RUNNING HEAD: ED TECH ISSUE

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Ed Tech Issue
Melissa Blankenship

EDU 352 Foundations of Educational Technology

Instructor Lisa Sill
March 14, 2015

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The current issue with educational technology that I have chosen is funding for
technology in schools. I have chosen this topic because of the high demand for the
schools to keep up with the technology but many schools have a very large problem with
this. Some schools would love to have more advanced technology but are unable to get
the help that they need to do so. I think that technology in schools is very important and
that the students need to learn with technology.
The importance of funding for technology within schools is to provide the
students with the best education they are able to receive and in the world that we live in
there has to be forms of technology that are used in the classroom to help the children
understand and learn. By having the proper funding for the schools in order to receive
this technology, they will be better educated and the teachers will be able to better teach
the students in their classroom.
Funding for educational technology in the classroom can be achieved in a few
different ways. First the schools can apply for grants and/or get federal aid for the items
that are need in the schools. These processes can take months to get an answer from the
government and there are requirements that will have to meet in order to receive these
types of funding in the schools. If these requirements are meet then many schools are
able to receive the technology or other learning tools they need for their classrooms.
Many schools have allowed students to use their own personal laptops and other devices
to do research for the class. This can become a problem if not every child has their own
computer and this makes it hard for all the students to learn. Many schools have gained
assistance from outside sources that want to promote technology within the schools.
These schools have had certain tech items given to their schools and have been very
happy with the new learning tools. Other schools do not have the most up to date
technology, if any at all. There are ways that these schools without technology would be
able to obtain the technology that they need for their classroom, it might take the
schools a little bit of time and research but they would be able to have technology as well
if they did the research and found ways to get the technology.
There are ways that schools can get funding from grants there are many different
qualifications to receive these grants but most school already comply with these
standards. Grants are not hard to receive, the process just takes a while to complete. A
great website to review the different grants that are offered for technology in the
classroom is www.Grants.gov, this website has many different grants that are avaible for
schools to apply for.

References:

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http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html
http://technology-grants.com/page/k-12-education
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2010, July 20). Top ten issues shaping today's
technology uses in education. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/ten-issues-shaping-today-technology
http://www.grants.gov/