Remaining a tech-savvy educator means keeping on top of the myriad changes and trends in education, how technology can support those trends, and how teaching and learning can best benefit from near-constant change.
Below, we’ve gathered some of the latest and most relevant marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.
On Oct. 1, CenturyLink Inc. opened the application process for The CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation Teachers and Technology grant program. Full-time and PreK-12 teachers in public, private and/or charter schools in CenturyLink local service areas in the U.S. are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $5,000 to innovatively implement technology in their classrooms to increase student achievement. To apply, teachers should visit www.centurylink.com/teachersandtechnology. The deadline for applications is midnight (Eastern), Jan. 12, 2017. Read more.
Colorado’s St. Vrain Valley School District announced a new partnership with Discovery Education. As part of this new relationship, Discovery Education is supporting the district’s continued transition to modern learning environments by empowering the district’s middle school educators to more deeply engage students in science instruction with its Science Techbook. In addition, Discovery Education and the districts are beginning a two year-long pilot review programs, bringing the Science Techbook to high school classrooms, as well as the Social Studies Techbook to middle school classrooms. Read more.
Google Apps for Education arrived on the scene 10 years ago with a vision to help teachers and students share and learn together in innovative ways. Now, Google is announcing a new name for Google Apps for Education that better reflects the collaborative power of these tools and reinforces its mission: G Suite for Education. G Suite for Education is the same set of apps–Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, Hangouts, and more–but designed with new intelligent features that make work easier and bring teachers and students together. Read more.
The 2016 Infosys Foundation USA/ACM/CSTA Awards for Teaching Excellence in Computer Science recognize talented K-12 computer science teachers around the world. Up to 10 winners will be selected from eligible entries, and each will be awarded a prize of $10,000. The application period for the 2016 award opens October 1, 2016 and closes November 1, 2016. Winners will be announced in December, 2016, and prizes will be awarded at the 2017 CSTA Annual Conference. Read more.
Design Squad Global, the PBS KIDS website, is set to launch its global Clubs initiative, where kids in after-school programs around the world engage in a multi-week program designed to increase their understanding of engineering and expand cross-cultural engagement. Club Leaders worldwide–from South America to the Middle East to the U.S.–will lead kids ages 10-to-13 in real-world engineering projects that are meaningful and relevant to their communities. Read more.
Learning.com announced its first Code-a-Thon, a nationwide competition that will run from Nov. 14-18, 2016 to provide an introduction to coding skills for elementary and middle school students. To participate in the Code-a-Thon, schools simply register to receive free access to EasyTech and EasyCode Basic. Then, students log in and code their way through a number of challenges–each with increasing levels of difficulty–earning points for every successfully completed challenge. Read more.
Vernier Software & Technology and the National Science Teachers Association are accepting applications for the 2017 Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards. This annual awards program recognizes seven educators—one elementary teacher, two middle school teachers, three high school teachers, and one college-level educator—for their innovative use of data-collection technology in the science classroom. Each winner will be chosen by a panel of NSTA-appointed experts and will receive $1,000 in cash, $3,000 in Vernier products, and up to $1,500 toward expenses to attend the annual NSTA National Conference. Read more.
