Week 3

Think about the problem you're going to try to solve with a successful grant proposal, and the organization you want to write for.

What are types of restrictions on RFPs that you want to steer away from?

Restrictions which I will be on the lookout for will be:

1. any grant which specifies that the funding is solely for K-12;
2. any seed money;
3. any restricted to cash matches;
4. eligibility restrictions, such as phd required.

Also, what are some key strategies to avoiding getting your app tossed into the "not a chance" file right off the top?

I certainly will want to research projects which have been funded in the last two or three years to make sure that mine does not sound like it is duplicating the work that someone else is already doing. If it is similar, then I have to find a way to make it sound different; perhaps concentrate on the population who will benefit from the grant so that it sounds like a different project.

I need to think of the project and the impact it will have beyond the scope of my institution. If I want to work on something having to do with Hispanic students then it must be clear that Hispanic students all over the country can benefit and not only the students at this campus.

I also would make sure that we meet all the eligibility requirements.

I need to research the appropriate focus of the organization and the terminology they use to discuss their interests. This will help to show them that my project will help meet their objectives.

I will have to focus my writing so that it is direct and concise. I have to be careful not to use language which is ornate.

Week 2

For what organization will you be writing with your first grant for the course?

I want to write a grant for Texas State Technical College--Harlingen, the college for which I am currently working.

What are some of the problems, difficulties, and or obstacles that this organization has?

One of our problems is our graduation rate. Many students who begin the programs do not finish in the time required.

One of the difficulties which we face is adapting to our population of students. I think this is the case for many colleges. Our students are part-time students and usually they work full-time or worse, full-time students with a full-time job and a family. The responsibilities they have outside of school are numerous and much more important to them. They tend to overcommit out of neccessity and then find they don't have enough hours in the day for everything they are required to do. The first thing many (especially male students) tend to sacrifice is their classwork.

Also, many of our courses are not designed for students who have limited amounts of time to work on homework.

Another one of our problems has to do with funding. Our funding is based on our enrollment. An instructor may have an interest in research or rewriting curriculum, but she would have to do that on her own time. The college cannot afford to give release time to a faculty member because that would mean losing those students or paying someone else to teach them.

Another weakness is the lack of personnel to show faculty how they can implement technology into their curriculum. We do have staff who are experts in technology but not in how technology can be used to increase teaching effectiveness. Because the college has mandated that all departments create a web presence for all their courses, many writing instructors are focusing on using technology to replace paper in the classroom.

Also, faculty do not have much opportunity to see how others in the field are working through these same similar issues. Funding for travel to conferences is limited.

What are some plausible activities that would help overcome these weaknesses?

Create training-style curriculum for writing classes to meet objectives while meeting the needs of students with limited time.

Design a course for composition faculty on how to use technology in the classroom to increase their effectiveness.

Week 1

What are the six stages of grant seeking? What, exactly, is a needs statement? And which online resource linked through the syllabus have I found to be most useful and why?

The six stages of grant seeking are:

1. recognize and identify a problem;
2. the solution or idea to solve the problem;
3. idea should support mission and goals of your organization;
4. research sponsors whose priorities match with the idea;
5. write and submit proposal;
6. implement solution.

As I was reading these chapters, the ideas presented seem very intuitive. Of course, that should be the order, especially when money is at stake. I understand why we should begin with the identification of the problem. The proposal should not be about an individual person and his particular ideas, but about how the public will benefit from the idea. The hard part is taking the personality (the ones which will cause problems) out of the equation. The problem exists beyond the one individual who is writing the proposal and still needs to be solved regardless of who is involved with the organization.
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A needs statement, a paragraph to a page long, must have three elements. The first is the description of the problem which puts the problem in context so that people can understand the problem and those affected by it, includes a justification for why the problem should be solved, and explains what part of the problem the proposal writer wants to solve. The second element is what the organization plans as the solution to the problem and should include approaches, strategies and methods to be used. The third element is the instrumental purpose which tells the sponsor what action they should take to help you reach your objectives.

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I have been having some frustrating time with the online resources. At the beginning it was difficult for me to know what I was looking at. I am not familiar with the terminology used in these organizations so I didn't really know if I was looking at something useful. Even navigating through several didn't make it easier because each seems to use different terminology and to have a different method of organization. Some of the sites are much more than just grant information.

So the one I have to settle for at this point is the Department of Education Funding Opportunities site. It has short descriptions following each link so it gives me an idea of what I'm going to find rather than just making me go look or assuming that I know what I'm looking for. I am confident that there must be some pattern to the sites and that the pattern makes sense to someone. I just haven't figured that out yet.

Overcoming the Distance...

Even though distance education is gaining popularity, many instructors shun teaching these courses because they fear losing the relationships they can establish with students by just walking in the same door.

That concern is real not only for the instructor but also for the student. My greatest concern about taking a distance education class was losing the opportunity to build rapport with my peers and professor. Using technology to build a relationship with someone is difficult and time-consuming. I have tried using WebCt and email to communicate with my students, but have found that contact via technology cannot replace knowing how a person looks and sounds.

As a student, I am relieved to find that the methodologies used in this course address those concerns. As a teacher, I am absorbing all these new ways (at least, to me) of making contact.

Hello...

I am looking forward to working with all of you.

This is the first distance education class of my academic career in which I am a student. I have taught distance education classes using interactive video to local high school students and used WebCt to deliver materials and content.

But...I have to be truthful and admit that I have been stumped by the MOO network which we will be using for class. I hope I have it ready to go by the time class begins. I have the IT Director helping me--she's great.

I have already learned several new things by being in this class. The first is IM. I had not IMed before. Yesterday I had a session with Dr. Rice who helped me identify the real problem I was having. The second is blogging. I have been hearing the term for a year and reading about how some history professors are using them in their classes. Sounded interesting. Still, I had not gotten around to actually figuring out what it really was. Now I know.