Mary

Forgione
ET 680
Funding Paper

Introduction

The future technology vision at Talbott Springs Elementary School states that teachers

are inspired to use Canvas as a communication tool to increase contact with parents by

providing resources/tools/events relevant to curriculum, conversing about student

achievement, and discussing student behavior. Parents are an active part of their child’s

education and are equipped to provide relevant and individualized support to their child at

home. Teachers and parents use Canvas to keep in communication about the whole child in

order to improve student achievement. In order to ensure the effective implementation of

Canvas as a communication tool, it important that the innovation is properly funded.

Grant Description

The grant that I am most interested in applying for is the Educators of America Grant.

While exploring and learning about educational technology grants in my graduate course at

Loyola University Maryland, I located this grant on a list of national grants. The appeal of the

Educators of America Grant is that the funding can be used to train educators to use chosen

technologies in the most effective ways. Canvas is a technology that is accessible to teachers,

parents, and students that have access to the internet. Since we have ample computers for

students, and each teacher is provided a Howard County Public School System laptop, funding

is not needed for the technology itself.

Canvas is a technology innovation that teachers are not yet completely comfortable

using. While some teachers can navigate Canvas, many aspects of Canvas including the creation
of announcements, assignments, and discussions are underutilized. For this reason, training is

exactly what is needed. If teachers are not actively using Canvas, there is no incentive or reason

for parents to use Canvas. Both teachers and parents need the opportunity to learn by

exploring Canvas, as well as receive individualized training and support. A priority of the

Educators of America Grant is to assist in bettering student achievement throughout our entire

institution. Our institution is our school community. By using funds to train both teachers and

parents to utilize Canvas as a communication tool, the community will benefit in many ways.

With increased communication, not only will rapport increase, but parents will be better

equipped with the necessary resources and tools to support their child’s learning at home. To

gain further insight into the Educators of America Grant, please visit the following website:

https://www.educatorsusa.org/educator-and-technologygrants?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9LPYBRDSARIs

AHL7J5m0525TfMHhU6cz0bMrVWdPxfL1eX4fYQU3euCsLWYpJxtVW50O-jMaAr0eEALw_wcB.

For a direct link to the grant application, please access the following:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/65bb77_ca37554ab71b49529db39bf84fa114c1.pdf.

Grant Application/Proposal

In order to apply for this grant, there is a PDF application that must be completed. The

upper portion of the grant application requires information on the applicant’s school, including

the school’s name, address, and telephone number. The applicant’s email address and the date

must also be included. After basic information is provided, the application asks for the applicant

to address the proposed use of the grant money. A printed name, signature, and date must be

included at the bottom. When I apply for this grant, I will use the following proposal:
 In Howard County, Canvas is used as an online technology that allows parents/

guardians, students, and teachers access to instructional tools and student data. Canvas

provides parents and students with hand-picked curriculum resources and tools, and provides

the opportunity to bridge home-to-school and school-to-home communication gaps. At Talbott

Springs Elementary School, we plan to ensure that Canvas is optimized as a communication tool

between all people involved in the educational process in order to improve student

achievement. Since Canvas is accessible to all teachers, parents, and students with internet

access, funding for the technology itself is not needed. Funding from the Educators of America

Grant would go towards compensating the technology leaders of the training sessions, Canvas

consultants, and evening-shift custodians. As an incentive to both teachers and parents

involved in the training sessions, we would also like to offer refreshments. Outcomes of the

teacher training sessions would be to use teacher-designated laptops to explore Canvas’

capabilities and advantages, ask and answer questions, and begin gaining comfortability in

using Canvas to share relevant resources and tools with parents. Outcomes of the parent

training sessions would be to use school-designated laptops to explore Canvas, practice logging-

in, access announcements, and find posted resources.

Student achievement is at the heart of these proposed Canvas training sessions. The

successful implementation of Canvas as a communication tool is based in the structured

exploration of Canvas for both teachers and parents. Both parties must be given the

opportunity to explore Canvas so that they can create their own understanding of its benefits

and advantages. On-going strategic and guided exposure to Canvas will create an atmosphere

of collaborative learning to better support the students/children at Talbott Springs Elementary

School. When teachers and parents are fully knowledgeable of the information, resources, and

tools that are so easily accessible to them, student achievement can improve. It is my school’s

hope to work to use Canvas to improve communication and bridge any and all gaps in student’s

learning.