Support Innovative Writing Teachers
The Bob Costas Grants support exceptional teachers in grades 6–12 who, through their innovative teaching methods, motivate their students to write. Winning teachers are awarded grants to enhance successful projects currently under way. Projects can be carried out in school (public or nonpublic), through an after-school writing workshop or during a summer program. Grants of $2,000 will be awarded to six teachers.
Deadline: November 17, 2006
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Focus on Literacy Skills
Verizon Foundation’s Literacy grants are available to organizations committed to basic literacy skills in the United States. Verizon has invested in a network of collaborative literacy partners, offering a wide variety of programs with a focus on e-learning. Verizon’s leadership in technology and communications provides the distribution network. Elementary and secondary schools (public and private) that are registered with the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) are eligible for the grants, which range from $5,000 to $10,000.
Deadline: November 30, 2006
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Join the growing list of teachers enjoying the eBookDestination Rewards Program. On the first day of each month, a digital coupon (representing 5 percent of your total purchases in the previous month) will be added to your shopping cart. You’ll then be notified via email of the presence (and amount) of this coupon.

There’s no application to complete, no points to collect, no cards to carry, no codes to enter and (most important) no fees to pay. Quite simply, you are repaid for your loyalty with a 5 percent credit toward future purchases. It’s as easy as that!

Browse the eBookstore now! You’ll receive an automatic discount on some 3,000 ebook titles, many of which are bundled with downloadable audio MP3 files, from major educational publishers. Plus, there’s always a selection of the most popular titles on sale!

Acknowledge Most Improved High Schools
The College Board Inspiration Awards celebrate America’s most improved high schools, those which have improved their academic environment and helped their students achieve the promise of a higher education by initiating unique programs and creating partnerships among teachers, parents, community organizations and local businesses. Secondary schools (public and nonpublic) in which 40 percent or more of the students receive free or reduced-price lunches are eligible for the $25,000 award.
Deadline: November 17, 2006
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Recognize Efforts to Protect the Environment
The 2007 SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Fujifilm Environmental Excellence Awards recognize the outstanding efforts of students and teachers across the country who are working at the grassroots level to protect and preserve the environment. All K–12 schools as well as community groups are eligible for the award. Eight groups are selected each year to win $10,000. One environmental educator/leader each year receives $5,000.
Deadline: November 30, 2006
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Honor Social Awareness
The NetAid Global Action Awards honor high school students who have organized and led a project that has had an impact on people in poor countries or has raised awareness about global poverty in their own communities. The awards celebrate young people who have shown leadership in areas such as preventing HIV/AIDS, alleviating hunger and improving access to education. To be eligible for the $5,000 award, applicants must have attended a U.S. high school (grades 9–12) during the 2005–2006 academic school year and be residents of the United States.
Deadline: November 30, 2006
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Campaign for a “Wonderful World”
National Geographic has launched “My Wonderful World” campaign to improve the geographic literacy of young people aged 8–17 by motivating parents and educators to expand geographic offerings in school, at home and in their communities. The 2006–2007 campaign will kick off a multiyear, around-the-world curriculum with a resource- and activity-packed exploration of the African continent and cultures. The campaign’s Web site provides family activities, links to geography games and online adventures for youngsters and teens, classroom materials for educators and ways for young and old to test their global IQ.
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Plus: Take special note of the 2007 National Geographic Kids Expedition to South Africa. Teachers and students can enter for a chance to join the exhibition team. For full details and an entry form, click below.
Deadline: November 30, 2006 for entries
Click Here for More Information and Entry Form

Add Zest to Your Science Learning
Immune Attack is an educational video game jointly developed by the Federation of American Scientists, Brown University and the University of Southern California. The game’s goal is to teach immunology in a fun and engaging way. The protagonist, a teenaged prodigy with a unique condition in which the immune system is “present, yet nonfunctional,” must pilot a microscopic nanobot to save his own life. Educational content is conveyed via three means: (1) through interactions with the environment and characters within the game, such as the various cell types; (2) through minigames, which have the user perform certain tasks that occur naturally in the immune system; and (3) by use of My Learning Assistant, a built-in question-and-answer tool that can answer questions and offer explanations using both an included knowledge database and an information messaging tool. Click below to check out the screen shots and online demo. Under For Teachers, you’ll find information on how to get a free copy of the prototype game for use in your classroom.
Click Here for More Information and Free Demo

Create Your Own Education Blog
Teachers, trainers, lecturers, librarians and other education professionals can create their own ad-free, fully featured WordPress blog at edublogs.org. In addition to a free blog, all users get an ad-free wikispace. Alternatively they can catch up with the latest edublogs.org news and developments via the organization’s blog. Edublog also offers free learnerblogs, uniblogs and eslblogs for students.
Click Here to Create Free Blog

Get free unlimited online access to all the print content in The Big Deal Book for Educators of Struggling Students, Middle School Through High School and The Big Deal Book of Technology for K–12 Educators. Explore the many opportunities to fund your special programs, access timely reports and articles, locate free and inexpensive resources and identify engaging interactive Web sites. Many of the offerings will help you meet the needs of students with disabilities and English language learners.

Turn Natural Curiosity into Exceptional Knowledge
KIDS Discover magazine, aimed at fifth to eighth graders, is unlike other children’s magazines in that it’s purely academic—no comics, no mention of the latest video game, no distractions. Each issue is devoted to a single science or history topic. The engaging writing, images and design all manage to capture the inherently interesting world around us. Lexile levels are indicated for all the articles. Click below to view sample issues, review companion teacher’s guides and find subscription information.
Click Here to View Sample Issues

Empower Cyber-Secure Students
The National Cyber Security Alliance provides information on practices you can teach to help safeguard your students’ computers. The Alliance, working in conjunction with i-Safe Inc., has produced a Cyber Security Assembly In-a-Box Toolkit. This new, free toolkit provides educators with a plug-in solution for presenting cyber security awareness messages and tips to students in middle school and high school. The material is delivered in a way that is entertaining for students and easy to understand.
Click Here for Free Resources

Participate in a Student/Parent Mock Election
America’s largest voter education program, the National Student/Parent Mock Election, now in its 26th year, is staging its 2006 Mock Election on November 2. Votes will be cast on state and national issues that Americans are most concerned about, and on candidates as well. Educators and parents can enroll on the site linked below or by phone: (520) 877-VOTE or fax: (520) 742-3533. Free curriculum materials for grades K–12 are also available on the Web site.
Click Here for More Information

Celebrate Children’s Book Week
The theme of this year’s Children’s Book Week (November 13–19) is More Books, Please! Children’s Book Week introduces young people to books, authors, illustrators and ideas in schools, libraries, homes and bookstores. Through Children’s Book Week, The Children’s Book Council (CBC) encourages young people and their caregivers to discover the complexity of the world beyond their own experience through books. Find extensive online resources for celebrating Children’s Book Week by clicking below.
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Join NetDay Speak Up 2006
Now in its fourth year, NetDay Speak Up’s national online survey invites students, teachers and parents from around the country to share their input in an online survey. This is an opportunity for students, teachers and parents to participate in the national dialogue about science, math, technology and 21st-century workforce skills. Click below to learn more about NetDay Speak Up (November 1–30) and find out how schools and districts can register to participate.
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Examining Teachers’ Expectations
The 2006 MetLife “Survey of the American Teacher: Experiences and Expectations” examines what deans and chairpersons of schools of education, principals and teachers each think is most critical in preparing teachers to meet classroom demands. The report also analyzes data collected since the 1980s to understand the challenges facing teachers, their likelihood of remaining in the profession and recommended strategies to recruit and retain high-quality teachers.
Click Here to Access Free Report

Evaluating the Impact of Technology on Student Learning
The Metiri Group has released a report, commissioned by Cisco Systems, titled Technology in Schools: What the Research Says. The report reviews a number of research studies that indicate which technology does—and which does not—result in spikes in student learning. The review, which looks at the critical areas of literacy, mathematics, science and digital literacy, discusses variability of effect across types of technology—television and video use; calculators; engagement devices, such as interactive whiteboards and student response devices; portable or handheld devices; virtual learning; in-school computing; and one-to-one computing.
Click Here to Download Free Report

Evaluating the Effects of Technology Immersion in Schools
Evaluation of the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot, First-Year Results (eTxTIP), prepared by the Texas Center for Educational Research, is the first report of findings on the effects of technology immersion in schools, based on data collected in the 2004–2005 school year—the first year of the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP). First-year evaluation results reveal positive effects of technology immersion on schools (leadership and system support, innovative culture, classroom integration, parent and community support), teachers (proficiency and productivity, technology use and integration, collaboration), and students (technology proficiency and use, small-group work, school satisfaction and behavior). However, there were no statistically significant effects of immersion in the first year on either reading or mathematics achievement for sixth graders, who are members of a student cohort that will be followed through eighth grade.
Click Here to Download Free Report

Share Ideas for Using Technology in the Classroom
Google for Educators offers guides and lesson plans detailing creative ways to use Blogger, Google Maps, Google Earth and nine other Google applications in the classroom. The site also links to a training academy that will allow teachers to become “Google certified.” And educators can subscribe online to Google Teachers’ Newsletter, with updates on Google tools and features, tips and other relevant information.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Motivate Children to Explore the World
World Book Kids, an online environment for young students, infuses creativity and wonder in learning. The site includes content from the World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia, as well as dozens of learning activities and games. Subscribers to World Book Kids receive, at no extra charge, the World Book Online Reference Center, which includes all of the articles from the World Book Encyclopedia, plus thousands more, as well as tens of thousands of pictures, maps, videos and animations, and sounds; the World Book Atlas, which contains approximately 750 maps; and the World Book Dictionary, which contains approximately 250,000 entries. Click below to take a complimentary tour of World Book Kids.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Develop Global Awareness
Rethink. Global Awareness!—a new curricula collection designed to expand students’ understanding of cultural similarities and differences across the world—was recently released by Apple Learning Exchange and EF Educational Tours, an international educational tour company for teachers and students. Learn how this project began and join in the efforts to add to this online collection of Global Awareness curricula, resources and more.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Stream Poetry to Your Computer
57 Productions, developer of the hugely popular Poetry Jukebox in the United Kingdom, has launched iPoems and Video-Poetry Jukebox. The new iPoems presents recordings in both streaming video and downloadable MP3 format. The new Video-Poetry Jukebox system offers 15 poetry films, including newly produced videos that feature Jean “Binta” Breeze, Peter Finch, Ian McMillan, Tom Leonard and others—all shot with the poems’ authors on location, acknowledging that a poem is often an invocation of place. Access to the original Poetry Jukebox remains free. Access to iPoems and the new Video-Poetry Jukebox is by subscription, but the first month is free to those who register online.
Click Here to Visit Web Site