Susan Gauthier, a librarian at Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School, along with more than 100 educators from across the country, recently spent six days at University of San Diego participating in an exclusive professional development event for Discovery Educator Network (DEN) members July 9-14. The DEN Summer Institute is hosted by Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, whose networks include Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.

The DEN is a global learning community of more than 150,000 active educators who are passionate about using educational technology and digital media in the classroom to engage students in learning. Launched by Discovery Education in 2005, it fosters collaboration and helps educators share resources, ideas and classroom-tested strategies for engaging students in learning and ultimately improving academic achievement.

“As a STAR Discovery Educator, Susan has committed herself to engaging students through the use of digital media and technology,” said Discovery Educator Network Director Lance Rougeux. “Now, through her participation in the recent DEN Summer Institute, Susan has gained new skills to apply and share with East Baton Rouge Parish School System peers to improve student achievement.”

The DEN Summer Institute is an opportunity exclusive to STAR Discovery Educators – DEN members recognized for their efforts to share insight and expertise with peers through activities like trainings, workshops or presentations on integrating digital media and the latest educational technologies into instruction.  Gauthier is one of only 4,500 STAR Discovery Educators nationwide.

By the end of the event, participants had created numerous classroom-ready multimedia projects and learned a variety of new strategies and techniques for integrating digital content and educational technologies into classroom activities.  For more information, visit www.discoveryeducation.com.