Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/48993
Resources and Opportunities Students and their teachers can compete for cash prizes up to $1,000 U.S. high school students and their teachers are invited to partici- pate in the Bill of Rights Institute's sixth annual Being an American Essay Contest. The largest contest of its kind in the country, the Being an American Essay Contest explores the Founding principles outlined in the Constitution. The contest is administered by the Bill of Rights Institute, a non-profit educational organization in the Washington, D.C. area devoted to edu- cating young people about the Constitution and Founding principles. The 2011-2012 contest is sponsored by the History Channel. Specifi- cally, students are asked to share their thoughts on the Constitution by answering the following ques- tion: "How does the Constitution establish and maintain a culture of liberty?" The top three student winners from each of the five geographical regions will be awarded cash prizes of $1,000 (First Place), $500 (Second Place), and $250 (Third Place). Teacher sponsors for each student winner will also receive a cash prize of $100. The Contest is really a tribute to the excellent work teachers do in the important task of civic educa- tion," said Ross. Over 80,000 stu- dents have participated in the essay contest since it began in 2006. Further information, including submission criteria, lesson plans and background information on the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Founders and the Founding princi- ples are available at . The deadline is December 15, 2011. Teen Prescription Drug Abuse School Tool Kit available – free The National Association of School Nurses, as part of its Smart Moves, Smart Choices campaign, has developed a free School Tool Kit to educate students and parents about the serious issue of Teen Prescription Drug Abuse. One in four teens has abused prescription drugs! The School Tool Kit enables mid- dle schools and high schools to raise awareness of teen prescrip- tion (Rx) drug abuse through school assemblies, lesson plans, and year- round activities. The Tool Kit is designed to be easy-to-use and flexi- ble in order to meet each school's individual needs. In order to receive the free School Tool Kit you must be a school pro- fessional who is on staff at a middle school or high school in the United States. To download and to learn more about the kit and the program, go to . The best, free, and most useful classroom applications for iPads and Androids Content area apps: Android Celeste, 3-D Graphics of the Skies, and Algebra Tutor are among the top eight Android apps for education from Mashable. Other top applications mentioned here are CueBrain for learning lan- guage skills, MapMaster, Sight Read Music Quiz 4 Piano, and Flash Card Maker pro. Fifty-three free android apps for education, created by "a math teacher in search of better teaching and success," is an updated list that includes only free and highly rated apps. Categories include: brain and mental exercises, flashcard and ref- erence programs, math and calcula- tors, and productivity and resource programs. Best and free education Android apps lists apps by cost, top-rated, best, and latest. Both con- tent area and productivity tools are available. Ten great Android apps for the social studies classroom links you to PDF descriptions of apps for teaching about Congress, the Constitution, Google Earth and Maps, today in History, famous speeches, and Layar, an augmented reality app that can enhance class field trips. The Android Community lists apps by topic including education apps. Content area apps: iPhone, iPad Five apps being used in the Classroom right now are byki (Before You Know It), a foreign lan- guage learner tool, World Wiki (uses data from the CIA World Factbook), Motion Math (a video game for learning about number lines and fractions), Blackboard Mobile Learn (for schools that use Blackboard), and (listed as the number one app for students by ). iPad Curriculum links to some interesting classroom apps. Stick Pick lets teachers randomly select students to answer questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy and tied to their ability level. The app records student progress and reports can be sent to teacher or parents via email. Apptivities is a collection of Apple classroom apps that you can sort by grade level or subject area. A changing blogroll suggests other interesting app sites. One of the big drawbacks on Apple devices is their inability to play Flash-based movies and apps. iPad Tip: playing flash content on your iPad - these apps may help links to three different browsers - Skyfire, Photon Flash, and iSwifter - that purportedly convert flash sites for your iPhone/iPad device. Delaware's Master Craftsmen on display at the Biggs Museum The Biggs Museum of American Moody's Mega Math Challenge is an Internet-based, applied math competition for high school stu- dents. The contest is free and open to high school juniors and seniors. Working in teams of three to five, participants must solve an open- ended, applied math-modeling prob- lem focused on a realistic issue - in 14 hours. Scholarships totaling $115,000 toward the pursuit of higher educa- tion are awarded to the top teams. The real-world focus of the competi- tion introduces students to applied math as a powerful problem-solving tool and, potentially, as a viable and exciting profession. Challenge weekend is set for March 3 and 4, 2012. Register at . Complete details, sample problems, and archives of previous Challenges are also available there. Items described on this page are not always endorsed by the Association, but are provided for your information. 22 Nov/Dec 2011 DSEA ACTION! Art has recently opened its fall exhibition: Delaware By Hand: Masterworks 2011. Every two years, Delaware By Hand hosts a membership-wide juried competition in order to select individual artists that are deemed masters of their craft. They include jewelers, glass blowers, fiber artists, woodworkers, and cerami- cists. The artists featured in the Masterworks 2011 Exhibition will each be represented by three works of art. Delaware By Hand: Masterworks will be on view through February 26, 2012. Along with this exhibition the Biggs Museum will be offering a variety of art workshops and demonstrations for adults. These classes bring professional artists to the Museum to teach about the visual and literary arts. The museum is located at 406 Federal Street in Dover. Hours of operation are: Tuesday through Saturday; 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission is free to the public year-round. Fees may apply to cer- tain programs and special events. For more information on the Delaware By Hand: Masterworks 2011 Exhibition and its accompany- ing programs, please visit the Museum website at or call (302)674-2111. www.dsea.org Dictionary.com U.S. News & World Report ofRightsInstitute.org/Contest www.Bill www.biggs www.smartmovessmartchoices.org http://M3Challenge. siam.org museum.org