ResourcesAPS Educators Attend Professional Development Event at Headquarters of Discovery Communications
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Educators Barb Wagers (left) and Randy Wood of Aurora Public Schools School District each pose with Scott Kinney, Vice President of Outreach and Professional Development, at the Discovery Education National Training Academy (photo by David S. Holloway/Reportage by Getty Images).
Barb Wagers and Randy Wood of Aurora Public Schools participated in a National Training Academy hosted by Discovery Education, and held June 1-3 at the Discovery Communications headquarters. Discovery Education is a division of Discovery Communications, whose networks include Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and the Science Channel.
The three-day Academy taught 30 educators how to improve student achievement through the implementation of Discovery Education streaming, the only digital media-on-demand service scientifically proven to improve student performance. With more than 4,000 videos and 40,000 video clips from Discovery Communications networks and leading educational publishers, Discovery Education streaming helps educators in Aurora Public Schools engage technology-savvy students in learning.
During the Academy, Discovery Education experts taught participants how to integrate Discovery Education streaming with several tools, including PowerPoint, video-editing programs, iPods, and Google Earth. In addition, educators learned how to use digital resources as a way to differentiate instruction and prepare students for mandated standardized tests.
Wagers and Wood participated in a number of hands-on projects to practice the skills they will share with peers at Aurora Public Schools. By the end of the Academy, Wagers and Wood learned how to employ an array of multimedia resources to enhance their lessons, and took away strategies to provide ongoing training as a way to support their colleagues.
“Discovery Education is pleased to have hosted this National Training Academy. What veteran educators have long suspected is now validated by research from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Nielsen Media Research: 21st century students are different. Today’s students spend more time consuming information through media then ever before. They interact with their world differently, employ new ways of communicating, and are comfortable engaging in a global community. For this group, digital media is an extremely effective teaching tool. Through their participation in the National Training Academy, Barb and Randy, along with the administrators of Aurora Public Schools, are empowering educators with the skills they need to engage students and improve academic achievement.”
- Scott Kinney
Discovery Education Vice President of Outreach and Professional Development
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