Finished With All Three Assignments

I am done. I have finished all three of the lesson plan assignments for this class and am looking forward to presenting tonight. The first one is a lesson for lower elementary level students on sorting basic geometric shapes. The video does a nice job of showing children how basic sorting is done. The second lesson teaches upper elementary level children about the layout and organization of a library media center, and in particular, about the importance of and how to use the Dewey Decimal System. The video from DE streaming for this is excellent. It is narrated by an enthusiastic librarian who describes all of the main sections of the library, explains the Dewey System, and explains how to use the computer catalog. The third assignment, and the one I am presenting tonight, teaches upper elementary level children the basics of geography. The video is hosted by two adorable children that learn about the Earth, oceans, continents, land forms, etc. I am looking forward to hearing what others have found to use for their lessons. I have learned a great deal in a very short amount of time in this course. I have already been applying what I have learned in my teaching and plan to continue to do so. Discovery Education Digital Streaming is a phenomenal tool to use in the classroom. I truly hope that our district purchases this for all of the schools.

fin

The Discovery Education Network (DEN)

I was already impressed with Discovery Streaming, but to learn about the Discovery Education Network (DEN) tonight was especially exciting. I was glad to learn that as part of Discovery Streaming, I was already part of the DEN. As a DEN member I have access to blogs, lesson plans, PowerPoints, and all sorts of teacher-created materials that have been posted on the network. I am also interested in possibly becoming a Star Discovery Educator in the near future. As a Star Educator I would have access to even more resources including Discovery learning materials, special contests, invitations to local, regional, and national seminars and webinars on web 2.0 applications, and even access to expert field managers. So often as educators (especially as a special educator) we feel isolated in our buildings. As a member of the DEN those days can be over. I am looking forward to exploring these resources further.

Discovery Digital Streaming Teacher Tools

The teacher tools in Discovery Digital Streaming are very useful. I can see how the Assignment Builder, Quiz Builder, Lesson Plan Library, Writing Prompt Builder, Calendar, and Interactive Atlas are all excellent tools for teachers to use to create exciting and effective lessons for students. I think that students would greatly enjoy working with these tools and, because of the engaging and interactive nature of the digital medium, would learn a great deal. There is great potential here. One component I was a little disappointed with was the few lessons that were pre-made by Discovery Education (assuming I searched correctly...which may not be true due to my being a novice at this). Perhaps over time they will be adding more. Is there a way to save all assignments and lesson plans into "My Content"? All in all, I am very pleased with what I have discovered about Discovery Digital Streaming.

Digital Streaming Rocks!

I had a great time in my digital streaming class last night. I came in just knowing the very basics about Discovery digital streaming. I had only seen a couple of demonstrations in the past, but had not had the opportunity to get in there and "discover" things for myself. Wow! I was very impressed. In the short time we were in class, I found videos (some with lesson plans, ties to state standards, and handouts!) on teaching library lessons on the Dewey Decimal System, reading lessons on word decoding, and math lessons on area/perimeter and probability (what are the chances of that?). I am looking forward to discovering more.

Welcome to Digital Streaming 2008

Share ideas, comments and questions through our class blog. We will leave the blog up so that you may refer back to it in the future for any tips and ideas you want to remember. Welcome to the community of Discovery Streaming users!