Biography

As a former kindergarten teacher and school Director of Technology Steve Dembo is a pioneer in the field of educational social networking.  Currently serving as Discovery Education’s Director of Social Media Strategy and Online Community, Dembo was among the first educators to realize the power of blogging, podcasting, Twitter, and other Web 2.0 technologies in connecting educators and creating professional learning communities.  He has been instrumental in the explosive growth of the Discovery Educator Network and its online presence at http://community.discoveryeducation.com.

Steve Dembo is a course designer and adjunct professor for Wilkes Unversity where he serves as class instructor for the Internet Tools for Teaching course within the Instructional Media degree program.

In 2010, the National School Board Association named Dembo one of "Twenty to Watch," a list honoring individuals finding innovative ways to use technology to increase classroom learning. He was named one of the Top 100 EduBloggers by the Online Education Database in 2006. That same year, the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) website, which was created and is managed by Dembo, was honored with an Award of Excellence from Technology and Learning magazine.

Dembo’s continued excellence in developing the online presence of the Discovery Educator Network was honored again in 2007 with a Distinguished Achievement Award for Instructional Website from the Association of Educational Publishers, and again in 2008 with a BESSIE Award for Best Professional Development Website. In 2009 the Discovery Educator Network was the recipient of the inaugural Best in Tech award for Professional Development and Resource Solutions by Scholastic Administrator magazine.

In addition to demonstrating continued innovation in serving Discovery Education’s online community, Dembo continues to be a prolific web writer whose personal blog and companion podcast, Teach42, has served as inspiration for tens of thousands of educators around the world. In 2009 his blog was recognized as one of 20 Must-Read Education Technology blogs by ACE Online Schools and was nominated for Best Individual Blog and Best EdTechSupport Blog at the Edublog Awards. In addition, Dembo has been recognized as one of the top 50 educational bloggers by Social Media Explorer.

Steve Dembo is also a dynamic speaker on the capabilities of social networking, the power of educational technologies and Web 2.0 tools, and the ability of digital content to empower teachers to improve student achievement. He has delivered keynote and featured presentations at dozens of conferences including ISTE, TCEA, FETC, GaETC, METC, MACUL, CUE, ICE and Tech Forum. He has conducted hundreds of virtual presentations and regularly hosts the Discovery Educator Network's EdTechConnect and Discovery Connect monthly webinar series. Dembo also participated in the 2008 Nokia Open Labs as an expert on mobile phone integration in education.

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