Workshops and classroom resources

Summer professional development conference

Thanks to NEA sponsorship, Association members can attend the National Staff Development Council's (NSDC) 2008 summer conference on teacher leadership at a discounted rate. The conference, which is scheduled for July 13-16 in Orlando, Florida, is designed to provide educators with valuable tools to bring the most powerful forms of professional learning to all the teachers with whom they work. www.nsdc.org/conferenceSummer08/overview/schedule.cfm

Fulbright teacher exchange

The U.S. Department of State-sponsored Fulbright Teacher Exchange arranges direct, one-to-one international exchanges to many countries for K-12 teachers and community college faculty of all subject areas. The program involves a year, semester, or six-week exchanges with a counterpart in another country teaching the same subjects at the same level. The application deadline for the 2009-10 academic year is Oct. 15, 2008. www.fulbrightexchanges.org

Member discount for CEC programs

Through a collaborative arrangement with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Association members can now participate in CEC professional development sessions at the CEC member-discounted price. These convenient and interactive 90-minute sessions require a speaker phone, a computer, and a high-speed Internet connection. Go to www.cec.sped.org and click on the "professional development" tab to see program offerings. To receive the NEA member discount, indicate this code: 08P-DNE.

Samsung Hope for Education program

Samsung, Microsoft, and DIRECTV are giving away more than $2 million in technology products, software, cash grants, and educational programming packages to 31 K-12 schools across the U.S. that lack funding to purchase the kind of technology necessary to keep their students competitive with the rest of the world. The program invites anyone who knows of a school in need to write a 100-word essay about the importance of technology in education. Deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 31. http://pages.samsung.com/us/hopeforeducation/index.html

Attention new teachers and mentors

The fifth annual Iowa Mentoring and Induction Institute will be held June 18-20 at the Park Place Event Centre in Cedar Falls. In addition to noted guest speakers and presenters, the event will also showcase Iowa mentoring and induction initiatives. It is sponsored by the ISEA, Iowa Department of Education, University of Northern Iowa, and Mildred Middleton. www.vpaf.uni.edu/events/mentor

Summer TeacherLine courses offered

Why not take advantage of top-notch, relevant, online professional development courses this summer at your own pace, in your own space? PBS TeacherLine provides online professional development through facilitated courses, a supportive learning community, and exemplary professional resources. The courses are available to all Iowa teachers who may enroll through Northwest AEA, Heartland AEA, Green Valley AEA, Grant Wood AEA, or Prairie Lakes AEA. PBS TeacherLine courses are offered for two professional development credits or two graduate credits for an additional fee. www.iptv.org/teacherline

Grants geared toward science and math teaching

Toshiba America Foundation grants support inquiry-based projects designed by individual teachers and small teams of teachers for use in their own classrooms to improve teaching and learning in science and mathematics. Classroom teachers must be involved in planning projects and be ready to initiate projects upon receipt of funds. Grants can cover any subject area in science and mathematics, but be sure to review the list of exclusions. The large grant cycle (awards of $5,000 and more) for grades 7-12 is now active. The deadline to apply is August 1, 2008. www.toshiba.com/tafpub/jsp/home/default.jsp

Project offers diversity resources

The Respect for All Project offers a comprehensive set of resources to help educators talk openly about diversity in all of its forms. In addition to providing award-winning documentary films and curriculum guides, the Project also conducts comprehensive professional development workshops including a recent session at the ISEA Summer Conference. ISEA members can receive 20 percent off the cost of films and guides on orders received via the Web site. Go to www.respectforall.org and enter promo code DM2K7N.
Grants to increase understanding of humanities

Free online personal finance seminars

Take advantage of a new series of free online financial seminars from NEA Member Benefits available whenever you are. Investing in Your Future includes five courses covering key issues of financial planning. www.neamb.com .  

Online professional development courses

This summer, you can hone your professional skills at your own pace in your own space with PBS TeacherLine courses. The courses are facilitated by experienced online educators who are knowledgeable about both the subject matter and how to engage online learners. www.iptv.org .

Cedar Rapids museum launches new exhibits

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA) has opened a new exhibition, "Hidden Treasure: Original Children's Book Illustration from the Cedar Rapids Public Library" to accompany another new exhibition, "The Young and the Restless: Children in Art." Throughout the run of the exhibitions, kids can also go on a treasure hunt through the Museum galleries. For more information, visit www.crma.org or call 319-366-7503.

MidAmerican Energy offers free materials

As part of its Energy for Education program, MidAmerican Energy Company is offering free educational materials to educators teaching grades three through six. Included is an Energy Efficiency World activity book that includes engaging activities and experiments related to everyday energy-efficiency practices. An online teacher's guide is also available to provide background information, puzzle answers, and directions for the experiments.

The booklets are also available in Spanish. To request your materials, go to www.midamericanenergy.com; select "Safety;" select "Education Programs;" and select "Classroom Materials." For more information, contact Donna Backstrom at 563-333-8617 or e-mail djbackstrom@midamerican.com .

Share ideas online with Apple

Apple has developed an online educational environment to facilitate the interchange of ideas among teachers, education leaders, visionaries, and innovators. The Learning Interchange provides the vehicle for reflective discussion of contemporary education practices through a network of organizations dedicated to improvement. A museum of online exhibits, created by educators for educators, showcases authentic teaching practices, leadership practices, virtual field trips, and educational events, all with media-based resources. Check it out at http://ali.apple.com/ .

Anti-bullying campaign

NEA Health Information Network has joined with the US Department of Health and Human Services on a new program designed to curb bullying. Called "15+ Make Time To Listen, Take Time To Talk . . .About Bullying," the program is a multi-media initiative designed to provide practical guidance to parents and caregivers about how to create time to listen and take time to talk with their children. The campaign is based on the premise that parents who talk with their children for at least 15 minutes or more each day about what is happening in their children's lives are better able to guide their children toward more positive, skill-enhancing activities and friendships.

To help support the campaign the NEA has linked its "Can We Talk?" program on Bullying and Violence with the new campaign Web site. "Can We Talk?" is a parent education program that begins to bridge the gulf that often exists between schools, parents and their children around difficult topics related to sexuality and health. For information and free support materials, visit www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/15plus or go to www.canwetalk.org .

Guides to free Internet resources available

Thousands of educational resources can be accessed via the Internet with just a click of a mouse--if you only knew where to find them! Now there is a way -- the "Educators Guide to Free Internet Resources" is available in both an elementary/middle school and secondary version. There is a fee for each version, but both are available on a 15-day free trial basis. For more information and special discounts, visit www.freeteachingaids.com or call Educators Progress Service, Inc. at 888-951-4469.

Rainforest Alliance hosts learning site

The Rainforest Alliance has launched a new web-based curriculum designed to teach children science fundamentals by introducing them to the Alliance's on-the-ground conservation projects.

Kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers can log on to the site for complete lesson plans, stories, presentations, and background descriptions of species and projects. Additional supplemental materials will also be available, and all information is free. For more information, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org .  

Spanish-language site aids reading

Reading Rockets has launched a Web site designed specifically for Spanish-speaking parents to help their children learn to read and succeed.

The bilingual site is for parents of children between infancy and age nine. It includes simple, powerful ways to help students succeed, including fun reading tips and activities, recommended books, and more. For more information, visit www.ColorinColorado.org.

New Web library features technology innovations

A partnership of professors from eight Big 12 universities have developed a repository that allows innovative teachers to share their technology success stories with their fellow teachers across the nation.

The Technology Integration Case Library houses more than 800 successful, classroom-tested, technology-rich teaching strategies. Each story comes complete with ideas for lessons, a rationale for using the technology, pitfalls, and friendly advice for first timers. New stories are being added daily.

To access the information, which is provided free of charge, visit http//:kite.missouri.edu.

Web site helps teachers address voice problems

Teachers are 32 times more likely than people in other professions to have voice disorders, but a new Web site launched by the University of Iowa Department of Speech pathology and Audiology can help. The site, located at www.voiceacademy.org , is a set of virtual classrooms, including a "Science Center," where teachers can learn about voice research, and a "Gymnasium" that provides voice health tips. The project, done in conjunction with the National Center for Voice and Speech, is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Club Invention offers after-school program

Responding to the growing need for after-school enrichment programs, Camp Invention, the nationally recognized science and creativity summer day camp, has introduced Club Invention for grades two through six. Launched at schools nationwide, the program fosters creativity, teamwork, inventive thinking skills, and science literacy. There is no cost to run Club Invention -- all materials, curriculum, and training are provided. For more information, call 1-800-968-4332 or visit www.clubinvention.org.

Research on language, diversity

The Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving education for preK-12 grade students placed at risk by factors of linguistic or cultural diversity, economics, or geography. It conducts research projects and produces practioner briefs. The publications, along with research briefs, ERIC digests, research reports, and other resources are available online at www.crede.ucsc.edu.

Classroom Poetry Kit

April is National Poetry Month and HarperCollins has prepared a special free Classroom Poetry Kit based on Where the Sidewalk Ends and other cherished Shel Silverstein books. To order the free kit, call 1-800-331-3761 or visit www.harperchildrens.com/hch/fiction/features/poetry/shel/.

National Issues Forums

The National Issues Forums (NIF) Institute has developed a free kit to help high school social studies and language arts teachers conduct forums with students on such topics as youth violence, terrorism, affirmative action, and racial/ethnic tensions. Included are an introductory video, a teacher's guide, and reproducible student handouts as well as step-by-step instructions on the forum process. The ISEA, along with other state organizations, works with the NIF and the Kettering Foundation to support community conversations and deliberation. For more information or to receive a kit, contact David Wilkinson, ISEA teaching and learning specialist, at ISEA headquarters or e-mail dwilkinson@isea.org.