|
Education Classroom Library
 Making Technology a Reality Through Grants
March 2002
By Drs. Jane & Michael Madden
Francis Marion University
New forms of software like eZediaMX generate a great deal of excitement at multiple levels. Every
educator sees a different use. Moving from a great idea into a tangible
reality definitely requires organization and determination. These two
attributes can be greatly assisted, though, by additional funding. Grants
are the most common way to find those additional resources.
This month,
we'd like to share with you one of the great treasures of support for
new ideas. An unsung hero in assisting people to make sense of the
digital era, and its implications for changing the way we think about the
humanities, is the National Endowment for the Humanities, commonly known
as NEH - http://www.neh.gov/.
The NEH is a federally funded agency dedicated to supporting
research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.
It has a variety of grant competitions targeted at different groups that
encourage involvement in the study of the humanities. Corresponding
agencies, state councils for the humanities, also exist in every state and
have additional grant competitions available for interested individuals
and groups.
At the national level, the NEH has program officers
that are very helpful in the process of applying for grants. They are
available to discuss the project with you at the idea stage and will even
offer advice, supply examples, and review your proposal, given sufficient
lead time. What more could you ask for? They're a terrific resource and
often under appreciated.
We would like to direct your attention to
two competitions in particular:
1. Humanities Focus Grants
2. Exemplary Education Projects
Humanities Focus Grants
Humanities Focus Grants, typically of one year in duration, enable educators to
consider together significant humanities topics or to map institutional
directions for teaching the humanities. Awarded through an expedited
review cycle, these small grants allow educators to consider substantive
questions and chart institutional directions in a timely way. Humanities
Focus Grants are particularly appropriate and are encouraged for
first-time applicants.
Exemplary Education Projects
Exemplary Education Projects, often of multiyear duration, enable educators to engage
in more extensive consideration of humanities subjects and their teaching.
It funds the development of humanities materials, and ways to disseminate
humanities scholarship and teaching practices.
To see the extended discussion of these two grants, go to:
http://www.neh.gov/
As they note, the Humanities Focus Grants are a good place to start if you've
never tried for an NEH grant previously. They range from $10,000 to
$25,000 and have a relatively short time span of approximately a year or
so. The Exemplary Education Projects are a more substantial effort,
lasting for up to three years and ranging up to around the $250,000
mark.
As most of you are aware, grants often have a cost sharing
component - if the funding agency is giving you $1, then you have to also
raise another $1 on your own. Sometimes those dollars can be through
in-kind expenses, contributions, or real dollars. In the case of the
Humanities Focus Grants, no cost sharing is required. For Exemplary
Education Projects, only 15% of total project costs are requested for the
cost sharing component.
To see a complete listing of all the
competitive programs at NEH and their deadlines, go to:
http://www.neh.gov/grants/grants.html
Because of the inherent capabilities of eZediaMX to adapt to a wide-range of
applications, it is a natural resource for the technology component that
the NEH encourages to be included. In the words of NEH, "These grants may
support opportunities for school teachers to develop model content
applicable to established frameworks and standards; for college and
university faculty to plan major changes in the humanities curriculum; or
for schools and neighboring cultural and educational institutions to
conduct joint humanities study projects for current and future teachers."
There is a focus on curricular development and demonstration projects, as
well as materials development, and dissemination.
Keep in mind that the NEH is but one potential source for external funding that might
assist you in making your ideas come to life. There are literally hundreds
of grants out there from corporations, foundations, and government
agencies designed to address a variety of needs. Start checking them out
today.
About the Authors
Dr. Jane Madden is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Francis Marion
University and is the Director of the Grants Development Program on
campus. Dr. Michael Madden is a Professor in the School of Education. Both
are the co-authors of two successful Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use
Technology (PT3) grants. eZedia has been a research partner in both
federal grants. No remuneration was received for the writing of this
article.
|
|
|
|
|
Education Program 
Classroom 
Enhancing Learning in Science with eZedia and PASCO