Key Concept 18

18.1 Candidates will be able to locate a variety of technology resources, evaluate them for classroom use, and assist colleagues with this process.

In one of our earliest program classes, ET605, we were tasked with creating a Tech Spotlight that focused on a variety of technology tools, evaluated them for classroom use, and then made this information public so others could benefit from our research. This was an incredibly valuable experience for me, as often technology tools are touted for their benefits which never materialize in classrooms. This project gave me the opportunity to delve more deeply into what different tools could do and how I could actually them in my classroom. My favorite part of this project was actually contributing to Common Sense Media a review of Google Classroom, in order to help other educators decide if they could benefit from this tool as I have.

As I reflect back on this project, it is amazing how far I have come. One of the tools that really helped me upgrade my screencasting was Screencast-o-Matic. While I'm grateful it did, I have now found a new tool, Screencastify, that I prefer. A mind-mapping tool I discovered and love, Text2Mindmap, has since gone defunct and is inaccessible. ToonDoo was a fun and creative introduction to comic strip creation for me, but I can see the tools that have shaped me as an edtech leader shining through this project, as it is G Suite and Twitter heavy. Whatever expertise I have now with these tools really began with this project, and all my professional development geared to helping others grew out of this humble project.

18.2 Candidates will be able to locate funding opportunities to enhance technology resources.

The paper below represents my research into the world of funding. In ET680, our groups were assigned a funding project where we were required to search available grants that could help our specific schools, Mt. St. Joseph High School for myself and Edward Schultheis and Harper's Choice for Sarah Walker. For Mt. St. Joseph's needs, we focused on grants that would enable professional development opportunities to teachers. To build their technology skills and to find ways they could implement technology into their classrooms, Ed and I found grants that would support Edcamp-style PD in the summer and would be applicable for reimbursing teacher conference and travel costs, for those who wanted to attend ISTE, ASCD, or other large conferences. Sarah focused her grants on those who would enable her teachers to be better trained in Canvas, their county's LMS.

While many schools are overwhelmed by the costs of training and travel, we found quite a few grants that would enable teachers at our schools to acquire the training they need. The effort to find these grants and then to apply to these grants is what most teachers and schools lack, and motivated educators can take advantage of that. The ones we wrote about, which you can read in more detail below, stem from the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Teacher Development Grant, Fund for Teachers, Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation, The Twin Cities Grant, Best Buy Community Grant, and NEA Foundation Grants to Educators.