Build Media Literacy, Increase Civic Engagement, Share Opinions & More

In Partnership With:

Share Exemplary EdTech Collaborations

Educators are invited to enter the Collaboration Nation video contest by telling CDW•G about their school or district’s exemplary educational technology collaboration and the measurable impact it has had on learning and teaching. By sharing their successes, schools or districts have the opportunity to win a $50,000 grand prize or one of three $15,000 monthly prizes from CDW•G. To enter, simply create a 90-second video highlighting your school or district’s cross-departmental collaboration project and upload the video to YouTube. Then complete the entry form and submit. Monthly contests are won by votes received through CDW•G’s Facebook page; three industry experts will determine the grand-prize winner.

Deadlines: Monthly through April 30, 2016

Click Here for More Information

SHARE:

See in New Ways

Destination Imagination invites elementary (K–5), middle (6–8), and secondary (9–12) students to participate in the Destination Imagination Video Contest. Their challenge is to create a 60-second video telling about a time when they were creative, curious, or courageous. In the video, students should include why that particular quality is so important to them. The staff at Destination Imagination will appraise entries based on memorable content and delivery, overall impact, and creativity. Three students—one at each level—will be awarded $1,500 for their winning submissions. The Destination Imagination Video Contest is open to the general public.

Click Here for More Information

Deadline: March 29, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. (ET)

SHARE:

Develop Argumentative Writing

Every day during the school year, The New York Times Learning Network invites teenagers to share their opinions on topics that range from cheerleading to police tactics by posting their arguments, reflections, and anecdotes to The Learning Network’s Student Opinion feature. For the third consecutive year, The Learning Network invites students to channel that enthusiasm into short, evidence-based persuasive essays like the editorials The New York Times publishes every day. The challenge is straightforward: students choose a topic they care about, gather evidence from both New York Times and non-New York Times sources, and write a concise editorial (450 words or fewer) to convince readers of their point of view. Because editorial writing at newspapers is a collaborative process, students can write their entry as a team effort, or by themselves. The judging rubric is freely downloadable from The Learning Network’s website.

Deadline: March 29, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. (ET)

Click Here for More Information

Click Here to Download Free Rubric

SHARE:

Collaborate with Engineering Mentors

DiscoverE Collaboration Grants facilitate collaboration within the engineering community and engage youth (particularly underserved K–12 students) with hands-on learning experiences and events that inspire an interest and understanding of engineering. Five $1,000 grants will be awarded to help fund programs led by a diverse team of at least three partnering organizations that are inspiring others to discover engineering. College students, working engineers, educators, and volunteers are welcome to apply.

Deadline: Rolling until annual funding is committed

Click Here for More Information

SHARE:

Enhance Reading Diversity in the Classroom

Traditionally tools that aid text selection have focused on quantitative and qualitative measures, such as complexity, word and sentence length, cohesion, language features, and knowledge demands. However, these tools do not include diversity and representation, critical literacy, or reader and task as part of the selection criteria. Teaching Tolerance has developed Reading Diversity, a unique model to make it easier for teachers to include diverse voices in K–12 classrooms. This model promotes a multidimensional approach to text selection that prioritizes critical literacy, cultural responsiveness, and complexity. Teaching Tolerance has designed two versions of the Reading Diversity model as two editable PDF tools educators can download, complete, save, and share: Reading Diversity Life: A Tool for Selecting Diverse Texts (Teacher’s Edition) is a one-page questionnaire that helps users include diverse voices in their day-to-day planning by answering 14 simple “yes or no” questions. This tool is ideal for busy teachers and anyone else looking to assess a text’s diversity. Reading Diversity: A Tool for Selecting Diverse Texts (Extended Edition) gives users an in-depth look at the complexity and diversity of a text and is ideal for curriculum coordinators, literacy coaches, book-selection committees, and preservice teachers.

Click Here to Download Free Tool (Teacher’s Edition)

Click Here to Download Free Tool (Extended Edition)

SHARE:

Create Personalized SAT Study Guides

Khan Academy is providing a new online tutor that can take a student’s score on a practice college admissions test and then produce a customized study guide to help the student succeed on the “real” test. Students who took the PSAT, a practice version of the SAT, can log in online and link their score reports to the tool, which will then produce a study guide specifically tailored to help them improve in areas in which they are weak. Students must sign up for this feature, although there is no cost; a YouTube video describes the process as three simple steps.

Click Here to Access Explanatory Video

SHARE:

Sing and Dance with Story Characters

JibJab Bros. Studios has launched StoryBots Classroom, a free resource for educators that includes hundreds of videos, books, and activities for use on interactive whiteboards, tablets, and laptops in the classroom. The product also includes the newly released StoryBots Math Skills, an extensive collection of kindergarten-level, standards-aligned math games and lessons. Teachers can gain free access to the platform by applying to the StoryBots Educator Network. StoryBots leverages JibJab's Starring You personalization technology to allow children to see themselves dancing and singing onscreen along with their favorite StoryBots characters. In addition to the classroom-ready activities, StoryBots offers Teacher Tools—including Class Roster, Lesson Planner, and Group Builder—to help educators manage their classroom and create customized plans that best suit their students’ unique needs.

Click Here to Access StoryBots Network and Resources

SHARE:

Bring Poetry to the Classroom

The Poetry Foundation is accepting applications for its second annual Summer Poetry Teachers Institute in Chicago, July 11–15, 2016. The five-day program for K–12 teachers is based on former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky’s successful Favorite Poem Project summer institute, now in its 15th year. The week will include seminars and readings with some of today’s most compelling poets. Participants will study and discuss poetry with renowned poetry practitioners and work with expert teachers to develop lesson plans to bring poetry to their classrooms. The University of Illinois Chicago’s College of Education offers 30 continuing professional development units for completing the institute, and the Poetry Foundation will cover tuition and housing costs for participants. There is no cost to participate in the institute. The Poetry Foundation invites teachers and teacher/administrator teams across grade levels to apply. The institute seeks a range of participants: new and experienced teachers, those who enjoy teaching poetry, and those who have avoided it. The application deadline is March 11, 2016.

Click Here for More Information

Click Here to Apply for Summer Poetry Institute

SHARE:

Make Literacy Interdisciplinary

The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teaching Literacy through History (TLTH) is an interdisciplinary professional development program that uses primary documents and historical texts to improve K–12 education. Gilder Lehrman’s Master Teacher Fellows work with teachers and educators to improve content knowledge; align curriculum with their state’s core history, civics, and English language arts standards, including but not limited to Common Core initiatives; and introduce skills that can be brought back to the classroom, library, or any other institution looking to inspire more knowledgeable, focused, and engaged students. Each Teaching Literacy through History program is customized to meet the needs of the participating school, district, or state. A suite of program options is available, ranging from multiyear partnerships to one-day workshops. TLTH trainings and follow-up sessions can be delivered onsite or online.

Click Here for More Information

SHARE:

Support Digital Literacy in the Library

A report just released by the Aspen Institute’s Dialogue on Public Libraries asks us again to reconsider how the library can serve communities in the 21st century. “Rising to the Challenge: Re-Envisioning Public Libraries” aims to capture the momentum and excitement of the innovations taking place in public libraries across the country, and the impact these are having on communities. The report asks: With all the new technologies and layered networks, what can be done beyond current advancements? The Dialogue on Public Libraries group is made up of 34 library field leaders, business executives, government officials, education experts, and community development visionaries. The group aims for more than just holding up great examples of libraries working well in the digital age. It wants to provide a catalyst for new thinking about libraries as platforms for learning, creativity, and innovation in communities, and for the creation of new networked forms of libraries.

Click Here to Download Full Report

SHARE:

Shake a Poem on Your Phone

With the Poetry Foundation’s free POETRY mobile app for iOS and Android devices, users can take hundreds of poems by classic and contemporary poets with them wherever they go. From William Shakespeare to César Vallejo to Heather McHugh, the Poetry Foundation’s app turns a smartphone into a mobile poetry library: users can search for old favorites with memorable lines; shake the phone to discover new poems to fit any mood; and save favorite poems to read and share later—through Facebook, Twitter, or email.

Click Here to Visit Website

Click Here to Visit iTunes App Store

Click Here to Visit Google Play

SHARE:

Follow the Notes in Music Learning

Seeing an increase of projection systems and interactive whiteboards in many classrooms, including music, two teachers have created The Music Interactive website as a vehicle to distribute music learning activities and games that cover a broad range of uses in both classroom- and performance-based environments. Among the classroom apps are pitch and rhythm recognition games, such as Krank & Lucy, JamaMambo, and StaffWars; composition activities with BoomWhackers or MyJamz; or Recorder, with 13 songs that have the option of light-up notes and an interactive fingering chart and fingering worksheet. For performance apps, check out Jazz Piano or Latin Jazz in the Sheddin’ the Basics series, which provides customizable practice tools, or iShed, software for beginning improvisation practice, including preset or user-created patterns that can be transposed in eight different ways. Soon the website will have a Blog and QuickTips section that will cover current trends, product reviews, and tips to help teachers better integrate technology into their teaching and classroom activities. The apps are available for iOS and Android devices. Many of the apps are free to download; others start at $0.99.

Click Here to Access Performance Apps

Click Here to Access Classroom Apps

SHARE:

Connect Students to Real Scientists

Engaging with scientists from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is now at educators’ fingertips through free and interactive webcasts and videoconferences that allow students of all ages to work hand in hand with NASA’s experts and educational specialists. Educators can find a list of upcoming events related to astronomy, physics, algebra, and more on the website of NASA’s Digital Learning Network. Each event provides teachers with free downloadable educator guides and tips on what students need to have on the day of the event.

Click Here to Visit Website

SHARE:

Give a Lift to At-Risk Youth

The US Department of Defense’s STARBASE program exposes the nation’s at-risk youth to the technological environments and positive civilian and military role models found on Active, Guard, and Reserve military bases and installations. STARBASE focuses on elementary students, primarily fifth graders. The goal is to motivate these students to explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as they continue their education. The academies serve students who are historically underrepresented in STEM—students who live in inner cities or rural locations, especially those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, low in academic performance, or have a disability. The program engages students through its inquiry-based curriculum with “hands-on, mind-on” experiential activities. Teamwork is stressed as students work together to explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate concepts. The military volunteers apply abstract principles to real-world situations by leading tours and giving lectures on the use of STEM in different settings and careers. The academies work with school districts to support their standards of learning objectives.

Click Here to Visit Website

SHARE:

Join the Global Hacker Movement

High school students have started taking charge of their own computer science education. One of them, Zach Latta, an 18-year-old who was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list for 2016, has helped to create Hack Club, a network of coding groups that have spread to 12 states and six countries so far. The purpose is to get students coding regardless of background or prior technical knowledge. A Hack Club starts like any robotics team or chess club, with most schools requiring a teacher sponsor to donate a classroom after school, generally twice a week for 90 minutes. Hack Club is creating a space for students to explore and learn in a way that focuses on making and building, which can draw in students who would otherwise be turned off by the intensiveness that programming classes normally require.

Click Here to Visit Website

SHARE:

Connect Research to Practice

Usable Knowledge is an online resource from the Harvard Graduate School of Education that aims to make education research and best practices accessible to educators, policymakers, members of the media, nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and parents. The goal is to put smart, trustworthy, and useful information directly into the hands of practitioners, who can use it to make a difference in their classrooms, schools, districts, universities, and communities. Topics include the Arts, Common Core, Curriculum, Early Education, Family Engagement, Global Education, Innovation, Literacy, Special Education, Technology, Testing, and more.

Click Here to Visit Website

SHARE:

Follow the Race to the White House

Envision and Discovery Education have partnered to provide students and educators with tools to engage, captivate, and energize the youth voice on the importance of democracy and civic engagement throughout this year’s presidential election, leading up to the 2017 inauguration. The program, Chase the Race in School, complements Chase the Race 2016—Envision’s program that will give 12 high school students across the United States the opportunity to play an active role in the election process by serving as onsite reporters at a number of key political events. Key components of the partnership include Chase the Race classroom activities and interactive content; a series of video vignettes created by Discovery Education and hosted by Chase the Race 2016 reporters that will provide students and educators with a unique perspective on how the US election process works and complements the Chase the Race in School classroom activities; an interactive, in-person event in January 2017, hosted by Discovery Education at Envision’s Presidential Inauguration Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, featuring a panel discussion from Chase the Race journalists and a keynote from Malala Yousafzai; a virtual, live-streamed “Town Hall” event hosted by Discovery Education during the Summit; and the use of Discovery Education curriculum to enhance Envision’s career exploration programs, particularly in the STEM fields.

Click Here to Visit “Chase the Race in School” Website

Click Here to Visit “Chase the Race 2016” Website

SHARE:

Spot False “Realities” in Altered Photos

Digital cameras and image-editing software have made photo manipulation easier than ever, but photographers have been doctoring images since the medium was invented. The false “realities” in altered photographs can be either surprising and eye-catching or truly deceptive and misleading. Faking It, an interactive from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asks students to spot which photos are fake and figure out why they were altered. Through 15 sets of questions accompanied by more than two dozen images from the museum, the Faking It quiz challenges misconceptions about the history of photo manipulation. The images in the quiz range from a heroic portrait of Ulysses S. Grant to a playful portrait of Salvador Dalí, and from New York’s Empire State Building to Oregon’s Cape Horn. This feature complements the museum’s 2012 exhibition Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop, available in the iTunes store as a free iPad app.

Click Here to Visit “Faking It” Website

Click Here to Visit iTunes App Store

SHARE:

Explore Good and Bad Times in History

British Pathé was one of the leading producers of newsreels and documentaries during the 20th century. The company, now an archive, is turning over its entire collection—more than 85,000 historical films—to YouTube. The archive, which spans from 1896 to 1976, is a goldmine of footage, containing movies of some of the most important moments of the last 100 years. Pathé’s playlist “A Day That Shook the World,” which traces an Anglo-centric history of the 20th century, includes clips of the Wright Brothers’ first flight, the bombing of Hiroshima, and Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon, alongside footage of Queen Victoria’s funeral and Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile. There’s footage of the dramatic Hindenburg crash and Lindbergh’s daring cross-Atlantic flight, as well as King Edward VII abdicating the throne in 1936, Hitler’s first speech upon becoming the German Chancellor in 1933, and the eventual Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941. However, the really intriguing part of the archive is seeing all the ephemera from the 20th century—the hairstyles, the way a city street looked, the casual sexism and racism. Each month a range of new uploads and playlists will tell the story of a particular topic through archival footage. A new playlist is added every Thursday at 5 p.m. UK time. Special videos are uploaded on the first and third Tuesday of the month.

Click Here to Visit Website

Click Here to Visit YouTube Channel

SHARE:

BOOKMARK THESE!

SHARE: