I know I have had a number of posts regarding Discovery Education. What can I say, when something is that good, one must share and post about it! Today I was reminded why I am a DEN Star and why the Discovery Education Network is such a fantastic resource. I received a text from my wife (an English teacher in another district) asking if I would get into one of her documents with her. Thinking nothing of it, I logged into the document. She was in the middle of showing her freshman class how Google Docs works. We were having a little "Google Doc" conversation and all of a sudden something magical occurred. I am not sure how she did this (my wife is pretty brilliant) but suddenly the text that appeared caused quite a stir. It was the "Oh my I can't believe I am on the same document with a DEN/Tech hero of mine!". Steve Dembo, a DEN and Tech Guru was in this document showing how collaboration works from Chicago! I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a little in awe (how did my lovely wife get The (yes...THE) Steve Dembo into a simple demo doc with her students?). Well, all she had to do was tweet that she would like someone to help out and the DEN responded in minutes. How cool is that?
So all this rambling has a purpose (just hang in there!). The DEN...the example above is just one of the hundreds of examples of how other teachers and resources are available to DEN Stars. Discovery Education is so much more than just the streaming video and classroom resources. It is more than the fantastic Board Builder program and online lesson plans. It is People. Teachers. Tech knowledge. Help when needed. Real people who want to help others.
If you are not a DEN Star teacher, click the link below and get started. It is easy to do and you will never regret it. Who know, maybe Mr. Dembo will make a virtual appearance in your classroom!
