Learning Resources announces the sponsorship of a teacher grant hosted by WeAreTeachers

  

Learning Resources announces the sponsorship of a teacher grant hosted by WeAreTeachers. To apply, teachers must answer this question: “How would you use portable interactive technology to create collaborative lessons?” After the application process concludes, educators can invite colleagues to vote for their favorite lesson ideas. Each of the three top vote getters will win a set of three now!Boards and three GeoSafari Tuff Cams, a prize package valued at $2,000. Additionally, two merit-based winners selected by a panel of teachers will each win one now!Board and one GeoSafari Tuff Cam, a total value of $700. Teachers can apply for the grant online through May 22, 2012.

Why limit your classroom to one room and one teacher? Instead, with the advent of new portable interactive technology like the now!Board™, teachers can more easily see the world as their classroom. We want you to start imagining the educational possibilities that come with having access to a portable interactive device that enables you to turn any flat surface into an interactive whiteboard. Imagine how you could step outside traditional lesson boundaries to explore new methods to create a flexible, collaborative and creative learning environment for your students. 

What are your ideas for:

• Collaborating with other teachers — both inside and outside of your school — to teach interactive lessons?
• Moving your students and your technology outside the four walls of your classroom for new and innovative learning opportunities?
• Dreaming up new instructional methods that are only possible with the use of mobile interactive technology.

For more information and to apply for the grant, visit http://www.weareteachers.com/teaching-ideas/grant?grantId=102.

Related:

We Are Teachers - great resource for educators

now!Board - portable interactive whiteboard technology

Winners announced in "Who is Best Teacher in America" Contest

Worth Ave. Group is a company that provides affordable insurance to help individuals, students and schools protect their portable electronics.They hosted a contest for teachers to win money and prizes and the winners have been announced. Check below to see who won.

Related:

Technology in Education Grant Giveaway - win some great tech and money

Adobe Hosting an Online Scavenger Hunt with some great prizes Mon April 23rd

Adobe is hosting an online scavenger hunt this coming Monday, April 23rd. Prizes include a lifetime Creative Cloud membership (new product coming - more information to follow).

They are hosting an in-person scavenger hunt in San Francisco: http://createnowquest.eventbrite.com/ It starts are noon Pacific and ends at 6pm Pacific Time.

The online scavenger hunt is from noon to 3pm Pacific Time on Monday (tomorrow). http://createnowquest.eventbrite.com/ Make sure you register first.  For more details read Adobe’s Creative Layer Blog Post.

This is a fun way to use your brain and possibly win some prizes.

Stay tuned for an announcement from Adobe on Monday on some new products too.



Related:

Adobe Digital School Collection - supporting creativity and digital literacy

win a FREE copy of Adobe’s Digital School Collection

The Adobe Digital School Collection (ADSC) is a bundle of software for K-12 students and educators and is available for Windows and Mac OS.

Included in the bundle is Adobe Photoshop Elements 10, Adobe Premiere Elements 10 and Adobe Acrobat X Pro. The “Elements” versions of the software are easier to use than the “Pro” versions. They have less features than the Pro versions but most of the missing features are very advanced and rarely used in the K-12 arena. The new version of Acrobat can include audio and video in a PDF file making PDF Porftolios easy to create. It can also be used to create web sites.

With this software, students can create projects and presentations that combine photos, movies with effects, and multi-media documents. They can also use the ADSC for media rich ePortfolios.

Adobe is also providing resources for educators to help them use the ADSC in their classrooms. The Adobe Education Exchange is a great resource for educators and has curriculum and lesson plans for using the ADSC in class along with teacher resources and a community of users. There are 23 lesson plans, tech guides, user guides, teacher guides, and completed examples to view. There are over 36,000 members in the community and that number continues to grow.

Now, you can enter to win a FREE copy of Adobe’s Digital School Collection in the @AdobeEdu, #ADSC Tweetaway!


Adobe’s Digital School Collection is a key mechanism for augmenting classroom instruction while helping students learn lifelong communication skills for the digital age. Be sure to pay attention to the @AdobeEdu twitter account for your chance to Retweet & win!

Just jump on your Twitter account between Tuesday, April 9th and Thursday, April 19th and tune in for a series of helpful tips & ADSC facts – all you have to do is Retweet posts with the #ADSC hashtag to enter! The winner will be randomly drawn and announced on April 20th.

Learn more about the latest new features such as new photo & video editing tools and easier ways to find objects & share content with others: http://adobe.ly/adSC3 

The contest opens 9 a.m. PT, Tuesday, April 10, 2012, and closes 2 p.m. PT, Thursday, April 19, 2012. The prize drawing will occur on or before 5 p.m., April 20, 2012, with the winner announcement occurring that day as well. The drawings are open to residents in North America only.

Glogster Earth Day Contest - great education project with prizes

Glogster Edu and the Go Green Initiative are hosting an Earth Day Contest. The challenge is to investigate the water, energy and food systems in your community and come up with ideas to make those systems greener or more sustainable and create a Glog with text, images, audio and video.

The contest includes $2500 in cash prizes for students and $7000 in prizes for classrooms and schools. Prizes include a FlipCam, organic garden, full-service BBQ, stagecoach ride and more.

Entries must be submitted by Earth Day, April 22, 2012. Entry is free and open to all K-12 students.
Contest page: http://edu.glogster.com/contest/Go-Green-Initiative-Earth-Day-Contest/

Related:

Glogster - multimedia tool that's great for educators and students

Great Earth Day Resources for Educators

Edudemic - contest to design their Facebook Timeline cover

Edudemic, an online community with education and technology news, articles, resources and more, is having a contest to design their Facebook Timeline cover.

They are encouraging readers to be creative in their submissions. The winner will win a new Apple TV.

Entering is easy. Just email edudemic[at]gmail.com with a blurb about yourself and the JPG or PNG image attached. The deadline to submit your work is Saturday, March 31, 2012. The image must be 850px wide by 315px high. About the blurb: tell us who you are. Are you a teacher, student, fan, or my mother? You’ll be featured in a post so be sure to share a bit about yourself.

Have some fun and enter!

Wouldn't It Be Cool If...Great invention contest for 10-15 year olds

Wouldn't It Be Cool If... is a contest for kids, ages 10-15, sponsored by Time Warner Cable's Connect a Million Minds, and i.am FIRST. There are two age categories, 10-12 and 13-15. The challenge is to dream up the "coolest invention idea to make their lives, communities, and even the world more AWESOME."

Students can enter the contest now through March 28th as an individual or teams of 2 or 3 people. The submission is the invention idea and how math and science can make it real.

Winners will be selected by an expert panel of judges and then finalists in each age group will be invited to pitch their ideas, live, to will.i.am, Dean Kamen (master inventor) and other judges at the FIRST Robotics Championship in St. Louis, MO. One grand prize winner may even have their idea developed by innovation firm Fahrenheit 212.

This is a great way to have students apply math and science concepts, creativity, and innovation in a project.

Details on how to enter and official rules are available at the site: http://www.wouldntitbecoolif.com/



Related:

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Resources for Educators

Project Based Learning Resources for Educators

WPI Plan - a great educational model for all schools

10 Important Skills Students need for the Future

Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge - great STEM opportunity

Earlier this month, I wrote "The 16 Best Science Visualizations of 2011 - Use to engage students in Science" which was about the top science visualizations from the Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge for 2011. It's a great collection of images that can be used in science education.

The 2012 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge has been announced. The contest is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science to showcase science and engineering images. The old phrase "a picture is worth a thousands words" is very relevant to science, where many concepts are extremely hard to understand without images.

Categories include: Photography, Illustrations, Informational Posters and Graphics, Interactive Games and Videos. Winners are showcased in the journal Science, Science Online, and on the NSF Website.

While most of the entries are from scientists, engineers, and colleges, students of any age could enter and compete. This is a great project for students that incorporates science, photography, and computers. Even if students don't enter this contest, this is a great project. Students could be assigned to take photos, or create informational posters or games on a science topic. I'm planning on using this with my classes as a project this Spring and I'm going to contact the photography and digital arts teachers for assistance and collaboration on the project.


The competitions opens May 31, 2012 and the deadline is September 28, 2012. Questions can be directed to  scivis@nsf.gov.



Related:

The 16 Best Science Visualizations of 2011 - Use to engage students in Science

STEM Resources for Educators 

Adobe Digital Schools Collection - digital creation, editing and publishing resources

Doodle 4 Google contest for K12 US Students - win a scholarship

Google is once again hosting a Doodle 4 Google contest for K-12 students in the US. Students create a doodle of the Google logo based on this years topic "If I could travel in time, I'd visit...". The winner gets their design on the Google homepage and gets a $30,000 college scholarship along with a $50,000 technology grant for their school.

The theme, "If I could travel in time, I'd visit..." could mean visiting past, present, or future setting. Last year's contest had over 100,000 entries, so competition is fierce. There will be one winner per state and then from those 50 State winners, the 5 National Finalists and the National winner will be chosen.

This year the winning Doodle will also appear on a special edition Crayola 64 crayon box!!

To enter, you just need to submit your child's or student's artwork by March 20th with a signed and completed entry form. 

There will be some celebrity judges along with the Google employee judges. They will determine the State finalists. On May 2nd, the State finalists will be up for public vote.

Being a finalist is pretty cool and all 50 state finalists will get flown to New York city for the national awards ceremony on May 17th. The winning Doodle will appear on May 18th and all of the 50 state winning doodles will be displayed at the New York Public Library.

Complete rules, prizes, and registration information is available at the Doodle 4 Google site.

This is a great way to get students thinking creatively and coming up with some great ideas, as well as having a chance to win a scholarship.

Technology in Education Grant Giveaway - win some great tech and money

Technology is becoming more and more important in schools and the technology is more and more portable. This means that the technology can break, get damaged, stolen or lost. Many schools rely on their own district or city/town insurance to deal with issues with their technology, but these are not always the best ways.

Worth Ave. Group is a company that provides affordable insurance to help individuals, students and schools protect their portable electronics. With the rising number of tablets, e-readers, and laptops in schools, protecting your investment is very important. They work with schools already, including many that have one-to-one laptop programs, to protect these devices and have over 40 years of experience.

Worth Ave. Group knows that technology plays a vital role in preparing students for the future. In an effort to give back to education, Worth Ave. Group has a Technology in Education Grant Giveaway for educators. Educators simply enter and get votes to win. Prizes include: Grand Prize - 16GB iPad 2 for the teacher and 20 iPod Touch 8GB units for use in their classroom. The school will also be given $25,000 to be used for technology in the school. Five second prize teachers will win a 16GB iPad 2 and $1000 for technology in the school. The voter prize is 5 random votes will win a 16GB iPad 2 and so will the persons who referred each one. Up to 5,000 people will win a 1 year subscription to Worth Ave. Group’s laptop tracking software, Worth Track.

These are some very nice prizes and a nice way to recognize a teacher.

Disclaimer: The Worth Ave. group is a paying advertiser on Educational Technology Guy. See their ad for the contest on the right side of this blog. They did not pay for this article though.

The DuPont Challenge Science Essay Contest for students

The DuPont Challenge Science Essay Contest is a contest for students that challenges them to write a 700 to 1,000 word essay discussing a scientific discovery, theory, event or technological application that they are interested in. The purpose is to help increase science literacy among students.

There are resources, tips, and help for students and teachers and the prices are very cool. Winners receive savings bonds, prizes, and a trip to Orlando, FL, with a parent and the sponsoring teacher, to go to Disney and the Kennedy Space Center. The sponsoring teachers also receive a classroom grant.

This is a great way for students to work on their science literacy skills and possible win some money for college, along with a very cool trip.

Even if they don't win, students gain literacy. The resources on the site are also great for teachers to use with their classes even if they don't enter the contest.

The contest is open to grades 7-12. Entries must be received by January 31, 2012 using the electronic submission form. Check the site for full rules and requirements.

Win a MimioView Document Camera by sharing lesson resources

Dymo Mimio has a contest for you. You can win a MimioView Document Camera (I used them and they are very nice) just by sharing your lesson resources.

To enter the contest, just post a winter-inspired lesson on MimioConnect and you'll be entered for a chance to win a MimioView Document Camera. MimioConnect is a community of educators who use Mimio technology and share lessons, resources, and ideas. 

The winning lessons will be selected by the MimioConnect community and Mimio and you can vote too. There will be 3 grand prize winners, one for grades K-5, one for 6-9 and one for 10-12. 

Just upload your winter-themed lesson to MimioConnect and add the tag word "winter2011". 

Lessons will be evaluated on:

• lesson objectives are student-focused, observable, and measurable
• lesson is sequenced from few to many and easy to difficult.
• lesson has multiple opportunities for students to practice skills
• lesson page is uncluttered and relevant to activity 

Deadline for entries is Midnight EST December 23rd, 2011. 

Round 1 finalists selected by Mimio 12/24 - 1/16 2012.

Round 2 winners voted on my MimioConnect members 1/16 - 1/30 2012. 

Share your lessons and get a chance to win a document camera. Not bad. 

Related:

MimioTeach system - great tools for teachers - IWB, CRS, Doc Camera, and more

Adobe Education Exchange contest - Share your teaching ideas and win some great prizes

Adobe Education Exchange is a great resource for educators, with resources, lesson ideas, lesson plans, and a place to collaborate with other educators.


They are sponsoring a contest for educators - The 2011 Educator's Choice Awards. Any educator can enter. You submit your innovative teaching and learning materials and you could win some really nice prizes. Submit  your projects, lesson plans, curricula, tutorials, and more. Educators will rate the work submitted. There are four categories: Primary/Secondary Cross-Curricular, Primary/Secondary Digital Arts and Media, Higher Education Cross-Curricular, Higher Education Digital Arts and Media.

Prizes include laptop (Macbook Pro) and tablet computers, digital cameras, and Adobe software with prizes in each category.

The contest begins August 1, 2011 and ends on October 31, 2011. All entries must be received by Adobe no later than 11:59pm Pacific time on October 14. 2011. Complete rules are available on the contest site.

You can even go to the site and check out other lessons for ideas for your submission, or just get ideas to use in your classroom. Check it out. You will share your great idea with other educators and have a chance to win a great prize.

You can also follow information about the contest using this hashtag on Twitter: #AdobeEduAwards 

Space Out Sports competition from NASA

“Spaced Out Sports” is a national student design challenge geared toward grades 5-8.  The purpose is for students to apply Newton’s Laws of Motion by designing or redesigning a game for International Space Station (ISS) astronauts to play in space.  As students design a new sport, they will learn about Newton’s Laws of Motion and the effect of gravity on an object.   They will learn to predict the difference between a game or activity played on Earth and in the microgravity environment of the ISS.  


These kinds of contests are great for students. They learn and apply new things while having fun and have the chance to win some prizes. 


NASA is a great resource for all educators, no matter what subject they teach. 

DNA Contest for Students

The American Society of Human Genetics is sponsoring a contest for students with some pretty cool prizes. From their website:

The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) invites you to participate in the 5th Annual DNA Day Essay Contest! It is only open to 9th – 12th grade students this year.

Submission Deadline: March 15, 2010 at 5:00 PM EST

The contest aims to challenge students to examine, question, and reflect on the important concepts of genetics. Essays are expected to contain substantive, well-reasoned arguments indicative of a depth of understanding of the concepts related to the essay questions.

Essays are read and scored by at least two independent judges. A 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner are chosen for each question.

1st Place Winner:	$400 + teacher receives a $2,000 grant for laboratory genetics equipment.
2nd Place Winner:	$250
3rd Place Winner:	$150

It looks like a pretty cool contest with some great prizes.

They have other education resources available also. Check them out HERE.