Join ISTE’s Special Interest Group for Computing Teachers (SICCT) and the National Coalition for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) for a free webinar on the issues and opportunities related to girls and computing. You’ll also learn more about how to make the most of the “Gotta Have IT” packet of multimedia materials which aim to improve the representation of women in computing and technology fields. Get the packet at http://ncwit.org/ghit and join us for the free webinar. Read more and register here.

“Aspirations in Computing” Award for High School Girls — Due November 15

The National Coalition for Women in Technology (NCWIT) announces its Award for Aspirations in Computing. This award recognizes young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests.  All US high school young women (grades 9-12) are invited to apply. Qualified awardees receive $500 in cash, a laptop computer, and other recognition. English and Spanish language versions of the award materials are available. Read more here.

Hundreds of educators will be presenting their ed tech strategies and best practices in Denver for the ISTE 2010 conference in June. If you want to be one of them, visit the Call for Participation pages on the ISTE10 website for more information.

Need some assistance? Read tips from proposal reviewers and committee members on how to write your best proposal to be selected to present in Denver.

You can also take a look at sample sessions from the 2009 conference via the ISTEVision network.

Share your technology solutions and best practices with others. Join the excitement!

View the full interview with Robinson below.  View the full press conference and learn more about the HP Digital Assist project with NBA Cares and ISTE.

According to the official rules, “nominees should demonstrate skills in creative thinking, collaboration, data literacy, information and media literacy, and communication, and should model the philosophies of the NETS in their work. Winners will display deliberate planning efforts to improve education through the use of technology.”

Applicants can include teachers, technology coordinators, library media specialists, administrators, etc., in public, private, and independent schools (in the US and internationally), as well as educators in community and after school programs.

Nominations open January 5 and close March 15, 2010.

For more details, visit the Young Educator Network.

In their LinkedIn for Dummies post, Avangate describes the networking site’s benefits as:
•    Networking
•    Hiring
•    Posting jobs
•    Get business advice; expertise
•    Find high-quality passive candidates (people who are not really looking for a job)
•    As an employer you could save a great deal of money that you might have needed to spend on recruiters’ fees or on advertising.

With all the buzz about LinkedIn, I know it appeals to a wide variety of users – what I don’t know is how the education community is making it work.

My question is – how useful has LinkedIn been for you? Has it helped you with your professional goals?  And if so, do you care to share any particulars on how best to make this networking site benefit others in the education field? Please share your thoughts with our community by leaving a comment or sending a tweet to @isteconnects!

See below for video of launch event speakers, including Antawn Jamison and representatives from HP, NBA Cares, DC Schools, and the White House!

The competition includes more than 5,000 students from approximately 100 selected Title 1 middle schools in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C. They will compete for grants worth more than $80,000 in HP mobile digital classroom technology, professional development from ISTE, NBA tickets and merchandise, visits from NBA stars and more.

Student teams are asked to create projects that make classroom concepts real and relevant to the outside world by combining the power of technology and the excitement of NBA basketball. The competition ends on November 20th, 2009. HP, NBA Cares, team representatives, and education experts from ISTE wil announce the six regional winners in December 2009.

For more information, visit the competition website, www.hpdigitalassist.com/competition.

Plan now to keep ISTE 2010 in your sights and budget. ARRA/stimulus monies, including formula and competitive grant monies, can be used to integrate technology into the classroom, improve achievement through the use of technology, and/or provide required supporting professional development.

For 30 years educators have known this premier ed tech conference as the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC). Now named ISTE’s Annual Conference & Exposition, ISTE 2010 remains the annual event that educational technology professionals return to year after year.

Save by registering early to take advantage of pricing discounts!

Online housing reservations will open November 4.

Online Call for Proposals—Open Until October 7:

Do you have amazing ideas, solutions, or best practices that you can’t wait to share with your peers? Submit a proposal by October 7, 2009, and you could be a presenter at ISTE 2010 in Denver!

Dynamic, experienced presenters interested in engaging their audience in innovative ways should also consider submitting proposals for workshops, the highly interactive Bring Your Own Laptop (BYOL) sessions, Model Lessons, and Open Source Labs.

ISTE members and non-members from outside the U.S. are especially invited to submit, as are representatives of the corporate sector!

Global Connections and 2009 Conference Resources:

Many of you who attended NECC 2009 in Washington DC have remained connected through ISTEVision, ISTE Connects, our Twitter account, ISTE’s page on Facebook, and through our member/customer email communique like ISTE Update.

Besides all the great participant, presenter, and keynote videos on the ISTEVision Video Network (www.istevision.org), you can find a wealth of additional conference resources on the NECC 2009 microsite, including handouts and research papers.

There’s no time like the present to get engaged and stay engaged with ISTE!

Starting in Houston, Texas, earlier this month, North American grantees of the HP Innovations in Education program met to kick off a year of intensive professional development with ISTE staff and mentors. ISTE staff are also traveling this month to Australia, India, Singapore, and Mexico to meet with grantee teams in those countries. Stay tuned for more interviews as ISTE continues traveling around the world!