1. Taking a Probe
2. Reviewing Probe Results
3. Accessing Video Clips

Our students gain organization and management skills, a sense of “ownership” in their Discovery work, and access to Discovery resources to use in self-remediation on topics they don’t understand or need a refresher in (including the ability to “search” in schools with Streaming). You gain more organized scoring and viewing of your results, enhanced tracking of student completion, and one-click probe dissemination (no need to remember codes, or type in URLs on each computer in a room)

Next time you check for understanding, give Progress Zone probe dissemination through Student Center a try. Save your probe, and under the heading “my probes” click on the actions button at the far right and select assign. One the next screen choose the class you would like to assign the probe to (as shown below). It is that easy….

Lori Allard, CO

Vincent Ardito, CO

Rebecca Dague, CO

Sara Finney, CO

Robert Fowler, CO

Cristine Goodman, CO

Brenda Holmstedt, CO

Misty Louihis, CO

Susan Massa, CO

Sarah Rice, CO

Ledeen Rickey, CO

Alma Tetrault, CO

The Colorado Leadership Council would like to welcome you to star status and we look forward to working with you on future events in Colorado.

“The goal is to help teachers be better,” Gates said. “And when we run personnel systems where we want to be frank with employees about where they need to improve, having [evaluations] publicly available is not conducive to openness and a free exchange of views.”

Scott pushed that point, asking Gates if he could understand this is information that might be helpful for parents who want to know how their children’s teachers are performing.

Gates said parents looking at evaluations could lead to a rush of them trying to get their kids in classrooms with the highly rated teachers and that’s a “zero-sum game,” he said, when what we should be doing is helping all teachers improve.

Still, Gates said he believed in evaluations. He said if Microsoft didn’t have evaluations, “it wouldn’t have worked.”

He said that seniority and educational degrees didn’t correlate with “who was writing the best code.”

Listen to the six minute interview to hear all Bill Gates had to say.

What are QR codes?

QR codes are quick response 2D bar codes. They hold  a lot of information in one code, and can be scanned with a variety of devices such as Smartphones, iPod Touches, iPads, laptops with webcams, etc. When scanned they provide marketing information about products and companies, coupons, etc.

How are QR codes used in the classroom?

QR codes are being used in classrooms to engage students in learning with activities such as QR code worksheets that allow students to create a specific picture when all of their answers are correct; QR codes that link to instructional videos, and QR code hunts. During a QR code hunt, which is a type of digital scavenger hunt, students use one of the devices listed above to scan and read codes created by their teachers to find information and answer questions. Generally, the first team to reach a goal of finding correct answers or information wins. QR codes can also be used to create learning stations, and links to portfolios and student created projects. Voice QR codes can also be created and posted next to student art displays to provide an explanation of the piece, and for many other activities using QR Voice. QR code activities are also a great way to keep students engaged in meaningful activities while teachers conference with other students or groups. Other ways to use QR codes in the classroom are to provide access to rewards such as Internet links, coupons for activities, and access to extra information, and much more.

What tools do you need and where do you find them?

1. You need  a device to scan and read the QR code. A variety of devices such as Smartphones, iPod Touches, iPads, and laptops with webcams can scan and interpret the code.

2. Internet access, and a website or blog with a place for the QR codes to go.

3. A  QR codes generator

4. Content, lesson standards, questions, and answers for activities that you will create the codes for.

QR Codes Resources

Code Generators

ClassTools.net QR Generator (This tool generates codes in text, so no Internet access is needed to read the codes when scanned)

http://keremerkan.net/qr-code-and-2d-code-generator/

Snapmaze

TagMyDoc

QR Voice

Note: If you don’t have a smartphone or device that reads codes, download the Desktop QR code generator, and Adobe Air onto a desktop or laptop with a webcam. More information can be found on this site: http://www.dansl.net/blog/2010/desktop-qr-code-reader/

How do you implement lessons that use QR codes? The resources below will help you.

http://esu6qrcodes.wikispaces.com/

The Ultimate Educators Guide to QR Codes: http://www.edlio.com/blog/2011/08/the-ultimate-educators-guide-to-qr-codes/

http://www.classtools.net/QR/

Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/QR-codes-teaching-andrew-miller

Free Technology 4 Teachers: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/04/qr-codes-in-classroom.html

Here is a recap, courtesy of  Zinepal, of the great apps and educational tech tools highlighted by the Georgia DEN Blog Team this year.  I have created a Zinepal eBook of this year’s  blog posts. While in the eBook, just click on the blogger’s name to see a list of all of their posts. It’s been a great year, and I’ve enjoyed sharing the resources that I have found with you. I hope they have helped your students stay engaged and excited about learning. Keep checking the blog for more great tools, updates from the Summer Institute, great tech tools for you use with summer program students, and to start the 2012-2013 school year with a bang.

Download the eBook: Georgia DEN Blog eBook

*Zinepal is an Internet application that you may want to use with your students to organize classroom blog posts. It is free with branding, $5.00 per book, and there are subscription programs available. You may also want to try  Blurb.com to have your students create hard copy books of their blogs. These would make great classroom resources, student portfolio items, and keepsakes.

Here are a few of my all-time  favorite tech tools that I have highlighted in the blog over the past couple of years:

Classtools.net: This is one of my all-time favorite sites. There are multiple tools that I use with my students to promote the creation of classroom artifacts that promote higher order thinking skills. My favorites are the QR code generator,  Fakebook (faux Facebook template), Twister (faux Twitter template), and the Post-Its. There are many more to choose from. There is also a subscription plan that is very affordable, and allows teachers to create student accounts and keep student work handy and organized.

Qwiki and Qwiki Creator: Qwiki makes content interactive and has built in features such as video and read-aloud audio, that makes this application a great Universal Design for Learning (UDL) tool.

Issu: Easily teach your students to create stunning eBooks and digital publications that can be downloaded

GlogsterEDU: Allow your students to create interactive digital posters to show off their knowledge.

ePals:  Join the free global community and enable your students to connect with students around the world. Work on collaborative projects with students in other countries, and learn about global citizenship. ePals also offers safe student email and collaboration tools for schools and districts.

Immersive Learning and Virtual Worlds

Quest Atlantis: This is the best immersive learning environment that I have seen to date! It is a FREE safe environment for students behind a wall of protective technology that is monitored by QA staff and teachers 24 hours per day. The only people allowed in world are certified teachers and their students. This site is engaging and there are quests and wolds for all content areas. Students are taught citizenship principles that apply to both the real and virtual words. Students are also allowed to take on leadership roles in a student council, as well as build objects in the virtual worlds. This is an international platform with students and teachers populated by people from around the globe. Visit the QA website and sign up for a free teacher account and training today so you can get started with using this great resource next school year.

Science Simulations and Games

Discovery Education Science and Science Techbook: Your textbook is now interactive! DE Science and DE Techbook have tools like interactive glossaries with video and simulations to aid in explaining concepts.

Gizmos: This site is full of great virtual labs and promotes writing and higher order conceptual thinking about science concepts. 30 day free trial offer for teachers.

Phet: This is a free site that is full of great virtual labs and promotes writing and higher order conceptual thinking about science concepts.

Biologica: This is a site that offers free science simulations available for download. There are comprehensive and interactive units that students love because they are fun and make complex concepts like meiosis, and the relationship between phenotype and genotype easy for students to understand. This website is maintained by Concord.org, an organization that creates educational technology applications.

Cell Craft: This is a fun and free game that allows students to explore life from the perspective of a cell, bringing the role and purpose of various organelles into focus and context.

Chem Game Tutor:  Throw away the boring chemistry worksheets! This is a great game to practice math calculations and stoichiometry concepts. Teachers can apply for a free account and set-up student accounts. Knowledge can be assessed by using high game scores.

Share your all-time favorite apps with us! We look forward to reading your review.

It’s that time again! Dust off your walking shoes, strap on your pedometer, and start walking! This year the Discovery Education support team (or The Stream Team) is again participating in the Global Corporate Challenge. Over the next couple of months we will be walking and racking up those steps. Once we input our daily steps into the GCC website we can track how far around the world we can go. Let’s see where our steps take us!! Wish us Luck!

I clicked on Steve’s link and saw a very cool use for Pinterest related to the DEN Trading Cards that STAR Discovery Educators have been receiving for Teacher Appreciation Week or as part of their New STAR Welcome Kit.  As the Director of Social Media and Online Community for Discovery Education, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Steve came up with a great use for this social media tool.  I liked the idea so much I copied it and put together my own page of the DEN Trading Cards I’ve collected.

If you’ve received DEN Trading Cards and want to start building your own Pinterest page sharing your collection, here’s how to do it.

1.  Go to the URL on the bottom of the trading card, below the QR Code.

2.  Going to that URL will take you to the person’s main Meet Meme page.  When you get to that page, find the “Pin It” button below the picture of the card.  Click on it to add this to a Board you’ve already created on Pinterest.  In my case, my Board is called “DEN Trading Cards”

3.  Repeat steps 1 & 2 for the rest of your cards.  When you’re done, you’ll have a cool Pinterest Board displaying your DEN Trading Card collection.  Don’t forget to share your DEN Trading Cards Pinterest Board with others – in fact, share the link to your Board in the comment sections of this post!

Use this link to report your events.

If you don’t report your events in the next month or so, you could risk losing your STAR status.  You might be wondering whether or not you’ve reported two events, well, unfortunately, there’s currently not a way for you to check yourself.  However, over the next few weeks, we’ll be sending out an email to those of you who haven’t reported at least two events.  If you don’t get an email from us, you’re fine.  You’re an important part of the DEN and we want all of our STARs to keep their status.