Black History Month, Math Sightings, Virtual Fitness Challenge & More

Whitepaper: The Ergonomics Equation

Don’t miss the latest research from Logitech on how the right edtech can impact student engagement and classroom outcomes. More than 1,000 educators and school + district administrators were surveyed about current edtech setups and challenges. Read about how student engagement, focus, and stamina can improve when physical comfort with technology is considered ... and learn what happens when it isn’t. This is a must-read for all who manage and interact with edtech hardware.

February 1, 2023

tech.ed.gov

Funding & Recognition

Federal COVID Relief Money

Schools generally have until the fall of 2024 to use the last of their federal COVID relief dollars. In a January 26 letter, the US Department of Education offered recommendations to help school districts use their remaining coronavirus relief funding to plan for the long-term success of education technology programs.

experiencecamps.org

Digital Learning • Learning Support

Minecraft Server for Grieving Children

Two nonprofits, Experience Camps and Connected Camps, and University of California, Irvine have joined forces to create a Minecraft server that connects and supports students who have experienced loss. Children who join ExperienceCraft can build, chat, play, and share with one another across a wide variety of in-game activities. But those who participate have all had one unfortunate experience that ties them together.

Digital Learning • Learning Support

Multi-Tiered System of Support for Students of All Ages

Ripple Effects, a leader in social–emotional learning (SEL) for more than 20 years, provides a digital suite of evidence-based preK–12 programs that help learners and educators understand the root cause of social and behavior challenges, allowing them to customize plans to meet their specific needs. The programs are developmentally appropriate to promote personalized SEL skill-building, behavioral support, and positive mental health. In 2022 the Ripple Effects for Teens program was designated a recommended program by CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning), and its early learner program, Bouncy’s Ready to Learn Resilience, was a finalist in the 2022 EdTech Cool Tool Awards.

50states50grants.com

Funding & Recognition

“It Gets Better” Youth Grants

The nonprofit It Gets Better Project has opened its grant program that will award $10,000 grants to 50 public and charter secondary schools in the United States to help support LGBTQ+ youth aged 13–18.

STEM • STEAM • STREAM

Summer STEM Camp for Curious Youth

Every year invention education experts at the National Inventors Hall of Fame develop an all-new curriculum for Camp Invention. The curriculum is filled with hands-on experiences that provide an appropriate level of challenge for students across a range of learning levels in kindergarten through grade 6.

Professional Growth

Well-Being and Leadership Summit for Women District Leaders

Power Trip 2023 continues Big Deal Media’s annual tradition of bringing women district administrators together for a well-being and leadership summit. Join an amazing group of only 50 district administrators on July 16–19, 2023, for A Personal and Professional Life-Changing Experience at Miraval Austin Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas. Discover tools, strategies, and personal renewal that you—as a top district decision maker—can use to become a more effective leader, communicator, driver of change, and collaborative designer of your district. Visit the Power Trip 2023 website to register for this one-of-a-kind experience.

Mobile Learning

Walking, Cycling, Swimming … Virtual Fitness Challenge

Spice up your motivation for running, walking, or cycling (or any distance-based exercise) by taking on The Conqueror’s Mount Everest Virtual Challenge. The challenge takes you through a breathtaking 40-mile journey to the summit of Mount Everest—the highest peak in the world.

trashbots.co

STEM • STEAM • STREAM

Robotics Platform That Uses Trash to Teach Coding

To students, crumpled plastic water bottles and milk cartons may seem like trash, but to brothers and entrepreneurs Rohit and Sidharth Srinivasan, these common everyday items represent an opportunity for equitable STEM education.

commons.wikimedia.org

Digital Learning • Learning Support

SPOTLIGHT! On Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in US history. Since 1976 every US president has officially designated February as Black History Month.

Teachers are invited to put the power of these resources to work in their classrooms during Black History Month and throughout the year.

Digital Learning • Learning Support

Teaching in the Wake of Violence

Violent attacks that target people because of their identities are happening around the world with disturbing frequency. What can educators do to help students reflect on and understand these attacks?

Professional Growth

Summer Workshops on Teaching with Primary Sources

K–12 teachers are invited to join the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, for a free three-day, onsite professional development workshop in which they will learn and practice strategies for using primary sources with their students.

Astronaut Mae Jemison, Photo courtesy of NASA

STEM • STEAM • STREAM

Virtual Learning Experience with African American Scientists

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) invite middle school and high school students to join A Space for Us All, a virtual educational experience examining and building on the legacy of achievement, connection, and knowledge of African Americans at NASA.

somethingdifferentfilm.com

Professional Growth

Documentary Capturing Teachers Creating Equitable Classes

We Have to Do Something Different is a documentary film produced by the Teaching Systems Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The film provokes important conversations about the big challenges facing schools by taking a detailed look at the small steps teachers around the country are taking every day to help their students succeed.

Funding & Recognition

Funding Finds in Budget-Tight Times

GetEdFunding is a free grant-finding site that hosts thousands of education grants, including funding opportunities for public and private preK–12 schools and districts; awards for outstanding professionals; grants for teachers, media specialists, and administrators; and nonprofit organizations offering educational programs. Once you are registered on the site, you can search, find, save, and apply.