THE Insider
Critical Insights for K-12 Education Technology Pros 4/6/2018

Editor's Choice


  • Critical Thinking and Next Generation Science Standards

    In this webcast, join ed tech veteran Elliot Soloway and NGSS Lead Writer Joseph Krajcik as they tackle one of the most pressing issues in science education today: Next Generation Science Standards and the shift those standards entail. Editor-in-Chief David Nagel hosts this one-hour event. (Registration is required.)

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Top 10 Articles of the Last Month


  • Designing Learning Spaces for Student Engagement

    Teacher and former interior designer Erin Klein argues that students must have a voice in how they learn, and part of that involves listening to their needs when it comes to classroom design — for comfort, engagement and empowerment.

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  • When Can You Search a Student's Phone?

    What happens after an educator confiscates a device? In general, teachers and administrators can seize a disruptive device (though for many this is not the first choice), and district policies can provide explicitly for that. But whether educators can search a device is far less clear, dependent on the situation and in some cases the state.

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  • Why Game-Based Learning Works for This Math Teacher

    When Giulia Bini introduced the use of a video game in her high school calculus class, she saw a 100 percent pass rate on testing about limits compared to 80 percent in the previous year; plus, grades rose by 10 percent. The game she used, Variant: Limits by Triseum, places players on an imaginary planet. To rescue the planet from "imminent doom," they help "Equa," the main character, solve a series of increasingly tough calculus problems.

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  • Report: The Real Role of Blended Learning in Instruction

    A new guide on blended learning reminds school district leaders that blended isn't a goal unto itself; nor is it a specific instructional approach. Blended can be integrated into a "variety of educational models" and serves as the "vehicle" for providing innovative instruction.

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  • Mentors, Encouragement, Hands-on Learning Boost Girls' Interest in STEM Substantially

    Generally girls lose interest in STEM careers as they get older. But, according to a new study, small changes at school and at home can have a profound impact on how girls perceive STEM careers, how confident they feel in class and how likely they are to pursue STEM academically and into their careers.

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  • Data Analysis Finds Charters More Inclusive for Special Ed Students

    Charter schools tend to serve more students with disabilities in more inclusive settings. Nearly 85 percent of students with disabilities in charter schools attended class in general education classrooms for 80 percent or more of their day compared to 68 percent of students with disabilities in traditional public schools.

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  • IoT Has Arrived (Just Not in the Way You Expected)

    Forget about sensors everywhere. The Internet of Things is really about networked devices making our lives easier.

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  • $25,000 PK–12 Social Emotional Learning Grants: Deadline in 3 Weeks

    Applications are due April 20 for the Social Emotional Learning Innovation Fund grants from Education First, the NoVo Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. This year grants will be awarded to both individual teachers and multi-school programs. Last year more than one in 10 applicants received funding.

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  • Understand NGSS in 5 Minutes: Sort of

    NGSS – The Next Generation Science Standards – is the hot new way to teach science in K-12. NGSS is a revolution in science education. In our blog, we briefly try to do that revolution justice by explaining its five key terms.

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  • Amazon Pumping $50 Million into CS Education

    Amazon is committing $50 million to computer science education in the United States with new programs supporting high school and early undergraduate students, including financial aid to help schools bring AP CS courses to their students.

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    Upcoming K–12 Grants

    • InvenTeams

      Sponsor: Lemelson Foundation and the School of Engineering at MIT
      Award: $10,000 per grant
      Number of Awards: Up to 15
      Application Deadline: Initial applications due April 9
    • Environmental Literacy Program

      Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce)
      Award: Grants tend to fall in the $450,000 range. See NOAA's awards page for details.
      Number of Awards: Varies (two in 2017, five in 2016, six in 2015)
      Application Deadline: April 9
    • America's Farmers Grow Rural Education

      Sponsor: Monsanto
      Award: Up to $25,000
      Number of Awards: Varies ($2.3 million available)
      Application Deadline: Nominations due April 2; grant proposals due April 15
    • ACS-Hach High School Chemistry Classroom Grant

      Sponsor: American Chemical Society
      Award: Up to $1,500
      Number of Awards: Not specified
      Application Deadline: April 14 (grant opens Feb. 1)
    • Academic Enrichment Grants

      Sponsor: McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
      Award: $30,000 maximum ($10,000 over three years)
      Number of Awards: Not specified (five awarded last year)
      Application Deadline: April 15 (submissions open Jan. 15)
    • Teacher Development Grants

      Sponsor: McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
      Award: $30,000 maximum ($10,000 over three years)
      Number of Awards: Not specified (two awarded last year)
      Application Deadline: April 15 (submissions open Jan. 15)
    • Young Scientist Challenge

      Sponsor: Discovery Education and 3M
      Award: $25,000 grand prize; other prizes vary
      Number of Awards: 71 (61 for students, 10 for educators)
      Application Deadline: April 19
    • Social Emotional Learning Innovation Fund

      Sponsor: NoVo Foundation, Education First, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
      Award: Up to $5,000 for teacher grants; up to $25,000 for district grants
      Number of Awards: Not specified (67 teachers and 30 districts won grants last year, representing 12 percent of applicants)
      Application Deadline: April 20
    • Siemens STEM Day

      Sponsor: Discovery Education and Siemens
      Award: $10,000
      Number of Awards: 1
      Application Deadline: April 27
    • ESA Foundation STEM Grant

      Sponsor: Entertainment Software Association Foundation
      Award: Not specified, but suggested upper limit for first-time applicants is $50,000
      Number of Awards: Not specified
      Application Deadline: Letters of inquiry due May 15 (submission period opens April 14)
    • NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership Grants

      Sponsor: National Education Association Foundation
      Award: $2,000 or $5,000
      Number of Awards: Not specified
      Application Deadline: Feb. 1, June 1 and Oct. 15 of each year
    • NEA Foundation Student Achievement Grants

      Sponsor: National Education Association Foundation
      Award: $2,000 or $5,000
      Number of Awards: Not specified
      Application Deadline: Feb. 1, June 1 and Oct. 15 of each year
    • Champion Creatively Alive Children Grant Program

      Sponsor: Crayola and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
      Award: $2,500 plus $1,000 in Crayola gear
      Number of Awards: Up to 20 major prizes, plus one Crayola Classpack for every applicant submitting by the early bird deadline
      Application Deadline: June 22 (June 4 for early bird prize)
    • 2018 K-12 IT Makeover Contest

      Sponsor: APC by Schneider Electric
      Award: $10,000 in IT-related equipment upgrades
      Number of Awards: 1
      Application Deadline: June 30
    • American Honda Foundation STEM Grants

      Sponsor: American Honda Foundation
      Award: $20,000 to $75,000
      Number of Awards: Not specified
      Application Deadline: Feb. 1 and Aug. 1 for new organizations; May 1 for returning organizations
    • Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)

      Sponsor: National Science Foundation
      Award: $10 million to $20 million
      Number of Awards: 9–18 total in three categories
      Application Deadline: Aug. 8
    • SparkFun Community Partner Program

      Sponsor: SparkFun
      Award: STEM/STEAM-related prize packages, event and team sponsorships and other types of support
      Number of Awards: Varies
      Application Deadline: Ongoing: third Thursday of each month; awards announced on the last business day of each month
    • Adopt a Classroom

      Deadline: Ongoing
    • Brinker International Grants

      Deadline: Ongoing
    • Brown Rudnick Community Grants

      Deadline: Ongoing
    • Corning Foundation Grants

      Deadline: Ongoing
    • DonorsChoose.org

      Deadline: Ongoing
    • Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants


      Deadline: Ongoing
      Award: No more than 10 percent of an organization's annual operating expenses or 25 percent of the total budget for the project being funded; awards have ranged from the hundreds to the millions of dollars.
      Number of Awards: Varies
      Qualification: Project should "directly serve or impact children living in urban poverty, particularly in the areas of education, family economic stability (including microfinance) and childhood health."
    • Naiku Innovative Teacher Grant

      Deadline: Ongoing (approx. 10 awards per month)
    • Sony Grants for Education

      Deadline: Ongoing (grants awarded on a rolling basis)
    • TAF Project-Based Learning Grants for Grades 6–12

      Sponsor: Toshiba America Foundation
      Award: Two categories: Up to $5,000 and more than $5,000
      Number of Awards: Not specified
      Application Deadline: Up to $5,000 awarded on a rolling basis; Feb. 1 deadline for applications for more than $5,000

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