TEAP Online Newsletter

 Volume 3, No. 6 - June 2005

 

Dear Technology Educators & TEAP Members,

Here it is, the June 2005 Edition of the TEAP-Online Newsletter!  The summer has finally arrived, and it is my hope that this email finds you enjoying the wonderful sunny weather. This newsletter contains a little bit of everything, from information on the '05 TEAP Conference to a message from PDE & the State System of High Education, as well as the traditional monthly sections such as "Great Sites Online." Enjoy, and be sure to forward any ideas or information you would like included in future newsletters.
 

Special Request from PDE & PA State System of High Education 

  

Attention Middle School Technology Education Teachers:  
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Division of Technology Education are seeking information from Middle School Technology Education Teachers involving classroom equipment needs:

  1. What one or two pieces of ‘advanced hi-tech manufacturing’ equipment (hardware/software) do Middle School Teachers consider ‘essential’?  

  2. Do you currently have this piece of equipment in your classroom / lab for students?  If ‘Yes’ can you estimate how much it cost?
            
    Your input is appreciated!  Please forward responses by July 15th to: carolad@ptd.net 

2005 TEAP Conference Details

    

Information related to this years 53rd Annual TEAP Conference will begin to be posted starting today July 2, 2005. Pre-registration forms are now available and a tentative schedule of special interest sessions and conference activities will be available in the very near future. If you are still interested in presenting or exhibiting at the conference, be sure to visit the Conference area of our website to learn how to get involved using our "How to Present" & "Exhibitors Info" pages.

 

In addition, please consider attending the Council for Leadership's Special Interest Session at the conference being held on Thursday afternoon at 4pm in Keystone A & B. This years focus will be on incorporating Reading & Writing Skills into the Technology Education classroom. You must be a member to attend, and membership to this great leadership council is only $5! If you are interested in helping to lead our profession into the future doing what you already do as a teacher every day, please attend and bring a friend!

Get Your Classroom Adopted!

    

By registering on the Adopt-A-Classroom website, PreK-12 teachers can be "adopted" by an individual, business or a nonprofit organization to receive $500 in credit towards tools that will enrich the learning environment. Teachers help solicit their own sponsors by creating and distributing fliers within their community or by sending out personalized, prewritten email from Adopt-A-Classroom. Each donor receives back information about the adopted classroom, including an itemized list of what teachers purchsed. Register free at www.adopteaclassroom.com. There is no deadline and this is an ongoing progra,. Contact rhegberg@adoptaclassroom.com for more information.

 

Best Buy te@ch Grants
 

Best Buy and the Best Buy Children’s Foundation are proud to support schools using technology to make learning fun. In the past two years, more than 2,000 schools have been awarded nearly $6 million to help them expand or enhance existing programs that use the school’s available technology* to make learning fun for kids. I know of at least one school in Pennsylvania that did benefit from this program last year, and it would be great to hear of more Technology Educators who can benefit from additional money for equipment in their classrooms!

Based on feedback from educators around the country, we are pleased to announce some program changes:

 

This year there are three levels of te@ch awards:  

  1. Up to 1200 Best Buy te@ch gift cards valued at $2500 will be awarded; winners will be posted on www.BestBuy.com/teach on January 16, 2006.
     

  2. Up to 36 schools will receive additional te@ch awards valued at $15,000 each. These awards will be based on the creativity of the award winning programs,  and will also be announced on January 16, 2006.
     

  3. To conclude this round of te@ch, in February 2006 an RFP will be presented to the public school districts that have $15,000 te@ch award winners. From the RFP respondents a National te@ch School District will receive a te@ch award valued at $250,000. This will be announced in August, 2006.

Te@ch applications must be completed and submitted online this year. Be sure to submit your final application on  9/30/2005 (before 11:59:59 ET).  

 

Best Buy is committed to making learning fun for kids, and recognizing the schools that are doing it well. We welcome applications from K-12 educators.

For more details about the te@ch program please visit http://communications.bestbuy.com/communityrelations/teach.asp 

 

You can also visit the page by going to the Best Buy website (www.bestbuy.com), clicking on the Community Relations link at the bottom of the page, and then selecting the te@ch on the page.

To apply for a Best Buy te@ch Award, http://www.bbycommunications.com/cr/applogin.asp 

Good luck!

*te@ch awards are not based on the sophistication of technology in the schools, but rather reward programs that use all levels of interactive technology in ways that genuinely engage students in the process of learning. Don’t worry if you don’t have the latest technology, if your program creatively uses interactive technology to make learning fun, you have a good chance of garnering a $2500 Best Buy te@ch gift card for your school.  
 

Paxton/Patterson & ITEA – First Time ITEA Membership Deal

1,000 new members joined ITEA under the Paxton/Patterson program in its first year! Due to the huge success of the program Paxton/ Patterson is continuing to offer NEW professional members the best membership deal in ITEA's history for a second year!

For more info & Application visit: https://www.iteaconnect.org/Forms/MembershipAppHalfPrice.htm
FOR NEW/FIRST TIME MEMBERS ONLY (U.S. members only)

 

Great Sites Online

 

Below is a list of online resources that may be useful to you in your day to day classroom activities.  

 

The Big Deal Book Website -  http://www.bigdealbook.com

It's no big deal to automatically keep on top of new sources of grants, contests, FREE resources and informative websites. All you have to do is go to The Big Deal Book website and sign up for their free biweekls email newsletter.

 

The Foundation Center  -  http://fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_education.jhtml  
This site makes it easy to find suitable grants among those offered by more than 60,000 foundations nationwide. The RFP Bulletin is divided into categories along its left hand side. You can jump to a specfic topic that relates to the focus of your program! 

 

How  Fireworks Work - http://www.howstuffworks.com/fireworks.htm 
If you have ever been to an aerial fireworks show at an amusement park, baseball game, Fourth of July celebration or on New Year's Eve, then you know that fireworks have a special and beautiful magic all their own -- a good show is absolutely amazing! Have you ever wondered how this magic works? What is launched into the sky to make these beautiful displays? In this article, you will learn all about aerial fireworks. 

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