1.

3 Policies, Procedures, Programs, & Funding

Candidates research, recommend, and implement policies, procedures, programs, and funding
strategies to support implementation of the shared vision represented in the school, district, state,
and federal technology plans and guidelines. Funding strategies may include the development,
submission, and evaluation of formal grant proposals. (PSC 1.3/ISTE 1c)
Reflection

The Technology Grant Proposal was completed as a part of my ITEC 7410 Instructional
Technology Leadership course in the spring of 2016. The grant proposal writing and research
process helped me learn how to obtain funding for technology-related school initiatives. I
developed a grant proposal that focused on a technology called Virtual Reality (VR). After
collaboration with stakeholders, I constructed a grant proposal that requested VR devices for
Grade 5 classrooms. VR technology would engage students in multicultural learning experiences
based on authentic people, places, landmarks, countries, cities, regions, etc. The emerging
technology would allow students to explore a wide variety of scientific topics, also.
The Technology Grant Proposal assignment demonstrated my capability to research,
recommend, and implement the policies, procedures, programs, and funding strategies needed to
support the implementation of the shared vision for technology integration. My first step in
writing the grant proposal was to consider the overall goals of the shared vision for technology
integration. Research was conducted to determine the merits of VR in education as well as
learning to determine if any hindrances existed in using this technology. I recommended a
specific device setup that was economically advantageous yet sturdy enough to withstand regular
usage by older elementary age students. In planning and writing the grant proposal, I followed
the policies and procedures required by the grant application as well as the school. For example,
I maintained privacy within the grant application by refraining from including any identifying

information about any stakeholders. The implementation process is explained thoroughly in the
grant proposal. The proposal was written in a manner that helped the reader to visualize all of the
steps that would be taken to make full use of the items requested in the grant. The plan for
implementation included components such as curriculum connections, materials needed, learning
objectives, time frame, stakeholder involvement, assessment of results, and a detailed budget and
description of the items that would be purchased with the grant funding. Cost effective
recommendations were made according to my research on the benefits and drawbacks of various
VR devices and with careful consideration of the unique needs of the school and the participating
stakeholders.
The Technology Grant Proposal assignment was a valuable experience because I learned
more about the realm of grants, grant-writing, and the implementation process. By selecting a
popular emerging technology tool and accompanying resources, I was able to garner more
interest from stakeholders and write a proposal that included their desires for technology. I
demonstrated my ability to research, recommend, and implement a proposal for grant funding
that was based on the best practices for culturally-responsive authentic tech-infused learning.
When I complete another grant proposal in the future, I would like to involve the stakeholders
more in the research and planning process. I believe that stakeholders have the best outcomes
when they work together as a team to improve their learning institution. Having ownership in the
grant proposal process is a strategy that would improve outcomes more in the future. I would
also like to share an example of a selected grant proposal with educators and administrators so
that they could have a better idea of how to do grant-writing and obtain funding for projects.
The school and all of its stakeholders were positively affected by this grant proposal. The
requested items in the proposal had a direct connection to improving student learning outcomes

and increasing progress towards goals that were based on the shared vision. Virtual Reality
technology became a special project at the school and resulted in deeper learning experiences for
educators and students. I remain optimistic about the viability of VR technology in learning and
believe that grant funding is a unique opportunity for many schools to experience virtual reality.