Yes Tech!

I was fortunate to be able to go to the Discovery Educator Network National Institute last week.  It was fantastic to be able to network and learn with like-minded technology enthusiasts!  Highlights of the week included:

• Meeting new people and forming friendships that can be maintained on-line with social networking tools.
• Going to the Discovery Studio to be videotaped in front of the green screen used by Discovery Channel stars.  We made a video to help teachers understand what the DEN is all about and to learn about the benefits of becoming a DEN STAR educator.
• Learning how easy it is to use Adobe Premier’s chromakey feature.
• Creating my own Mobulus Station that I can use to live broadcast professional developement when needed. 
• Learning about the benefits of cell phone technology for the classroom from Hall Davidson.
• Discovering the benefits of geocaching.  Now I want a hand-held GPS to try it myself!
• Becoming aware of many cool web-based tools such as Poll Everywhere, Jott, and Riffly.
• Signing up for a Plurk account, a Twitter-like social networking tool.  I lOVE IT! 
• Creating a video modeled after the Boom-de-Ya-Da commercial.  This was the opening activity.  I worked with teachers from Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Texas.  So fun!
• Spending time in a “green building.”  Water is saved by moving the toilet handle up for liquid waste, and down for solid waste.  Maybe Discovery can be highlighted during Earthcast 09! 
• Strolling the National Mall with friends before catching our flight home.
• Creating/sharing lessons & projects that use DiscoveryStreaming. 

My advice is to become a DEN STAR and apply to attend next year! 

I was just browsing the Discovery Educator Network’s ”Streaming A to Z” blog, and found an entry about how to do the “green screen”  effect in Windows MovieMaker, something I’ve been wanting to try.  As you will see by reading the post, it is actually a BLUE screen/chromakey feature.  Links to step-by-step directions with screen shots are available, shared by Jen Dorman.

Why would you want to do this?  How cool would it be to be able to add yourself or your students to  an existing DiscoveryStreaming Video?  You can swim with sharks, interact with past Presidents, and explore the rain forest!