Silver Spring, Md. (Sept. 8, 2009) – This fall, Discovery Education is hosting two free, virtual professional development opportunities for educators and administrators – the Fourth Annual streamathon and the Fall 2009 Virtual Conference. Focusing on how to incorporate digital content and the latest educational technologies into classroom instruction, both events showcase best practices and highlight new techniques attendees can apply to their classroom lessons to improve student achievement.

The Fourth Annual streamathon has been scheduled for Sept. 23, 2009, from 9 a.m. EST to 9 p.m. EST. During the 12-hour streamathon, Discovery Education experts will present a series of information-packed sessions specifically designed to help educators learn how to integrate Discovery Education digital resources into classroom instruction. Among the topics slated for presentation are an introduction to Discovery Education services, tips and tricks for integrating Discovery Education streaming content into science, social studies, language arts, and math curriculum, and strategies for increasing student engagement through the integration of Discovery Education’s high quality digital media into classroom activities.

In addition to becoming an annual destination for classroom teachers, the streamathon provides school administrators, instructional technology specialists and professional development personnel new information about Discovery Education services they can incorporate into their own seminars, trainings and workshops.

In addition, educators worldwide are invited to join online and in-person on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, for the Fall 2009 Virtual Conference. This October’s virtual conference theme is Tech or Treat. The high-quality, professional development seminars scheduled for this event will focus on providing attendees an overview of how Discovery Education content can be used in conjunction with the latest educational technologies including Audacity, Glogster, Google Earth, and other Web 2.0 applications.

The Fall 2009 Virtual Conference is scheduled to feature presentations from Discovery Education’s Online Community Manager, Steve Dembo, and Discovery Educator Network Manager, Justin Karkow. Both speakers will offer unique perspectives on how teachers can leverage the latest innovations in educational technology to heighten student participation in classroom lessons.

Both professional development opportunities are presented by the Discovery Educator Network (DEN), a community of more than 100,000 active educators supported by Discovery Education. Through the DEN, members have access to a wide range of technology training, as well as a resource library of teacher-generated projects and tools.

The streamathon and the Fall 2009 Virtual Conference will be delivered via the Internet to attendees worldwide. Those attending in-person gatherings of the Fall 2009 Virtual Conference will participate in both online presentations, as well as breakout sessions presented by local STAR Discovery Educators. STAR Discovery Educators are DEN members recognized for their efforts to share their insight and expertise with peers through activities such as trainings, workshops or presentations on how to integrate digital media and the latest educational technologies into classroom instruction.

More Information

Educators and administrators interested in joining any portion of the Fourth Annual streamathon should register at links.discoveryeducation.com/streamathon09. To register for the Fall 2009 Virtual Conference, interested attendees should visit links.discoveryeducation.com/virtualcon.

For more information about Discovery Education and the Discovery Educator Network, visit Discovery Education, or call 800-323-9084.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISAD, DISBD, DISCK) revolutionized television with the Discovery Channel and is now transforming classrooms through Discovery Education. Powered by the number one non-fiction media company in the world, Discovery Education combines scientifically proven, standards-based digital media and a dynamic user community in order to empower teachers to improve student achievement. Already, more than half of U.S. schools access Discovery Education digital services. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contacts

Discovery Communications
Stephen Wakefield
240-662-2893
stephen_wakefield at discovery dot com
www.discoverycommunications.com

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Sandy Fash
608-839-9800
sandy at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com

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