Elaine Plybon

Elaine Plybon is the Science Instructional Specialist at The Academy of Irving ISD in Irving, Texas, and has taught GMO (Geology, Meteorology, Oceanography), Biology, Chemistry, and Science TAKS Bridge. Elaine was introduced to the Discovery Educator Network as a beginning teacher, and believes it has been the most relevant and beneficial experience of her career. Elaine attended the DEN Regional Institute last summer in Allen, Texas, and became a STAR Discovery Educator. She jumps at every opportunity to participate in the DEN, including attending the recent AFI Film Institute in Dallas and numerous webinars. She looks forward to attending a National Institute this summer. Her enthusiasm for the DEN prompted her to take on the role of Blog Coordinator for the DEN Texas Leadership Council.

Elaine thirsts for experiences with technology and has always found ways to include it in her lessons, even when she worked in a district that considered overhead transparencies to be an example of technology integration! Now that she is in a district where every high school student has a laptop, she has found that there are no limits to the possibilities technology can afford students AND teachers, when the resources are available. Elaine’s focus is on developing lesson plans that infuse a fresh approach to teach those students for whom more traditional teaching methods have not been effective. She feels that her association with the DEN has introduced her to many of those methods. In a recent post to her personal blog, Elaine listed the four things the DEN has come to represent to her: “1. Don't try to do it alone, you need to collaborate; 2. If you have an idea, try it, it might work!; 3. If you try it and it doesn't work, collaborate some more!; and lastly 4. There's ALWAYS more to learn!”