Apparently, that’s what the Department of Education thinks and would like to hear students’ thinking on that in a 2 minute video. And by student they mean “an active middle, secondary or college student 13 years or older.” I’m sure they set 13 as the starting point because of YouTube’s terms of service. If sharing their viewpoint with the federal government isn’t enough of an incentive for your students, the three winners will also receive a $1,000 award.
And if your students don’t want to or can’t enter the actual contest, they could still take the challenge to share their feelings with the class, school, administration, and maybe even the community as a whole. This is a great opportunity to encourage your students to think about what value they place on their education (and what investment they need to make personally). Cross-posted from our Digital Storytelling blog.
The 2009 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, hosted by the Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education, and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), is now open for entries. In addition, the challenge has expanded to include elementary school students as well as middle school students this year. The deadline for elementary level entries is January 31, 2010, and the deadline for middle school entries is March 15, 2010. The goal of the challenge is to encourage K-8 students to design replicable solutions to environmental issues in their classrooms, schools and communities.
Recently, the grand prize winning team from the inaugural year of the challenge, Team Dead Weight from West Branch, Iowa, presented their project to an audience of peers, UN representatives and media. View this video to learn more about the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge and Team Dead Weight: http://bit.ly/noUP7.
Our wonderful community is approaching another birthday at NECC in a few weeks. We hope you can join us on June 27, 2009 (9 AM to 3:30 PM) for an engaging day of networking, professional development, fun and of course, birthday cake, at the world headquarters of Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, MD.
As part of this year’s celebration we are looking to showcase “digital bulletin boards” that reflect what the DEN means to our STARs. What is a digital bulletin board you ask? Well, it could be a PowerPoint slide that links out to all the cool things you’ve done with the DEN. Or it could be a Voicethread, Inspiration map, Glog, etc. The format has to be digital, the content has to be DEN and bonus points for creativity.
We will display the digital bulletin boards during our pre-NECC event and allow everyone to vote. Everyone who submits an entry will receive a DEN baseball cap and the winner will receive a super deluxe pack of DEN swag as well as the fame and fortune associated with winning. And you DO NOT have to be present to win. Every STAR is encouraged to submit his/her own digital bulletin board.
Please send your entries to Lance Rougeux (lance_rougeux@discovery.com) by Friday, June 19, 2009.
Image Citation:
birthday cake. Discovery Education. 2009.
Discovery Education. 5 June 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Join us for our final DEN webinar of the school year on May 26 at 7 PM ET. We will discuss all things DEN-related and unveil some very special awards to members of the DEN community in our first-ever DENny Awards Ceremony. Click here to register.
We have also decided to open up a window for STARs to nominate their colleagues for a special Community Choice DENny. Do you know a STAR who goes above and beyond to support the DEN community? Do you read a certain STAR’s blog all the time because it is just so good? Of course you do. Take two minutes to recognize those STARs by completing the nomination form today. Creativity is strongly encouraged!
All nominations for Community Choice DENny Awards must be received by 5 PM ET on May 25.
Now’s the time for students to enter the nation’s premier science competition for grades 5 through 8. The deadline for the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is May 20.
Over the summer, judges will choose up to 51 semifinalists: one from each state and the District of Columbia. Ten finalists will be selected to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to compete in the final challenge in October. The winner will receive $50,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds ($25,000 cash value) and the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.” All finalists receive amazing once-in-a-lifetime trips.
Nominate your students today!
One teacher will be selected to win an all-expenses-paid trip to NYC to participate in the final competition as an honorary judge or host.
Underlining the importance of communication skills in the science field, the competition challenges middle school students residing in the United States to create a one- to two-minute video about a specific scientific concept that relates to innovative solutions for everyday life. Evaluated by a panel of judges, all video entries for the 2009 competition will be assessed based on creativity, persuasiveness, classroom suitability and overall presentation. Videos will not be evaluated on production skills and may be recorded on cell phones or simple digital cameras. All video entries must be submitted online at www.youngscientistchallenge.com by May 20, 2009.
The video entry should use science to create an innovative solution to one of these everyday problems:
- How can I play my music system for my own enjoyment, without disturbing the rest of the house?
- What can I do to the soles of my shoes to make them better perform when I skate board?
- What can I do to reduce the glare on my television when I’m playing video games?
- What device or method can I create which might help lower my family’s heating or cooling bills?
For more information on the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, including submission guidelines and examples of entry videos, go to www.youngscientistchallenge.com
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