Bria Koch

1.c. : Advocate on local, state and national levels for policies, programs, and funding to support implementation of a technology-infused vision and strategic plan.

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Artifact: 

• SMALLab Grant Proposal

 

Description:

During spring 2017, I took one of my cognates, GREV 502: Proposal and Grant Writing, with Dr. Helga Stokes. As I was considering cognates, I decided on this course as I knew that it would ultimately be beneficial for me in the future. In looking forward, I would like to have the opportunity to research and purchase technology for school districts or companies. Through my participation in the IT Master’s program, I was introduced to grant writing in GILT 514, but this course took it to the next level.

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This course broke down each of the steps and sections of a traditional grant and helped me better organize my thoughts as I was able to see everything that is required in order to get funding. Each student chose an organization or product about which to write. Through the process of writing this grant, I was able to communicate with other students in the course and get feedback on my writing. After writing the grant itself, we took the time to research funders and learned how to properly communicate them. 

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Reflection:

After seeing the successful implementation of a SMALLab at another elementary school in my school district, I decided to research this and pursue it further in order to write my grant. Not knowing what was on the horizon, I presented the grant to the principal of my school in hopes of getting permission to pursue it to obtain funding. She then informed me that the district had already made the decision to devote budget funds towards the installation of SMALLabs in all district schools. Though I wasn’t able to actually use my written grant to obtain funds, this assignment helped me strengthen my abilities as a writer and taught me how to advocate for my school.

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As a professional, I was able to use the information to move my school forward as we prepared for the school-district sponsored implementation of the SMALLab. The research that I conducted during the grant writing process allowed me to better support my school and faculty as we prepared for training. I had lengthy discussions with both the COO and CEO of the company in order to best meet the needs of our school. The 2018-19 school year will be the first where I’ll be using and teaching with the newly installed SMALLab. Though it is new to me, I already feel steps ahead of where I could be due to the extensive research that I conducted through the completion of this artifact.