After browsing through the available grants at GetEdFunding.com, I found myself most
interested in the Association
of American Educators Foundation Classroom Grant. Grants up to $500 are available, and they are
available to full time educators who have not received funding from AAE in the
past 18 months. I am only in my fifth
year of teaching, and while I feel very comfortable in my classroom and with my
instruction, my plate is rather full with teaching and graduate courses. I would not want to apply for a grant that
requires more from me than I can do well.
Therefore, a grant which provides a great deal of funding would require
a great deal of documentation and research which I value, but would simply not
be able to do thoroughly with my current obligations.
Furthermore, I am the type of person who prefers steady
progress rather than a complete makeover.
Therefore, this grant would allow me the opportunity to design, implement,
and evaluate a project which I have been thinking about for quite some time and
which I feel confident that I can complete effectively. The application process would simply require completion
of an online
application requiring some personal and professional information, a resume,
and a grant proposal. The proposal can
be completed online, and it should itemize the necessary materials and costs
and a lesson plan demonstrating the use of the aforementioned materials.
The project for which
I would use this funding is a rather simple project which could have a
significant impact on the success of my students. I would request a document camera and a subscription
to screen-casting software such as Camtasia to create a series of screencasts
(similar in appearance to those found on YouTube channel Minute
Physics) for students to view at home to supplement my in-class instruction
in an attempt to provide more time for differentiation in the classroom. The next steps in the process of applying for
the grant would be to design a lesson plan demonstrating my use of the new
equipment, convincingly write a proposal justifying its use and benefits for
students, and create an itemized list of materials in order to request an
appropriate amount of funding.
