Standard 1.3 Policies, Procedures, Programs & Funding
Candidates research, recommend, and implement policies, procedures, programs and funding strategies to support implementation of the shared vision represented in the school, district, state, and federal technology plans and guidelines. Funding strategies may include the development, submission, and evaluation of formal grant proposals. (PSC 1.3/ISTE 1c)
Artifact: Technology Integration Grant Proposal
Reflection:
This artifact is the Technology Integration Grant Proposal that I wrote in ITEC 7410. The purpose of this assignment was to submit a grant to obtain funding for some type of innovative technology tool. This grant proposal shows mastery of Standard 1.3 - Policies, Procedures, Programs & Funding - which states that "candidates research, recommend, and implement policies, procedures, programs and funding strategies to support implementation of the shared vision represented in the school, district, state, and federal technology plans and guidelines" because the technology tool that I wrote the grant to request will support the shared vision for technology that was created for the school.
In this grant, I requested Virtual Reality (VR) equipment so that students could go on in-house field trips. We had a representative from the new Google Expeditions program come out to our school and demonstrate how the equipment works. He worked with classes in the media center all day long, and the teachers and students absolutely loved it. The engagement level was through the roof, and the teachers saw how perfectly this virtual reality met their science and social studies standards they needed to cover. Even students who were known for consistent behavior problems were engaged the entire time and absolutely loved the activity. After observing what virtual reality could mean for education, I was able to recommend it in the grant that I wrote. I also researched policies and programs that would be perfect for this virtual reality equipment. At my school, a big focus is project based learning activities, discovery learning, and hands-on learning, and VR supports these programs perfectly. With virtual reality, they are actually experiencing the content they are learning instead of just watching a video, reading a book, or reading about it online. It also provides a very engaging experience with little distractions. Students are so excited about what they are seeing that they have no time to be off task or disinterested in the subject matter. VR will also support the ESOL program at my school. It is crucial to use lots of visuals when teaching this specific population, and virtual reality provides that. Instead of these students having to read about a place that they may have never heard of, they will instead be able to “visit” it and actually see what it is like.
If this grant is funded, I will be able to implement these policies and procedures that I researched. I came up with a variety of standards-based lessons that I could assist classroom teachers in utilizing with their classes. In addition, I described a plan for how the VR equipment could be shared among various teachers.
Through completing this artifact, I learned how much work goes into writing an effective grant. In order for a grant proposal to stand out, it must be innovative and out of the box. Teachers should spend a lot of time researching how the proposed tool/equipment could be utilized effectively with students. It is crucial to demonstrate that there is already a plan in place should the grant be funded. If I could write this grant over again, I would have come up with a lesson for each grade level instead of just two grade levels. That way, all grade levels would have an immediate activity they could do with the VR equipment if the grant ended up getting funded.
This artifact would impact student learning because of the engagement level that it brings to classroom lessons that could otherwise be mundane. Virtual reality is a concept that is very familiar to students due to all of the video games and other technology they have access to at home. The possibility of bringing virtual reality into a classroom setting could be an absolute game-changer. Instead of teachers just talking to their students about the Amazon River or the moon or historic Philadelphia, they could actually take their students to see those places via a virtual field trip. This makes learning come alive! Virtual reality can be used for a wide variety of projects – it is not the type of thing designed for just one project and is then no longer needed. It can be used over and over again all year long, and since every “field trip” is different, students would not get tired of it.
This artifact is the Technology Integration Grant Proposal that I wrote in ITEC 7410. The purpose of this assignment was to submit a grant to obtain funding for some type of innovative technology tool. This grant proposal shows mastery of Standard 1.3 - Policies, Procedures, Programs & Funding - which states that "candidates research, recommend, and implement policies, procedures, programs and funding strategies to support implementation of the shared vision represented in the school, district, state, and federal technology plans and guidelines" because the technology tool that I wrote the grant to request will support the shared vision for technology that was created for the school.
In this grant, I requested Virtual Reality (VR) equipment so that students could go on in-house field trips. We had a representative from the new Google Expeditions program come out to our school and demonstrate how the equipment works. He worked with classes in the media center all day long, and the teachers and students absolutely loved it. The engagement level was through the roof, and the teachers saw how perfectly this virtual reality met their science and social studies standards they needed to cover. Even students who were known for consistent behavior problems were engaged the entire time and absolutely loved the activity. After observing what virtual reality could mean for education, I was able to recommend it in the grant that I wrote. I also researched policies and programs that would be perfect for this virtual reality equipment. At my school, a big focus is project based learning activities, discovery learning, and hands-on learning, and VR supports these programs perfectly. With virtual reality, they are actually experiencing the content they are learning instead of just watching a video, reading a book, or reading about it online. It also provides a very engaging experience with little distractions. Students are so excited about what they are seeing that they have no time to be off task or disinterested in the subject matter. VR will also support the ESOL program at my school. It is crucial to use lots of visuals when teaching this specific population, and virtual reality provides that. Instead of these students having to read about a place that they may have never heard of, they will instead be able to “visit” it and actually see what it is like.
If this grant is funded, I will be able to implement these policies and procedures that I researched. I came up with a variety of standards-based lessons that I could assist classroom teachers in utilizing with their classes. In addition, I described a plan for how the VR equipment could be shared among various teachers.
Through completing this artifact, I learned how much work goes into writing an effective grant. In order for a grant proposal to stand out, it must be innovative and out of the box. Teachers should spend a lot of time researching how the proposed tool/equipment could be utilized effectively with students. It is crucial to demonstrate that there is already a plan in place should the grant be funded. If I could write this grant over again, I would have come up with a lesson for each grade level instead of just two grade levels. That way, all grade levels would have an immediate activity they could do with the VR equipment if the grant ended up getting funded.
This artifact would impact student learning because of the engagement level that it brings to classroom lessons that could otherwise be mundane. Virtual reality is a concept that is very familiar to students due to all of the video games and other technology they have access to at home. The possibility of bringing virtual reality into a classroom setting could be an absolute game-changer. Instead of teachers just talking to their students about the Amazon River or the moon or historic Philadelphia, they could actually take their students to see those places via a virtual field trip. This makes learning come alive! Virtual reality can be used for a wide variety of projects – it is not the type of thing designed for just one project and is then no longer needed. It can be used over and over again all year long, and since every “field trip” is different, students would not get tired of it.