Schools/Teachers/LMS: Thomson Gale TEAMS Award

The Thomson Gale TEAMS Award is open to all K-12 public and private school teachers in the United States who have collaborated with media specialists to promote learning and increase student achievement.

 Three winners will receive $2,500 (and some other stuff) from Gale.  

Deadline:  June 30, 2013

Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow technology giveaway

Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow technology giveaway for 6th – 12th Grade Educators.Nerds, unite!

Samsung is asking 6th-12th grade teachers to create a video answering the question: “How can you use STEM to improve the environment in your community?”

Hey, btw, STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  

1. Fill out a short application describing how you’d apply this contest in your classroom.
2. 25 respondents will be selected to receive a Samsung camcorder and Adobe video editing software to create videos responding to the question, “How can you use STEM to improve the environment in your community?”
3. 12 schools will win technology grants worth at least $70,000 (!).
4. 5 of those schools will win 100,000 (!) technology grants.
5. Those five winners will be honored at an awards ceremony.

Deadline: March 12, 2012. Don't delay, though, earlier is better.

USA Today Free Resources for classroom teachers

It’s not terribly well-organized nor unified, but USA Today has quite a few ‘free resources’ of interest to educators. All are accessible from USAToday Educate site (where you'll find a Teacher’s Lounge and a blog) at the top under ‘Free Resources.’ A few I picked out:

Teachers/media specialists can sign up to receive complimentary classroom copies (print or electronic) of USA TODAY. First come, first served.

A Lesson Library houses lessons that have been developed over the past few years by USA TODAY Education. in the topics of Language Arts, Social Studies, Science & Engineering, Math & Technology, Health Entrepreneurship, and Financial Literacy. There is an archive as well.

The Dream UP! Program, designed to be simple, effective, and with little outside prep on the part of the teacher, helps students identify career directions. 

Lessons from the Visions of Exploration program are designed to enhance students’ reading, writing and comprehension skills, while introducing them to topics in science, technology, engineering and math. Each contains a recent article found in USA TODAY, discussion questions, and an activity. The lessons prepare students for the world beyond the classroom and inspire them to become explorers.

Some Cyber Security content (http://usatodayeducate.com/wordpress/index.php/technology-cyber-security) might help ‘teach our children how to become cyber citizens and better ensure they don’t become cyber crime victims in the future.’

Money Matters 101 is a series of free lesson plans that help teach students about finances and planning. Thy are based on real-world examples / articles from USA TODAY, and lesson topics include saving for now and for later, being prepared for a financial crisis, using credit cards, protecting oneself from online scams.

Healthy Teens is a “free cross-curricular health and wellness literacy program to inspire middle school students to build a better quality of life for themselves, their families, and their communities.” 

The ‘Prepared, Not Scared TextMessaging for Safety’ program is a six-week, project-based learning activity where students research a threat facing their community and create a series of text messages to inform and guide the community through the emergency.

Lastly, maybe Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow technology giveaway for 6th to 12th grade educators is right for you.  

Frances Henne VOYA research grant

The Frances Henne Voice of Youth Advocates Research Grant recognizes a school library media specialist with five years or less experience who demonstrates leadership qualities with students, teachers and administrators, to attend an AASL conference or ALA Annual Conference for the first time. Applicants must be AASL personal members.

This is a $1,000 award for personal members of YALSA, including student members (although the research project may be undertaken by an individual, an institution, or by a group).

Deadline is December 1st; full details.