Types of Grants Found for Education Technology, Essay Example

There was multiple organization providing funding for technology grants in order to integrate new innovative features offered for lesson planning and educational purposes. The grants that were found for educational technology were for all age groups, including day care centers. Other age groups included: preschools, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, college and continuing higher education. The main goal of each of the grants was to provide a path for the teachers to implement new technology into the classroom, whether it was providing teacher education classes or the actual computers and software.

The organizations offering grants and funding ranged from federal and state funded organizations, such as the Department of Education, U.S. Department of General Services and the National Science Foundation, to private technology organizations, such as IBM and Verizon. The goal of the Department of Education and the U.S. Department of General Services in providing these grants was to improve student achievement through the use of technology. (U.S. Department of Education, 2012; U.S. Department of General Services, 2012) This coincides with the same goal of the private organizations, as mentioned previously, IBM and Verizon. For instance, IBM funds for education technology grants through their “IBM Services Grants”. These grants are specifically for educational and non-profit organizations that want to implement an IT infrastructure and develop better technology skills. (IBM, 2012) Intel, another computer software private organization offers funding through grants for education services of every school type (i.e., private, public, charter) in the United States. (INTEL, 2012) There were also some non-profit organizations that offer funding, such as “Digital Wish Grants” and “Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS)”. These organizations were much stricter on the submission process and required the organization applying for the grants to have a non-profit status. (Digital Wish Grants, 2012; CMS, 2012)

Overall, there is a multitude of organizations, private and federal, that offer funding for advanced technology in the classroom. Teachers should contact these organizations and submit proposals in order to implement better technology in their classrooms, as a change in technology should result in a change in the structure of teaching lessons.

References

Digital Wish. (2012). Grants. Retrieved from: http://www.digitalwish.com/dw/digitalwish/grant_awards

CMS. (2012). Enhancing Education through technology. Retrieved from: http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/cmsdepartments/EETT/Pages/default.aspx

IBM. (2012). IBM Grant Programs. Retrieved from: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/initiatives/grant_programs.shtml

INTEL. (2012). INTEL Schools of distinction. Retrieved from: http://www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/soda/application.htm

U.S. Department of Education. (2012). Enhancing Education through technology (ED-Tech). Retrieved from: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/edtech/index.html

U.S. Department of General Services (2012). Computers and Learning. Retrieved from: http://computersforlearning.gov/