Grants and Partnerships

Funny thing happened this week. I began working on my grant assignment one day and then the next, I found something for our school to use the grant on. My team teacher and I are the tech nerds on our team and we always seem to be finding new ways of implementing technology into the classroom. We were trying to use the school's iPod cart for a lesson when we realized that we needed the updated iPod Touches in order to do the lesson. After we realized that, I told my team teacher of a grant we could work on to help fund buying the devices. Until then, we will be adapting our lessons to the technology we currently have available. We were able to have students use their iPhones for part of the lesson and they are now able to use their iPhones to stay connected to education.
Reading about the grants available to teachers was eye-opening! I did not realize there was so much funding available for education. We just have to go out and find it. I searched the School Funding site as well as the NEA site to see all the cool lessons, activities and projects teachers were doing in the classroom with grants they were awarded. One thing I learned was how important it was to plan ahead when applying for grants. People who award grants want to see what the grant is going towards and to make sure the grant money will be used in a way that engages students in critical thinking and problem solving and is aligned to educational standards.
I've heard of grant writing workshops before but never really though it would be something that pertained to me. I was so wrong! We have a time during the school year when proposals for mini-grants are taken and I've never written anything for it before. Now that I have a better idea of what I can do with technology and education in the classroom, I will probably be looking to write these grants to fund some of my "dream" projects. 

Internet Safety

Completing the Internet Safety assignment showed me information already on the Internet that can help teach children about the risks of the Internet and how to protect themselves on the Internet. One great website is NSTeens.org. I was able to use several videos from the site for my PPT. The site is geared more towards students in middle and high school. I sent the link to our technology teacher so that she can use it in her classes. My PPT focused more on cyberbullying, posting too much information and copyright issues. I focused more on these topics because I've noticed these issues with students at my school. We had more issues with it last year than we've had this year...so far. One student posts something about another student and then there is a girl fight in the hallway or feelings are hurt. I've seen posts and pictures that children in my school have posted and it makes me sick how they are ruining their image/reputation.
I think Internet Safety is something that should be taught to students every year. It is something that is constantly changing and students need to be protected. Students need to understand what is appropriate and inappropriate when using the Internet and also to be held accountable for their actions. This assignment was definitely beneficial to me and now I have a presentation to use with my students that is age appropriate.