4 Ways to Spin Your Students Around the Globe

Attention all teachers and parents: It's almost July. Isn't it about time you went on vacation? And shouldn't you take the kids with you? Oh, and how about doing it without leaving your house or school? New innovations and emerging technologies are making this scenario more possible by the day.

Here are a few cool ideas to take your classroom or living room global. Click on the hyperlinked section titles for access to each resource.

1. National Geographic Kids (TM) Countries

Have you ever wanted to visit South America in your pajamas? This is the place for you. This hub will grant your students access to overviews of many of the world's countries. Quick and interesting facts are accompanied by photos, videos, maps, and more.

2. Skype (TM) In the Classroom

You've probably heard of Skype - an internet phone service that allows anyone to be seen and heard by other users around the world. The resource has reached into global education, as well. Among the possibilities are guest speakers from another continent, sharing an online 'classroom' with students from the other side of the planet, and project collaboration with like-minded educators that happen to live in China.

3. Google Maps

Teaching a unit on one of the world's great cities? Google Maps allows you to literally click your way to it. Zooming in brings landscapes both urban and rural into focus. Labels identify cities, towns, bodies of water, and major landmarks. As if that isn't cool enough, you can view photos, live webcams, and even traffic updates. (I smell a problem-solving opportunity: Given current traffic conditions, what is the best route from Big Ben to Buckingham Palace?)

4. LEP's Very Own Passport Series

Don't have an internet connection? Looking to discover even more detailed information about other countries? This 8-book series is all you'll ever need to take a virtual vacation around the world. Visit more than 50 countries from all seven continents, each with in-depth studies of history, culture, language, food, and so much more. Click here for some sample pages.

GUEST POST: Grant Writing Tips for Schools and Non-Profits, by Dr. Linda Karges-Bone

A couple weeks back, we wrote about education grants as a way to aquire funding for your classroom or school. Read on for some suggestions from an expert on all things grant. Dr. Linda Karges-Bone is the author of The Educator's Guide to Grants, a complete resource dedicated to getting you the money you need for your classroom or school. Check out her other fantastic books HERE. Enjoy!

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You might not see yourself as a "grant writer." That is the job of a professional: someone in a suit, carrying a briefcase, and holding a fancy certificate or degree. You would be wrong. Most grants that help to support worthy projects are written by ordinary folks who learn a skill set and fuel it with their passion for the work that they have undertaken.

I wrote my first grant "proposal" at age 18. I was a teenager hired to run a summer program for special needs children in a community "camp" setting. I was very excited, until the director of the board told me that I also had to "get the grant." So, I read the "RFP" or Request for Proposals (the directions) and sipping my TAB (TM), because that is what we drank back then, I sat down at my electric typewriter and pounded out $20K worth of funding. I wasn't even of legal age, so I couldn't sign the forms. The older ladies on the board of directors took care of that, and eight weeks later, a check arrived at our little office in a church attic. I was hooked!

My fourth book on grant-writing came out in the Spring of 2011, and folks want to know the basics of how to go about grant writing. I am going to give you Ten Tips, to get started the right way.

1. Read the application carefully. Remember, the funders do not wish to be annoyed. When they say 10 pages, double-spaced, typed narrative, they mean it. The same goes for due dates. Late proposals will be trashed. There are no second chances.

2. Focus on a need not a want. Grants are designed to move new ideas forward, not to fund your day to day expenses as an organization.

3. That said, be sure to avoid the red flags in funding requests. These are outlined in my book, but one of them is bricks and mortar. Grants do not fund buildings and most infrastructure costs.

4. Read the literature and research surrounding your area of expertise and use it in the proposal. I use footnotes and do a Works Cited page in my larger grants. It makes an impression. Show how you will infuse the research into your objectives.

5. Design objectives and evaluation criteria together and match them up.

6. In all writing, avoid jargon. Do not say: "It takes a village." Or "Every child can learn." Instead: "The 'Right Now Reading Club' will provide an incentive of one new book of the child's choice for every 15 books read during the semester."

7. Focus on a "hot topic" and make it consistent with what the funders are interested in. Work your "need" into that fit.

8. Use "Project Overview Charts" to fit larger pieces of data into a visually effective format. Do not choke the reader with long paragraphs.

9. Grants are never made to individuals, only to 501-c-3 non-profits.

10. Church-related organizations that serve the poor can apply for many sources of funding. These are called "faith based initiatives."

In these tough economic times, grant-writing is a valuable skill and one that you can develop and use to help those who need you most. I suggest taking a course in grant writing, such as the one that I do for the Charleston Area Grant Professionals here at CSU each May. My book is available at the CSU bookstore and is designed to use as a workbook, step by step. Finally, do these three things:

• Start by writing a "mini grant." These are good practice and simple. You need to build a history of successes before larger funders will take you seriously.




• Be sure that you have all your "ducks in a row." Grants require an updated list of your advisory board, resumes or Vita of key players, and a copy of your Mission Statement and 501-c-3 documents.




• Be realistic, yet positive in your tone. don't ask for the "Moon and Stars," just a few "stars" to light your way.

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Dr. Linda Karges-Bone currently prepares future teachers at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina, where she is a Professor of Education. The author of 27 books for teachers, Dr. Bone specializes in curriculum and assessment and also writes children's stories. She holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Carolina at Columbia. When she isn't presenting around the country for the National Education Institute, Linda enjoys living in the coastal region of South Carolina with her husband Gary, a bio-medical engineer; their two daughters, Carolyn and Audrey Jayne, and a rescue dog named T.S. Eliot.

To Use or Not to Use: The Facebook Debate

Facebook has become an integral component of our lives. Sure, there are those who avoid it like the plague; and there are probably a few scattered individuals who haven't even heard of it. But for most of us, the sensationally popular website is a part of our everyday existence. It has spread from a few colleges and universities to homes and businesses across the world. But should it spread into your classroom?

Last month, The Edublogger posted about the merits of using Facebook as a tool for education (check out the entire post here). They pointed out some of the benefits the networking site could provide teachers, parents, and students. They also addressed some of the problems Facebook presents to educators and offered solutions to several of them.

There's even an official guide for using Facebook in education: Facebook for Educators.

It's certainly no secret that students are using Facebook. It's likely that their parents are, too. And you, teachers, probably have your own accounts. At first glance, it seems like a no-brainer: we should figure out a way to use this tool for education. With the three major players in the process already hooked up to the apparatus, it should be a simple task to make the proper connections and start running together...right?

Of course, it's not that easy.

Facebook presents a number of unique and sensitive complications. It's capable to use the site to track literally everything you do. There are many pieces of information that would be unquestionably inappropriate in a classroom setting. As the Edublogger notes, many schools have instituted policies forbidding teacher-student interaction via Facebook for such reasons. After all, educator and educated lead separate lives outside the classroom, the specifics of which are none of the other's business.

For every complication, however, there seems to be an offsetting benefit. Yes, we lead separate lives, but the opportunity to easily initiate after-school communication is an appealing one. The obvious example: a student struggling with an assignment can go to a teacher or classroom Facebook page looking for help. Wait, you might say, the teacher can't always be available to answer questions. This is definitely true. However, other students (who the student has likely 'friended' already) might be available to assist. Perhaps even more tantalizing is the option for easier communication with a student's parents. No longer are we restricted to parent-teacher conferences and quick before- or after-school discussions. A Facebook message can address an issue within minutes.

It's easy to oversimplify this debate into clear-cut pros and cons. In reality, the issue is not that simple. It's an incredibly complex question that requires much thought and plenty of contingency plans. This might lead some educators to question whether or not it's all worth it. Why not ignore Facebook and concentrate on other options?

With such a versatile and potentially game changing resource already at our fingertips, can we really afford to ignore it?

What do you think? Have you considered using Facebook with your students? Do you already do so? Does the idea make you sick? Share your stories and opinions in the comments section below.

3 Reasons to Give Grants a Go

Teachers: are you concerned about funding for next year's classroom? It's a realistic worry - with education budgets tightening around the country, it's getting more difficult to stretch available money to cover an entire school year's worth of costs. When the well runs dry, you have to dip into your own pockets or imagine more creative options. Your students' educational experience shouldn't be limited by shrinking budgets. But, more and more, this is exactly what's happening.

There is another option, one which educators and administrators are turning to with increasing frequency - education grants. We think that you should give them a try. Here's why.

The money is available. Despite the financial difficulties besetting educators, funding is available - lots of it. Right now, for instance, innovation grants are particularly popular. According to a recent article on The Washington Post website, the federal government awarded 650 million dollars for innovative ideas directed towards making classrooms better in 2010. The article goes on to mention that there are still some 150 million dollars waiting to be dispersed in 2011.

It's summer. At first glance, this might not seem to have anything to do with education grants. But summer vacation is the perfect time for teachers to research, plan, and write grant proposals. As you plan for next year, you can determine exactly what you need grant money for. Time off will allow you to take the required time to write a better, and therefore more likely to succeed, grant proposal.

There are many different kinds of grants. Innovation isn't the only kind of grant being rewarded. You can submit a grant proposal for just about anything. Does the basketball team need new uniforms? Do you want to start a special-needs program? Are you looking to get hold of an interactive whiteboard or other technologies? There are funds available for all these and more - you just have to go after them!

Are you ready to get to work? Looking for a few tips or places to submit your grant proposal? Check out LEP's The Educator's Guide to Grants for all you need to know about the process.

Plug In! Gaming in the Classroom

...Your students are on a quest. They are deep underground, beneath a massive snow-capped mountain. They are looking for an ancient relic, a relic that will save the universe from a terrible invading evil. But this relic is hidden by clever puzzles and protected by hostile guardians. The only way your students can get their hands on it is by working together to pool their intelligence and creativity. A plan is conceived, and your students voice battle cries as they charge into the epic challenge ahead...

That scenario might sound more like a Friday or Saturday night for your students; but can you imagine it taking place in your classroom? On a Monday or Tuesday morning? As an approved part of your lesson plan? Madness, you might say. There are others - a growing number of them, in fact - that want to change your mind and make such mythical classrooms possible.

Why? Education is due for a change, say those in support of gaming in the classroom. The current model is growing staler by the day, and its results are hardly encouraging. The dramatic advances in educational technology are quickly outpacing the capabilities of the standard teaching model. What better way to take full advantage of these wonderful gadgets and tools than by fashioning a new method that embraces them wholeheartedly?

Not only is the educational landscape ripe for this tactical shift; students are also in dire need of the skills provided by technology - especially those provided through gaming! The jobs of today and tomorrow demand technological know-how, a condition that will only become more concrete as time progresses. Games help students think more like machines. That might sound a bit scary on the surface, but consider the skills emphasized: problem-solving, logic, systems, cooperation - these are the skills of today and tomorrow.

So. The timing is right. The need is obvious. What more convincing do you need? How about this - your students will love it! It's no secret that certain classic aspects of teaching are boring, at least to some students - lecture, reinforcement, homework. Imagine the rejuvenation if these were connected to gaming. Might your students be a little more attentive during a lecture if they knew reinforcement would come in the form of an interactive and challenging game? Think they would do their homework before dinner if it involved a controller or tablet or cell phone? Gaming doesn't need to replace traditional methods - nor should it. There's no denying, however, that its inclusion would light a fire in classrooms around the world.

What about you? Are you ready to include gaming in your lesson plan? Or will you stand against the tech tide? Be heard in the comments section below!