Kids love technology. The more gigs and apps, the better. With that in mind, I’m sharing three contests that could help you introduce new technology into your classroom for free!

Submit a comment to our blog by midnight EDT on Monday, October 4, and let us know which of these contests you’ve entered. One lucky reader will win a technology prize pack, including the book 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times from Jossey-Bass and the award-winning KidSpiration and InspireData from Inspiration Software. Submit your comment today! (Update: Congratulations to Sara, who was our winner!)

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Do you have a wall-mounted interactive whiteboard in your classroom? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could move it around? Or maybe you don’t have an interactive whiteboard at all. Enter this contest from Copernicus Educational Products, and you could win the Royal Interactive Teaching Center, a mobile solution that includes an interactive Smart Board, a projector, storage, and more. It’s valued at $4,500! To enter, simply email friend@copernicused.com and explain why a mobile solution is better than a wall mount for your classroom. Get all the details at www.i-rover.info. The contest ends November 1, 2010. Enter today!

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The Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards are now open! Working in teams, students combine their imaginations with scientific tools to create an invention or innovation. Prizes include savings bonds; a trip to Washington, DC; Toshiba laptops and Toshiba Camileo Camcorders; and more. Students in grades K-12 are eligible. The contest ends February 2, 2011. Click here now or visit exploravision.org to learn more!

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Grab your camera and create a two-minute video about how AVerMedia products would help you in the classroom. You could win one of three prize packages, each of which includes an AVerMedia document camera, an AVerMedia video conferencing system, an AVerPen, and a cash prize of up to $2,000. The AVerMedia Interactive Classroom Video Contest ends on October 15, 2010. Visit www.avercampus.com for details.

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Enjoy!

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September is one of my favorite months. Besides being the month in which my youngest was born (Happy birthday, sweet girl!), it’s also filled with fun events and freebies. Let us know which of these will help make your September a month to remember. Submit a comment to our blog by midnight EDT on Monday, September 27, and you’ll be entered in a random drawing to win an assortment of new books from Kids Can Press, including Have You Ever Seen a Hippo With Sunscreen?, In Front of My House, and Lila & Ecco’s Do-It-Yourself Comics Club. Submit your comment today! (Update: congratulations to Jana, who was our winner!)

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Serve a banquet to local birds! Invite your students to use empty milk cartons to create bird feeders. Then submit photos of their creations to Audubon’s Homemade Bird Feeder Milk Carton Gallery. Five standouts will be featured on the website. The contest is sponsored by Audubon Adventures and Stonyfield Farms. Hurry, the contest ends Thursday, September 30. Visit http://education.audubon.org/build-milk-carton-bird-feeder for details.

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Ready for the school year’s first field trip? Check out the free resources offered by Field Trip Factory. You’ll find opportunities for students to learn about nutrition and wellness, environmental education, the arts, animals, and more. Free field trips are available for PreK through high school. Book online today at www.FieldTripFactory.com.

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September is Roald Dahl Month! Celebrate by having your students participate in the Roald Dahl Reading Dahlathon. Visit penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians for free lesson plans, ideas, activities, a reproducible reading journal, and more. While supplies last, bundles of 20 Official Reading Journals are available by emailing schoolandlibrary@us.penguingroup.com; put “Dahl Reading Journal Giveaway” in the subject line. Don’t miss out on the fun!

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Get a free sample of Glue Dots! Visit www.freeschoolprojects.com to request yours, plus check out dozens of free arts-and-crafts activities that are perfect for fall. All the projects use Glue Dots adhesives, which stick to almost any surface. At the site you’ll also have a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win a $500 gift card from Oriental Trading. Click here now!

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Enjoy!

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Yesterday I shared an exciting opportunity for middle-grades students to participate in a live online event to celebrate the release of Cornelia Funke’s new book, Reckless. However, I certainly don’t want lower-grades teachers to feel left out. As promised, here are lots of fun literacy freebies and offers for you! We’d love to know which of these great offers and fun freebies you’ll be taking advantage of. Submit a comment to our blog by midnight on Monday, September 13, and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a prize pack of children’s books from DK, Henry Holt, and Candlewick. (Update: Congratulations to LaShaina, who was our winner!) Don’t miss out on your chance to WIN!

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Hopefully your students had a summer filled with reading. Continue that trend during back-to-school with free educator guides from Little, Brown School. The guides cover everything from civil rights sit-ins to a curious cat who wants to know the meaning of his name. Click here now to see more!

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Load up on even more free literacy activities, this time from Sleeping Bear Press. New titles include Goliath: Hero of the Great Baltimore Fire; Whole-y Cow! Fractions Are Fun; Zero, Zilch, Nada: Counting to None; and S Is for Scientists: A Discovery Alphabet. Dozens of teachers’ guides are available.

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Find reading resources of all types at Thinkfinity.org. The Bio-Cube gives students a unique way to summarize information, interactive story maps help with prewriting and postwriting, and the online Word Family Sort gives beginning and struggling readers a fun way to practice. And that’s just for starters; check out thousands of other Thinkfinity resources today!

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You’ll find lots of literacy tools, including the Eye Lighter, Toobaloo, and Desk-a-Roo (featured in the back-to-school issue of Learning magazine), at Learning Loft. Click here now to see these tools and more!

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Don’t forget to post your comment for a chance to win our prize pack!

PS: Did you know that the popular We Both Read series from Treasure Bay is now available at Barnes & Noble? Visit your local store or click here now!

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Looking for a way to get your middle-grades students psyched about reading? Here’s something unique: you’re invited to a live author event featuring Cornelia Funke, author of The Thief Lord and the Inkworld Trilogy. The event celebrates the release of Cornelia Funke’s new book, Reckless. Written for middle grades, the book follows Jacob Reckless on his quest to find his father and save his brother. The event will feature a dramatic reading from the book by its author, an interactive Q&A session (your students can submit questions in advance!), a musical performance by Adam Watts, and much more.

Mark your calendar: this live online extravaganza will be held Tuesday, September 14, at 1:30 p.m. EST. To learn how to participate or to read the first chapter of the book, visit http://www.get-reckless.com/events.html. Be a little Reckless and join in the fun!

PS: Lower-grades teachers, don’t feel left out—soon I’ll be posting some fun book-related freebies for you and your students!

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