Alton's Minigrant Team will work with kindergarten, first and second grade students to answer the question: Are there patterns around us and how can they help us solve everyday problems?  The focus of this project will be on using interactive white board technology to define patterns and to increase student engagement.  We will then apply this knowledge to our surroundings to find more patterns, and finally ask how patterns can help us solve everyday problems.

The Ashland Minigrant Team's project, Music Production Techniques in the 21st Century, combines science, music, and art through the study and investigation of sound waves, recording techniques, and album artwork.  Students will explore the essential question, “How have changes in the science of sound recording led to modern music production techniques?”  Ultimately, the students will produce a CD, of which they will be responsible for the recording process and the artwork.  This project-based learning will give students the opportunity to develop many higher order thinking skills and utilize a variety of technological tools, thus addressing multiple curricular strands.

For Bethlehem's MiniGrant, students in grades 1 and 5 will work collaboratively to create electronic audio and digital books along with traditional companion books. They will answer the essential question: What different types of books can you create that will best share your acquired knowledge about weather with others in our learning community and beyond? We are a SINI school. To help our students improve, this project will integrate technology with reading and writing in the content areas.

Chester's MiniGrant Team will ask: How can we use robots and computer graphing to demonstrate Newton’s Laws and share our knowledge with our community? Chester Academy sixth graders will investigate that essential question using Lego NXT kits, motion and force sensors, and computer graphing programs. Building and testing their robots will facilitate a stronger understanding of the math and science connection. They will share their findings and robots with students and the community via multimedia presentations at a Robotics Showcase.

Claremont's MiniGrant Team will ask: How can music help students to understand mathematical concepts and increase achievement in math by 80%? The students will create panpipes and tube drums using fractions and applying their knowledge to create the pitches. They will investigate and document how sound waves and vibrations work in instruments and in nature. Students will create, perform, and respond to music, publish and share their original compositions and provide digital artifacts for their portfolios. 

Derry's MiniGrant on Techno-Fitness combines District goals on wellness/science with its technology goals.  After researching human body systems, students will conduct a month-long monitoring of 5 essential health areas (cardiac, respiration, muscle strength, temperature, pressure) before and after physical activity to determine an answer to "How does exercise impact my health?"  Handheld units will allow changes to be created in graph format, thereby increasing achievement in content areas while providing real world application.  

Fall Mountain's MiniGrant Team will use the Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions curriculu. Our vision is to team up, using both curriculum perspectives and teach this unit concurrently with science-based lessons accomplished in Science and the focus of social issues in Social Studies Class.  The Unit will culminate with small group multimedia projects on a global issue of the group’s choice and its potential sustainable solutions. What is this global issue and what are some sustainable solutions to address it? (different for each group)

Kearsarge's MiniGrant Team will be refocusing the stop motion filming mini-project Where is the Yellow Submarine.  Art teachers from all grade levels will examine the software applications, lesson plans, and rubrics currently used in our schools for these lessons. The goal is a final product with lesson plans and rubrics for different grade levels that will help us to use these applications and answer the question of how the same technology can be used to help students at different grade levels to learn in different content areas. 

Lafayette's MiniGrant Team is looking for ways to integrate technology into their Global Ed program.  Building on the Digital Storytelling grant awarded Lafayette last year they are looking to make digital video cameras and iMac’s more accessible to themselves and their students in order to produce digital stories about people and places around the world.  In addition, they are hoping to make Global Ed truly global by incorporating video conferencing through Skype.

Littleton's MiniGrant Team will ask: How can a veteran’s experience best be captured, shared, and understood by others through effective written and oral communication? As an integrated part of writing, research, speaking, technology curricula, this project allows veteran interviews to be accompanied by videotaping and moviemaking to supplement student writing.  Flip Mino cameras are the students’ tools in composing a movie of the interview for local, state, national, and international sharing.

For Manchester's MiniGrant, the goal of the Wilson Weather Watchers project is to extend the existing fourth and fifth grade Wilson Weather Watchers project to Grade 2, initially, and then to Grades 1 and 3. Teachers and students will investigate how accessing and evaluating information contributes to living more productive lives. Teachers will investigate how integrating technology into classroom instruction contributes to comprehension and allows more depth of understanding, which contributes to increases in student achievement.

Newfound's MiniGrant Team will ask the essential questions of the 7th grade’s existing Forest Watch project: “how are human beings affected by our forests, and how do we affect them in return?”  By integrating new technology; interactive whiteboard solutions, a student response system, and five sub-notebooks, the project will improve student engagement and provide students with additional digital options to communicate the information they learn. Increased student awareness of the surrounding habitat will be a measure of success.

Oyster River's MiniGrant Team will ask: What will our Travelbug teach us? Students will design, create, register, and launch a Travelbug in a geocach near their school. Then they will use GPS units, computers, and maps to immerse themselves in an adventure as they their Travelbug.  Students will analyze  travel paths as the Travelbug  explores and discovers the world. During this virtual journey, students will explore their world and seek answers to questions about the geographical and cultural differences they encounter.

Portsmouth's MiniGrant Team will provide students with opportunities to increase awareness of how math is used in the world. Students ask members of the community what part math plays in their profession.  They will use then the available technology to develop a video of their interactions.  This format enables students to present their awareness as they connect to the lives of adults.

Seabrook's MiniGrant Team will ask: How do we transform our classrooms through the use of technology, to effectively enhance curriculum, motivate students, improve instruction, and assess student learning? Through the use of teacher/student created Jeopardy games which include videotaped questions, students will enhance their learning and meet GLE’s. Information retention and students’ ability to answer questions on standardized tests can be achieved through practice. This technology will engage and encourage students and promote higher order thinking.

Shaker Regional's MiniGrant will bridge the Fifth Grades which are located in different communities: Belmont and Canterbury.  Each school’s 5th graders will design, develop, and implement an interactive map of school staff and facilities to help answer the Essential Question: How do I fit into my world: community and school?  This project will incorporate our Language Arts, Mathematics, and Social Studies Curricula.  It will advance the 21st Century technology skills of our students.