California has released their guidelines and RFP here. 50% of the money will be distributed by formula, 50% will be distributed via a competitive grant process. This money is over and above the annual EETT funds from the federal government. It’s a LOT of money, but is a one-time only grant. This isn’t going to happen every year!

GenYES has been a very popular component of many California EETT grants in previous rounds, and we hope this continues! Over 40 schools in California are currently running GenYES programs funded by the EETT grants. These GenYES students are helping their teachers implement technology throughout the curriculum and assisting with tech support.

Here are a couple of great examples:

• GenYES Students Shine in California. GenYES students at B. Gale Wilson school in Fairfield, California, were featured in their local paper with a story about their leadership and technology skills.
• Kids Use — and Teach — Digital Storytelling. At Parkview Elementary in Chico, CA, students assist teachers on digital storytelling projects that support the technology plan and content standards.
• Technology Success Story. In San Juan, California, test scores and student self-esteem rise as students find their voice and show what they know using technology.

A relatively new goal for the EETT is to address the NCLB mandate for technology literacy by 8th grade. The TechYES Student Technology Literacy Certification program is a project-based way to do just that. Plus, the new TechYES TLC – Technology Literacy Curriculum is a great way to move your technology classes beyond word processing and keyboarding.

These funds MUST be used for programs that will be sustainable in the long run. All Generation YES programs are permanent licenses, with no renewal fees.

Find out more about how Generation YES programs meet the goals of the California EETT.

Sylvia

Click here for details and eligibility requirements.

By the way, this money is in addition to the funding that will be in the regular budget, currently $269M. You can’t exactly add those two numbers up, as they cover different time periods, but any way you slice it, this is a lot of money coming — and really soon. (Anyone interested in following this at a federal level should subscribe to Hilary Goldmann’s blog at the ISTE Connects website.)

The hope is that by using existing EETT mechanisms and rules, this money will quickly make its way to states, and then out to districts and service centers, creating or saving jobs and expanding technology-enhanced learning opportunities for all.

Ready, Get Set…. GO!
The key word there is quickly – so the time to get ready is NOW. The next few weeks should see a flurry of information as state education departments decide exactly how to do this. If you’ve been saying… gee, if we only had the money… this is your chance. Dust off those grant proposals, call consortium partners, and watch your state ed tech department closely — because this will happen FAST.

Now comes the shameless promotion — GenYES and TechYES have been the basis of hundreds of successful EETT projects. If you are looking at the power of technology to empower students, support teachers, and create a culture of shared ownership of learning at your school, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel or design your own curriculum from scratch.

GenYES is a curriculum and online toolset for student technology teams, either in a class or after school. GenYES students in grades 4-12 learn technology skills, project and collaboration skills, so they can teach teachers, do tech support, and share their technology skills with their school and community. GenYES combines the passion of youth for technology, the benefits of service-learning, support for teachers in their own classrooms, and provides all the resources to get a program up and running quickly. GenYES includes an online help desk where teachers can request help from a GenYES student – whether that help is to hook up a projector or plan a technology infused lesson. The really good news is that the EETT can fully fund GenYES, permanently.

TechYES and TechYES Science are project-based student technology literacy certification programs. Printed and online materials guide students in grades 6-9 through the project-process, allowing students to show technology literacy with real world projects, either academic or personal. One of the NCLB goals is that all students achieve technology literacy by grade 8. TechYES offers a way to meet that goal using a project-based philosophy, because you can’t really show technology literacy through a multiple choice test. (TechYES in Action video)

But whatever approach you take to the EETT funding, I hope you consider putting the emphasis on classroom technology that enhances the student experience, allows students control and ownership of their own learning, and gives teachers professional development that transcends old “sit and get” models.

Sylvia