Grants and Fundraising - SMART Technologies

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SMART SHOWCASE SCHOOL PROFILEBuying SMART Productson a BudgetBy Wendy McMahonbudgeting and a hefty dose of perseverance.He is a firm believer that with this combination,even low-income schools can find funding.Searching out opportunitiesMcGowan, who often speaks to educators at stateconferences about finding and securing technologyfunding, applies for roughly 15 to 20 grants ayear. The grants vary from small monetary onesfor $1,000–$5,000 to those for specific productsto large technology grants, such as EnhancingEducation Through Technology (EETT).Lincoln Elementary School may be located ina low-income area, with 90 percent of its 1,100students eligible for free or reduced-cost lunchprograms, but that hasn’t stopped this SMARTShowcase School in Calumet City, Illinois,from standardizing on SMART products. Nearlyevery one of its 58 classrooms is equipped witha SMART Board interactive whiteboard, aSMART Response interactive response systemand SMART Classroom Suite interactivelearning software. Plus, the school recentlyrolled out a 1:1 initiative to provide every studentin grades four through eight with a laptop.“How can you afford it?” is a question MikeMcGowan, Lincoln Elementary’s Supervisor ofTechnology, hears often.And his answer is always the same – grants, creative“I have written for grants as small as adocument camera or up to recording studios.And then, of course, the leap for technologyinitiatives like the 1:1 grants,” he explains.McGowan also never passes up an opportunityto buy SMART products. “I tell schools all thetime to stop stockpiling money. If at the end ofthe school year, you have an extra $2,000, buya SMART Board now, because what’s going tohappen is you’re going to stockpile 10 grandand you’re going to have to use that money tofix the roof.”But McGowan says his final piece of adviceis the key to success. “Be persistent. You justcan’t give up,” he explains. “If you want tobuy something, you’ve got to fight for it. Andthat’s the biggest thing I tell teachers, techdirectors and administrators over and over. Don’tstop. Eventually a grant will come through or22 | April 2012
SMART SHOWCASE SCHOOL PROFILE“I honestly couldn’t imagine teaching in aschool where I didn’t have a SMART Boardand I didn’t have a SMART Response.”Aaron Raisbeck, Language Arts Teacher, LincolnElementary School, Calumet City, Illinoissomething will happen that is going to allowyou to put technology in your schools.”Thanks to these efforts, McGowan says thereisn’t a room in Lincoln Elementary that doesn’thave a SMART Board interactive whiteboard –even his office has one.In 2011, the school was awarded an EETTgrant for US$630,000 to support a 1:1 initiativedesigned to put low-cost laptops into the handsof as many students as possible. “We neededsomething to manage the technology and tie it alltogether, so we used the grant funds to purchaseSMART Classroom Suite,” says McGowan.“We also used that grant to buy a couple of SMARTDocument Cameras because we wanted the ability,specifically in our science classrooms, to have the 3Dtechnology available with the augmented reality.”The school also used US$75,000 from anIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA) grant to purchase SMART Board interactivewhiteboards for their special needs classrooms.Putting technology to workHaving the SMART products helps teachers andstudents succeed in the classroom – and that issomething that makes seventh-grade language artsteacher Aaron Raisbeck happy.“I honestly couldn’t imagine teaching in a schoolwhere I didn’t have a SMART Board and I didn’thave a SMART Response,” says Raisbeck. “I don’tthink I would be able to do it. It would definitelychange everything about the way that I teach.”Raisbeck uses SMART Response in his classesnearly every day for formal and informalassessments, and the SMART Board interactivewhiteboard is used every day – withoutquestion. And now that Lincoln Elementary isworking toward being an entirely 1:1 learningenvironment, he uses SMART Sync classroommanagement software, one of the four softwarecomponents of SMART Classroom Suite, to sharefiles and keep students focused.Raisbeck says SMART products are much moreengaging than the traditional paper-and-penmethods of teaching. “Students seem to dobetter with their work because they are moreengaged, and it definitely helps with behavior.”Your school can become a SMART Showcase School and be recognized forusing SMART education solutions to create exceptional learning environments.If selected, your school will receive exclusive membership benefits andopportunities. It will have an opportunity to share its success story and serve asa host site for other educators who want to find out more about the benefitsof implementing SMART products. Learn more.April 2012 | 23
Page 5 and 6: VOICE BOXhave your say....Last Mont
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Page 10 and 11: CLASSROOM CONTENTSMART Table Activi
Page 12 and 13: CLASSROOM CONTENTSMART NotebookTips
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Page 16 and 17: FEATURE ARTICLE“I loved it and th
Page 18 and 19: FEATURE ARTICLEPeterson is also on
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