Instructify

BY REBECCAH HAINES

I can’t really imagine a teacher not using technology in his or her classroom, especially a reader of Instructify.  And, we all could use a little more money to purchase more of that technology, couldn’t we?  So please take some time to look at and apply for the Vernier & NSTA Technology Award.

According to the website, “The Vernier Technology Awards will recognize and reward the innovative use of data-collection technology using a computer, graphing calculator, or other handheld in the science classroom.” You’re eligible to apply if you currently teach science in K-College. Each award will consist of $1000 cash for the teacher, $1000 in Vernier products, and up to $1000 for expenses related to traveling to and attending NSTA’s 2010 National Convention in Philadelphia. Not a bad deal, eh? Make sure to apply by November 30.

Vernier & NSTA Technology Award

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Bright Ideas Grants — Still time to apply in some counties!

Go on a scientific expedition to the south pole with PolarTREC

BY REBECCAH HAINES

I think North Carolina’s Electric Cooperative’s Bright Ideas grant program may be one of the best-kept secrets in the state.  I’ve been very successful at receiving these grants when I’ve applied.  The maximum amount varies by the actual electric cooperative that serves that county.  However, they seem to range between $1,000 and $2,000 awards. Unfortunately, the deadline for many counties has just passed; however, a few counties still have time to apply.

The application process is easy and online, so if your county is still accepting applications, I encourage you to apply — unless you live in Carteret County because then you’ll be competition for me (I’m kidding).  A sampling of counties where you can still apply is below, but you can search for your county at the website.

Cabarrus, Jones, Onslow Counties’ deadline: September 25, 2009

Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Carteret,  Craven (some schools) Counties’ deadline: September 30, 2009

NC Bright Ideas

BY BILL FERRIS

Win a trip to Antarctica. Yes, that’s supposed to be an incentive.

PolarTREC will send 36 teachers to the Arctic or Antarctic to work with polar research teams. They’ll take a mittens-on approach to learning about atmospheric chemistry, biology, history and culture in the coldest places on earth. (more…)

BY BILL FERRIS

Last year it was gas prices. This year, that darned economy is the culprit for killing school field trips. Even during hard times, your class doesn’t have to be confined to quarters. Target is again offering field trip grants worth up to $800 to 5,000 teachers this year.

(more…)

BY BILL FERRIS

Check out these upcoming educational grants, as listed on Grant Wrangler.

Last minute:

Gladys Marinelli Coccia Awards — Deadline August 1
This award recognizes young (14 to 17-year-old) female social entrepreneurs who start enterprises for the common good. The winner receives $2,000 for the enterprise, travel, and access to social enterprise resources from Youth Service America.

(more…)

Check out these upcoming educational grants, as listed on Grant Wrangler.

Samsung Focus on Learning Grant Program — Deadline: June 15
Need a Samsung 850DX document camera? Samsung is giving away 50 of them to educators who can demonstrate a need for them.

Universe Adventure Student Video Contest — Deadline: June 15
The Berkley Center for Cosmological Physics and the Honeywell Corporation will give $1,500 in money and new equipment to the students who can create a YouTube video that “demonstrates one of the key fundamental scientific principles or physical laws that governs cosmology or astrophysics in the universe.”

Thomson Gale TEAMS Award –Deadline: June 15
Thomson Gale and the Library Media Connection will award $2,500 cash to three K-12 public or private school teachers who have collaborated with media specialists in the past school year.

New Science Teacher Academy — Deadline: June 30
Second- and third-year science teachers can become a fellow at the New Science Teacher Academy for one year by winning this grant from the National Science Teacher Association.

Coca-Cola Foundation Education Grants –Deadline: Rolling
Coke will support all kinds of educational causes, including dropout prevention, maintaining water quality, recycling and maintaining access to education programs. Plus there’s no deadline. Take a look at their application guidelines and see what you can propose. -BILL FERRIS

Hearing the word biotechnology always makes me think of mad scientists and Frankenstein, even though I am an educated person, and a science teacher, and I know better. Biotechnology can lead to some kind of Frankenstein-ish applications like this, but also lots of other valuable endeavors. In North Carolina, we have several options from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to help K-12 educators make sense of what is out there and apply it to our classrooms.

First, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center is offering mini-grants of up to $6000 for biotechnology “equipment, supplies, and educational materials” for K-12 institutions. The website contains links to all of the documents that are needed to submit an application. And we’re giving you plenty of notice. The next deadline isn’t until January 27, 2010.

In addition to offering grants, the NCBC also offers excellent teacher workshops on biotechnology. I have attended one and can personally attest to their benefits. The workshops offer great content for you as the teacher, as well as showing you how to use the content in your classroom. Best of all, it’s free! Though you have to pay a $50 registration fee, you get a $50-per-day stipend after completion of the workshop, so you net some cash! Also upon completion of the workshop, you’ll be eligible to participate in NCBC’s programs for free supplies, equipment and video loans. The workshop will be well worth your time.

So the best plan would be this: sign up for a workshop so you can get an idea for your grant, then write and submit your grant. It’s a win-win situation. -REBECCAH HAINES

Education mini-grants via the North Carolina Biotechnology Center

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Get them to show you the money! Learn to write a winning grant proposal

Rustle up some money with Grant Wrangler

Here are some recent featured grants from Grant Wrangler, a great Ning site for educator grants that we’ve blogged about here.

Summer Seminars and Institutes for Teachers - March 2, 2009
Stipends for teachers and librarians to study humanities topics in a variety of summer seminars and institutes.

Ultimate Cool School Science Day Sweepstakes - March 2, 2009
A fun, interactive school assembly that underscores the importance of science literacy in K-6 classrooms.

Horace Mann Scholarships - March 12, 2009
$30,000 in scholarships for public and private school K-12 educators to take college courses.

2009 Mantis Award Program March 1, 2009
25 charitable and educational garden programs will recieve Mantis Tiller/Cultivators in 2009. -ALICE MERCER

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Get them to show you the money! Learn to write a winning grant proposal.

Rustle up some money with Grant Wrangler

NEA Foundation Grants: Who says labor doesn’t pay?

We’ve done posts on different grant opportunities for educators. Some of you may have applied for those grants, but what if you don’t know what to say in a grant or award proposal? What if you’ve sent out so many grant applications that you’re becoming the U.S. Postal service’s best friend, and haven’t gotten bupkis? What now? Well, you might want to take a look at this helpful article from scholastic, What do Winning Proposals Have In Common? It’s short and sweet, with just 10 tips on what to do, including the always-useful idea of avoiding jargon, and writing clearly. Thank you Gary Carnow for these pearls of wisdom.

Now for a quick review of some upcoming grants where you can use the wisdom gained from this article:

NEA Foundation Grants - June 1, 2009
Learning & Leadership Grants: to improve professional development. Student Achievement Grants: to improve the academic achievement of students by engaging in critical thinking and problem solving.

Inspired Visual Learning Award - February 27, 2009
Award to improve visual learning for teachers using Inspiration products. -ALICE MERCER

What do Winning Proposals Have In Common?

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Rustle up some money with Grant Wrangler

NEA Foundation Grants: Who says labor doesn’t pay?

Come On, Take the Money and Teach: Grant Writing Made Easy

Photo credit: nathangibbs on Flickr.

As a fellow teacher, I know that fun projects are sometimes put off due to one major concern — finding enough money to fund them. Luckily, there are lots of organizations out there who want to give teachers money for their classrooms. It’s just finding them that can sometimes be too time-consuming. This is where Grant Wrangler comes in. It is a website for K-12 educators that corrals lots of educational grants in one easy-to-search website. You can search the site in many ways — keyword, category, or deadline.

One of my favorite features of the website is the Grant Wrangler Bulletin, an email newsletter to which you can subscribe. Once signed up, you will receive a bi-weekly email that contains a list of grants that have impending deadlines. They always feature a wide range of grant topics in the newsletter. You can see a sample newsletter here. Another interesting and fairly new aspect to Grant Wrangler is My Grant Wrangler, a social network powered by Ning for “K-12 grant seekers and grant givers.” The focus of this portion of the site is sharing experiences and tips for grant writing, seeking, and giving.

With Grant Wrangler, there are no more excuses for putting off that cool project that you’ve been thinking about. From its extensive database, you are sure to find a grant that matches your project. So get out there and lasso some grants - yeehaw! -REBECCAH HAINES

Grant Wrangler

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NEA Foundation Grants: Who says labor doesn’t pay?

If you’ve attended a Project Learning Tree workshop, you can win 500 bucks for your school via the Learn Outside GreenWorks! grant from the American Forest Foundation. You can use this money for all manner of environmental projects at your school, including building a butterfly garden, creating an outdoor classroom, or other creative projects that promote environmental education.

The one downside to this grant is that winners are chosen at random. That said, entering will cost you only the time it takes to complete the application, so it makes sense to apply. The entry deadline is December 30, 2008, so get those applications in soon. -BILL FERRIS

Learn Outside GreenWorks! grant

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Students can win environmental grants with the Planet Connect Grant Program

Photo credit:  jenny downing on flickr

Going green can earn your students some serious green. Well, actually, it’s a grant, so the money would probably arrive in the form of a check, which often have more subdued hues like a light blue or yellow. What was I talking about?

Right. Saving the environment. Planet Connect will award $1000 to the best student-submitted solutions to local environmental problems. Winners will receive $500 to help fund their idea, plus another $500 for an environmental internship in their communities.

Students should apply before January 20, 2009. For a full list of guidelines, tips, and their application guide, click here. This is a great incentive to get your students thinking about how to be nicer to the planet, and possible fodder for a class project. Here’s hoping they earn some green blue yellow money. -BILL FERRIS

[NOTE: If you win this, or any grant mentioned on Instructify, please be sure to let us know!]

Planet Connect Grant Program

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NEA Foundation Grants: Who says labor doesn’t pay?

We like to post grants for educators here on Instructify. Here are three we’ve mentioned that are still accepting applications, plus their deadlines:

Target Field Trip Grants - November 1 (that’s this Saturday, folks)

Toyota Tapestry Grant for Science Teachers - January 21, 2009

NEA Foundation Grants - February 1, 2009

Photo credit: Cayusa on flickr

Looking for some money for your professional development or classroom? The NEA has a grant program that could help you out. They have several grants available for educators, including:

Learning & Leadership Grants: provide opportunities for teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to engage in high-quality professional development and lead their colleagues in professional growth. The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study.

Student Achievement Grants: provide $5,000 to improve the academic achievement of students by engaging in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students’ habits of inquiry, self-directed learning, and critical reflection.

Some recent winners used grant money for teacher training for the Numeracy Project (a program from New Zealand); implementnig a faculty mentorship program; and training in a culture program in Italy for a foreign language instructor.

Application deadlines are February 1, 2009 and June 6, 2009. -ALICE MERCER

The NEA Foundation Grants

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Win gas money for your next educational excursion with Target Field Trip Grants

Free money: Toyota Tapestry Grant for Science Teachers

HASTAC is looking for the sharpest needles on the digital farm, and when they find them, they’ll award them anywhere from $5,000 to $250,000. You’re an Instructify reader; surely you could be one of those talented needles — especially if you’ve got a great Web 2.0 project or idea.

The aforesaid HASTAC (pronounced just like the proverbial bale of dried grass) is actually the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory, an initiative funded by the deep-pocketed MacArthur Foundation. The 2008 Digital Media and Learning Competition is giving out two separate kinds of awards: one to teams of people on “larger-scale projects” and the other to individual “innovators aged 18-25.” In both cases, the DML Competition wants to encourage “Participatory Learning,” which from their description doesn’t sound much different from social networking: “Participatory Learning includes the many ways that learners (of any age) use new technologies to participate in virtual communities where they share ideas, comment upon one another’s projects, and plan, design, advance, implement, or simply discuss their goals and ideas together.”

Examples of winning projects from 2007 include “FollowTheMoney.org”, which helps civics students (and all of us) understand certain legislative activities; the “Black Cloud” Environmental Studies game played by high school students from Los Angeles and Cairo; and “Always With You”, a mobile-phone network that enables micro-funding to young African social activists.

The deadline for this year’s competition is October 15, 2008, so start honing your application-filling-out skills now. –AMANDA FRENCH

2008 Digital Media and Learning Competition

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Grants for energy education projects

Free money: Toyota Tapestry Grant for Science Teachers

Win gas money for your next educational excursion with Target Field Trip Grants