Classroom Technology on a Budget

September 17, 2008

Classroom Technology on a Budget

Most teachers I know would love have more technology resources in their classrooms, but have no money to spend. After-all, with textbooks costs throught the roof, schools limited funds just go so far.  So what’s a teacher to do? 

Seek out donations.  BUT- you don’t really want the old, spyware infested computer that your student’s parent wants to give you.  Odds are, you don’t want the 5 computers the business down the road wants to donate, either.  If they are replacing them, they probably are so slow and outdated, they wouldn’t be worth having.  A big problem with accepting donated hardware is disposing of it.  Computers, especailly monitors, cannot be thrown in the regular trash.  It generally costs $5-10 per machine to have them hauled away (why do you think the business wants to give them to you instead:)?

So how can you get “good” donations? First of all, it helps to have an expert evaluate any potentail donations (from parents, businesses, or the community at large).  They can determine whether the donation will be worthwhile, and also, whether there might be other concerns (such as security, compatibilty, or disposal costs).  Ideally, this is a technology support person in your school or district.  My son’s school has a technology committee made up of parents that work in technology.  We meet occasionaly, and are “on call” to help with these kinds of decisions. A standard checklist form can be developed and given to the potential donor to fill out before any donations are accepted.

Try DonorsChoose.org if you are in a public school. This project was started in 2000 by public school teachers, and has already matched nearly $24 million with teacher requests.  If you have a project in mind, submit a proposal.

Get listed at SharetheTechnology.org, which matches people wishing to donate old computers, with schools and other organizations that need them.

Apply for Grants. There is a free course on grant writing at FoundationCenter.org.   Many technology companies ahve grant programs for education. Check out HP, IMB, Microsoft,  BestBuy, K-mart, and Toshiba, to name just a few.  A quick Google serach for grants will lead you to many others.

And finally, read Tech&Learning Magazine’s July 2008 issue- The Money Issue.

There really is money out there, if you are really committed to finding it.

Do you have any tips to share?  How have you funded your technology needs?  Please share your tips here.

Thanks,

Deb

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