Connect with Colleagues, Marry Science & Art, Inspire Creativity & More
October 15, 2014
In Partnership With:
IN THIS ISSUE
Grants, Competitions and Other "Winning" Opportunities
Resource Roundup
Professional Development Plus
Mobile Learning Journey
STEM Gems
Worth-the-Surf Websites
Sponsored By:
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Grants, Competitions and Other "Winning" Opportunities
Share Innovative Ideas for Solving Local Problems
Public school teachers nationwide can help their school to win a share of $2 million in Samsung technology by entering the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest. Simply show how science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) can be applied to help improve your local community. The contest is open to all public schools, grades 6–12.
Click Here for More Information
Recognize Vision, Ingenuity and Talent
What do Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath and Robert Redford have in common? They are all past recipients of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards! The contest is open to students in grades 7–12, and $10 million in scholarships is on the line. Categories range from poetry to sculpture to videogame design, so students should polish their favorite project and visit the contest’s website to find out the entrance requirements and check the deadline in their region. Winners will be published in the Best Teen Writing anthology series, and top awardees will be feted at a Carnegie Hall ceremony.
Deadline: Use the zip-code tool on the website to find deadlines for the local program in your area.
Click Here for More Information
Plus: The Art.Write.Now.Tour 2014–2015—now in its fifth year—travels nationwide to expose audiences to an annual selection of the most stunning and original work by winning students from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These visionary, emerging artists, writers and filmmakers are selected as the “best in the country” by top professionals in the visual and literary arts.
Click Here for More Information
Honor Those Who Confront Injustice and Hatred
Who inspired you to stand up and speak out against hatred and injustice? Who taught you to think differently about the world we live in and your role in it? Facing History and Ourselves celebrates the amazing educators who go above and beyond the call of duty—shaping responsible global citizens and confronting injustice and hatred head on. The Facing History Together Teacher Recognition Contest is a chance for the community to honor those outstanding educators who have made an impact on their lives. Anyone aged 13 or older may nominate an educator to be honored with a classroom grant of $5,000, made possible by the Planethood Foundation. (Teachers may not nominate themselves.) Nominees must be at least 18 years of age, a legal resident of the United States and directly employed by a secondary or middle school as a teacher, administrator or staff member. Retired teachers are eligible so long as they were employed by a secondary or middle school during their careers.
Deadlines: The nomination period ends on October 17, 2014. At the end of the nomination period, the sponsor will select 20 semifinalists. The general public will then vote on the 20 semifinalists beginning on October 27, 2014, and ending on November 17, 2014.
Click Here for More Information
Give Your School a GRAMMY
As the GRAMMY Award signifies excellence in recording, the GRAMMY Signature Schools Award is designed to honor exceptional public high school music programs across the country with special awards and grants up to $6,000. The GRAMMY Signature Schools Enterprise Award provides special awards and cash grants to public high school music programs across the country based primarily on need. Grants up to $5,500 are awarded. These awards are open to public high school music programs in the United States.
Deadline: October 22, 2014
Click Here for More Information
Supplement Your Stretched Budget
GetEdFunding is a free and fresh website sponsored by CDW•G to help educators and institutions find the funds they need in order to supplement their already stretched budgets. GetEdFunding hosts a collection of more than 3,000 (and growing) grants and other funding opportunities culled from federal, state, regional and community sources and available to public and private, preK–12 educators, schools and districts, higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations that work with them. GetEdFunding offers customized searches by six criteria, including 43 areas of focus, eight content areas and any of the 21st century themes and skills that support your curriculum. After registering on the site, you can save the grant opportunities of greatest interest and then return to them at any time. This rich resource of funding opportunities is expanded, updated and monitored daily.
Click Here to Visit Website
Resource Roundup
Respond to Students' Individual Needs
SunGard’s BESSIE Award-winning software PerformancePLUS provides educators with information to make data-driven decisions that enrich instruction and increase individual student achievement as well as overall district achievement. PerformancePLUS provides districts with tools for efficient management and analysis of curriculum and assessment data, enabling educators to build a cycle of continuous improvement by analyzing performance data and adjusting curriculum to respond to student needs. SunGard offers more than 75,000 assessment items aligned to state and Common Core standards.
Click Here for More Information
Thrive in a Connected World
Never been part of an online professional community or network? Already part of a community or network but want to be more connected? October is Connected Educator Month (CEM), and now more than 700 events and activities are on the CEM calendar.
Click Here to Access Connected Educator Month Calendar
Plus: The Connected Educator Month Starter Kit, written by The Connected Educator author Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach in collaboration with the Connected Educator initiative, is loaded with helpful links and embedded videos. The kit takes a 31-days approach for this special month, providing a simple way to get more connected every day.
Click Here to Download Free Connected Educator Starter Kit
Plus: Connected Educators has started a BAM Radio station that will feature connected goodness throughout the year. Tune in to Connected Educators Radio to hear the latest developments on connected educator initiatives around the globe, highlights from connected events and the back stories on the people and programs involved in the drive to connect the entire education community worldwide.
Click Here to Tune in to Connected Educators Radio
Go Beyond the Book
PW KidsCast is a series of podcast interviews with children’s and YA authors conducted by Publishers Weekly children’s reviews editor John A. Sellers. For example, in a September 30 PW KidsCast, John Rocco talks about the autobiographical origins of his new picture book, Blizzard, as well as what it’s like to get a call from the Caldecott committee. In the September 18 podcast, Lisa Charleyboy, co-editor of Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, talks about how the essays, poetry and artwork in this new anthology work to dismantle cultural stereotypes while celebrating the breadth and diversity of Indigenous heritage and experience.
Click Here to Listen to Free Podcast Interviews
Celebrate a Champion of Children
An assassination attempt was not enough to curtail the human-rights work of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai. In fact, her brush with death at the hands of the Taliban only served to strengthen her resolve and led to her recognition as a joint winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. On October 8, 2013, Little Brown published her book I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. Little Brown also offers a free downloadable Discussion Guide to accompany the book.
Click Here to Download Free Discussion Guide
Plus: North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University has made available a free downloadable Study Guide that introduces the Yousafzai family and the area of Pakistan in which they lived, along with a brief explanation of Pakistan’s history. The Study Guide also includes full-color photographs, maps and focus questions to guide the reading of each chapter of Malala’s book.
Click to Download Free Study Guide
Plus: In 2009, Malala Yousafzai began writing a 10-part series, “Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl,” at the BBC Urdu. Published pseudonymously under the pen name “Gul Makai,” a reference to a heroine in local folklore, the first entry appeared on January 2009.
Click Here to Access a Translation of Malala’s Diary Entries
Professional Development Plus
Engage Students in Reading Nonfiction
On October 22, 2014, at 4 p.m. (ET), the Amazing Resources for Educators community and edWeb.net will host a free webinar entitled “Unleash Student Potential: Personalize Learning Through Storytelling Using Nonfiction Books,” sponsored by Shutterfly. In this webinar, the presenter will demonstrate how to boost student engagement in reading by selecting nonfiction books of students’ own choosing. The presenter will also demonstrate how to empower students to share factual information with peers and a worldwide audience using a variety of tools, including brainstorming activities, notebooks/journals and the free Shutterfly Photo Story iPad app.
Click Here to Register for Free Webinar
Click Here for More Information About Shutterfly Photo Story App
Click Here to Visit iTunes App Store
Search for Grants That Fit Your Needs
Need more money to turn your educational technology dreams into reality? On October 30, 2014, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (ET), edWeb.net and the GetEdFunding community will host “Build Your Grant Writing Toolkit, Part II,” the second of two free webinars sponsored by CDW•G. During this free webinar, the presenter will cover asking for equipment versus sharing a vision, writing a Letter of Inquiry, using the GetEdFunding.com database to search for grants that fit your school and your student population and you, and understanding how to align your vision, budget and evaluation plan.
Click Here to Register for Part II of Free Grant Writing Webinar
Mobile Learning Journey
Inspire Creativity Through Art
Students can use the free MoMA Art Lab app for the iPad to make a sound composition, a shape poem, a group drawing and more. Then they can save and share their artwork. Using the app, students can explore how artists use line, shape and color; discover artists’ processes and inspirations; and create their own artwork inspired by MoMA’s collection. Artists featured in the MoMA Art Lab app include Henri Matisse, Alexander Calder, Elizabeth Murray and others. The MoMA Art Lab app is intended for children aged 7 and up. The nine activities inspired by works of art include Create a Mobile, Experiment with Paint, Draw from Instructions, Create a Sound Composition, Draw with Scissors, Make a Line Design, Collaborate on a Group Drawing, Create a Shape Poem and Make a Chance Collage. The app also includes creative prompts for extra inspiration and audio for prereaders.
Click Here to Visit iTunes App Store
Watch Children Play and Learn
PBS recently launched the PBS KIDS Super Vision app—a tool for iOS devices that gives parents insight into what their children are learning as they watch and play on PBSKIDS.org. Designed for parents of young children, PBS KIDS Super Vision lets parents see on their smartphones, in real time, what skill areas their children are engaging with in every PBS KIDS game or video. It offers suggestions for related, hands-on learning activities parents and children can do together and a Play Timer parents can use to help transition children from screen time to real-world experiences. PBS plans to continue adding features and building functionality that not only lets parents see what their children are learning but also helps them better understand how their children are learning by analyzing the kinds of games children gravitate toward and excel at.
Click Here for More Information
Click Here to Visit iTunes App Store
STEM Gems
View Striking Chemical Reactions
Beautiful Chemistry is a new collaboration between Tsinghua University Press and University of Science and Technology of China that seeks to make chemistry more accessible and interesting to the general public. Their first project was the creation of several short films that utilize a 4K UltraHD camera to capture a variety of striking chemical reactions without the usual clutter of test tubes, beakers or lab equipment. On the Beautiful Chemistry website, students can watch chemical reactions such as precipitation, color change, crystallization and bubbling in amazing detail. They can also explore the inner beauty of chemical structures such as crystals, gas and liquid, and atoms and molecules.
Click Here to Visit Website
Connect Science and Art
Tabletop Whale is an original science illustration blog created by a designer with a molecular biology degree. New charts, infographics or illustrations are published every two to three weeks. The blog site includes an animated guide to the human body (muscle edition), an animated chart of 42 North American butterflies as well as charts that deconstruct the wing patterns of birds and insects.
Click Here to Visit Website
Discover the Mathematics of Mount Rushmore
CyArk is an organization building an online library of 3-D models of the world’s cultural heritage sites. Mount Rushmore is one of the places that CyArk features in 3-D. The CyArk lesson plan collection for K–12 includes a group of lesson (items 17–26) about the mathematics connected to Mount Rushmore. These lessons provide activities for teaching measurement, geometry and algebra. Some of the lessons are as simple as identifying shapes, while others are as complex as predicting when two cracks on the surface of Mount Rushmore will intersect over time. Other lesson plans on the site engage students in building scale models of a Mayan pyramid using 3-D archaeological data, playing the role of surveyors by drawing a scale map of a building on campus and then using scale to measure historical buildings—and more.
Click Here to Visit Website
Worth-the-Surf Websites
View Washington, D.C., from the Top of a Monument
Teachers and students can now get a live view of our nation’s capital from atop the Washington Monument, thanks to EarthCam and the National Park Service. The organizations have teamed up to install a live streaming webcam in the monument’s pyramidion. Sponsored by the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, the camera offers one-of-a-kind views of the WWII Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool. For the month of October, Cuban American artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada’s 10-by-6 acre Facescape is also visible. Out of Many, One is the name of the piece.
Click Here to Visit Website
Experience a New Kind of Museum
The coming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will feature “popular art from illustration to comics, an insider’s perspective on the cinematic creative process and the boundless potential of the digital medium.” The museum will also screen legendary archival films and offer conversations with filmmakers, film scholars and critics. In addition, the museum will host workshops for schools, colleges and after-school programs as well as lectures on the history of cinema. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art highlights three principal subject areas on its new website: Narrative Art, Art of Cinema and Digital Art. The Narrative Art categories feature illustrations, children’s art, photography, pinup art, comic art and, in a section on the history of narrative art, fine art by painters such as Pierre-Auguste Renior and Frederic Remington. The Art of Cinema section breaks down into cinematic design, set design, prop design, costume and fashion design, makeup and creature design, animation and visual effects. The idea of Digital Art is explained in an essay from the chief creative officer at Lucas’s Industrial Light & Magic. The website will also feature a live webcam as well as time-lapse photography to showcase the progression of the museum building’s design. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is projected to open in Chicago in 2016.
Click Here to Visit Website
Make a Positive Mark on the World
Founded in January 2013 by 16-year-old Valerie Weisler, The Validation Project is committed to uniting teenagers worldwide to use their unique talents to make their positive mark on the world. Having been a victim of bullying, Valerie became determined to stop the bullying epidemic—with kindness. She founded The Validation Project, an international organization that has partnered with companies such as Nickelodeon and Seventeen Magazine, and aims to end hate and spread love through awareness-raising campaigns, leadership trainings and educational events. The Validation Project gives teens volunteering opportunities according to their interests. It also provides leadership resources, connections with mentors in their desired field, recommendations for college and community service hours. Teens use their leadership skills and talents to implement ways to raise awareness and make an impact for a specific cause they’re passionate about—for example, domestic violence, bullying, homelessness, special needs or equality. The Validation Project has branches in each of the 50 United States and international Validators in each continent. Teens around the country can join one of the thousands of Validation chapters in schools and participate in global campaigns to turn their dreams into reality. Visit The Validation Project website to find a chapter, a mentor or a program. Get started with one of the six online projects.
Click Here to Visit Website
Click Here to Find a Project
Find Digital Tools Rated and Reviewed by Experts
Suppose a math teacher is looking for a website that will help his or her class learn about fractions. Where should the teacher start to search? To provide help, Bill Gates has launched a free website, called Graphite, in collaboration with Common Sense Media. Graphite will focus initially on ratings and reviews for educational websites, apps and services. A staff of experienced educators will offer their own editorial reviews. Graphite is also building an active community of teachers who are using these products and sharing their own opinions. Common Sense Media is leading this effort to make Graphite a comprehensive, unbiased advisor for education technology. Teachers can join in by going to Graphite and signing up. Although still a work in progress, the site is open to teachers who want to read the reviews or submit their own comments.
Click Here to Visit Website
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