Support Hispanics in the Creative Arts
The National Hispanic Foundation / McNamara Family Foundation Creative Arts Project Grant is designed to provide financial resources to outstanding Latino/a undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in a creative arts–related field: media, film, performing arts, communications, writing. This grant is intended to assist students only in beginning and completing an art project. Students may potentially be eligible for grants up to $15,000.
Deadline: February 28, 2011
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Promote Understanding of Conservation Issues
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Nature of Learning Grant Program seeks to use National Wildlife Refuges as outdoor classrooms to promote greater understanding of local conservation issues and utilize field experiences and student-led stewardship projects to connect classroom lessons to real-world issues as well as build partnership among local schools, community groups, natural resource professionals and local businesses. The amount of the grant is $5,000.
Deadline: April 1, 2011
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Fuel Creative Potential
The National Igniting Creative Energy Challenge is an educational competition designed to encourage K–12 students to learn more about energy conservation and the environment. Students’ entries must reflect the theme “Igniting Creative Energy” and demonstrate an understanding of what an individual, family or group can do to make a difference in their homes or community. All student entries will be scored through the judging process, which will determine the national grand-prize winners. The highest-scoring student from each state will receive $1,000 for his or her school. Three students and one teacher will win a trip for two to Washington, D.C. Various local, state and national partners are providing extra awards and recognition above and beyond the national grand-prize trip.
Deadline: February 17, 2007
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Make Science Cool in School
Siemens invites K–6 teachers to enter the Ultimate Cool School Science Day Sweepstakes for a chance to win a Science Assembly for their school that not only is fun and interactive, but also underscores the importance of science literacy. Students in the winning school will participate in interactive demonstrations and conduct experiments with a leading science guru. Teachers will discover hands-on activities and stimulating resources to excite students in a special professional development workshop.
Deadline: February 24, 2011
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Get in the Mood for Math
An Internet-based applied math-modeling contest for high school juniors and seniors, Moody’s Mega Math Challenge offers a total of $100,000 in prize money toward the pursuit of higher education for winning teams. Along the way, it aims to excite students about mathematics, sharpen their skills in problem solving and math modeling, increase team spirit, hone writing and presenting abilities, and give winning students the opportunity to visit the Manhattan offices of a financial firm to present their findings to a panel of professional mathematicians. The challenge is open to high schools in the Eastern United States, from Maine through Florida. It is free to register and participate, and each high school may enter up to two teams of three to five students each. The topic is unknown to students until they log in and download the problem at 7:00 a.m. on their selected challenge day, either Saturday, March 5, or Sunday, March 6, 2011. They have until 9:00 p.m. that same night to research the problem, formulate, develop and test their model, and summarize their answer in the form of a solution paper, which is uploaded to the challenge Web site. The top six prize-winning teams are required to present their papers to a panel of PhD-level mathematicians at Moody’s Corporate headquarters in Manhattan at the final event in late April. Those teams receive awards ranging from $2,500 to $20,000, which are divided equally among team members and paid directly to the colleges or universities at which the students choose to enroll. Finalist and honorable-mention winners receive team prizes of $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. The challenge is funded by The Moody’s Foundation and organized by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).
Deadlines: February 25, 2011 to register; challenges must be completed on assigned date (March 5 or 6, 2011)
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Explore the World Through Science
The Pulse of the Planet: Kid’s Science Challenge is a chance for students to submit an idea, question or problem for a participating scientist to solve. For detailed information on the submission process, go to Submit Your Entry, where you will find the entry form and many hints on writing a winning entry. You will also find detailed information on each science topic: Magical Microbes, Super Stuff for Sports and Sensational Sounds. There are many cool prizes, such as top-notch science equipment and exciting trips. In addition, the winning student will have the opportunity to visit the scientist who participated in the winning entry.
Deadline: February 28, 2011
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Plus: Pulse of the Planet’s Educator Resources include lesson plans using Pulse of the Planet programs and sounds as a focus for learning activities on a variety of subjects. The lesson plans are aligned to national science education standards for K–12. All lesson plans, along with downloadable audio files, are free for educational use to registered teachers and parents.
Click Here to Access Free Resources

Apply Technology in Innovative Ways
The Sylvia Charp Award for District Innovation in Technology is presented annually by T.H.E. Journal and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) to recognize the best districtwide technology program in the United States. The winning entry is chosen on the basis of consistent district commitment to excellence and overall success of the program. The winning district will be honored at ISTE 2011 (formerly NECC), June 26–29, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and will receive $2,000 for travel and registration to attend the conference as well as be recognized in T.H.E. Journal and Learning and Leading with Technology.
Deadline: March 1, 2011
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Make a Pitch for Underserved Students
The Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) is a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1973 as a vehicle to perpetuate the memory of Jackie Robinson through the advancement of higher education among underserved populations. Uniquely, JRF provides generous four-year college scholarships in conjunction with a comprehensive set of skills and opportunities to disadvantaged students of color to ensure their success in college and to develop their leadership potential. JRF’s hands-on, four-year program includes peer and professional mentoring, internship placement, extensive leadership training, international travel and community service options, the conveyance of practical life skills and a myriad of networking opportunities.
Deadline: Application, official transcript, letter of recommendation and official SAT or ACT score report are due March 15, 2011
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Find Innovative Ways to Increase Your Green
HP and DoSomething.org have launched the second annual Green Your School challenge, which engages teens nationwide to find new and innovative ways to conserve energy and reduce waste in their schools. This year’s challenge, which launched on February 1, 2011, will run through April 1, 2011. The five schools that submit the most innovative plans, with the best use of technology, will win an HP Notebook.
Deadline: April 1, 2011
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Showcase Creative Science Projects
Google is partnering with groups, including National Geographic and Scientific American, to offer a worldwide online science competition. Students from all over the world, who are between the ages of 13 and 18, are eligible to enter the Google Science Fair and compete for prizes, including internships and scholarships. Projects will be judged according to the idea’s significance and the quality of the data, write-up and presentation. Students who make it to the finalist stage will be invited with a parent or guardian to a celebratory event at Google headquarters in California in July, where they will be able to showcase their project and meet some of the brightest minds in science today. The grand-prize winner will receive a $50,000 scholarship.
Deadline: Registration is open until April 4, 2011
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Win a 21st Century Classroom
CDW-G and Discovery Education have opened the ninth annual Win a Wireless Lab Sweepstakes, which will provide a $50,000 21st-century classroom to three grand-prize winners. Each classroom includes 20 notebook or tablet computers, an interactive whiteboard, student response devices, projector, document camera and more. Educators and school employees at public and private schools can enter once per day. From the entry page, participants can Tweet about the contest to earn an additional entry. New this year, the sweepstakes will capitalize on Twitter and Facebook to notify followers of special prizes awarded on select days throughout the contest period. To find out about these promotions, educators should follow @WinWirelessLab on Twitter and become a fan of Win a Wireless Lab on Facebook.
Deadline: May 2, 2011
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Grab Your Hat and Read with the Cat
March 2 is the birthday of Dr. Seuss, and this day marks the beginning of the National Education Association’s (NEA) Read Across America campaign. This annual event is the nation’s largest reading celebration, focusing attention on motivating children to read in addition to their mastering basic skills. Visit the site for activity ideas, a free, downloadable calendar and more.
Click Here to Access Free Resources

Plus: NEA and Youth Service America are offering $500 grants with $500 in books to youth-led service projects held from March 2, Read Across America Day, to Global Youth Service Days, April 15–17, 2011.
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Reduce Bullying, Build Friendships
From the nonprofit Committee for Children, the research-based STEPS TO RESPECT program teaches elementary students to recognize, refuse and report bullying, be assertive and build friendships. The program’s lessons can help students feel safe and supported by the adults around them so that they can build stronger bonds to school and focus on academic achievement. The program’s resources include take-home letters, transparencies for lessons, evaluation tools, academic alignment charts, scope and sequence, review of research (PDF), success stories and a program information packet. Download a free sample lesson from Level 2 for grade 4 or 5.
Click Here to Access Free Lesson

Study the Unfolding Events in Egypt
As events unfold in Egypt, the New York Times Learning Network blog offers suggestions and resources for including the latest developments in lessons. One suggestion is to post text about Egypt and its history in the classroom and lead students on a gallery walk as they read and take notes. Then students can be divided into groups to study questions about the issue. The blog also suggests having students study varying viewpoints and the roles of technology, media and U.S. diplomacy in the unfolding events.
Click Here to Access Free Resources

Incorporate Videos into Your Lessons
Next Vista Learning provides an online library of free videos to help teachers and students alike learn just about anything, meet people who make a difference in their communities and even discover new parts of the world. With the resources in the “Light Bulbs” Collection, available for free to anyone at any time, students will be in a good position to learn when they are most ready to do so. For teachers, the available videos can be used in the classroom to generate discussion or when planning lessons to generate ideas. The resources in the “Global Views” Collection are intended to help young people understand how truly close they are to their international peers. These videos can also be used to generate discussions between groups in email or blog exchanges. And the videos in the “Seeing Service” Collection highlight good deeds, large and small. One video shows how an organization used micro-loans to pull people in remote villages out of the poverty that has oppressed them for generations. Another shows how one man takes time each week to read to children at a local library.
Click Here to Access Free Resources

Put Ideas in Motion
Designed at Tufts University’s Center for Engineering Education and Outreach, SAM Animation is a software platform that allows the user to make stop-action movies using a USB or fire-wire real-time camera (web camera or webcam) and whatever props the user desires. The software is both Mac and PC compatible and free to all users willing to register.
Click Here to Access Free Software

Plus: iCreate to Educate bridges the gap between the innovative research lab and K–12 classroom by leading teacher workshops in the New England area, training other teachers to run these workshops outside New England and working directly with school systems to enhance their existing curricula with stop-motion animation.
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Confront Current Challenges in Educational Technology
In the face of the most serious economic crisis in generations, K–12 schools across the United States are slashing budgets, and educational technology has become an easy target for cuts. The current crisis presents not just challenges, but also tremendous opportunities to strengthen technology investments, operations, programs, plans, staff and results. Attend the CoSN 2011 Annual Conference, March 14–16 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and learn how you can Master the Moment to successfully meet the current challenges we are all facing. Register now to join with education technology leaders from the public and private sector to address these issues.
Click Here to Register for 2011 CoSN Conference

Keep Abreast of Educational Technology
The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) will hold its 35th annual conference for educational technology at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan, on March 16–18. One of the nation’s largest conferences for educational technology, the event will gather more than 3,000 teachers, administrators and school board members from Michigan, neighboring states and Canada. More than 150 sessions will be presented by national leaders and classroom teachers on best practices and trends in educational technology. “Essentials for 21st Century Teaching and Learning” is the theme of this year’s conference.
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Prepare Hispanic Students for Work in STEM Fields
The fourth annual Prepárate Conference will take place March 9–11, 2011 in San Antonio, Texas. Sponsored jointly by the College Board and the Hispanic STEM Initiative, the conference is an effort to get more students prepared in science, technology, engineering and math fields and ready for college-level work. Online registration is now open.
Deadline: March 3, 2011
Click Here to Register for 2011 Prepárate Conference

See the U.S. Supreme Court in Action
Street Law, Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society will sponsor two sessions of the annual Supreme Court Summer Institute, June 16–21 and June 23–28, 2011. Participants will spend five days on Capitol Hill and inside the Supreme Court learning about the Court, its past and current cases, and how to teach about them from top Supreme Court litigators and educators. Participants will also be in the Court to hear the Justices announce the final decisions of the term and attend a private reception at the Court. Apply online (under the Registration Info tab).
Deadline: March 14, 2011
Click Here to Apply for Supreme Court Summer Institute

Provide Individualized Math Practice
Designed for grades 1–6, Britannica SmartMath provides online math practice that adapts to each student’s ability. Unlike traditional math practice, SmartMath builds formative assessment into the learning process. Students who do well see more challenging questions, and students who struggle see progressively less difficult questions until they achieve success. With SmartMath, students spend more time on task because they are working at their own level and having fun, significantly improving their math skills and test scores. Try it out, for free, online.
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Click Here to Try Free Demo

Plus: Check out insideBritannica, a free monthly newsletter that includes tips to help librarians, teachers and students make use of the many educational resources in Britannica Online. Read previous editions of insideBritannica and learn more about this resource.
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View Seasonal Changes from Space
From space, NASA satellites record the change of seasons. Satellite images show large parts of the landscape at one time, helping scientists study regional patterns on Earth. These images also help show bigger changes that may occur over many years. When seasons change, nature reacts differently, depending on where you live. Temperatures change, rain or snow falls, rivers may flood. What kinds of changes happen where you live? Share a photo you have taken that shows how seasons change in your part of the world.
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Experience 3-D Virtuality with Robonaut
It’s not science fiction—Robonaut is headed to space on the shuttle Discovery. Learn more, test your space IQ or interact using augmented reality in this section of NASA’s Web site.
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Capture the Stardust Wonder in Children’s Questions
In Kids to Space Club: Are We There Yet?, five young friends, in their quest for an outer space adventure, come face to face with experts’ answers to their wonderment about planning to go to space, visiting and living in space, and exploring space. Via a story accompanied by children’s illustrations, students make a plan to talk with experts, do research at the library and on the Internet, keep journals, give reports, share opinions, learn concepts and get together to collaborate when the challenges are tough. In the process they learn to listen, follow directions, cooperate, take turns being in charge, accept responsibility and not give up. The drawings in the book depict children’s imaginations and dreams about our space future. The book, written by Lonnie Jones Schorer, includes a foreword by Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space. The cover was designed by NASA American artist Greg Mort.
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Encourage Students to Rise Above Challenges
The aim of the Commemorative Air Force’s (CAF) Red Tail Project is “to carry the lessons and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen into every classroom in America.” CAF’s traveling mobile exhibition, RISE ABOVE, tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen to young people all across America in an experiential way. The exhibition uses the Airmen’s story as an inspirational example of how students might reach beyond their grasp to attain new levels of achievement, just like the Tuskegee Airmen did in WWII, and “rise above” the challenging circumstances in their lives. On the RISE ABOVE Web site, you’ll find links to Tuskegee History, Tuskegee Facts, Airmen Bios, Classroom Activities, free, downloadable photos as well as other resources.
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Get Indoor “Street Views” of Renown Museums
Google recently launched Google Art Project with indoor “street views” of galleries and gigapixel photos of works at 17 museums from around the world, including the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Once inside the site, you can travel through a museum’s interior through the same technology used to navigate city streets on Google Maps and Google Earth. You can move from room to room within the virtual space and view more than 1,000 artworks painted by 400 artists. And you can even create and share your own collection of masterpieces online. Check out videos on the Art Project’s YouTube Channel.
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Fly Across America
Students can explore the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s America By Air online exhibition and experience flying from New York to San Francisco in different aviation eras. They simply choose a time period to begin: Early 1920s, 1930s, 1940s to 1950s, 1960s to 1970s, 1980s to present. After their journey, students can continue their exploration of aviation through 13 interactives, such as Travel Agent, in which students choose a destination (California and Bermuda) and decide how they’ll get there; Baggage Claim, in which they match baggage with passengers; and Around the World in 18 Days, in which they track a reporter’s journey around the world in 1936 and make a newsreel video of his journey.
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Enhance Reading Enjoyment with Digital Stories
AwesomeStories features a collection of multimedia primary source materials—photos, video, audio and historical documents—held together in a series of digital stories about films, famous trials, disaster and historical events. When you become a member of Awesome Stories—membership is free—you can see everything on the site (including an extensive image database), explore all its features (including narrated stories), dig deeper (with lesson plans and text documents) and stay up to date with a free newsletter profiling current events and hot topics.
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