Instructify

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

Related Stuff:

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

If you were jonesing for a list of lists to better your edification skills yesterday, I apologize. Nonetheless, Instructify is happy to present Tuesday by the Numbers, the day-late version of its sister column, Monday by the Numbers.

100 Free Online Ivy League Courses You Should Take Just for Fun - I know it says “for fun,” but come on, the real reason to take any class is to get some sort of betterment or education, right? Whatever your motive, Eduk8 delivers this great list of online course offerings from places like Johns Hopkins and MIT. The courses themselves range in subject from Child Development and Psychology to Foreign Culture, and the list is chock full of such unique offerings as The Anthropology of Computing and Hip Hop.

100 Awesome, Free Web Tools for Elementary Teachers - It can be tough sometimes to filter out the things on the web that are truly valuable, especially when it comes to things that are useful in teaching children. Here’s a list from SmartTeaching.org that will help you be a better researcher and educator to the youngins. With 100 here, you’ll find something you didn’t know for sure.

101 Ideas for a Great Start - Though the school year has technically already begun, it isn’t too late to start things out right by setting yourself and your students up for success. Iowa State offers these tips in establishing some great methods for students and teachers to start things off on the right foot. The list is set up in categories such as ‘creating a welcoming atmosphere’ and ‘encourage active learning.’

7 tips to top sleep, 3 tips for staying awake - Though it should just be as easy as ‘get to bed earlier, wake up later,’ sleeping is not always as easy a task as it seems to accomplish. The University Blog gives us these tips to help you zonk out at night, and pep up during the day. Stop yawning and read these now. -JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Photo credit:  zen on flickr

Taking college courses online or distance learning has been growing in popularity over the last few years. It is an experience that allows students much more flexibility than traditional learning on campus. A student in Boston can take a course in California which opens up the options available to students all over the world. However, this system is not without its own issues. Here are a few tips to consider that will help you improve your online learning experience:

1. Communication is crucial. Since you won’t be attending a traditional class where you can see the faces of your classmates and professor you need to open up the lines of communication through email right away. Introduce yourself to your instructor and let him or her know your educational background and explain why you’re taking their course. Get to know a few classmates in emails as well. It makes your educational experience that much smoother when you can bounce questions and concerns off your fellow classmates.

2. Class participation equals success. Participating in discussion forums is the equivalent to raising your hand in class and throwing your two cents in. Instructors will measure students’ grades in large part on how much they add to the class through these discussion boards. Make sure your voice is being heard.

3. Establish a routine. While your class will probably not have a regular meeting time, your work will be due once a week on an established day at the beginning of the semester. This means you’ll have to call on strict discipline to avoid having your work pile up all week. Rushing through your work at the last minute will result in poor performance. -HEATHER JOHNSON

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of teacher certification. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

Related Stuff:

Instructifeature: Using Online Tools for Student Research

Instructifeature: How to Stimulate Class Discussion Using Discussion Forums

Photo credit: minifig on flickr