ISTE's Webinars: A Way to Keep Up

For those who don't live near a metropolitan area where the latest sessions on tech use are always scheduled or who simply don't have time to zip away from home or school for a seminar, there are the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Webinars. Leading tech educators such as Emily Komblut, Gail Lovely, Ferdi Serim, and David Warlick are three of the upcoming Webinar guides. Each Webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with 15 minutes of Q&A. Some of this year's sessions are: The Power of Global Education in Your Classroom (11/27), Tracking Emerging Technologies for Learning (12/05), Teacher's Guide to Classroom Blogging (12/11), Learner 2.0: The MySpace Generation (1/29), School-wide Tech Integration (2/13), Online Harassment (04/23) and Online Tools for K-5 Literacy (05/20).  Check the ISTE Webinar calendar for additional sessions. All Webinars begin at 4 pm Eastern Time. Fees to join in on a Webinar: $50 for ISTE members; $129 non-members.

What Parents Think & Do When It Comes to Their Children & the Net

Parenting Moves Online: Parents' Internet Actions and Attitudes 2007 features the results of a poll taken by Cable in the Classroom and Common Sense Media. It features information about what parents are doing at home to keep their children safe online in addition to parent attitudes about how the Internet can help their children. Find out if parents are facing the same problems with their children's Internet use as you are with your students'.  You might also be interested in the 2006 poll, Parenting the MySpace Generation.

Rev Up Those Video Cameras

Kids love digital video so why not put them to work producing their own 10-minute or less movie that focuses upon a community or national issue, which has been part of C-SPAN programming? For the StudentCAM competition, you can get C-SPAN schedules of upcoming programs, C-SPAN Alerts, and also copies of C-SPAN Archives. The programs are copyright cleared to use for educational projects. Submissions (individual or teams of no more than three) may be made by Middle School students (Grades 6-8) and high school students (Grades 9-12) in the United States. Entries must be received by 5:00 pm on Monday, December 31, 2007. There's a Grand Prize of $5000 and other cash prizes, including some for teacher advisors.

Rev Up Those Word Skills

Teachers of Grade 9-12, do you have some students who are experts at word meanings? Tell them about the National Vocabulary Championship sponsored by the Game Show Network (GSN) and encourage them to head to WinWithWords.com to take the National Qualifying Exam by November 30^, 2007. To learn more about this competition, check out Cable in the Classroom (CIC) Kids.Cable.Learning. podcast and also take a look at the study tools created by The Princeton Review. Whether your students enter the competition or not, you'll be able to make use of the free online study modules. On to Mnemonic Madness or perhaps a $5000 prize.

One-Stop Shop for US Tech Grants

The latest edition of information on tech grants from the US Government is now online. Bridge Multimedia and the National Center for Technology Innovation provide this easy-to-use resource where you can see if there's a federal grant to help you with your technology program. You can use the "Grants at a Glance" feature to get a quick review of opportunities available and information on No Child Left Behind Titles I-X for a "digestible overview of the various components of the law." There's also information on E-Rate, EETT (Enhancing Education Through Technology), and other related grants. The FAQ area can help you get started with your searches. So, if you are looking for grant ideas, this is a perfect place to start.

Stellar Stellarium: Your Free Computer Planetarium

You'll love this program, and it's absolutely free. Stellarium is a free open source program that shows the sky-stars, constellations, planets, nebulas and much more. With it you and your students can see the sky like you would through a telescope or with the naked eye. You can zoom in on the planets, add your own landscapes, observe eclipse simulations .... You can download for Linux, Mac OS, and Windows (95 up). This software puts a virtual planetarium on your computer. Try it with your students-even the younger ones will be fascinated by it. -And you will be as well.

Free Webinars: Broadband & Disaster Planning

Do you know what it really means to have a T-1, a T-3, or a DS-3 connection? How do you know if your school or the schools in your district have enough bandwidth? To find out, sign up for US Telecom and CoSN's Webinar II to be held Tuesday, December 11, 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern Time. If you are interested in disaster planning, disaster communication, and recovery of IT-related operations, you'll want to check out Webinar III, Tuesday, January 6^th, 1:00-2:30pm Eastern Time.

Inspiration's Flashes Newsletter

If you use Inspiration, Kidspiration, or InspireData in your classroom or if you are interested in exploring information about the visual learning that these software products offer, you'll want to sign up for Flashes, the Official Newsletter of Inspiration Software.  The October 2008 issue features using InspireData in chemistry class, the Inspired Teacher Scholarship Program, Kidspiration & InspirationTips & Tricks, and the Inspired Learning Community. Take a look at previous issues online for other great ideas.

Technology for Teaching Grant (US and Puerto Rico)

Hewlett-Packard will offer grants worth approximately $40,000 to teams of five teachers from public schools and colleges. Preference will be given to projects that emphasize math and science and involve students from low-income schools. Successful teams will receive (for each team member) an HP Tablet PC, a multimedia projector, an HP computer, a $500 stipend, professional development opportunities, and a shared printer. And that's not all. Based on the outcomes of the selected projects, teachers may receive even more rewards. The application period will open on January 8, 2008 and end on February 14th at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Mark it on your calendar!

Captain Planet to the Rescue

Thinking of a project that will help your students (6-18) better understand environmental issues? You may want to consider applying for a Captain Planet Foundation grant. The next grant deadline for requests must be made to the Captain Planet Foundation by December 31, 2007. Awards are from $250 to $2500.