Turning Foundation Seeks Ed Tech Grant Applications

• By Tim Sohn
• 01/04/12

Samsung Mobile, BrainPOP, Turning Technologies, and the Turning Foundation have collaborated to offer educational technology grants totaling $36,000 for K-12 classrooms.

Ten teachers will be selected to receive technology grants worth $3,600, and the deadline to apply is Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m. Applicants for the grant must be current K-12 teachers at accredited nonprofit schools in the United States.

Recipients of the grant will receive three technology tools to help boost both student and teacher achievement:

• A Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which runs on the Android 3.1 operation system, has a 1 GHz nVidia Tegra 2 dual-core mobile processor, and 16 GB internal memory. It has a 1280 x 800 WXGA TFT LCD high-definition 10.1-inch screen, and weighs 1.2 pounds. It includes a rear-facing 3-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for photos and video chat. The tablet also supports Adobe Flash and has a nine-hour battery life. It supports Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity, 3G networks, and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n;
• A classroom access subscription to BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. (for grades K-3). BrainPOP provides standards-aligned resources for reading, writing, health, arts, music, engineering, technology, English, social studies, math, and science. It includes activity pages, apps, games, movies, interactive quizzes, experiments, and timelines. BrainPOP is compatible with whiteboards, OS X, Windows, and projectors. BrainPOP also integrates with student response devices created by Turning Technologies; and
• A 32-seat radio frequency ResponseCard NXT student response system from Turning Technologies, which includes self-paced polling software, keypads, a 1.1" x 3.7" x 0.4, 1-ounce USB-based response RF receiver (range is 200 feet), and a state-aligned question library. It supports answers in several formats, including multiple choice, numeric response, true/false, multiple response, fill-in-the-blank, and essay. Users answer questions with cell phone-style entry. Teachers can reveal test results to each individual student and monitor test results in real time.

Winners of the grant will be sent an e-mail notification on Feb. 24. Before teachers can receive their technology packages, they must first agree to a publicity release and requirements regarding implementation. Those assurances include that the technology will be used in a K-12 nonprofit school classroom, the principal gives the OK for implementation, and the teacher will provide a one-page summary at the conclusion of the 2012-2013 school year providing a description of how the technology was used.

To apply for the grant, teachers should visit turningtechnologies.com to fill out an application with questions about how the grant would be used, what outcomes they expect and how they will measure them, and the technology currently in their classroom. E-mail John Wilson, director of the Turning Foundation, at [email protected] with any questions.