AUBURN — Carol Miller, a K-six district technology integrator for the Auburn School Department, along with 75 other educators from across the country, recently spent five days at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., participating in the Discovery Educator Network Leadership Council Symposium. The event was hosted by Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, whose networks include Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.

Miller is a member of the Maine Discovery Educator Network (DEN) Leadership Council. As one of more than 20 state councils nationwide, the Maine DEN Leadership Council supports educators’ efforts to integrate educational technology and digital content into curriculum through a variety of activities, including professional development workshops, networking events and regular communications on emerging technology and best practices.

In addition, the Maine DEN Leadership Council authors a blog that serves as an information clearinghouse on state-specific education issues. Together, these activities assist teachers across Maine, regardless of their familiarity with technology, as they implement the new high-tech tools available to improve student achievement.

During the symposium, participants heard from speakers such as Peter Reynolds, founder of FableVision — an educational resource company dedicated to helping all learners discover their true potential — and Chris Dede, a professor of learning technologies at Harvard University.

Educators learned new leadership strategies and presentation methods to encourage and support their peers as they work to integrate the latest educational technologies into classroom activities. In addition, Miller had an opportunity to network with the members of other leadership councils from across the nation.

For more information about the Maine DEN Leadership Council, visit http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/maine/. For more information about the DEN, visit http://community.discoveryeducation.com and for more information about Discovery Education, visit http://www.discoveryeducation.com.