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7 tech grants and contests perfect for summer

grants-contests

Educators and students can use their summer break to participate in grant competitions and contests

As schools close for summer vacation, educators are likely looking forward to a chance to recharge for next year. But there are plenty of summer grants and contests to keep educators busy until the fall.

Each month, eSchool News compiles a list of new education grant opportunities. This month’s grants focus on summer opportunities for educators, classroom teachers, and students.

Project ED video initiative [1]

Project ED is a new online video initiative from Amplify Learning that challenges students, teachers, parents, and amateur filmmakers to re-imagine concepts from Math, Science and English. We believe everyone has the power to teach. Your explanations, your creativity, and your passion can help everyone learn. Project ED was built to inspire you and show your work to the world. Each month Project ED hosts educational video contests. We hand you the idea and you run with it. You could win one of our many prizes and your video could become part of a new educational library that features the best videos created by people like you. Deadlines and prizes vary.

Next page: Six more summer grants and contests

TeacherLists Schools Work Smarter sweepstakes [2]

TeacherLists’ ‘Schools Work Smarter’ sweepstakes will award $5,000 to one school. For the chance to win, an educator, school or office administrator, or a school volunteer must upload or update their school’s 2015-2016 school supply lists on TeacherLists.com, and then add the link provided by TeacherLists to the school’s website. TeacherLists users, defined as anyone who coordinates the school supply list process at a given school, such as school secretaries, technology coordinators, school PTO and PTA volunteers, and school principals, can enter for a chance to win the award on behalf of their respective schools. A free account is required in order to create or upload supply lists but no purchase is required to enter. Users have until August 31 to complete the steps required to apply for the contest.

 

ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing [3]

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, and CSTA, the Computer Science Teachers Association, have announced a new award. The ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing recognizes talented high school students in computer science. The program seeks to promote and encourage the field of computer science, as well as to empower young and aspiring learners to pursue computing challenges outside of the traditional classroom environment. Four winners will be selected annually and each will be awarded a $10,000 prize and cost of travel to the annual ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing Reception where students will demonstrate their programs and discuss their work. The prizes will be funded by a $1 million endowment established by David Cutler and Gordon Bell. Eligible applicants for the award will include graduating high school seniors residing and attending school in the US. The application period for the inaugural award is scheduled to open August 1, 2015 and close January 1, 2016. The inaugural awards will be announced in February 2016.

 

GoQuest Project Summer [4]

As students and teachers begin to wrap up the school year, Compass Learning is kicking off a nationwide contest to encourage academic learning and enrichment throughout the summer. GoQuest Project Summer will offer free inquiry- and project-based learning software to program coordinators and educators, giving participating organizations the chance to win one of two prize packages worth $10,800 each. GoQuest Project Summer will provide the necessary student-centered tools that facilitate strategic inquiry and critical thinking to help foster the development of critical real-world skills, including collaboration, creativity, and communication. Organizations who sign up for the challenge by July 31 will receive Compass Learning’s newest instructional solution GoQuest for free use through August 31. For the chance to win $5,000 for their organization plus an annual site license and professional development for GoQuest, participants must submit photos, chronicling their progress through engaging, personalized projects. Entries for the 2015 GoQuest Project Summer contest will be accepted through August 25 at 5:00 p.m. CDT.

 

Target Field Trip Grants [5]

Target stores award Field Trip Grants to K-12 schools nationwide. Each grant is valued up to $700. Target accepts grant applications between 12 p.m. CST on August 1 and 12 p.m. CST Sept. 30. Applications will be available online beginning August 1.

 

Kids in Need Teacher Grants [6]

Kids In Need Teacher Grants provide educators with funding to purchase the materials they need to conduct innovative projects in their classrooms. Grant applications are available online beginning July 15, and applications close on Sept. 30. Grants range from $100-$500.

 

K-12 Game-a-thon Challenge [7]

MIND Research Institute is sponsoring the national K-12 Game-a-thon Challenge to cultivate and showcase game designs featuring creative and unusual solutions to mathematical problems. Students will launch a life-long love of math as they apply the math they are learning to game-play. The Game-a-thon challenges students to design, build and share a game that features creative and unusual solutions to mathematical problems. Teams of one or more students, along with a teacher or parent in a coordinator role, can invent card games, board games, apps, outdoor games or anything else that addresses a mathematical topic ranging from counting to irrational numbers to measurement to modeling. Applications are due July 15, making this a fun summer project for students.