Tech & Learning - July 2008 - (Page 22)

THE MONEY ISSUE: WHERE TO FIND IT ORGANIZATION: BEST BUY Grant Program: Best Buy Teach Award Program URL: http://www.bbycommunications.com/crnew/teach.asp PROFILE: Best Buy Teach Award provides gift cards to schools to enable them to purchase technology for their students. Since 2004, the Best Buy Teach Award program has awarded more than $17 million to over 6,000 K-12 schools nationwide. In 2008, Best Buy will award up to $2 million to K-12 schools in the US and Puerto Rico. Awards will range from $1,000 to $5,000 based on specific school needs. $10,000 will be awarded to up to 15 applications supporting 9th grade programs. PAST RECIPIENT(S): In 2008, Best Buy awarded grants to the following school districts as part of the Best Buy Teach Award program: Bend LaPine School District - Bend, OR Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District - Santa Ynez, CA Springdale Public Schools - Springdale, AK Saint Paul Public Schools - St. Paul, MN Monroe County Community School Corp. - Bloomington, IN DeKalb County Schools - Decatur, GA Spartanburg District Two - Boiling Springs, SC Nazareth Area School District - Nazareth, PA world away from each other, students in Wedderburn, Victoria, Australia, and Andale, Kansas, United States, had similar reactions when their teachers showed them the documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” The video kicked off a cross-continental study of environmental issues, with both sites connected via videoconferencing. Other elements of the project included charting the environmental impact of students’ families via “environmental footprints” and participating in a final presentation of learning. ORGANIZATION: TOSHIBA AMERICA FOUNDATION (TAF) Grant Program(s): TAF provides grants up to $1,000 for K-6 teachers (offered each fall). Grades 7-12 teachers may apply for grants up to $5,000 at any time during the calendar year. Grant requests of more than $5,000 are reviewed twice a year. URL: www.taf.toshiba.com WHAT THEY GIVE: The mission of Toshiba America Foundation is to promote quality science and mathematics education in US schools. Grants are made for K-12 programs and activities that improve teaching and learning in science and mathematics. The Foundation focuses its grant-making on inquiry-based projects designed by individual teachers and small teams for use in their own classrooms. WHAT SCHOOLS DID WITH IT: The Greater Hartford Academy of Mathematics & Science (GHAMAS) received a TAF grant for classroom research on biofuels. During the 200708 school year, using money provided by TAF, the Growing Algae team at GHAMAS produced five tanks of algae. They also created a method for harvesting algae and gained knowledge of different growing environments. So far this year, the Oil to Diesel team at GHAMAS has created batches of suspected biodiesel from canola oil and plans to subject the batches to further experimentation. In addition, the group has decided to send its suspected biodiesel samples to a University of Connecticut professor for testing. ORGANIZATION: INTEL FOUNDATION Grant Program(s): Intel Education Grants URL: http://www.intel.com/community/grant.htm WHAT THEY GIVE: The Intel Foundation contributes millions of dollars annually to school districts and other educational institutions in communities where the company operates major facilities. Over the past decade, Intel has invested more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions worldwide. Intel is keen to support education through grants for programs that advance science, math, and technology education—particularly for women and underserved populations. According to Wendy Hawkins, executive director of the Intel Foundation, the foundation has a strong interest in supporting K-12 education programs “that deliver the kind of educational opportunities that all students will need to prepare themselves to succeed in the 21st century.” WHAT SCHOOLS DID WITH IT: Motivated by the Intel Teach Program, part of Intel’s $100 million annual Intel Education Initiative, educators from two small towns on opposite sides of the globe engaged their students in a cross-cultural, environmental research project employing Web 2.0 technologies. The result: students not only honed essential 21st century skills-including digital literacy, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving—they also acquired a more global perspective on environmental issues and were inspired to make positive changes in their communities, according to an Intel case study. Despite being half a Toshiba American Foundation winners. For more info, head over to techlearning.com 22 | TECH & LEARNING http://www.bbycommunications.com/crnew/teach.asp http://www.taf.toshiba.com http://www.intel.com/community/grant.htm http://techlearning.com

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Tech & Learning - July 2008 Contents Editor's Desk News & Trends In the Money How They Got So Rich The Better Ways to Win a Grant What's the Big Idea? Cover Your Assets Leader of the Year

Tech & Learning - July 2008

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