Got an idea about the web and learning? Here's $1.8 million dollars of help.

digital media and learning competition header

Beth Kanter has been in touch to ask me to spread the word about an American competition which this year is open to applicants from the UK. The Digital Media in Learning Competition has a deadline of October 15th and allows bids from $30,000 to $250,000.

The 2008 Digital Media and Learning Competition theme is Participatory Learning. Participatory Learning includes the many ways that learners (of any age) use new technologies to participate in virtual communities where they share ideas, comment upon one another’s projects, and plan, design, advance, implement, or simply discuss their goals and ideas together.

It’s funded by the Macarthur foundation, who’s spotlight blog falls short of some of he principles it is trying to encourage (no trackback – lots of hurdles to joining the conversation). Having said that the MacArthur Foundation has been working long, hard, patiently and  intelligently at pulling together the threads of how we must understand digital media and learning.

It’s a brilliant opportunity, so whether you are the School of Everything or the North Birmingham Social Enterprise – go Britain, get the dosh.  Quickly mind, no faffing.