Module 5 - Adam Hamrick

My grant proposal focus will be on funding my classroom with 15 iPads and a charging/storage cart. There are a great many science laboratories and activities that can be exercised outside of the classroom and on my school's campus. The only problem is that many of the activities require a lot of data collection and probes (which I already have), but I lack the units that use the probes. PASCO is a company that sells science probes and even has an iPad application and adapters that allows the use of their probes on an iPad. I want my students to learn how to collect large amounts of data and analyze it, not just read about it. Such data collection requires digital technology to record (sometimes at a rate of 10-20 datum per second) that a human just cannot keep up with. So, I am proposing to receive funding for the iPads, because they are the most expensive digital tool I want in my classroom and I can buy extra probes and adapters relatively cheap with science levy money. The following is a rough draft (in blue) of my grant proposal and explains my purpose, use, and reasoning behind requesting funding for a project that I estimate will cost about $5,525.00, without tax.

Rough Draft:
     "Technology, as with many aspects of education, is a progressive and essential part of our lives. As technology has moved into our lives from a static hunk of plastic sucking electricity in the corner of the room to lightweight and mobile laptops, cell phones, and tablets, the need for and ease-of-access to knowledge is always at our fingertips. Most schools cannot keep up with the growing demand (and price) of new useful technology and the bits of technology in the public classroom is often outdated or in need of repair/updates. And so, the desktop computers sit collecting dust in the back of the classroom until enough of them are in working order for the students to use them.

     Enter, the iPad. iPads are highly mobile, lightweight, easy to use, modern tablets that are becoming ever more popular and essential in today’s world at work and play. The iPad is wireless and can be used throughout the school and the school grounds, taking the textbook and learning outside the classroom without the burden of books. This generation of digital natives is so enveloped with the wider world that their craving for knowledge cannot be satisfied with only a backpack willed with books. Our students want and need the world at their fingertips and access to knowledge when they need it, which is complicated when their turn at the computer is up. We need to provide these learning opportunities at a moment’s notice and make the most of the little time we have each day with our students.

     iPads can be loaded with textbooks, educational applications, and audiovisual software. For example, after reading about photosynthesis in a digital textbook during a lesson outside the classroom a student can report on what they have learned by creating a video of local flora with commentary they scripted and produced, edit their product, and share this with their peers and the world through video sharing apps, all on the iPad. It is amazing that we live in a time so connected that we can learn from someone from across time and space and communicate with each other across the world at the touch of a button! Who would not embrace and fund these technology experiences for our students?

     By using iPads, we can prepare this generation for the demands of the future and develop a great generation of active world-wide citizens. Our public school systems do not lack the drive to do so, but they do lack the funding to make these learning experiences possible for all students. We teachers, no matter how poorly funded, want to see our students become everything they can and want to be, but without modern technology tools we cannot give this young generation the full benefit of modern education. I am appealing for the funding of fifteen current-generation iPads for use in my classroom and a charging cart to be able to move the iPads into a neighboring classroom for other students to use when available. Our science classroom is also equipped with data collection tools (i.e., pH probes, anemometers, temperature/humidity probe combinations, and electrical current readers) that have the capability to be used with a Pasco data collection application on the iPad, so the students will no longer be restrained to a classroom and can take their experiments to the field!

     The cost of these great learning tools will not be able to be covered by the meager technology funds allotted to my school. These iPads with a charging cart will amount to $5,524.99; each iPad with kit costs $329.00, the cart is $589.99 and will hold 24 iPads for future expansion. Each iPad is equipped with a kit containing a Bluetooth speaker, charger, carrying pouch to protect this investment, cleaning cloth, aux cable, audio splitter, and headphones."

So, I am open to any suggestions, because I honestly want this project to be funded. Any suggestions as to who I should ask for funding? About 1/3 of my students have an IEP or 504 Plan, so I might be eligible for the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals With Disabilities Program grant.