Tool Factory announces winners of the Spring 2006 Olympus/Tool Factory Classroom Grants

Sunderland, VT August 7, 2006 – Tool Factory and Olympus announced the winners in the Classroom Grants contest this week.  Olympus and Tool Factory have sponsored a grants contest for the past 2 years allowing educator’s access to classroom needs of digital cameras and software.  Every 6 months 5 educators are awarded each with 3 Olympus Digital cameras, 30 Educators Guide to Digital Photography books, $500 cash and $200 in Tool Factory Software.  This program has shown tremendous growth in technology integration in the classroom by creating inventive lesson plans around digital media.  Tool Factory and Olympus are continually impressed with the creativity and ingenuity of the ideas presented.  12 Runner up finalists will receive a copy of Tool Factory Workshop, worth $200!   

The Spring 2006 winners each of FE 130 Olympus Digital Cameras and more: 

Dawn Conrad - Central High School, Zachary, LA. A STAR IS BORN !

The project explores nutrition and health as students build a multimedia illustrated how-to guide and cookbook of over 100 recipes. First students will build a recipe database and then, while working in teams, they will write, direct, act and film a cooking segment showing the preparation of many of these recipes. The project promotes discovery learning and exposes students to creative thinking, problem solving, organizational skills and teamwork.

Marcy Anderson - Unadilla Elementary School, Unadilla, NY. Wanted - Dead or Alive!

This K – 3^rd grade interdisciplinary curriculum combines art with English and Social Studies. Students must research a trickster from African folk tales and then create a “Most Wanted” poster of the character. The posters will feature a description of the suspect; charges against the suspect; a reward amount; contact info; and a photograph of the suspect created out of a clay model students have made of the trickster. Students will also animate a video of the trickster’s story utilizing the clay model.

Ganan Fannin -Tilden Hogge Elementary School, Morehead, KY. The Flat Stanley Project

This project is based off of Jeff Brown’s book, Flat Stanley in which a bulletin board flattens a young boy. Students will create two of their own flat Stanleys and the first will be used in classroom activities in math (how many Stanleys does it take to cover the length of the hallway), language arts (write a new ending to how Stanley re-inflates himself), nutrition (research into flat foods) and more. The second Stanley will be mailed around the world with a questionnaire about the destination area as well as a request for images of the destination area to be returned with the questionnaire.

Kila Henry - Northeast Nodaway R-V High School, Ravenwood, MO. Technology as a Tool of Science

This high school biology and environmental science class proposal will supplement the science curriculum. Students will work in “Stream Teams” to monitor water quality and to tackle environmental problems at the local level. Digital cameras will be used in photo point monitoring which is a quick, effective method for documenting change in vegetation and soil through repeat photography and the software will be used to create a visual database of the sampling site.

Jean Pollock - Warren Project TEACH/TEC, Port Murray, NJ. The Mini-Me People Iditarod

Each year this alternative high school for pregnant teenagers and students at risk studies the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. For this project, students will build their own sled, utilizing Tool Factory software to make the schematics of the sled and the Olympus digital cameras to capture the phases of construction. Upon the sled’s completion, students will host their own Iditarod, pulling one another in a race to the finish.

The next deadline for the Olympus/Tool Factory Classroom Grant is January 5, 2007!  To find more information and to apply click here: http://www.toolfactory.com/olympus_contest/.

ABOUT TOOL FACTORY 

Tool Factory is a woman-owned, Vermont-based business with the goal to make a difference in US education by providing superior educational software. The catalog offers over 150 titles, including a suite of digital imaging products designed to maximize the use of digital imaging in the classroom. Teachers, students, and parents join the Tool Factory staff in testing products to ensure that they are easy to navigate, fun to use, and beneficial to the learning process. Tool Factory is now combining many of the special education and mainstream products to better serve the inclusion classroom. 

Media Contact: Jennifer Sweeney
Tool Factory Inc., 3336 Sunderland Hill Road, Sunderland, VT 05250
Telephone: (802) 375-6549 Ext. 201 Fax: (802) 375-6860
Email Address: Jennifer@toolfactory.com
Orders: orders@toolfactory.com
Website: http://www.toolfactory.com