Day 1 - DEN Pre-ISTE 2011 Conference

I hope you are enjoying your summer break and getting recharged (you all need and deserve it). I'm going to prolong my fun a little longer with a major conference.

Today started one of the biggest 4-day ed-tech conferences in the world--ISTE, the International Society for Technology Education, all hosted in my hometown-Philadelphia. And the city is electric with all the energy that the educators and presenters are bringing!

DEN, the Discovery Education Network, hosted its 6th birthday bash as a pre-conference event at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia this Saturday. The network of educators started 6 years ago right there in Philadelphia and has grown exponentially over the years.  Wow - what a packed day of resources, learning, sharing, new friends, (and cupcakes). 

I spent Saturday with the leaders from Discovery Education and fellow teachers (from all over the country)--it was fantastic !  DE will be kicking off a brand new look and feel to its website and features for Teachers and Students this fall. You can see the preview by clicking on the bar at the top of the screen at DiscoveryEducation.com.

The adventure of learning included iPad magic, Teaching STEM, Teaching with Mobile phones, Lit trips with Google and Animoto, Digital Storytelling using green screens with videos -- all of which was great fun! We were even treated to cupcakes from Discovery's new TV show, DC Cupcakes-delicious!

While I was at the Discovery event, TEDx Talks EducationPA was also going on -- I will post the video archive from the live event.

Today, was the kickoff of the conference at the Philly Convention Center... here is a link to the opening video (very cool & done in Philly): ISTE2011Kick Off video.

Marcie and I will be attending the rest of the week together -- it is my intention to summarize the day with a daily diary with the hope of sharing the enthusiasm, new ideas, and a spark to light a fire for the upcoming school year.
And a  special shout out to my new besties, Kerin, Rick, and Elizabeth!