VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Big Deal Media

Big Deal Book, April 1, 2015

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VSTE partners with Big Deal Media to bring you the best in online resources, grant and competition opportunities and more. In this edition, you can Develop Design Thinking, Celebrate Earth Day, Diagnose Autism & More.
Here are just a few highlights from this edition. Click the link below to find lots more:
Join one of The Nature Conservancy's water scientists on a virtual field trip to find out how geography, people and water interact in two of America's "wildly" unique biomes: the temperate rainforest and the desert. The 40-minute virtual field trip will take place on YouTube, on April 8, 2015, at 12 noon (ET). The content of this virtual field trip is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and the National Geography Standards. Click here to register.
The Nature Conservancy and its 550 scientists have created Nature Works Everywhere to help students learn the science behind how nature works for people-and how they can help keep it running strong. Nature Works Everywhere gives teachers, students and families everything they need to start exploring and understanding nature around the globe, alongside Nature Conservancy scientists. The site includes interactive games and lesson plans just in time for Earth Day on April 22.
Discovery Education invites teachers and administrators worldwide to participate in the upcoming SpringVirtCon on April 25, 2015. This no-cost, daylong professional development event offers both virtual and face-to-face opportunities for educators to learn actionable tactics and strategies for deepening the integration of digital media into classroom instruction.
Head to the Big Deal Book for April 1 to learn more about these and other opportunities.
You can also view archived newsletters here.
If you're not reading the Big Deal Book, you don't know what you're missing!

Big Deal Book, March 16, 2015

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VSTE partners with Big Deal Media to provide access to quality resources of interest to K-12 educators. From grants to competitions to curriculum resources, this newsletter has something for everyone.

In the March 16th edition, you can Bring Poetry to Life, Take Part in Game Design, Teach Tolerance & More
Here are just a few highlights from this edition. Click the link below to find lots more:

Investigate Magnetic Fields in Three Dimensions

NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, which launched on March 12, provides an opportunity to bring hands-on science activities related to the mission to classrooms. The MMS mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process called magnetic reconnection. Using four identical spacecraft, the mission will provide the first three-dimensional view of this fundamental process that occurs throughout the universe.

Plus: NASA partnered with the University of Virginia and the International Society of Technology Education (ISTE) to design and publish a set of digital-age resources for students and educators, callediMAGINETICspace. These freely downloadable resources are designed to encourage teachers and students to work creatively and collaboratively through a study of science and engineering principles related to space weather and the MMS mission.

March 16, 2015 Edition (opens in a new window)

Archives 

Big Deal Book, March 2, 2015

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VSTE partners with Big Deal Media to provide access to quality resources of interest to K-12 educators. From grants to competitions to curriculum resources, this newsletter has something for everyone.

In the March 2nd edition, you can Accelerate Learning, Write Inductively, Encourage Deep Thinking and More. 
 
Here are just a few highlights from this edition. Click the link below to find lots more:

Shine a Spotlight on a Music Educator

The GRAMMY Music EducatorAward was created to shine a spotlight on the excellent and impactful work that thousands of music teachers across the US are doing. The nominee will be evaluated based on having made a measurable difference in the lives of students and a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education. Nominations close March 15, 2015.

Incorporate Themes That Run Through Life and Literature

On the CommonLit website, teachers can access a collection of free poems, short stories, news articles,historical documents and excerpts of classic literature. The collection is organized by 14 commonly taught themes—for example, Friendship & Loyalty, Growing Up, and Technology, Progress & Industry—which will help spark discussion or debate for students in the middle grades.

Join Conversations About Teaching and Learning

The Future of Education podcast series hosts conversations on teaching and learning in a networked world. This interview series and The Future of Education community are devoted to providing an opportunity for those who care about education to share their voices and ideas with others.

March 2, 2015 Edition (Opens in new tab)

Archives

Big Deal Book, February 16, 2015

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VSTE partners with Big Deal Media to bring you the best in online resources, grant and competition opportunities and more. In this edition, you can Cite Social Media, See a Sea of Change, Develop Media Literacy & More.

 

Here are just a few highlights from this edition. Click the link below to find lots more:
 
PBS KIDS has announced its annual PBS KIDS Writers Contest designed to promote the advancement of children's literacy skills through hands-on, active learning. Open to children in kindergarten through grade 3, the contest encourages creative thinking and storytelling, while building literacy skills through the creation and illustration of original stories. To enter, children can submit stories to their local stations, and local winners will then be entered into the national contest.
 
The 2015 Academy Awards are just around the corner (February 22), and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS), in cooperation with Young Minds Inspired, has produced a series of Teacher's Guides that explore the art and science of motion pictures. The free Teacher's Guides address Animation, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costumes and Makeup, Documentaries, Film Editing, Media Literacy, Screenwriting, Sound and Music, and Visual Effects.
 
On February 24, 2015, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. (EST), the GetEdFunding community on edWeb.net will host a free webinar, "Writing a Winning Grant Application," sponsored by CDW*G. In this webinar, participants will learn what is involved in writing grant applications, who should be writing applications, where to find out about available grant opportunities and more. The presenter, a school library media specialist, will share her journey from beginning grant writer to chairperson of her school's grant committee.
 
If you're not reading the Big Deal Book, you don't know what you're missing!
February 16, 2015 Edition (Opens in a new tab)

Big Deal Book, February 2, 2015

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VSTE partners with Big Deal Media to provide access to quality resources of interest to K-12 educators. From grants to competitions to curriculum resources, this newsletter has something for everyone.

In this edition, you can Spark Creativity, Dance to Math, Read with Astronauts and More. 
 
Here are just a few highlights from this edition. Click the link below to find lots more:
 
Free videos from Americans for the Arts are intended to help you get into the conversation about encouraging creativity and ensuring arts education in your community. These videos convey the stories behind the importance of arts education, as told by children whose lives have been positively impacted by the arts. 
 
Mystery Skype is an educational game that was invented by teachers and is played by two classrooms on Skype. The aim of the game is to guess the location of the other classroom by having students ask each other questions.
 
Students know that 1 + 1 = 2, but do they know that Dot + Line = 6? With Dig-It!'s free Maya Numbers game, students can take their math skills to the next level while learning the ancient Maya's remarkable number system.
If you're not reading the Big Deal Book of Technology Newsletter, you don't know what you're missing!
February 2, 2015 Edition (Opens in a new tab)