The grants, ranging from $1,500 to $2,500, encourage teachers to develop new classroom education programs in the areas of life and earth science, energy, astronomy and math, and expanding the use of technology in classrooms.

Teams of Fulton Junior High School (Lizton) science students created miniature ecosystems in a "Jar of Life" project, developed by teacher Kathy Winsor. Meanwhile, Lynn Rowe’s math students at Fort Branch Community School (Oakland City) created a community "Cooking With Fractions" cookbook, applying concepts of fractions, proportions, money and measurement.

At Clay Junior High School (Carmel), students are learning to identify and classify some of the more than 150 different species of birds in Indiana in an "It’s for the Birds" project developed by teacher Mark Weaver. Biology students at North Vermillion Senior/Junior High School (Cayuga) are using a flex video camera that’s attached to a microscope to study cells and then create a scale model of a cell.

In the area of technology, Eastern High School (Greentown) teacher John Van Matre is using 14 personal digital assistants in physics, math and chemistry classes, while Terry Grotenhuis of Western Middle School (Kokomo) has introduced interactive whiteboards into his eighth grade math classes.

Other grants were awarded to teachers at Cloverdale Middle School, Cloverdale; Eastern High School, Pekin; Kendallville Middle School, Kendallville; Owen Valley High School, Spencer; and Perry Heights Middle School, Evansville.

The Homework Hotline operates from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. The toll-free telephone number is 1-877-ASK-ROSE (877-275-7673). The service’s web site is www.askrose.org.