Friday, December 30, 2011

Host Collaborative Sessions with Students

Sticky-note walls can be useful for hosting collaborative brainstorming sessions, asking questions and sorting ideas. Primary Wall is a free sticky-note tool designed with elementary school students in mind. To use it, students simply go to the URL for the wall you’ve created and click “add a note” or double-click on the wall to start writing notes. Students can title their notes and attach their names (first name only) to a note. Primary Wall also suggests ideas for classroom use in the Teachers section.
Click Here to Access Free Tool

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

School Budget Hold’em

Meet Budget Challenges
A new online game by the Massachusetts-based company Education Resource Strategies aims to help officials in large urban school districts strategize how best to allocate resources and balance their budgets. The game, School Budget Hold ‘Em, allows officials to consider budget tradeoffs and weigh priorities alongside academic goals. View the online video to get a quick introduction to how the tool works.
Click Here for More Information

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

CoSN presents info

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has released the third and final monograph from its three-part 2011 Compendium, titled “Small Size, Big Potential: Mobile Learning Devices in School.” The monograph explores the growing use of mobile learning devices in schools and how such initiatives are positively impacting student achievement. In its examination, the monograph provides detailed examples from districts across the United States that are pioneering this innovative transformation of the 21st century classroom. 

http://www.cosn.org/Portals/7/docs/Press%20Releases/2011/CoSN_CompendiumMobileLearning.pdf

Monday, December 26, 2011

Expand Horizons with Educational Technology

Each year the ISTE awards program recognizes the best of the best in educational technology. The program honors exceptional educators who advance the field, demonstrate vision and innovation, and expand student horizons. Nominate yourself or a colleague and showcase the work of your district, classroom or work team. Award winners will receive complimentary ISTE standard membership, registration for ISTE 2012 in San Diego and various forms of recognition, which may include travel stipends, other prizes and cash awards. Visit the ISTE website for a listing of award categories; all categories are open to ISTE members and nonmembers.
Deadline: March 1, 2012 for nominations
Click Here for More Information

Thursday, December 22, 2011

QR Codes in the Classroom

Those squiggly b/w squares now appearing on just about everything from magazine ads to cereal boxes can take your students across the room or around the world with the click of a smartphone camera. Andrew Miller and his readers offer lengthy lists of ways to enhance learning using Quick Response codes. Create your own QR codes in just three easy steps, using Daring Librarian Gwyneth Jones's tips. Wiziq offers QR strategies tostreamline online learning while avoiding malicious codes.Too few smartphones and other handhelds in your classroom? EngagingEducators’ Ben Curran suggests free or low-cost downloads that will trick a computer webcam into handling the decoding task. To generate a simple coded URL, scan the QR above or click here.

Fuel Imagination with Technology

ExploraVision is a science competition, sponsored by Toshiba and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), which encourages K–12 students of all interest, skill and ability levels to create and explore a vision of future technology by combining their imaginations with the tools of science. It’s a hands-on, minds-on project that inspires students and fuels imagination. All entrants have the opportunity to be recognized for their creative ideas and to win prizes. Educators can learn more about ExploraVision and its value through a series of Web Seminars at The NSTA Learning Center. Join the next webinar, ”How to Avoid Disqualification in ExploraVision,” on January 18, 2012, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. ET.
Deadline: Entries must be received at NSTA headquarters by February 1, 2012
Click Here for More Information 
Click Here to Register for Web Seminars

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Celebrate the Holidays with Pop-Up Books

The Robert Sabuda Contest is a monthly opportunity to win a new pop-up prize. K–12 teachers can enter the contest by filling out the form and submitting it online. Past prizes have included a pop-up gingerbread house ornament, a box of pop-up cards and a pop-up bell.
Deadline: Rolling, monthly
Click Here for More Information
Plus: The website offers dozens of ideas for making pop-up books. For example, your students can use the Make Your Own Pop-Up Reindeer or Poinsettia template as a basis for customized holiday cards. The ideas are coded simple (green), intermediate (blue), advanced (red).
Click Here to Access Pop-Up Book Ideas

Monday, December 19, 2011

Make a Positive Impact on the Planet

Disney’s Planet Challenge (DPC) is a project-based environmental competition for classrooms across the United States. DPC teaches students about science and conservation while empowering them to make a positive impact on their communities and the planet. Any third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, seventh- or eighth-grade classroom in a public or private school in the United States may participate in the challenge; second-grade classes can participate if in combination with a third-grade classroom. The grand-prize-winning teacher will receive $6,000; the winning classroom/school will receive a $10,000 grant.
Deadlines: December 23, 2011 for registration; February 16, 2012 for project submissions
Click Here for More Information
Plus: Find resources for starting and completing your DPC project. Among the resources on this site are a complete step-by-step guide to the DPC project, from enrollment through completing your portfolio; a growing list of useful websites to help with planning or researching your classroom’s project; access to videosimagesblogs and other helpful resources provided by theCalifornia Academy of Sciences; and sample lesson plans that address your state’s specific educational standards.
Click Here to Access Free Project Resources

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Fuel Imagination with Technology

ExploraVision is a science competition, sponsored by Toshiba and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), which encourages K–12 students of all interest, skill and ability levels to create and explore a vision of future technology by combining their imaginations with the tools of science. It’s a hands-on, minds-on project that inspires students and fuels imagination. All entrants have the opportunity to be recognized for their creative ideas and to win prizes. Educators can learn more about ExploraVision and its value through a series of Web Seminars at The NSTA Learning Center. Join the next webinar, ”How to Avoid Disqualification in ExploraVision,” on January 18, 2012, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. ET.
Deadline: Entries must be received at NSTA headquarters by February 1, 2012
Click Here for More Information 
Click Here to Register for Web Seminars

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is named for the cluster of holidays in December (at least in part.) Discover how Christmas ended up on December 25 from History.com, where you'll find both ancient and contemporary background info and videos on the traditions that cluster around Christmas. Hanukkah’s history and traditions are also vividly presented, with explanations of why the dreidel is much more than a toy and the menorah an ongoing light in the midst of winter darkness. History.com also explains the much more recent origins of Kwanzaa, a response to 1960’s racial strife in the US, that builds upon African ritual and values.