Running head: GRAVA, LARAIA, & SHUB: FUNDING PAPER

Funding Paper

Alison C. Grava, Samantha Laraia, & Crystal Shub

ET 680 Role of the Technology Leader

Loyola University Maryland

Dr. David M. Marcovitz, Professor

NEEDS FOR THE GRANT WITHIN THE SCHOOLS

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Moving forward in the 21st Century in Education is a daunting task when bogged

down by the political climate and whims of county executives. In order to make headway

in

preparing students to be both career and college ready, schools must not only

provide opportunities for students to work with the technology that they will

face upon graduation, but also provide the tech, time, and support for the

teachers who are on the front lines of students educational paths. As

schools look ahead at the task, they should all recognize that they must begin

to work toward the 1:1 student: device ratio in order to help America compete

on the global market.

Currently in our schools K-12, we make available laptop/Chromebook carts in

order to

provide the students with the opportunity to work with the variety of

educational technology resources. These include but are not isolated to, Google

Drive and Office 365/OneNote along with all of their respective features, Smart

Technologies and ActivInspire and their corresponding boards: Smart Boards and

Promethean respectively. We currently have an 8:1 Student: device ratio. If we

are to prepare our students better, we must reduce this ratio more with the

intention of meeting their needs as well as the school systems path toward the

eventual 1:1 program. By increasing the number of devices for our

students, teachers will be able to implement any number of open educational

resources that will engage and inspire our students on their educational path

in hopes they will become lifelong learners and contribute to our community.

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Furthermore,

with the increase in devices in the schools, we must prepare our teachers to

use and implement these devices with the purpose of achieving our goals of

creating lifelong learners. It makes no sense to get the technology into the

schools without adequate training to implement them in the classrooms.

The teachers in our school come with varying levels of technological

knowhow. We will need to provide training on the devices and resources

available in our schools. This will require leadership, time, knowledge

and skill. Funding for professional development is not only about working

outside of the school time, and could provide substitutes so that the teachers

can complete specialized training. By establishing a solid base of

understanding with the devices and resources available, the students will gain

more exposure to how the devices go beyond the gaming and socialization and

into how they can translate into the career and college realm of their educational

paths.

ESA Foundation Grant

The Entertainment

Software Association (ESA) Foundation has supported those utilizing interactive

technologies to benefit the

lives of Americas youth for the past 15 years. The ESA Foundation is

committed to their mission of promoting programs

and opportunities that create meaningful opportunities to influence the lives of the youth

in America. The foundation aims to utilize the power that the interactive

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entertainment industry has in our communities to benefit students in many ways.

The ESA foundation also seeks to support diverse projects and programs to

benefit American children from all lifestyles.

The ESA Foundation provides support through grants yearly,

but they are limited in the number of projects that they can support. In order

to apply for a grant from the ESA Foundation, applicants must seek funding for

a specific project or program that can be implemented in the United States. In

addition, the funding must benefit youth ages 7-18. Lastly, those applying for

a grant must provide programs and services that use technology and/or computer

and video games to educate Americas youth.

Grants are evaluated based on many things. First,

applicants are evaluated on the alignment with the ESA Foundations areas of

interest. In addition, applicants must demonstrate that the program their

seeking funding for responds to a valid need in which is superior to other

competing programs or projects. Applicants must also demonstrate evidence of a

previous program or project that has been successful, or is likely to be

successful in the future. Finally, there needs to be sufficient evidence of

accountability as it relates to the proposed program or project.

The ESA Foundation provides many grants throughout the

year, but the grant that we decided to pursue was the Education Challenge

Grant. This grant is an annual competition that advances the use of computer

and video games in the classroom by recognizing and rewarding innovative

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educators across the country who integrate cutting-edge educational technology

into their curricula (ESAF, 2015). The programs goal is to connect the

enthusiasm of playing interactive video games into positive and meaningful

outcomes that can improve the educational experience for students across the

United States. This grant awards up to a maximum of $40,000. This grant would

fund both of our needs. This grant would allow us to get closer to our 1:1

ideal for students as well as provide professional development for the

educators that would be involved with the technology initiative. This grant is

given yearly, and the deadline is in early May. Unfortunately, we have missed

the deadline for this year, but as it is a yearly grant, we will have plenty of

time to work on an application

that will demonstrate

the needs this grant will meet as well and the positive impact it has on

Americas youth.

There are three prizes awarded for this grant, and they are

given to the three most inventive admissions. The applications are evaluated

based on the creativity of the lessons, and impact that gaming can have on

student learning. The judging panel for the grant have backgrounds including

education, computer and video game publishing, and media and arts. This judging

panel is diverse and understand the important role that games play in education.

There are many advantages and disadvantages to the Education

Challenge Grant. One positive of the grant is that it is researched based. "Based

on research by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and The Joan Ganz

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Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, the Education Challenge Grant encourages

teachers to leverage interactive software in the classroom and fosters a more

unified movement around the value of computer and video games in keeping

students engaged in the learning process (ESAF, 2015). Furthermore, the ESA

allows the grant to be used for both acquiring hardware and professional

development. In the ESAs frequently asked questions section, it notes that the

ESAF does not solely fund the purchase of hardware and software unless it is

integral to the project that is being proposed for the grant. This relates to

the discussions we have had in class about making the impact of the grant very

clear to those who will be evaluating it. It is imperative that applicants are

clear on how acquiring the hardware and software is an integral part of the

program for which funding is needed. Another advantage to the grant is that the

grant allows programs to use funding for professional development. What is

mentioned by the ESAF concerning professional development is that those who are

trained must use their training to have a positive impact on Americas youth

through the utilization of technology and computer and/or video games.

There are some cons to this grant,

though. When attempting to apply, many of the links to get to the application

did not work. This was displeasing, as we wanted to get more information on the

logistics of applying for the grant. Another disadvantage is that it is rather

limiting in its application. The Education Challenge Grant requires the

utilization of gaming into the program or project to be funded. This is

limiting because it is possible that those applying for the grant have other

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ways to use the technology in mind. However, research has demonstrated the

benefits of gaming on education, so for acquiring the technology and supporting

students, taking that direction to design a program would need to be something

discussed by the schools technology team to determine if this is the right

grant to meet the technology needs of the school.

Overall, the Education Challenge Grant

is a way for our schools to get closer to reducing the device to student ratio

and providing professional development for the staff who will be integrating

the technology. It is imperative that the technology team collaborates to

ensure that a clear project and program is demonstrated in the application to

exhibit the need and impact the grant will have on the children in our schools.

Donor

Choose

Since

our schools are in need of more technology, Donor Choose

provides the opportunity to get people involved in purchasing more Chromebooks

and laptops. Through this resource, our schools can create individual projects

and have them funded/donated through the website. Therefore, the amount of

money for this resource is based on the needs that the school puts on the

website. The biggest drawback to this is that the donation request could go

unfilled. The benefit of Donor

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Choose is that every piece of technology we can

get into the hands of our students will help with our drive toward the 1:1

device program.

The

main eligibility requirement is that we are a public school. The founders

of this resource were once teachers in the public school system and noted all

of the money that teachers were using from their own pocket. The idea was

that if the public could see specifically what their donation was going to

purchase and for what purpose, they would be more apt to get in order to expand

the opportunities for the students. It is a more tangible way for donors to

become involved in the improvement of the educational system, rather than

giving money to a foundation that could filter that money to executives rather

than those who are in need. Likewise, the founders are the ones who take the

money and make the purchase of the items that the school is requesting, so the

burden of follow-through is on Donor Choose not

the school requesting the donation.

All

requests must use donations for student use or directly provide students with

experiences. The requests may not involve costs of labor, capital

improvements to the school or ground, vehicle purchases, salaries, or royalty/rental

fees. The request must be appropriate for the school, so it is important to be

specific to the type of need. The request should be made with the possible

timeline of up to four months. If the requested materials are not available

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through the vendor directory, then a special

request project can be made.

The

team vets all of the requests by schools for Donor Choose. Most

of the members of Donor

Chooses team are former teachers. These team

members are charged with the responsibility of not only vetting the projects to

be funded, but they seek out supporters and vendors that

include, Staples, Chevron, Google, Disney, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation,

as well as many others. The supporters can also come from everyday folks

that want to donate to schools but have more of a say as to how their money is

directed. These supporters can be from the community where the school is located

or from anywhere in the country.

The

process is simple. The teacher picks out the materials that they need for their

classroom. In our case, we would want to fund another Chromebook cart of

32. Then, there are some short essay questions about the project. A team

of super-screeners then reviews the project and after about three days, if

the project receives approval, the project is posted. It can remain there for

up to four months. Once the project is fully funded, the materials are

purchased and shipped directly to the school. The materials are then the

property and responsibility of the school. Donor Choose does

ask, that once the materials arrive, the teacher and students complete the Thank-You

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Package, including write thank you letters to the

donors, and impact letter from the teacher, and share photos of the materials

in action.

The

pros of this program for our schools involve the acquisition of

more technology to enhance engagement and opportunity in order to

gain skills needed to meet the 21st

Century Skills for both career and college readiness according to the Maryland

Technology Literacy Standards. While this program does not address our

need for teacher professional development, it does provide the opportunity for

the teachers to request help in securing the technology in order to implement

more technology into their curriculum.

NEA Student

Achievement Grant

The National Education Association (NEA)

Foundation is a public charity that is sustained by financial input from NEA

educators dues, foundations, corporate sponsors, and

others who are interested in supporting public education initiatives. The NEA

Foundations mission is to

harness its partnership with educators to advance student achievement by

investing in public education that will prepare each of America's children to

learn and thrive in a rapidly changing world (NEA, 2016). The

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NEA Foundation offers grants to NEA members to improve student academic

achievement in public schools in the United States and at public higher

education institutions. Grants are awarded to applicants whose proposed work

engages students in critical thinking and problem solving to deepen their

knowledge of standards-based content. In addition, the proposed work should

improve students inquiry, autonomous learning, and reflection.

The Student

Achievement Grants provided by the NEA are only awarded to

current members of the NEA who are public school educators in PreK-12th

grade, public school education support professionals, or faculty and staff at

public higher education institutions. The grants are available in amounts of

$2,000 and $5,000. Student Achievement Grant funds can be used to supply

resource materials, supplies, equipment, transportation, technology, or

scholars-in-residence. Some of the grant money can also be applied to support

the professional development required to implement the proposed project,

although the majority of the grant funds are required to be used for resources

or educational experiences for students. Applications can

be submitted at any time during the year as they are reviewed three times per

year. The three deadlines for the year are February 1, June 1, and October 15.

If a grant is indeed awarded to the applicant, the grant will fund activities

for 12 months from the date of the award.

Applications

for the grant are quite extensive. The narrative of the grant must be comprised

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of five detailed sections including a summary, goals, sustainability, student

need, and activities. The application must clearly describe the goals for

student learning in measurable terms. Likewise, the work must be standard driven.

Applicants must also describe how the project will be continued past the grant

period and how it demonstrates a model for other educators to use in the

future. In the student need section of the narrative, applicants must establish

student need that first focuses on the academic need and subsequently

identifying the sociological, economic, emotional, and or cultural needs. In

the final section of the narrative, applicants must clearly describe the

activities that students will participate in to reach the goals outlined in the

proposed work. In the description, applicants must address how the activities

will encourage students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. Aside from

the narrative, applicants must provide an itemized budget for the proposed work

totaling either $2,000 or $5,000. The foundation also wants those applying to

identify any additional support that will be provided by other sources

including those from the school or district. The NEA Foundation suggests that

the budget be as cost-efficient as possible to express how it is directly

related to the proposed work since it will be evaluated by how realistic,

clear, and economical it is. This grant seems very competitive, and the clearer

and more detailed applicants are, the more likely they will be to receive funds.

The

Student Achievement Grants from the NEA Foundation can be used for our need of

increasing the number of student devices in our school as well as providing

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professional development for staff involved in implementing the technology.

There are many advantages in this grant opportunity. Firstly, it is great that

the grant can be used for resources and professional development. It is

imperative that with any new technology project, professional development is

provided to ensure success with technological change. Another positive aspect

of this grant is the focus it has on critical thinking, problem solving, to

support standards-based instruction. By utilizing this grant to increase the

number of devices in our schools, we can definitely improve students habits of

inquiry and self-directed learning as stated in the NEAs mission. As noted

before, this grant has three deadlines per year, which provides flexibility to

those applying for the grant. This can be considered a major advantage.

There

are also some disadvantages to this grant. Unfortunately, this grant

opportunity cannot be used to fund our project fully. With the two grant

amounts being $2,000 and $5,000 respectively, we would need to apply for

another grant to continue our vision to reduce the device to student ratio to

get closer to our 1:1 initiative. In addition, we would need more funds to

source adequate professional development for staff involved in the

technological innovation. Another disadvantage to this grant is that grant

funds cannot be used to support after-school, weekend or summer programs, or

support conference fees for more than one person. This could be limiting to

some applicants. For the most part, the advantages significantly outweigh the

drawbacks of the NEA Foundation Student Achievement Grant. Through successful

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collaboration with a technology committee, a detailed narrative, and clear and

realistic budget, the Student Achievement Grant can be a feasible opportunity

to support our school and our students to participate and flourish in a rapidly

changing world.

MSET

Grants

The Maryland

Society for Educational Technology provides a yearly grant

opportunity for schools for up to $2,000 in order to promote innovative uses of

instructional technology and address digital learning skills to improve student

achievement. This particular grant allows for a wide range of ideas

implemented in the schools and limited by the grant writers imagination.

The idea of personalizing education is not a new concept, but has become

a focal point through the ideas of differentiated instruction over the past decade.

This grant requires the use of iTunes U, which focuses the grant as a

technology literacy focus as well as the content taught. Since our

schools will require more funding than the maximum $2,000, the grant also

requires that the schools provide details as to where more funding will be

obtained.

We

believe that the $2,000 grant will add to the schools opportunities to enhance

the number of educational resources within the school so that we can move

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closer to the 1:1 device program by providing the teachers the training in

order to use iTunes U, thus incorporating the professional development needs

for the schools. Having the experts come in and work with the teachers

has a tendency to influence their willingness and desire to implement new technology

in order to enhance engagement and scholastic achievement. This grant provides

for the purchase of Apps that would create more opportunities for the student

to become more adept at using technology as a foundational aspect of meeting

the Common Core State Standards, as well as, meeting the ISTE Standards for

students.

This

grant is driven by how the grant writer focuses on the standards as well as how

to assess if those standards are being met.

Since this is a Maryland association, the standards they are looking for

are the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards, Maryland Teacher

Technology Standards, and Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students.

By using these standards to tether the focus of the grant, it ensures that the

focus is data driven.

This

grant is awarded yearly, so while the deadline has since passed for the

2016-2017 school year, we will be able to apply for it for the 2017-2018 school

year. In order to be eligible for the grant, the grant writers must be a

MSET member as of December 1 of the application year. The grant must be in by

the December 1 deadline and MSET will notify the grants applicants by December 19.

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The grant recipients must present a summary of the grant implementation at a

Promising Practices Poster Session at the Common Ground Conference at the

Ocean City Convention Center in May 2017. They will create an iLearn Maryland

Course using iTunes University, which they will receive training in order to

implement.

The

major drawback of this grant is that it is not a schoolwide opportunity and is

only be given to the grant writers. Regardless, it would still further our

school technology goals because once one person becomes proficient in the use

of the iLearn and iTunes U; they will be able to work toward encouraging other

teachers to utilize the technology tools. Thus, this will enhance the

student engagement and achievement that we encourage. Likewise, this

opportunity would create more technology leaders within the schools.

The

grant money may be used for software, apps, hardware, or peripherals needed to

complete the program, but not for salaries, curriculum development, student

prizes, scholarships, conference attendance, field trips, consumables, or the

technology infrastructure of a school. This is a drawback for what we need our

schools to move forward in the 1:1 device program.

The MSET

Application is very straightforward

in what it requires from the grant writers. With the focus on the various

standards, it lends itself well to what the board of education is looking for

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each school to move toward higher achievement for the students. There is

a specific section of the MSET

Application solely focused is

the impact that the grant writers proposal will have on the students learning

and how it will personalize their educational experience.

The

rubric for the grant is relatively ambiguous in order to allow for creativity

on the part of the grant writers. However, it should be noted that the

application should focus on the vision as set forth by MSET

Vision, in addition to, the clear and explicit

curriculum connections in order to offer the opportunities for personalized

learning for students. Ultimately, it appears that there are normally three to

four MSET

Grants every year. We feel that this grant

would be a nice addition to our grant pool in order to enhance the number of

technology opportunities for our students through supporting our need for

professional development and moving toward the 1:1 device program.

Voya

Unsung Heroes Grant

This

grant caught our eye because of the simplicity. The company awards the grant to

educators who have big ideas but are short on money or do not have access to

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the funding required to bring successfully their innovative ideas to life. The

Voya Unsung Heroes grant comes from the company Voya Financial (previously

ING).

The

winners of this grant received $2,000 to enhance or start their innovative

ideas. Additionally, three other winners are chosen for bigger monetary awards.

One applicant from each state, which applies, can be awarded the additional

rewards. The Educators Advisory Board chooses the three additional winners.

Previous winners of this grant have done incredibly creative and great things.

For example, winners from 2015 had ideas and projects such as projects related

to theater, different subjects in science, collaborative learning, and STEM

classes. Each idea is incredibly detailed and well thought through.

An

advantage of this grant is that it seems fairly easy and simple to apply. As

long as you have an idea that is creative and innovative, you can apply. This

could also be a negative, though. It seems easy to apply, but your ideas really

have to be extremely well thought out and very creative. Another negative is

that there is no clear link to an application on the website. Applicants must

get in touch with other individuals within the organization in order to get

more information about applying.

Initially when we saw this grant, we

thought it was a great idea that could really help our vision. After really

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thinking about it and reviewing the information, do not think our vision is

specific enough to apply for this grant. We could most definitely apply but do

not think we would even be considered. The winners of this grant have ideas and

projects much more detailed and needing of assistance than our vision.

Digital

Wishes Grants

This

grant is for one-to-one computing through Digital Wish, which is a company that

focuses on supporting education with technology. This companys vision is to solve

technology

shortfalls in classrooms. They believe that each child deserves a technology

rich educational experience. The foundation was started in 2006 after the

creators children were in a school, which was in direct need of help. Shortly

after helping the childrens school, Digital Wish was formed.

The

focus of the foundation, and this grant, is to help schools who wish to

implement a 1:1 program or to assist those already trying to implement a

successful computing program. There is no deadline for this grant application

as they accept applications on a rolling basis throughout the summer. Digital

Wish believes that the summer is the best and most important time to implement

and rollout a 1:1 computing program.

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Winning

this grant does not provide a monetary award. Receiving this grant actually

provides technical support, training, grant searches, curriculum, and more. The

application seems

very simple and not what we expected for a grant which has such a large reward.

After our discussions and activities in class relating to grants and grant

writing, we expected something more intense than just the simple application

page on the website.

major positive (pro) of this grant is the digital citizenship curriculum, which

is provided as part of the award. This curriculum makes it easy for educators

to provide students with the information needed in order to help them be

successful and appropriate digital citizens. Students growing up in this age of

technology are rarely provided with lessons on how to behave appropriately

while using the Internet or any sort of technology. This curriculum sets

students and schools up for success. A negative of this grant is that there is

no money awarded- it is all training and resources provided through Digital

Wish and the foundation. On one hand, this could be a positive, but on the

other hand, it is a negative. What if schools need more than just training and

resources? What if the school needs more computing devices? The grant does seem

like a great award, but it has its negatives as well.

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After

corresponding via email with Jennifer Miller, the community outreach member of

Digital Wish, our opinion of the grant changed a little. We asked Jennifer what

success the program has had and what schools have done who have won the grant.

Jennifer said, We had moderate success with this program. We received

about 40 grant applications, choose five schools to award the support grant and

have had only two do the work required to assess their program as the first

step in the process of our assistance to them. The other three have not

started yet. There was no money given as part of the grant. It is

technical support, curriculum, training and grant finding tools. The two

schools we are successfully working with will take a while to complete the

process of developing a 1 to 1 program, so our support will be provided when

they reach specific points along the way of developing their 1 to 1 program

(J. Miller, personal communication, June 22, 2016). This was somewhat

discouraging to us because we cannot imagine why schools would not take more

advantage of this grant. Our opinion was also changed because it is not a grant,

which provides all of the rewards up front; you reach certain checkpoints along

the way and then get help.

This

grant will meet many needs that will help with our visions for the schools.

This grant provides resources to help eliminate any confusion or questions that

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school staff may have. Winning this grant sets up schools for success while

piloting and promoting 1:1 technology programs for students.

CONCLUSION OF GRANTS IMPACT ON THE SCHOOL NEEDS

Ultimately, our

schools need to provide more opportunities to work with technology to teachers

and students in order to further the engagement and achievement of our

students. This must come through the acquisition of more technology in

order to reduce the device to student ration, and we must provide the teachers

with the training, time, and skill to infuse their lessons with the technology

at their disposal.

The ESA Foundation Grant will provide our

schools with the largest foundational monetary platform to begin building our

push toward the 1:1 device program and Donor Choose supplement more

devices. The NEA Student

Achievement Grant supports both the addition of more technology in the

schools and support the professional development in order to augment the use of

the technology. The MSET Grants provide the opportunity

to work with iTunes University as another educational resource to enhance the

student engagement and provide professional development to support the

teachers use of the technology. The Voya

Unsung Heroes Grant provides the opportunity to explore

resources that are more educational and provides development that is more

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professional. Finally, the Digital Wishes Grants continues

to support the teachers in their knowledge and skill in using the technology in

the classroom. Through the combination of all of these grants and programs, we

can foster our schools growth in technology to benefit the students.

RESOURCES

Best, C. (2016). DonorsChoose.org: Support a classroom.

Build a future. Retrieved June 25, 2016, from https://www.donorschoose.org/

Chirtea, H., & Bird, E. (2009, August). Grants.

Retrieved June 20, 2016, from https://digitalwishes.wordpress.com/grants/

ESA Foundation Grant Application Information. (2013).

Retrieved June 25, 2016, from http://www.esafoundation.org/application.asp

Grants. (2016). Retrieved June 22, 2016, from http://www.msetonline.org/grants.html

Student Achievement Grants. (2012). Retrieved June 25,

2016, from http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/nea-student-achievement-grants/

Voya Unsung Heroes. (2016). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from

http://corporate.voya.com/corporate-responsibility/community-investment/childrens-

education/voya-unsung-heroes

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