Congratulations to our January grant recipients!!  Please be sure to submit your lesson plans for a chance to win a Digital Wish grant.

We have an exciting program to help your school earn money for technology through recycling old electronics. All the materials like press releases, flyers, and email templates are available for your teachers here.

Recycle Forward helps educators get new technology for their classrooms by recycling used electronics and ink cartridges for cash. Just set up a drop box and print flyers. Everyone can participate. We raised $850 for our local school in one afternoon by publicizing the technology drop location in the local papers. Click the links for a comprehensive list of accepted recyclables cellphones, MP3′s, inkjet cartridges,  laser cartridges, and laptops.

We recommend starting your collection with a highly publicized community drive on a specific date and time frame. After your initial push, make this a year-round program by offering your school as a community drop-off location for recyclable items. Also inspire participation with fun activties for the classroom. Use our tree template and trace our recycle tree using a projector and every child who brings in a piece of old technology gets to put a leaf on the tree.

We can help you and your teachers if you need help getting started. Its very beneficial for your users and it gets the community to work together for a common good. Its a very stress free fundraiser because we have already done all the work necessary except the collection process. If you have any questions please feel free to email your questions at [email protected].

East Wake Academy is a small, K-12 charter school of approximately 1,100 students located in Zebulon, NC.  It is a wonderful environment where teachers and students are encouraged to be creative and explore information.   We want to prepare our students for the 21st Century and we need more technology in our classrooms.

I am a Nationally Certified American Sign Language teacher hired to teach American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language and/or elective for the students in the high school.  There are only a handful of high schools in North Carolina that offer ASL to their students and East Wake Academy has always been forward thinking in its options for students.

In an ASL Class, we work with videos….A LOT of videos.  Our school Internet capabilities are not fast enough for my students to do video assignments in class and upload them to be graded.  Being a small school, we do not have computers for every student.  I am asking for a classroom set (about 20) of iPad 2s with “student proof” cases.  Currently, students are recording videos on my personal laptop.  The video quality is very poor and has so many lags and skips that the content is unreadable and thus un-gradable.  Students are not able to get the feedback that they need to improve their skills.  Their homework is usually recorded on their Smart Phones or on a home webcam and then uploaded to Google Drive to be graded.  However, we are in a very rural area and high-speed Internet is not an option for some students. On occasion, we have trouble with videos not uploading properly.

Having 20 iPad 2s with durable cases would allow students to complete required tasks in class, research, and create activities and videos.  There are apps available to improve their skills and all with the portability that an iPad 2 allows.  Having this resource available at school would also benefit those students who have trouble with internet or webcam access at home.

To donate to her classroom check out her fundraiser on other site digitalwish.com 

Manchester, VT - February 6, 2014 - Digital Wish is running a yearbook photo contest and entries are due May 5, 2014, on Cinco de Mayo.  We’ve teamed up with Olympus, Picaboo Yearbooks, and a talented photographer from USA Today to give away three Olympus digital yearbook cameras, as well as an iPad. We are also giving one of the winners a class set of 30 free yearbooks. Just simply enter the contest by uploading your photo to our photo contest website. This contest marks the launch of a new partnership between Digital Wish and Picaboo Yearbooks to equip schools with the tools they need to design and print yearbooks for less. You design the yearbook, we print it, and any money you earn goes directly towards funding new classroom technology.  Sign up and get started.

Build Your Yearbook Online for Less

The setup is easy, the printing is inexpensive, and its a great way to fund for technology in the classroom. Yearbooks start at $8.49 dollars for the first 20 pages which also includes 4 free customizable pages per student and a free online version. The online editor uses simplified drag and drop technology, so even the youngest students can participate in capturing their memories. Its great for small rural schools because there is no minimum amount for orders, and there is only a 3-week printing turnaround.

Digital Wish’s blog has great primer on running a yearbook club in your school, as well as, tips for teaching graphic design. Its easy to stay ahead of the year-end rush with our step by step yearbook how-to guide.

“Our high school charges $55 for a yearbook and a lot of the students can’t even afford it. This is a fantastic way to save money, plus the students can learn about publishing and develop skills they will use later to find jobs.”

Contest Prizes

All prize winners will receive a special "Cinco de Mayo" surprise box.

• Grand Prize: An iPad and an Olympus TOUGH TG-830 Digital Camera

• 2nd Place: Free printed yearbooks for all yearbook club members (limit 30) and an Olympus TOUGH TG-830 Digital Camera

• 3rd Place: An Olympus TOUGH TG-830 Digital Camera

• Top Honorable Mention photos: A Digital Camera Basics book.

Enter the Contest

Please invite all your students and teachers to enter the Epic Yearbook Photo Contest here:

http://www.digitalwish.org/contest

Build Your Yearbook Online

Get started building your yearbook here:

http://www.digitalwish.com/dw/digitalwish/picaboo

We are launching a new yearbook builder just in time for yearbook club. You design your yearbook and set the price. Students and parents can buy online. You'll save money on the cost, and the profits can be used to purchase new technology for your school. Its simple to create a yearbook just simply drag and drop pictures into built-in frames. There's no minimum order, and only a 3 week turnaround to receive printed yearbooks. Login and get started.

Free Webinar on Four Ways to Raise Money for Technology - Friday, Jan 31, 10:00 am EST.
We'll show you some fantastic tools for raising money for technology. Sign up, so we can send you all the information you need to participate. We'll show you great fundraising ideas including printed yearbooks, t-shirt drives, Recycle Forward, and how to find funding for technology through Digital Wish.

• Digital Wish Technology Fundraiser - Make a wish list and share it through print, email, and Facebook to generate donations.
• Printed Yearbook Fundraiser - Build a yearbook in record time online with fantastic design tools and generate funds for your technology needs.
• T-Shirts for Technology - Sell high-quality screen printed tees with zero upfront costs and zero risk. We ship directly to buyers, you keep the profits for technology.
• Recycle Forward - Get new technology for your classroom by recycling used electronics and ink cartridges for cash.

Sign up for the webinar here.
The recorded archive will be here afterwards. Read more.

Start a Yearbook Club - Here's how!
Read the new blog where we share tips from our after-school yearbook clubs. Start your own club to develop a printed yearbook online. With simple drag and drop skills, students can have a prominent role in yearbook design. Teach students the basics of graphic design, as well as, exploring the world of yearbook building online. Also starting at $8.49 for 20 pages, you can set your yearbook price and raise funds. Its a great way to fund technology in your schools. There's no minimum order on printed yearbooks. Get started.

Earn a Gift for Helping us Vote - Digital Wish could win $25,000 to help fund our classroom support programs in J.P. Morgan's Give-It-Away contest. If you can get a classroom of students to vote, please send me a note at [email protected]. We have some some nice classroom gifts available as a warm thanks for your help. You can also help by spreading the word to others. Please share the link with others by Facebook.

Technology deals and donation programs - Check out our current technology deals and promotions:

• Califone USB Computer Microscope for only $99.95 - 47% off.
• Set of 10 lightweight headphones for $55 - 5% off
• Dell Optiplex compact classroom refurbished computer only $182.
• HP slim form and fast 3 Ghz refurbished classroom computer only $169.
• Brocade wireless access points and controllers donations.
• Mobile Beacon 4G wireless device donations and low $10/month service.
• 10.1" Asus VivoTab with Windows RT - $279 - 44% off. Ends Jan 31.

Congratulation to our winners!  Thank you all for your lesson plans.  Digital Wish chooses grant recipients based on the quality of a lesson plan, grant criteria, and adherence to grant guidelines for entries.

Congratulation to our winners!  Thank you all for your lesson plans.  Digital Wish chooses grant recipients based on the quality of a lesson plan, grant criteria, and adherence to grant guidelines for entries.