Freebee Friday: Up, Up and Away

Samsung's contest to see which student can create the most interesting video about a famous (or infamous) historical hero is underway and a great way to introduce characters from the past to a class. It’s open to all primary and secondary students and the videos should be between 1- and 3-minutes long. The winner gets $500 and a SamCam 860 document camera for the school. 

 

 

 

Freebee Friday: Game On!

If there’s a better way to get kids interested in programming than by getting them to create video games, I haven’t found it. The AMD Foundation has teamed up with Brain Pop, the Boys and Girls clubs and others to sponsor the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge, a contest for the best student-written video games. The kids can win $200,000 in cash and prizes. For those who don’t know where to start, there’s a ton of resources for teachers interested in doing it as a class project.  

 

 

Freebee Friday: BLAST OFF

Lenovo and YouTube are sponsoring a contest that is out of this world. It challenges physics and biology classes to design a zero-gravity experiment that will actually fly on the International Space Station (ISS) 250 miles above earth. All you need to do is come up with a good idea for a low gravity experiment, create a 2 minute video and post it on YouTube before December 7 describing the idea and what it will show. 

Finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges that includes distinguished physicist Stephen Hawking. Early in 2012, the finalists will go to Washington, DC for the announcement ceremony, get to ride a zero-G plane flight and receive a Lenovo tablet. There will be two grand prize winners, who will have their experiments created, rocketed to the ISS and carried out. They will also travel to Russia for the same training course that prospective astronauts get and will spend time in the ISS simulator to get an idea what their experiments will experience. Blast Off is next summer.

 

 

Freebee Friday: Classroom Makeover

Does your classroom make the most of the technology at hand? It can be your ticket to raise its digital horizons. eInstruction’s Classroom Makeover Video Contest seeks to find the most deserving class for a digital makeover. The class needs to submit a music video showing off how technology is used and can improve education by October 25, and the winner could get $75,000 of interactive instructional equipment.

 

 

Freebee Friday: Spare Change

If you’re looking for a way to invigorate a science curriculum and make it relvant, look no farther than the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge. In it, science classrooms think up and carry out their own green scientific research. It’s open to all K through 12-th grade classrooms and are divided into three groups based on age: K-through-5, 6-through-8 and 9-through-12. The application deadline is March 15, 2012 and it’s free to enter. 

 

 

Freebee Friday: Making History Pay

History reference and research publisher ABC-CLIO has started the Hunt for History contest that can not only inspire a class to create an innovative interpretation of the past, but win school equipment and curriculum stuff along the way. The contest starts by teachers signing up for a two-month free trial of the company’s 13 online databases and using its information to answer 15 questions about issues, actors on the world scene and global events. You have to do this by April 30 in order to win things like iPads and year-long subscriptions to the company’s collection of ebooks and databases.

 

 

Freebee Friday: Special Ed Winners

If you’ve never heard of Morgan’s Wonderland, you’re missing a treat. It’s a 25-acre completely accessible amusement park in San Antonio that has rides, playgrounds, gardens and activities for those with special needs as well as an 8-acre fishing lake. The people behind PCI Education and WeAreTeachers are giving away a trip to it worth $5,000 for one deserving student and family, including airfare and accommodations. In addition, 5 teachers will get educational products from PCI Education. To be in the running, teachers need to nominate exceptional students based on their needs and ability to inspire fellow students and teachers. Better hurry, the contest ends on October 1.

Freebee Friday: Greening Up the Classroom

Want to make your classroom a greener place to teach but there’s no cash to do it World of Green will give away $250 of eco gear to do it. Just submit anapplication before September 2, 2010. It’s too late for most schools to get the class involved but it’s a nice classroom activity. Tell the people at World of Green why recycling, reducing and reusing are important concepts. The winner will get $250 of earth-friendly products, from soy inks and sugar cane paper to tree-free pencils.

 

FRIDAY FREEBEE: Let There Be Light

Need some cash to upgrade your school’s lighting equipment because your electricity bills are out of control? The top prize of Lutron’s Greenovation Bright Green Dream contest can provide $15,000 for renovating your school. Just have your students imagine how to cut your school’s electricity use and carbon footprint while enhancing the learning environment. The submission can be on paper or digital, and the deadline is October 12, 2009. Any questions? Try the Q&A about the contest.
 
 

Network Makeover

Is your school’s networking gear so old that you’re ashamed to look at it? D-Link and ComputerTV want to do something about it by giving away the equipment you need to revamp a network. Just make a video that lasts between 30 seconds and three minutes that shows why you (and not the thousands of others entrants) deserve a new network. Why not make a school project out of it that involves teachers, students and parents. Just get your entry in at Computer TV's site before midnight on Sunday, March 29th.