Reference no: EM133696587

Identify three potential sources of funding for an eLearning procurement of a particular tool or technology. Begin your web exploration with your project idea in mind, but don't hesitate to rethink this idea based on the information you discover. The objective of this activity is to give you an opportunity to learn more about the funding process within the context of your own situation.

The resources below offer information and links that provide a wealth of information. Bookmark those that are most appropriate to your needs and check them regularly.

Funding Resources

• Grants.gov - Federally supported website for finding grant funding.
• Education World-Grants Center. - A great resource for teacher-friendly information on grants
• eSchool News Funding Center. - A valuable collection of up-to-date grant information
• The NEA Foundation for Grants. - Provides $2,000 and $5,000 grants to public school teachers for the purpose of implementing project-based learning and break-the-mold innovations that raise student achievement

Micro-funding Resources

• DonorsChoose.org - Connecting teachers with public donors.
• ClassWish.org - Provides national and local funding projects for donors.

As you probably discovered in your Internet search, there's a lot of information available to grant seekers, and finding a good match for a specific project is a thoughtful and detailed process-far too much to complete in one week. Hopefully, however, the sources you have been exposed to will prove useful when and if you decide to pursue a grant opportunity.

For this assignment, compose a written response that identifies three specific grant-funding opportunities for your project and respond to the following:

• What websites did you find particularly valuable, and why?
• What did you learn that might influence how you approach seeking a grant?
• What did you learn from your searches that surprised you?
• What difficulties, if any, did you encounter in trying to focus on a specific project idea?
• Did you find any valuable Web resources that were not in the resource folders? Why were these of particular interest to you?
• At the end of your Web exploration, how did you feel about the viability of your original project idea? Is this an idea you might want to pursue? Did you find some funding resources that might be appropriate?
• Describe your overall experience of searching for funding sources that match your original project idea. What did you learn that influenced the direction of your ongoing research? What sites offered information that was personally valuable to you? Did you learn anything that surprised you? Cite any URLs to support your comments.