Tech Bytes - February

Hey, Guys! I have so much to share with you this month! I'm excited to share some grant and growth opportunities as well as some tools to use in your classroom. Let's get started!

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Be In the Know

Association of American Educators Classroom Grants (K12) - These classroom grants of $500 or less can be used for a variety of projects and materials, including but not limited to books, software, calculators, math manipulatives, art supplies, audio-visual equipment, and lab materials. Funds must be used within one year of the application deadline. Application deadline is March 1. You can find more information here.

Carton 2 Garden Contest (PK12) This contest rewards preK-12 schools that creatively repurpose at least 100 milk or juice cartons for their gardens. Schools don't need an existing garden to apply. There are 14 award packages and the Grand Prize is $5,000. Deadline to apply is April 16. You can find more information here.  

Want to go to ISTE in Chicago this summer? There are two Award opportunities that can help get you there! Check out ISTE Outstanding Young Educator Award and ISTE's Kay L. Bitter Vision Award for details. 

Penn State Interdisciplinary Materials Research Experience for Teachers K12 - Teachers selected to participate in this six-week program will receive hands-on nanoscience and technology experience through research, with applications to bio-engineering, chemistry, electronics, materials science, optics, optoelectronics, physics, and life sciences. Teachers will engage in a week's worth of seminars, demonstrations, workshops, and activities geared towards connecting state-of-the-art research with K-12 education. Teachers will earn a $6000 stipend ($5000 for pre-service teachers). Housing is provided if needed, and reasonable travel expenses will be covered. At the end of the summer, RET fellows will present their projects at a scientific mini-symposium to their research collaborators, peer teachers, and undergraduates. Interested? Check out details here. Deadline is April 15. 

iPad App

Adobe Spark provides an easy way to make video stories in minutes. The good news is they recently announced students under 13 can now use this tool and sign in will be a single sign in with Google. And for more good news, it is also available for use on Chromebooks, so iPads are not needed.

Cool Tools Corner

With so many of you 1:1 with Chromebooks, I want to share a few tools that you can explore for using with your students.

Classroomscreen is an awesome one-stop shop for many tools that teachers and students can use, tools such as random name selector, timers, noise meter work symbols, and more.  Click on the menu in the upper left to see Tips and Tricks and other options. Students can use the site to self-monitor group work. 

Nearpod & Interactive Reading Lessons - This past week one of the large state technology conferences was held in Florida - FETC. One of the presenters did a session on using Nearpod with reading. (By the way, Nearpod is also available as an iPad app.) She uses this tool from Kinders all the way to adults. I truly recommend taking the time to read her post and give this a try in the classroom. 

You know I love Book Creator and I have blogged about the Chromebook app for it. There is a similar tool for young learners called WriteReader that allows students to publish books with their spelling (no underlines for incorrect spelling) while providing a space for the adult to write the correct spelling. This makes it totally collaborative between teachers and their students. Students can use embedded images, upload images, and use the camera on the Chromebook and record their voice. Completed books can be shared online, saved as PDF, and/or printed. 

And last, but not least! I've told you about Flipgrid too. Well...Starting February 12, there is an opportunity to follow along with a marine biologist during a two-week exploration of diving with sharks. AMAZING! And, wait for it....there is a hyperdoc that goes with it!!!! Can you tell I am over the top excited about this one? Check this link for more information.