Day of Discovery - New Discovery Features

I am attending Discovery Day at IU1 and I have a few things to share with you.

New Features

Discovery Education has improved the Writing Prompt Builder so you can now add up to 3 images. The Quiz Builder can now be programmed to show a remedial video if a students answers a question incorrectly. You can also have videos play before each question. The Calendar shows what happened in history on a certain day. If you choose an event on the calendar, it will provide links to videos or other resources related to that event. The Atlas now contains more countries. For each country the resources are categorized by culture, government, history, and natural world. Our presenter for the morning session was Matt Monjan. His blog address is http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/matt.monjan/
Also, for all the science teachers, Discovery Streaming now has Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Geocaching

Our second session was about geocaching. Geocaching is basically a hi-tech treasure hunt. Our presenter for this session was Bridgett Bilardi. To learn more about geocaching in education, visit Bridgett Belardi's Wikispace: http://www.belardi.wikispaces.com/geocaching
Geocaching is not specific to Discovery Education, but it was a great addition to Day of Discovery.

"The Power of an Image"

Our presenter for this session was Stevie Kline. An image can explain in three seconds what a page of narrative cannot. One example that was given to us was the picture called Federal Troops at Rest, which I posted to the left. Showing this picture can teach our students a lot about the civil war time period. The picture might not tell us the name of important figures or who won each battle, but there is still a lot to be learned from the image. Think about how many different content areas you can use this image for. You don't have to be a Social Studies teachers to make use of it. When you get a chance, find a picture you think you can use in your class. If you see a picture you think would fit and need some help integrating it, I will be more than happy to help you.
The above picture is available from the Library of Congress and it is in the public domain. For those of you unfamiliar with the public domain, I posted a blog about it toward the end of last school year. You should be able to find it in the archives or just Google public domain and I am sure you will find what you need.

Jeopardy Powerpoint

I know I posted a link to a Jeopardy powerpoint template on my Wiki last year. That template was created by another CFF coach. I create my own template today at Day of Discovery that might be a little easier to use. I used general information about trout to create the questions. Just change the category titles and the slides. I have uploaded it to my website. Here is the direct link. It is a 2007 .pptx file. If you need it in 2003, let me know. Also, if you need to add more rows or columns to the main screen, let me know and I will help you.

I am typing this live from the conference so you will have to excuse any spelling/grammar errors until I have a chance to go back over it.

Large Hadron Collider Rap

This video across the CFF Listserv a couple weeks ago and I meant to post it earlier. I guess I forgot until now. I am not sure if you can actually use this particular video in your class unless you teach physics. But, image if you had the students create a rap for some other topic. They would have fun and learn at the same time. Remember, we have access to video cameras from the CFF grant.

Wordle - Create Word Clouds

This resource just came across the CFF Listserv and it looks pretty cool. Wordle.net allows you to create a word cloud using a list of words, a blog, or a list of tags from a del.icio.us account. I created one using some words related to Classrooms for the Future. This literally took me less that 1 minute to create.

Free Power Points at Pete's Power Point Station

Today, another CFF coach shared a resource with us that you should all take a look at. It is called Pete's Power Point Station. There are tons of powerpoint presentation free for the taking. Check it out. You might find something you can use tomorrow!

Photo Tools / Flickr Toys

If you use Flicker or just like taking digital pictures, check out fd's Flickr Toys from Big Huge Labs. You might be able to make something you can use in your classroom. There might not be a lot of educational value in some of the tools, but you are creative. You might think of an ingenious way to use one. I just figured I would see if anyone has some ideas for classroom integration. If nothing else, you can have some fun with it.

Glogster: Poster Yourself

When you get a chance, check out glogster.com. Glogster allows you to take multiple photos and create a poster. I just picked some photos from my Ocean City trip this summer to show you what it can do. I can picture a Language Arts class using this site to create a poster that summarizes a story. Or a Social Studies class could use the site to create a visual timeline that goes through a series of events. Foreign Language classes could create a poster in another language. The possiblities are endless. And, it is free. All you need is an email address.