SILVER SPRING, Md. — Three Santa Rosa County Schools educators — teacher Erin Cosky, digital learning specialist Shelley Mann and teacher Lauren Goodin — recently joined over 100 fellow educators from around the world for the 2016 DEN Summer Institute, a week-long professional development experience.
The Discovery Educator Network, or DEN, connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering networking, idea sharing and inspiration. The six-day professional learning experience was held July 17-22 at Loyola University in Chicago, Ill.
DENSI 2016 featured interactive seminars and hands-on workshops designed to support educators as they combine the latest technologies and digital content to create authentic digital learning environments that engage students and improve achievement.
In addition, DENSI provided an opportunity for participants to connect, collaborate and share resources, ideas and strategies for integrating the latest technologies and digital content into classroom instruction.
“We are very proud of the educators from our district selected to participate in DENSI 2016, and our community is inspired by their commitment to using the latest technologies and digital content to help all students reach their highest potential,” Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick said. “The students of Santa Rosa County Schools will benefit tremendously from the new approaches to using educational technologies Erin, Shelley and Lauren have taken away from this great professional learning opportunity.”
“Erin, Shelley and Lauren’s selection for DENSI demonstrates their outstanding leadership and commitment to using the latest technologies and innovative teaching strategies and techniques to improve student achievement,” said Lance Rougeux, vice president of learning communities and innovation for Discovery Education. “Their participation in DENSI 2016 will help increase student engagement across Santa Rosa County Schools, and support their district’s effort to prepare all learners with the critical skills they need to succeed beyond the classroom.”
In addition to hearing from education experts, the Santa Rosa County educators participated in a series of interactive workshops led by the Discovery Education professional development team and other DEN members about creating digital content and integrating mobile and web-based tools into instruction.
They also collaborated with fellow educators on a variety of educational technology projects, and shared ideas and best practices with their peers.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa County educators participate in tech-centered professional development event