"Cable in the Classroom's Leaders In Learning Awards recognize teachers, administrators, and community leaders who are helping to improve and transform education for children in and out of school, creating 21st-century learning environments that children need in order to succeed in the world that awaits them. Maximum award: $3,000. Eligibility: teachers, administrators, and community leaders. Deadline: Dec. 17, 2008."

"The MEAF Inclusion Champion Award honors individuals who have made significant efforts to promote the full inclusion of youth with disabilities in society. The focus of the efforts may include, but is not limited to, helping to create a culture of inclusion within an organization or community, or developing innovative strategies for inclusive programming in school activities, after-school programs, community service, and leadership development.Maximum award: $1,000 for the charity of the recipient's choice. Deadline: Dec. 1, 2008."

"Finding ways to assess 21st-century learning skills should be at the forefront of the educational technology agenda for the next president and Congress, according to a new survey from the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The survey also suggests that the economic downturn has dramatically affected the technology purchasing plans of the nation's school districts, with two-thirds of districts saying they've put off buying hardware as a result.

More than 500 school and district leaders responded to NSBA's annual ed-tech survey, which the organization released at its Technology + Learning (T+L) Conference in Seattle last week.

More than half of those surveyed agreed that their top educational technology priority for the new administration and Congress should be assessing students' 21st-century skills."

Created by National Geographic, this diverse collection of activities illuminates various aspects of geography, science, and social studies through hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences. It is one of the resources highlighted in the Technology Curriculum Database launched earlier this year, which was developed by YouthLearn for the U.S. Department of Education-funded National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning at SEDL.

Every Xpeditions activity is standards-based and enriched by additional resources, including maps, stories, games and other interactive features, as well as links to more information. The dozens of activities in the collection span a wide range of topics, from dinosaurs and the ancient world to multimedia storytelling and community development to nature exploration in one’s own backyard. Given such variety, and the user-friendly presentation, these curriculum resources are very well suited to afterschool settings.

"Even if it doesn’t take a village to rear a child, it may take a village to raise academic achievement. In recent years, researchers have published numerous studies identifying family and community involvement as important factors in student success. Researchers have also been scrutinizing afterschool programs. They have suggested that well-implemented programs can have a positive impact on kids—academically, socially, and emotionally.

In light of these findings, we have devoted this issue of SEDL Letter to topics centered around afterschool and family and community involvement. We focus on the research, presenting a summary of two systematic reviews—one on afterschool and one on parent involvement—and a summary of a research
synthesis on afterschool programs, originally published by the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP)."