Follett Challenge
Nearly 120 entries have been submitted for the second Follett Challenge, and now contest organizers are calling on the public to crown the Follett Challenge winners. The Follett Challenge will award $200,000 worth of Follett products and services to six winning schools, and also provide educators with a platform to show off their innovative teaching programs to the world through traditional and social media.
Deadline: March 18, 2013
Details:www.FollettChallenge.com
Samsung Contests, Scholarships, and Grants
Samsung is offering the following opportunities for school funding this year:
• Two Superhero Program competitions (samsungsuperhero.com): Each winning student gets $500 and their class receives a SAMCAM 760 document camera. Students apply by making a 1-3 minute digital video with them portraying their favorite historical character. Deadlines: May 31, 2013 and November 30, 2013.
• Scholarship Program (samsungscholarship.com): This scholarship will award five high school students $1,000 scholarships for winning 300-word essays that answer the question: “What do you think about technology advancements and how they will change the way we learn in the future? Is it for the better?” Deadline: May 15, 2013.
• Grant Program (samsunggrants.com): Teachers can enter to win one of ten SAMCAM 760 document cameras by writing a lesson plan, in 100 words or less, about using the SAMCAM 760. Deadline: May 1, 2013.
Kids Invention Challenge Winners Announced
Students from around the world were recognized for top inventions in the second annual K-12 Invent It! Challenge from ePals Corporation and the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center. Students were challenged to come up with solutions to problems in their schools, to improve on inventions being used in their schools, or to invent solutions for larger real-world problems that exist today. Sample winning inventions included:
• A 13-year-old boy from Chapel Hill, N.C.’s construction of a portable transport vehicle for children and elderly refugees who must flee conflict and famine (pictured above);
• A 9-year-old Mississippi girl’s prototype of a purse that has a solar-powered light inside, brightening the chances of finding your house keys;
• A 6-year-old child from Pennsylvania’s “turbo skraper” to make snow and ice removal from a car windshield easier than ever;
• A 9-year-old New Jersey girl’s “sand sleeve,” a wrist guard with sand in it, the weight of which steadies the hand of her grandfather, who has Parkinson’s disease, so he can sign his name.
Details:www.ePals.com
63 New K-12 Grants Announced
Digital Wish has unveiled its 2013 grants calendar, featuring 63 new technology grant awards for K-12 classrooms. By uploading a technology-based lesson plan to Digital Wish’s lesson plan library, teachers become eligible for smartphones, software, and IT curriculum grant awards. New grants will be awarded each month.
Details: Click on techlearning.com/mar13 for a link to the full calendar.
Sony Electronics Launches Tablet Education Program
Sony’s new K-12 Education Initiative focuses on helping schools easily integrate tablet and mobile technologies into the classroom. The program includes access to tablets and other devices at special pricing, as well as the Sony Education Ambassador online community, a free online destination that provides access to experienced teachers, IT managers, and specialists. See www.educationambassador.com for details.
How Do You Juno? Contest
FrontRow’s How Do You Juno? Contest gives K-20 educators the opportunity to use Juno free until June 1, 2013. Educators use Juno to enter video submissions that capture a classroom lesson, including a short testimonial about how lesson capture fits into the larger pedagogical strategy of the school or district. Through May 7, people will be able to watch the videos on FrontRow’s site and rate them. The videos with the highest scores, as rated by viewers, will then be sent to the judging panel for final scoring.
Deadline: April 15, 2013
Prizes: Three grand prize winners and five runner-up prizes totaling over $17,000 in prizes.
Details:www.gofrontrow.com/howdoyoujuno
ContentKeeper Filter Donation
ContentKeeper will donate 1,000 licenses of CK Web Filter Pro for one year to help ensure that selected districts have the tools they need to support BYOD and next-gen learning. Award selection will be made based on three key factors: level of innovation in the proposed use of CK Web Filter Pro; financial need within the district that is currently prohibiting purchase or license of CIPA-compliant content filtering; and demographics of the students served within the district.
Deadline: April 30, 2013
