Community Connect grants

Department of Agriculture
The Community Connect Grant Program provides support to furnish broadband service in rural, economically-challenged communities where such service does not currently exist. Activities eligible for support include the following: deploying broadband transmission service to critical community facilities, rural residents, and rural businesses; constructing, acquiring, or expanding a community center; and equipping and operating a community center that provides free access to broadband services to community residents for at least two years. Proposed activities must serve rural communities of up to 20,000 inhabitants. The application deadline is June 18, 2012.

Computing Education for the 21st Century

Current Closing Date for Applications:

Apr 09, 2012    Full Proposal Deadline(s): April 09, 2012 April 02, 2013 First Tuesday in April, Annually Thereafter

Expected Number of Awards:	20
Estimated Total Program Funding:	$13,000,000
Award Ceiling:	$10,000,000
Award Floor:	$200,000
CFDA Number(s):	47.070  --  Computer and Information Science and Engineering
	47.076  --  Education and Human Resources
	47.080  --  Office of Cyberinfrastructure

Description

The Computing Education for the 21st Century (CE21) program aims to build a robust computing research community, a computationally competent 21st century workforce, and a computationally empowered citizenry. In this undertaking, there are three interrelated challenges: the significant underproduction of degrees needed for the computing and computing-related workforce, the longstanding underrepresentation of many segments of our population, and the lack of a presence of computing in K-12. Innovation in information technology (IT) has driven economic growth, underlies many of our recent scientific advances, and ensures our national security; it is not surprising then that predicted IT job growth is very strong. Yet students are not majoring in computing in sufficient numbers. This shortfall is exacerbated by the longstanding underrepresentation of women, persons with disabilities, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and indigenous peoples in computing. We cannot meet workforce demands without their participation and we cannot, in an increasingly competitive world economy, afford to cede the talents and creativity of so many. To ensure their participation, and the full participation of all students, we must provide better opportunities to study computing in K-12. We must start with a better understanding of how students learn computing. Unlike many of the other STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines, computing has not developed a robust research base on the teaching and learning of its fundamental concepts and skills. That research base must be built and it must be used in providing all students with rigorous academic curricula that cover computational concepts and skills, and the breadth of application and potential of computing. Providing access to rigorous, academic computing in K-12 will require an unprecedented effort to develop curriculum and materials and to prepare teachers.

CE21 thus supports efforts in three tracks: Computing Education Research (CER) proposals will aim to develop a research base for computing education. Projects may conduct basic research on the teaching and learning of computational competencies; they may design, develop, test, validate, and refine materials, measurement tools, and methods for teaching in specific contexts; and/or they may implement promising small-scale interventions in order to study their efficacy with particular groups. Efforts can focus on computational thinking as taught in computing courses or infused across the curriculum, they can target students or their teachers in informal or formal educational settings, or they can address any level within the K-16 pipeline, from elementary school through high school and college. CS 10K proposals will aim to develop the knowledge base and partnerships needed to catalyze the CS 10K Project. The CS 10K Project aims to have rigorous, academic curricula incorporated into computing courses in 10,000 high schools, taught by 10,000 well-trained teachers. CS 10K proposals can address a wide range of needed activities, including the development of course materials, pedagogy, and methods courses, as well as professional development and ongoing support for teachers, approaches to scaling, best practices for increasing the participation of students from underrepresented groups, and strategies for building K-12, university, and community partnerships. Broadening Participation (BP) proposals will aim to develop and assess novel interventions that contribute to our knowledge base on the effective teaching and learning of computing for students from the underrepresented groups: women, persons with disabilities, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and indigenous peoples. Proposed interventions should be designed to engage and retain students from these groups and, at the same time, to increase their knowledge of computational thinking concepts and skills. Proposers are encouraged to leverage the resources provided by the existing BPC-A Alliances and to develop interventions that, if proven successful, could be implemented within a BPC-A Alliance. For additional information on the Alliances, see http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503593&org=NSF.In aggregate, CE21 projects will contribute to our understanding of how diverse student populations are engaged and retained in computing, learn its fundamental concepts, and develop computational competencies that position them to contribute to an increasingly computationally empowered workforce. 

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Publication 12-527

Youth Technology Grants

[from Philanthropy News Digest] The ESA Foundation, a philanthropic vehicle of the Entertainment Software Association, is dedicated to supporting programs that make a difference in the lives of America's youth.
The foundation is accepting grant applications from nonprofit organizations that provide programs and services utilizing technology and/or computer and video games to educate America's youth and young adults (ages 7 to 18).
Applicants must be nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations or governmental units exempt under Section 115 and described in Section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. Funding must be sought for a specific project or program that is or will be implemented or available nationwide or in a minimum of two states in the United States.
In general, the ESA Foundation does not accept applications for endowments, operating support, benefit and event fundraisers, annual fund appeals, youth sports teams, religious organizations for religious purposes, political organizations or campaigns, labor groups, indirect costs, research, or from fiscal agents. Grants are not made to individuals or for projects outside the United States of America.

First-time awardees will be considered for grants of up to $50,000 each.
The grant application deadline is May 15, 2011 for projects to be implemented in 2012.
Visit the ESA Web site for complete program guidelines and application procedures.

Link to Complete RFP

Computer Science Education Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced the Computer Science Education Act, which will help prepare Americans for the more than 1.5 million high-wage computing jobs that are expected to be created in the U.S. by 2018. The bill will help states to increase and strengthen their computer science offerings in K-12 education.

"With significant job creation over the next decade in industries fueled by computer science, better K-12 instruction in this STEM field is critical to our economic competitiveness,” said Senator Casey. “To help our schools improve computer science instruction, I am proud to introduce the Computer Science Education Act in the Senate.  This legislation will give more students the opportunity to study computer science and position themselves for the jobs of the future."

“Computer science careers will provide good paying jobs for Americans and prepare our economy to compete and win the global market,” said Congressman Polis. “America can only succeed economically if our workforce is prepared for the best paying jobs, such as those in computer science. If America’s is to remain an economic superpower—and if we’re to support jobs for the middle class—we must be the world’s leader in computer science education.”

“The Computer Science Education Act encourages states to examine what is going on in local computer science classrooms and consider how to give students educational opportunities that support lucrative, rewarding careers and contribute to the most dynamic, innovative industry in the United States,” according to Maggie Johnson, Google’s Director of Education and University Relations. “Computer science must be accommodated in our nation’s classrooms if we want to be successful in the 21st Century.”

Between 2004 and 2008, the number of computer-related bachelor's degrees granted in the U.S. fell from roughly 60,000 to 38,000. The availability of introductory secondary school computer science courses has also decreased—by 17 percent since 2005—and the number of Advanced Placement (AP) computer science courses has decreased by 33 percent.

While some states allow computer science courses to count toward a secondary school core graduation requirements, most states that have specific course requirements for graduation count computer science courses only as electives. Many states also do not have a certification process for computer science teachers, and where certification processes do exist, such processes often have no connection to computer science content.

To reverse these troubling trends and prepare Americans for jobs in this high-wage, high-growth field, the Computer Science Education Act will:

• Ensure computer science offerings are an integral part of the curriculum;
• Develop state computer science standards, curriculum, and assessments;
• Improve access to underserved populations;
• Create professional development and teacher certification initiatives, including computer science teacher preparation programs in higher education;
• Form a commission on computer science education to bring states together to address the computer science teacher certification crisis; and,
• Establish an independent, rigorous evaluation of state efforts with reporting back to Congress and the administration.

The bill would provide two-year competitive planning grants to states, as well as five-year competitive implementation grants to states to support their plans to increase and strengthen schools’ capacity to offer effective computer science education.

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Cyberlearning: Transforming Education program

Description

Through the Cyberlearning: Transforming Education program, NSF seeks to integrate advances in technology with advances in what is known about how people learn to better understand how people learn with technology and how technology can be used productively to help people learn, through individual use and/or through collaborations mediated by technology;better use technology for collecting, analyzing, sharing, and managing data to shed light on learning, promoting learning, and designing learning environments; anddesign new technologies for these purposes, and advance understanding of how to use those technologies and integrate them into learning environments so that their potential is fulfilled.Of particular interest are technological advances that allow more personalized learning experiences, draw in and promote learning among those in populations not served well by current educational practices, allow access to learning resources anytime and anywhere, and provide new ways of assessing capabilities. It is expected that Cyberlearning research will shed light on how technology can enable new forms of educational practice and that broad implementation of its findings will result in a more actively-engaged and productive citizenry and workforce.Cyberlearning awards will be made in three research categories, each focusing on a different stage of research and development: Exploratory (EXP), Design and Implementation (DIP), and Integration and Deployment (INDP). The Cyberlearning program will also support small Capacity-Building Projects (CAP) and a Cyberlearning Resource Center (CRC). 

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Publication 11-587

Small Business Technology Transfer program

The Small Business Technology Transfer program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.The Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) requires researchers at universities and other non-profit research institutions to play a significant intellectual role in the conduct of each STTR project. These researchers, by joining forces with a small company, can spin-off their commercially promising ideas while they remain primarily employed at the research institution. The program is governed by Public Law 112-17.NSF seeks to help reach the nation's future broadband goals and the larger objective of alleviating growing pressure on limited radio spectrum resources. Innovative approaches, technologies, and policies are required to enable more flexible and efficient access to the radio spectrum. The stakes are high in technology development as the country that develops the key intellectual property to enable the efficient use of the spectrum and adopts new and effective spectrum regulations is expected to have strong competitive advantages in the manufacturing of new communications systems, and increased productivity in using this technology. For information reference section A.10.

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Publication 11-561

Dept. of Labor to Offer up to $35,000 for Development of Visualizations Using Occupational Employment Statistics from BLS

The Department of Labor has recently announced two contests with a total of $70,000 in prize money for software applications that showcase innovative uses of the department's data. The goal of the first contest is to connect unemployed workers with promising careers, and the goal of the second is to empower consumer choices about the hotel, motel, restaurant and retail industries. Information about both is posted at www.challenge.gov.

The Occupational Employment Statistics challenge calls on developers to create visualizations using OES data from the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics to assist individuals in planning their education, considering a career change, moving to a new geographical area or negotiating pay and benefits.

The "informAction app" challenge requires developers to use compliance data from the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and its Wage and Hour Division in a way that will empower workers and consumers to make educated choices regarding the hotel, motel, restaurant and retail industries.

Applications that best satisfy the criteria for each challenge will be eligible to receive up to $35,000. Developers are encouraged to combine the required data with any other publicly accessible data available on the Internet and to be creative in exploring approaches for realizing the goals. Submissions may be any kind of software tool, including those designed for the Web, a personal computer, a mobile handheld device, a console or any platform broadly accessible to the open Internet.

The challenges will be open for submissions from July 14 until Sept. 14. Judges will select the winners by Sept. 30, and they will be announced around Oct. 17 at www.challenge.gov.

To help facilitate these challenges, the Labor Department recently launched http://developer.dol.gov, a unique website that makes it easier for software developers to incorporate department data into online and mobile applications through published application program interfaces and software development kits.

News Release