Technology + Online + Industry + Partnerships
Seeing the 'Green' Light
A new essay competition asks secondary students to describe how
schools can best use technology to preserve the environment.
WITH TECHNOLOGY and the environment
increasingly at the forefront of global discussion,
PC Mall Gov is giving
middle and high school students an opportunity
to examine how one can be used to make a
positive impact on the other.
Partnering with T.H.E. Journal, Hewlett-
Packard, and InFocus, PC Mall Gov is accepting student
entries for its Green Light Contest. Students in
grades 5 to 12 must submit an application along
with an essay of 1,000 words or less that
describes a potential program to help students
and teachers use technology to protect the
environment. The essays must also reflect on the
overall impact the technology program
could have on the school and
surrounding community.
The programs presented
in the essays
will be scored by a
panel of judges from
the education technology
field based on
their potential environmental
impact,
originality, implementation
capabilities, and
potential for replication.
The four highest-scoring
essays will be published
on www.thejournal.com.
From those four essays, the
judges will choose two firstprize
winners-- one from
grades 5 through 8 and another
from grades 9 through 12-- to
each receive an environmentally
friendly HP laptop. One of the
two first-prize winners will be
named the grand-prize winner and
receive a 30-seat "green" computer lab for his or
her school. The lab will include HP thin clients
with a server, software, and networking
equipment, as well as laptops, a printer, and an
InFocus projector. The winners will also be
recognized during the 2009 Florida Educational
Technology Conference, which
will be held Jan. 21-24 in Orlando, FL.
"We are excited and pleased to offer this
contest to students across the country," says
Alan Bechara, president of PC Mall Gov. "Our
partnership with HP and InFocus enables us to
encourage students to think about how technology
and environmental awareness come together
in our schools and classrooms, and how we can
responsibly use these tools not only to advance
learning but also to protect the environment.
There is no better group
than our tech-savvy students
to think about, and address,
these issues."
"It is our hope that through
this contest we will foster lifelong
interest in environmental
stewardship through the use of
technology," adds PC Mall Gov
Vice President of Business
Development Sharon Ennis.
Entries are due Dec. 1, and each
school may only submit three essays
per grade level. If you would like more
information about the Green Light
Contest, including submission criteria and
applications, visit here. The website also
includes free contest posters for your
school, tips for helping the environment,
and links to environmental websites that
may provide information and inspiration
to entrants. Send questions about the contest
here.
SETDA OFFERS TIPS FOR STEM TEACHING
THE STATE EDUCATIONAL Technology
Directors Association
(SETDA) recently
released a report titled "Science,
Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics," which addresses
the need to provide all children
with rigorous instruction in the
four STEM subjects.
The report includes examples
of schools that have successfully
implemented STEM education
into their curriculum, and uses
these examples to offer suggestions
for effective instruction. Key
recommendations include exposing
students to STEM careers,
and providing ongoing STEM
professional development and
preservice teacher training.
SETDA also places a special
emphasis on building societal
support for STEM education. "The
negative connotation of the 'computer
geek,' 'brainiac scientist,'
and 'mathlete' needs to be turned
on its head," said SETDA Executive
Director Mary Ann Wolf in a statement.
"Parents, teachers, and
community leaders must promote
the possibilities of STEM careers
instead of relegating these choices
to 'other kids' who are really good
at math or science."
The report is the second
released as part of SETDA's Vision
20/20 Action Plan series, an initiative
that aims to outline steps
that policymakers and school
districts can take so that the class
of 2020 will have all of the skills
needed to compete in a global
economy. Visit here to download the report.
:: Industry News
SPECTRUM K12 HOSTS RTI
WEBINAR SERIES. Spectrum K12
School Solutions is hosting the "Architecting
Success: Manage RtI and Student
Achievement" Exceed/Response to
Intervention webinar series for K-12
educators who want to improve student
achievement through personalized
instruction for all students. The interactive
sessions will review research from
leading national organizations, demonstrate
tools for integrating data, and
illustrate progress monitoring through
the use of visual displays. The first of
the free, one-hour webinars, titled
"RtI-- Process or Program?" will be
held at 3 p.m. EDT on Oct. 9. For
more details and to register, visit here.
STR LOANS MICROSCOPE KITS TO
SCHOOLS. School Technology
Resources has
launched a program to provide free loaner
microscope kits to science teachers,
including free shipping of the kits to and
from anywhere in the US. The loan program
coincides with the introduction of
the company's Scope on a Rope (SOAR),
a handheld video microscope with interchangeable
magnifying lenses, and an
output for connection to a computer,
projector, TV, or LCD display. The new
SOAR kits include the microscope, an
XYZ stage/stand, and a teacher resource
CD with more than 100 K-12 lesson
plans. To find out more about the program
and sign up for a loan, teachers
can visit here.
TEACHSCAPE OFFERS FREE PD
MODULES. By joining the Module of
the Month Club, teachers can explore
the online professional development
resources found in the Teachscape XL
web-based PD platform. After signing
up for the club on www.teachscape.com,
teachers will have access to a free
online course module each month, to use
for their own learning or to share with
teachers they're coaching. Up coming
course topics include English language
development, overcoming dyslexia,
and evidence-based practices for teaching
reading.
:: Awards and Contests
CLASSROOM MAKEOVER VIDEO
CONTEST LAUNCHES. AVerMedia has teamed
up with eInstruction to bring the second annual
Interactive Classroom Makeover Video
Contest to K-12 schools. Participating
classes must produce a short music
video parodying a song of their choice
while demonstrating how different types
of technology can be used to enhance
instruction. A panel of judges will choose
one winning class from each of the K-5,
6-8, and 9-12 grade categories. The three
grand-prize winners will receive cash,
products, and services from various
education technology companies totaling
about $75,000, which they will use to
give their classrooms a technology
makeover. Submissions are being
accepted until Oct. 24. Visit www.eimakeover.com for more information
and complete contest details.
UPDATE: VERNIER/NSTA AWARD
DEADLINE EXTENDED. Vernier
Software & Technology and the National Science Teachers
Association have
extended the submission deadline for the
Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards to
Nov. 30. The awards, which comprise
$1,000 in cash, $1,000 in Vernier
equipment, and $1,000 toward expenses
for attending NSTA's 2009 National
Convention, will be given to seven of the
most resourceful science teachers in the
country. For more information, visit
here.
This article originally appeared in the 10/01/2008 issue of THE Journal.