Applications are available for fifth and eighth-grade Oklahoma public school teachers interested in receiving Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip subscriptions from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Applications are available on the foundation's website at www.ofe.org and must be submitted by tomorrow, Aug. 26.

As of today, we have 24 subscriptions remaining, which will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. Teachers are encouraged to fax their application to (405) 236-8590.

The Emmy Award-winning Electronic Field Trips, produced by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, bring early-American history to life through a series of live television broadcasts and interactive online activities. In addition, students have the opportunity to call toll-free and speak directly to historians and character interpreters during the live television programs and for one hour after each broadcast.

Grants for the Electronic Field Trip series, valued at $500 each, are administered by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Funding is made possible by individuals, corporations and foundations, led by Oklahoma City businessman Carey Joullian.

The broadcasts, which focus on different aspects of early-American history, are presented from 9 to 10 a.m. monthly from October through April on OETA. The schedule is posted on the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence website. The 2011-12 line-up includes the premieres of "Harsh World, This World," which shares personal stories of what slavery was really like for enslaved people and their masters; "War of 1812," featuring historical figures Henry Clay, Tecumseh, Andrew Jackson and James Madison as they struggle to determine the course of the United States; and "When Freedom Came," examining how and when freedom finally came to slaves in America. Other programs will focus on ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Westward expansion, the roles of women and the rights of youth in colonial America.

While the broadcasts are available to all Oklahoma schools with OETA access, the Electronic Field Trip subscription provides educators with additional resources, including a comprehensive teacher's guide, web-based learning tools and activities, toll-free telephone and e-mail access to Williamsburg historians, and technical support.

Electronic Field Trip subscriptions are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Only one subscription will be awarded per school and can be shared among all the school's teachers and students.

This marks the 10th year that the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has provided grants for electronic field trips. Last year, 89 Oklahoma schools received electronic field trip subscriptions through the program.

In a time when school budgets are tight, the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips subscriptions give teachers an opportunity to bring Williamsburg's history and rich learning resources into their classrooms, said Christa Rice, a fifth-grade teacher at Jenks East Intermediate School.

"The excellent teachers' guides broadened our teachers' background knowledge and deepened our understanding for instruction purposes; the literacy, reading and internet resources offered us more teaching materials than we could imagine; and the interactive online activities captured the interest of our students in ways that only technology can," Rice said. "What other history program allows students the opportunity to e-mail founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington?"

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is a statewide, non-profit organization that recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma's public schools. Among its many activities, the foundation coordinates a fellowship program to send teachers to the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute for a full week each summer.

For more information, contact the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence at (405) 236-0006 or e-mail bwheelock@ofe.org.

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