Edutopia

Edutopia- What works in public education...
George Lucas Foundation

Early in 2008, I subscribed to an educational magazine called Edutopia. I did it on a hunch knowing that what I was looking at was some powerful writing... I had never seen the website nor the magazine ever before.

It was a typical early evening; after having cooked dinner, fed the children, washed the dishes, I finally got to my favorite part of my day... surfing the web in my totally rad wetsuit looking for some useful resources for the classroom. Before it became time for the alarm clock to ring, right before the moment my arms started becoming noodled, I came across the Edutopia website and was VERY impressed, you could even say I was amped! I thought, what the hay, it's a free trial subscription... how can it hurt??

Call it a woman's intuition or just a knack for detecting great educational resources, I was right on the money with my prediction. Well, I don't just love my magazines- I crave them, I can't wait for them to come in the mail- beware the hands that would ever dare to throw an issue away, that would be like throwing a first edition of Dickens to the men in gray suits!! I find myself keeping them for tons of reasons.... I will refer to them for information to give others, or I may 'tab' a page with a great article with some awesome links. I might even suggest an article for a parent. They offer everything a classroom teacher needs, information from trends in technology to how to reach all multiple intelligences in the classroom.

The best part of all is that you can access their website and gain access to archived magazines and articles, blogs kept by Edutopia authors, and other wonderful resources. You don't necessarily have to purchase a subscription but for the low rate in comparison to other magazine subscriptions and organizations, Edutopia is well worth the money. Trust me- I am not a Junkyard Dog, a Mushburger, or a Kook....I double pinky promise!!


****My application of surfing terms is dedicated to my daughter Sara who has become a surfer-girl, beach bum, fun-in-the-sun, Florida- beauty.... I love you pooh bear...xoxoxo

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Grants and Funding for your classroom/school!

With districts around the country facing budget cuts, the bottom line for teachers is more out of pocket expenses. Last year I spent more money for my classroom than I can remember spending ever before. Paper seemed to be a hot commodity, white paper, colored paper, construction paper, glue was the second runner up! I had written four grants the year prior but only one was funded; the grant really helped though because we were able to have science supplies I never would have been able to purchase had I not had grant money!

Grant money is definitely a great source of funding for a classroom. There are plenty of grants that are available throughout the year but now is the time to write; when you have some time to spare. Tech&Learning has posted a great resource for those looking for grants that I have posted here. It provides the name of the grant, the company, the link, and the grant deadline. I highly recommend writing at least two, just in case one is denied. If you have lots of time on your hands then write more than two. Make sure to follow the grant guidelines, I know from experience and from having friends who are on grant committees, those grants that do not stick to the guidelines and adhere to the format are not even looked at. With more and more educators and grant writers out there, "if you cannot respect to follow the guidelines then they will not bother to look over the grant proposal", so I've been told.

I hope you find the grant calendar useful. If you are unable to read it once you've clicked on it- I've posted the link below.... The best of luck to the grant writers out there!!!

http://www.techlearning.com/uploadedFiles/dellgrantscalendar09_10.pdf