Take a Virtual Field Trip to 3M with Discovery Education

Discovery Education has done some great virtual field trips from all over the world but their most recent from 3M's innovation labs might be one of their best ever. With one exciting revelation after another, classes can explore the science behind some of the things we use constantly like the screens on our smart phones and tablets. The video is available on demand and hosted by one of the hosts of Science Channel's relaunch of Mythbusters.

Check out www.youngscientistlab.com/vft to watch now.

Win an Agricultural Grant for Your Middle School #ScienceOfSoil

Official Discovery Education Release:

 



Second Annual Let it Grow Contest is Now Open! 

Discovery Education and the Nutrients for Life Foundation have joined forces again to give six lucky schools a chance to win big with the Let it Grow Contest. 

Open to educators and community adults nationwide, the Let it Grow Contest encourages entrants to vote DAILY for a middle school* of their choice for a chance to win an agricultural grant, which could be used towards a school garden or gardening supplies, and more! 

Check out the Prizing: 

• One Grand Prize winning school will receive a $5,000 agricultural grant and an introduction to a local agronomist!


• Five Runners-Up will each win a $1,000 agricultural grant and an opportunity to win a celebratory winner event.

Entering is Easy: 

• Answer five soil related quiz questions to unlock the contest application


• Find Your school and provide your contact information


• Most importantly, come back and enter daily


• Don't forget to share with your friends for extra entries!

*Includes all 6-8 public, private, and parochial schools, or schools with a middle component, e.g. K-12 institutions.

For more FREE soil science resources, click here. 

Questions? Email us at FromtheGroundUp@Discovery.com 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE CHANCES OF WINNING. Voting open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. and D.C., age 18+. Subject to Official Rules. Voting ends 3/14/17 at 5:00PM ET. Void where prohibited by law. 

Honor an Educational Superstar With a DENny Award

We are surrounded daily by great educators who change lives daily and are inspiring to their colleagues. Honor their greatness by nominating them for Discovery Education DENny Award.

 

2016 DENny Awards- Call for Nominations

Have you seen a colleague sharing his or her passion for Discovery Education? Do you know someone who is transforming learning in the classroom with Discovery Education? Is there a school or district administrator you believe deserves recognition? We know amazing things are happening in the classrooms and schools of Discovery Educators every day. We need your help celebrating them. Help us discover all the great examples of Discovery Education in action in your school and district by nominating a fellow Discovery Educator for a DENny Award.

Nominate a great teacher today.

#GetMoving and Get Your Kids Featured at Discovery Education's NFL Play60 Site.

Here is a great opportunity to utilize some movement lessons and videos to promote healthy living this winter.

Not only has Discovery Education teamed with the American Heart Association to provide fun lessons and videos with a member of the Washington Redskins, they are now giving you the chance to be featured with your students on their new site.

Check out the Discovery Ed blog for details. Larry Fitzgerald, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers won't be the only stars featured as the NFL revs up for Super Bowl 50. Your class might too.

Introducing Discovery Education Program Champions | Discovery Education

What an honor to be chosen for this great opportunity to share all of the great stuff Discovery and its corporate partners are doing to help promote a vast array of learning initiatives across the entire spectrum of education.

We are thrilled to welcome 14 members of the Discovery Education Community as our Discovery Education Program Champions. These educators have been recognized for their commitment to sharing innovative digital resources, enhancing student engagement and improving academic achievement.Chosen through a competitive application process, the 2015-2016 Program Champions demonstrated their extraordinary commitment and expertise in specific topic areas – such as STEM, health and wellness, and social studies – and excellent use of Discovery Education’s programs. The Program Champions will represent one or more subject areas to share various resources and supporting programs with their colleagues and peers around the world. Champions will also represent Discovery Education and education events and virtual conferences, and help shape the development and implementation of future Discovery Education programs to ensure they are standards-and curriculum-aligned. To kickoff this new initiative, the Program Champions recently attended a two-day launch event at Discovery Education’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.

Full Release: Introducing Discovery Education Program Champions | Discovery Education

Get to Know Your Community | Discovery Education

I take a turn "in the barrel" as the guest of Brandon Wislocki and Kristen Davis on Discovery Education's "Get to Know Your Community" video series.

We talk about a fun way my students have been mashing up Discovery content with Apple's Keynote, some Sketchnoting teaching strategies, and 20 random questions.

Apologies for the poor lighting and the Tom Brady/Go Blue informal apparel...well, at least for the lighting.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54nvKRerBp4[/embed]

Get to Know Your Community, introduces you to your fellow community members in a way that’s never been seen before. Each week, we will interview a new community member. You’ll get to know who they are, what their favorite Spotlight on Strategies is, and they’ll play 20 questions in 60 seconds. Each participant will see how many questions they can answer in 60 seconds. You’ll get to know more about each community member in a brief amount of time.

Check it out at: Get to Know Your Community: Andy Losik | Discovery Education

Discovery Education Offers Virtual Field Trip and Visit from Supreme Court Justice on Constitution Day

Discovery Education is offering a two-part interactive learning opportunity for next Thursday's Constitution Day.

At 12PM Eastern, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Beyer will host a Q&A about his role on the high court in a video town hall format.

From 1:30 to 2:00 PM US Appeals Court Judge Marjorie O. Rendell will give a tour of the National Constitution Center and field questions as well.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="317"] Judge Marjorie O. Rendell[/caption]

Visit Discovery's event page to learn more, view grade level appropriate activities, or register your class for this FREE online learning event.

The Joy of Reading: "Happy" by Pharell Williams

I love playing this song for my students. It was only natural to mash up some Discovery Education footage from some of my favorite story videos to demonstrate the true joy that lies in reading.

Be happy my friends.

Make the amazing by combining Discovery Education and iMovie.

Here is a step-by-step screencast for using the great footage available from Discovery Education Streaming in conjunction with the superpowers the iMovie trailer feature delivers.

In the video I demonstrate making trailers on a Mac. The same can done with an iOS device as well. The process is similar but varies slightly. One of my edtech pioneer heroes Kathy Schrock offers up this super guide.

Check out additional hints and ideas on this process as I host Discovery's "DENvice" this week on Facebook.

Dean Shareski: What ever happened to joy in Education?

Last summer I had to pleasure to finally meet Dean Shareski, someone whose tweets have informed me and entertained me for years and whose "EdTech Posse" show was one of the first podcasts I ever listened to.

In addition to his duties teaching at the University of Saskatchewan, Dean is also the Canadian community manager for Discovery Education. Dean capped a fabulous week for me at the  Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute with a version of the following talk. As those of in most of North America slug through this endless winter it is important to reflect on Dean's essential question: "Whatever happened to joy in Education?"  I think most of us could use a little joy right now.

I am excited that Dean will be here in Michigan next month sharing this presentation at MACUL.


Enjoy and spread a little joy today as well.

How I spent my summer vacation, 1 Second Everyday

Without a doubt, the single greatest tool I took away from Steve Dembo's 2013 MACUL Conference closing keynote was the 1 Second Everyday app for both iOS and Android devices. The app basically provides you a calendar where you select one second snippets of video shot on specific days. The interface lets you then compile all of the snippets into one video.

Here is my modern answer to the "What I did on my Summer Vacation" writing prompt. The 1 Second Everyday app allowed me to capture  and create a fabulous compilation of memories. It is amazing how just one second can allow you to relive so many other associated memories.

Dean Shareski challenged us at the Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute to "be mindful" and this app really allowed me to focus on making each day special and to record and share the most special moments.

So...here is my summer. Thanks to all who shared a little of their summers with us.


 

Mobile Reach #55: Summer Acronym Summary ~ ADE, DEN, GCT, and More

Last week I had the chance to join the hosts of the Mobile Reach Show and talk about the various professional learning organization that fuel our teaching.

Hosting the show are Jennie Magiera, Sue Gorman, and Dave Freeburg who I first met face-to-face in 2011 at the Apple Distinguished Educator institute. We were joined by Josh Mika and Scott Meech who both became ADE's with us that summer.  Scott and I first met in 2008 as we became Google Certified Teachers together at the Google Teacher Academy in Chicago.

Prior to the show I had just returned from my week at the Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute and shared how that experience compared to the acronym opportunities other teachers are attending this summer.

Head on over to the Mobile Reach homepage to either listen or watch this episode.