September 15, 2008
Timely reminders, fabulous freebies, best sites & more "worth the surf"
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In Partnership With:
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Pay
It Forward Mini-Grants are designed to fund service-oriented
projects identified by youth as activities they would like to perform
to benefit their school, neighborhood or greater community. To be
considered in the grant-making process, projects must contain a “pay
it forward” focus—that is, they must be based on the concept of
one person doing a favor for others, who in turn do favors for
others, with the results growing exponentially. Mini-Grants of up to
$500 are available for projects on a one-time-only basis. Because
funding is limited, requests for smaller amounts will be given
priority.
Deadline: Applications accepted starting September 15, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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What
kind of program could you build to change the lives of your
struggling students? If you had $20,000 in seed money for a new
initiative, plus $30,000 worth of AutoSkill research-based
software and professional development to support it,
how would you improve student performance in one of your schools?
Submit a description, in 500 words or less, on how you would
incorporate the use of Academy of READING® or Academy
of MATH® software from AutoSkill as a central component to
improve students’ performance, and you could win the second annual
District Administration X-Factor Student Achievement Grant.
Deadline: October 15, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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The
NEA Foundation’s Student Achievement Grants are
intended to improve the academic achievement of students in U.S.
public schools and public higher education institutions in any
subject area(s). The proposed work should engage students in critical
thinking and problem solving that deepen their knowledge
of standards-based subject matter. The work should also
improve students’ habits of inquiry, self-directed learning and
critical reflection. Proposals for work resulting in low-income and
minority student success with honors, advanced placement or other
challenging curricula are particularly encouraged. The grant amount
is $5,000.
Deadline: October 15, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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The
Troxell Communications Education Scholarship/Grant Rebate Program
makes funding available to any qualifying educational institution
that purchases products made eligible for rebate by participating
vendor partners. An administrator, assigned by the school or
district, must register on the Troxell Communications Web site prior
to the purchase of products. Troxell administers the program by
displaying an accounting of earned funds, in real time, on each
participating customer’s password-protected Web page. There is no
limit on the number of rebates an institution can receive. Find more
details, FAQs and enrollment information on the company’s Web site.
Deadline: Ongoing
Click Here for More Information
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EBOOK DESTINATION
NEW
Look! MORE Savings!
Join
the growing list of teachers enjoying the eBookDestination Rewards
Program. On the first day of each month, a digital coupon
(representing 5 percent of your total purchases in the previous
month) will be added to your shopping cart. You’ll then be notified
via email of the presence (and amount) of this coupon.
There’s
no application to complete, no points to collect, no cards to carry,
no codes to enter and (most important) no fees to pay. Quite simply,
you are repaid for your loyalty with a 5 percent credit toward future
purchases. It’s as easy as that!
Browse
the eBookstore now! You’ll receive an automatic discount
on thousands of ebook titles, many of which are bundled
with downloadable audio MP3 files, from major educational
publishers. Plus, there’s always a selection of the most popular
titles on sale!
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Sign
up at The Big Deal Book Web site for hELLo!,
a free monthly ELL e-newsletter that
includes information about new grants, upcoming contests, the latest
educational research and a wealth of information on interactive print
and online resources for students, teachers, librarians, principals
and others involved in the education of English language learners.
Click Here to Sign Up for Free Newsletter
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Sony
Creative Software’s Technology in Motion 2: Community of the
Future is a complete educational program designed for teachers to
use in multimedia courses as a structured curriculum to engage
students in grade 6–12 in the tools and techniques of professional
video and audio production. Schools that enter the “Technology
in Motion 2” Student Film Contest can qualify for free
software and multimedia curriculum tools. Under the Community of the
Future theme, students can share their vision of how technology will
shape their neighborhoods in the years to come and are encouraged to
interact with their local city council, mayor, city employees,
community centers or other groups to create their film. Contestants
are required to use the provided Vegas Pro 8 software to produce
their videos, but all other creative details are up to the students’
own creativity. Prizes total $400,000 in video software and hardware.
Deadline: Submit Call for Entries form by October 15, 2008; upload completed film(s) between January 1, 2009 and April 1, 2009
Click Here for More Information
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Bob
Compton, executive producer of the documentary film Two Million
Minutes, has announced the Third World Challenge
powered by IndianMathOnline. The challenge is available to all
who are interested, free of charge, and is based on the
national 10th-grade proficiency exams taken by students in India.
Referred to in India as the ICSE Standard X Exams, this assessment is
taken over several days, testing the students’ proficiency in seven
subjects. Four exams are compulsory: English literature and grammar;
Hindi or Sanskrit; a combined exam on world history, civics and
geography; and environmental education. Two exams out of nine
possible choices are in the areas of math, science (chemistry,
biology, physics), economics, computer science, agricultural science
and more. Most students aiming for top-tier colleges typically take
math and science. Finally, the student must select one exam of a
dozen subject exams ranging from computer applications to performing
arts to fashion design to yoga.
The Third World
Challenge is a shortened and greatly simplified version of the
multi-day proficiency test that every 10th grader in India must pass
to go on to the 11th grade. The Third World Challenge was made
entirely multiple choice so it is simpler to grade and is more
objective for Americans. Sanskrit and Hindi are also excluded from
the U.S. version.
Click
Here for More Information
Click Here to Access the Challenge
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A
student-generated video competition, Made in Washington,
will be formally announced on Constitution Day, September
17, 2008. The competition calls for students to connect learning
to current issues, think critically, discuss different perspectives
and engage in public speaking.
Deadline: Check Web site on September 17 for specific deadline date
Click Here for More Information
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On
September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitution was signed by 39 brave men
who changed the course of history. Now Constitution Day
(September 17) is a time to continue their legacy and develop
habits of citizenship in a new generation of Americans. The National
Constitution Center’s We the People Web site provides
resources to help you celebrate Constitution Day featuring more than
200 activities, lessons, books, DVDs and
more from over 30 different providers.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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Centuries
of Citizenship: A Constitutional Timeline is an online experience
highlighting some of the key dates and events that mark more than 200
years of our constitutional history. The timeline entries, taken as a
whole, tell the evolving story of the U.S. Constitution and the
continuing role that it plays in our lives. Visitors can browse
through a collection of stories and headlines—annotated
by images, audio and video clips and interactive
content—to explore some of the people, events and issues that
have shaped the Constitution and the history of our nation.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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On
the American Bar Association’s Web site, students can show
their support for the U.S. Constitution by adding their
signature to those of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and James
Madison.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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Constitutionfacts.com
is a national sponsor of the Second Annual GovDoc Kids Group
Constitution Day Poster Contest for students, an international
contest promoted exclusively through the Internet. The contest
invites K–12 entrants to celebrate Constitution Day by
designing a poster showing how they benefited from the freedoms
embodied in the U.S. Constitution. The first 100 entrants receive a
free pocket constitution book from constitutionfacts.com, with
the contest winner receiving additional prizes.
Deadline: Entries must be postmarked by October 1, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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ePals
provides collaborative tools, resources, best practices and
member-created projects encouraging authentic learning. In the
classroom or from home, you can guide your students’ learning with
a global, online perspective. The ePals site offers projects
and other instructional resources for your classroom arranged
by topic. You can also share your best projects and resources with
other educators.
Click Here to Access Free Resources
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The
National Football League and the National Dairy Council
(NDC) have partnered in a campaign encouraging students to eat well
and exercise. As part of the marketing deal, NFL players will visit
schools and tout exercise, while the NDC will give grants to
participating schools. The
groups will also create a “playbook” that outlines activity
ideas, such as flag football. This school year, the program
will be launched in about 50 schools in seven test markets. It will
expand to about 40,000 schools in the next few years.
Click
Here for More Information About the Campaign
Click Here for Nutrition Tips and Recipes
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NetSmartz®
Workshop, an Internet safety program of the National Center
for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC), has
launched a back-to-school campaign to raise awareness of the
importance of Internet and real-world safety. The new NetSmartz
campaign directs families and educators to the NetSmartz
Back-2-School Kit, a free resource designed to help
instill everyday safety values in children between the ages of 5 and
12. The content includes the high-definition animated videos
Way 2 Go!, Beat the Tricks!, and The Boy Who Loved
IM, which are each accompanied by resources for educators,
parents and guardians, including supplemental lesson plans,
the new NetSmartz Activity Book and Teachable
Recipes.
Click Here to Download Free Resources
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Plus:
The back-to-school campaign also promotes resources for youngsters,
by inviting them to join Club UYN, which aims to reach
children through online interactions with the animated NetSmartz
characters, Clicky, Nettie and Webster.
Click Here to Join the Club
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On
September 23, Discovery Education will be hosting the third
annual streamathon, a 12-hour professional development
opportunity for educators. Offered online at no charge,
sessions will discuss ways to integrate digital media into classroom
instruction. Among the topics slated for presentation are an
introduction to streaming media, tips and tricks for integrating
digital media with popular Web 2.0 Web sites and strategies for
incorporating free movie-making tools and multimedia PowerPoint
presentations into curricula.
Click Here to Register for Free Event
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This
fall, Vernier Software & Technology is offering free
hands-on workshops designed to help math and science educators
integrate data-collection technology into any science or math
curriculum with handheld devices. During each four-hour workshop,
Vernier trainers will provide hands-on experience using handheld
data-collection technology to enhance projects in chemistry, biology,
physics, math, middle school science, physical science and Earth
science. Attendees will learn how to use LabQuest, Vernier’s most
powerful, intuitive and mobile interface. The workshops will also
cover how teachers can collect data using computers, Texas
Instruments graphing calculators and Palm OSTM handhelds.
Visit the
Vernier site for dates and locations.
Click Here for More Information
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THE
BIG DEAL BOOK TECH CENTER
Interactive
Experiences for the 21st Century Classroom
Check
out the new look of The Big Deal Book
Web site. And be sure to explore the Tech Center,
which offers resources and activities for integrating technology into
your classroom. In the Tech Center is a feature that
changes mid-week, every week, appropriately called Web
Wednesday! Here you’ll find new interactive
experiences and resources that incorporate 21st century
themes and skills into the study of core subjects.
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Atomic Learning
has released a new version of the company’s latest product, Atomic
Training, an online training and publishing platform
that schools can use for managing and delivering training videos,
procedures and other essential information. One of the enhancements
in version 2.1 is the ability to integrate an entire Atomic Learning
series in just a few quick steps. Series-level integration allows
subscribers of both Atomic Learning’s Web-based software training
and Atomic Training to create a customized training environment
complete with video tutorials that fit the unique technology needs
and goals of your school. Beyond Atomic Learning integration and
assigned content, version 2.1 also features enhanced group management
and the ability to upload Shockwave Flash files.
Click Here to Sign Up for Online Demonstration
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Chat
the Planet provides a new vision of how television, the Internet
and a network of global partnerships can create not only compelling
television programming, but also a vibrant global community of youth
conversation and action. Each show connects two groups of
participants 15 to 25 years old, one in the United States and one
abroad, through ISDN lines and satellite technology. Chat the Planet
is a groundbreaking initiative bringing the world’s young people
into dialogue with one another in ways that build relationships,
break down prejudice and drive commitments to social change. Visit
the site to view short teasers of Chat the Planet programs. Then
browse the entire collection by subject or keyword.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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SID
THE SCIENCE KID is a new educational animated television
series using comedy to promote exploration, discovery and science
readiness among preschoolers. The 40 half-hour episodes, co-produced
by The Jim Henson Company and KCET/Los Angeles for PBS KIDS® ,
debuted on September 1, 2008. The series uses music and humor to
celebrate children’s natural curiosity about science in everyday
life. The energetic and inquisitive Sid starts each episode with a
new question (Why are my shoes shrinking? Why do bananas get mushy?)
and embarks on a fun-filled day of finding answers with the help of
family and friends. The SID THE SCIENCE KID Web site helps
caregivers to build a strong foundation for early science
exploration. The site models scientific inquiry in everyday settings:
a kitchen, classroom and playground. Complementary online and offline
activities motivate children to practice and internalize scientific
methodology: Observe! Compare! Contrast! Describe! The Web site is
updated each week to present online games, videos, and printable
activities tied to the week’s scientific concept.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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Many
people are talking about the Democratic and Republican national
convention speeches. The American Rhetoric Web site
provides a way to connect today’s enthusiasm to America’s
speeches of the past. The Web site hosts “The Top 100
Speeches,” which includes the most significant speeches in
American history as decided by leading scholars and compiled by two
prominent researchers in the field. Users can view speeches by rank
or decade, as well as by category, such as speeches by women.
A full-text transcript is available for each speech and
an MP3 audio file is available for most, providing a
fascinating multimedia experience. Which speech, do you think, is
ranked first in importance?
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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