011-2012 Read to Succeed program brought to you by Six Flags and Discovery Education for grades K-6

What is a DEN Star Member

Two spooky apps for your iPhoneiPadiTouch

1 Irsquom not really sure about the educational value of this app but it is free and it is Halloween-y Want to turn your iPhoneiPad into a Jack-o-Lantern Crazy Pumpkin is a digital Jack-o-lantern Its a scary sound effect machine a multi-colored flashlight a creative toy andor a pumpkin carving design tool Its all this and more

httpitunesapplecomappcrazy-pumpkinid292692071mt=8

2 Halloween Card Creator - Free - Use Halloween Card Creator on your iPhone iPad or iPod TouchThe unique thing about Halloween Card Creator is that you can customize as much or as little of the card as you want The app comes loaded with fun Halloween backgrounds clip art and fonts After youve created your masterpiece you can share it with your friends and family on Facebook through Email or save it to your Photo Album

httpitunesapplecomusapphalloween-card-creator-freeid464451172mt=8

Community Spotlight

This week I had the great privilege to participate in the Piqua City Schools Night of Discovery Throughout the night students parents and community members gathered together to share and learn from each other It was amazing to see the students lead the exhibits and showcase how they use technology in their classrooms One of the best quotes of the nights came from a 2nd grade teacher who told me ldquoLast year my students created PowerPoints and this year they want to use PreziI donrsquot know what Prezi is but wersquore going to learn it togetherrdquo

I observed kindergarteners demonstrate learning on netbooks and elementary and middle school students interact with SMARTboards and Discovery Education Science I also got to see some great science experiments ranging from giant bubbles storms in bottles and underwater robotics What a great exhibition It was really fun to see the marriage of technology and curriculum from the studentsrsquo point of view

Mattrsquos Media Tips 11-4Turning a Nano iPad iPhone andor an iTouch into an iCenter

Many of the schools and districts that I have been working with have been exploring how an iPad roll-out might look in their classrooms I myself have been hesitant to embrace the iPad as the ldquoall-inrdquo device that many people think it can be And while I still donrsquot think we should limit ourselves to one specific tablet device or piece of technology in a classroom I do now see the iPad as way more than a consumption device

Recently one of my colleagues showed me how to create an ePub - or interactive book - on an iPad And thatrsquos when a ray of light from the heavens beamed down upon my head choirs sang and somewhere a light-bulb went off Because in that moment my friends the iPad that I was holding no longer was a shiny new object In that moment it became a great instructional tool a learning center and a fantastic new way to reach our students

With that in mind I began exploring the idea of using a Nano iPad iPhone or iTouch as learning centers in the classroom I thought that it would be pretty cool if I could combine free apps the built in camera (iPad 2 iPhone or next generation iTouch) and Discovery Education STREAMING videos into one ePub and use it for as a self-directed learning center I built the ePub in Pages on a Mac

However if you are on a PC iTunes and you have an iSomething you will need to build your ePub in PowerPoint and then save your PowerPoint as a Movie Then drag your movie over to iTunes Once your movie is in iTunes click on the Advanced tab and then choose ldquoCreate an iPad or Apple TV versionrdquo If you are using a iTouch or iPhone click on the Advanced tab and choose ldquoCreate an iPod or iPhone versionrdquo

The following information are the steps that I used on my Mac

First I created my draft in Pages Note In order for you to publish your work in an ePub you canrsquot use any of the fancy templates - at least I couldnrsquot get that to work - and trust me I learned that the hard way I recommend clicking on the little Pages drop-down icon in your tool bar and then either choosing the Text Page or Blank templates I was able to get them to work 100 of the time The othersnot so much

If you choose to embed any images or video into your document make sure that you select Inline and not Floating An ePub will not publish if your images andor video are floating You can tell it is ldquofloatingrdquo if you can move your image around within your document If it is locked into one location it is ldquoinlinerdquo I think the default is ldquofloatingrdquo The inline and floating buttons are located within your tool bar when you click on the image

Before you embed a video from Discovery Education yoursquoll first need to download a QuickTime (mov) version of a video onto your Mac Then drag it into iTunes and click on the Advanced tab If yoursquore building for an iPad choose ldquoCreate an iPad or Apple TV versionrdquo If yoursquore building for an iTouch or iPhone click on the Advanced tab and choose ldquoCreate an iPod or iPhone versionrdquo

Take Teaching to the Next Level Where Microscope and Mouse Meet Connecting to a Global Community of Educators

This will turn your mov file into a MPEG-4 video file Yoursquoll probably have two files in your iTunes (one MOV and one MPEG-4) Drag the MPEG-4 into your Pages document Remember to click on the video and choose ldquoinlinerdquo in your tool bar

Once you have your Pages document complete click on the word ldquoFilerdquo in your tool bar Then choose ldquoExportrdquo and click on the ePub icon and then the ldquoNextrdquo button

This will place a epub version of your document somewhere on your computer (I put my stuff on my desktop and move it later)

Yoursquore almost there at this point Drag your epub file into the ldquobooksrdquo section of your iTunes

Then all you have to do is sync up your iPad with your Mac and bingo bango presto - you have an ePublearning center on your Nano iPad iPhone or iTouch

What is a DEN Star Member

Discovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar ScheduleDiscovery Education Webinar Schedule

Dates Time (EST) Link

117 7pm - 8pm Discovery Education STREAMING 101 Great tips for getting started with Discovery Education

118 7pm - 8pm Story of Learning Digital Storytelling with Discovery Education STREAMINGJoin us for an exploration of the creative ways to engage students across the curriculum with digital storytelling with Discovery Education resources

119 7pm - 8pm Siemenrsquos We Can Change The World ChallengeThe nationrsquos premier sustainability competition that gives students the inspiration and free tools to make a difference

1110 7pm - 8pm The Collective Brain - Digital StorytellingLeverage the power of community and learn effective ways to engage and inspire your students through digital storytelling projects

1114 7pm - 8pm Discovery Education Science 101This webinar provides an overview of the Discovery Education Science for Elementary service

Here is a portion of the center that I built into my iPad center The full version includes an Encyclopedia Article and three video segments from Discovery Education You can download this epub as a Pages document for your Mac by clicking on this link -

Practice turning into ePub

You are no longer curriculum specialists teachers educators or even students You are now esteemed research scientists and you have a new problem to solve

You and your colleagues are developing a new propulsion system that will be used to transport heavy cargo in a new cost efficient and environmentally green way Using the material provided for you on your lab table you must work with your colleagues to successfully move the three cargo models (soccer ball tennis ball and baseball) into the receiving mechanism (trash can) using your prototype hand-held hot-air propulsion system (blow dryer)

Time is money so you have three tries andor 10 minutes (which ever comes first) to document and record your best transportation time

You may use any of the materials on your tablelab However you may not move the trash can

As innovators in your field you must share your findings with the world With that in mind1 Choose someone to either filmor take pictures and document your progress2 Choose someone on your team to be the scribe and provide a narrative to complement

the pictures3 Choose someone(s) on your team to carry out your experiments

Use the Posterous App on the iPad to both take pictures and document your experiment

Please be sure to include pictures and one - two sentences that describe1 Your hypothesis (what you think will happen and why)2 Your procedure and how you used the material3 Any principles forces etc at play that can explain why the propulsion system and cargo

behaved the way they did4 A name for your propulsion system and a reason why the world should adopt your new

way of transporting goods

After completing your experiments review the research material on the following page

And speaking of innovative real-world problems to solve - check out what Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schoolsrsquo STEM Director Cindy Moss shared with me this week

Call for students to develop innovative products to solve real-world challenges5th annual Spirit of Innovation Challenge continues its quest to transform STEM education HOUSTON mdash Recently Nancy Conrad founder and chairman of the Conrad Foundation officially launched the 2011-2012 Spirit of Innovation Challenge to encourage students to create technologies and products that solve global issues For the past four years the Innovation competition has helped transform the way science technology engineering and math (STEM) is being embraced by high school students ldquoIf we are to ignite passion for STEM education we must embrace an academic plan to focus on the relevance of the knowledge we share with our studentshellip157 said Conrad ldquoMemorizing facts to pass a test just wonrsquot do the job The hallmark of Americarsquos culture is innovation and entrepreneurship Itrsquos how we got to the moon Itrsquos how companies like Apple Facebook and Google were formed It is how our country will continue to explore the universe discover cures for disease and become good stewards of the world we share with our global neighborshellip157 Hosted by the Conrad Foundation the Spirit of Innovation Challenge invites high school teams to use STEM skills in developing commercially viable technology-based products It is the only competition of its kind to combine education innovation and entrepreneurship giving students the tools they need to succeed and sustain a knowledge-based economy ldquoUsing a network of world-renowned scientists engineers academics and business leaders the competition connects teams with mentors to assist in making their ideas a realityhellip157 said Jennifer Fotherby executive director Spirit of Innovation Challenge ldquoWe are thrilled by the support and collaboration from global industry leaders in this yearrsquos programhellip157 The 2011-2012 Spirit of Innovation Challenge is supported by Lockheed Martin and PepsiCo and in partnership with US Department of State and NASA Additional corporate and organizational involvement from Kraft Foods and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute is allowing for rapid program growth This yearrsquos Challenge Partners who provide experts mentors and judges for the student entries include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation (Aerospace Exploration) The William James Foundation (Clean Energy) and the American Society for Nutrition (Health and Nutrition) Interested student teams draft an online abstract that addresses five questions about their innovative idea for first-round judging From there selected semi-finalists in each challenge category ndash Aerospace Exploration Clean Energy and Health and Nutrition ndash develop a business plan technical plan and graphical representation of the teamrsquos product or innovation The top five teams from each category will travel to the annual Innovation Summit hosted at NASA-Ames Research Center (Moffitt Field CA) March 29-31 2012 where they present their innovations and vie for awards and commercialization opportunities The Conrad Foundation is also currently in discussion with the Department of State about sending the winners of the 2011-2012 Spirit of Innovation Challenge to Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Winning teams would present their work in conjunction with the official US delegation led by the Department of State This event will allow Spirit of Innovation winning teams a lifetime experience of joining diplomats scientists sustainability experts and other leaders to take a forward look on pressing global needs and opportunities for creative problem-solving This yearrsquos Innovation competition features a new online community that facilitates student teacher and mentor collaboration across multiple platforms from sharing videos to uploading documents and communicating in forums The Portal for the Spirit of Innovation Challenge is also being expanded to assist teams in acquiring patents and funding for further development and commercialization of their products To learn more visit wwwconradawardsorg