Thinking about using Amateur Radio and wireless technology in your classroom to help facilitate hands-on learning opportunities? The ARRL’s Education & Technology Program (ETP) offers two programs that can help make this happen, but the deadline to apply is fast approaching: The deadline for the 2012 Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology (TI) is May 15, while the deadline for equipment and resource grants is May 1.

Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology

Seats are still available for the two TI sessions offered this summer in Rocklin, California (July 9-12) and at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut (July 23- 26). These workshops are four days of intensive professional development seminars, providing training and resources to introduce basic electronics, the science of radio, space technology and satellite communications, as well as weather science, fundamentals of microcontrollers and basic robotics into classroom instruction. The curriculum is designed for motivated teachers who want to learn more about wireless technology and bring that knowledge to their students. Resources, travel, and room and board expenses are provided by donations to the Education & Technology Program Fund.

The ETP is also offering an advanced Teachers Institute (TI-2) session that focuses on space in the classroom. This four-day professional development workshop is sponsored by Dayton Amateur Radio Association and is held in their location in Dayton, Ohio (July 9-12). Thanks to generous assistance from Yaesu USA and Ham Radio Outlet, participants will receive a full ground station that is configured for satellite communications, as well as training on how to set it up and use it to make Amateur Radio contacts and download telemetry data. The deadline for the California, Connecticut and Ohio sessions of the Teachers Institute is May 15.

Equipment and Resource Grants

Applications for radio station equipment for schools are also currently being accepted. Grants for school radio stations are awarded to schools that provide a plan to use Amateur Radio as part of an enrichment program and/or as part of in classroom learning. For more information and for applications for a School Station Grant or for a Progress Grant, click here. The deadline for applications is May 1.

If you would like to learn more about how teachers are using Amateur Radio to engage students in their classrooms, visit our Classroom Activities page.