Find out what our Mimio team learned from ISTE.

ISTE 2014 has come and gone, but it is not to be forgotten! Everyone from Mimio who attended came back excited and exhausted, which is always the sign of a great trade show. I asked those who attended to give me their top insights from ISTE 2014. Whether you made the trek to Atlanta or stayed behind, you can share in the insights, trends, and latest news from one of the largest educational technology conventions in North America.

Get the Funding You Need to Transform Your School for Success

We have now summarized the qualifications for obtaining funding from four of the five U.S. DOE funds: Race to the Top, 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, Charter Schools, and College and Career Readiness. If none of those funds is a good fit for your classrooms, consider the fifth fund: Title I, Section 1003(g), School Improvement Grants. If you meet its qualifications, you may be able to obtain funding for the technology your classrooms need.

Get the Funding You Need for the Technology You Want

Recently we’ve summarized the qualifications for obtaining three of the five U.S. DOE funds: Race to the Top, 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, and Charter Schools. Today we’ll do the same for Title I, Part A, College and Career Readiness. If you meet the qualifications for this fund, there’s a good chance you may be able to obtain the technology your classrooms need.

Get the Funding You Need for the Technology You Want

We hope that we’ve cleared away some of the confusion about the qualifications for obtaining two of the five U.S. DOE funds: Race to the Top and 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, Title IV, Part B. Next on our list is the Charter Schools Program. If you qualify for this fund, you may be one step closer to obtaining the technology your classrooms need.

Charter Schools

The Charter School Program State Education Agency (SEA) Competition provides grants to a state’s Department of Education (or to a state agency serving the same function) to plan, design, and implement new charter schools, as well as to disseminate information on successful charter schools.

SEAs in the 40 states (41 including Washington, DC) with a state statute specifically authorizing the establishment of charter schools may apply. A state receiving SEA grant money then makes three-year subgrants to developers of charters in its state who have applied for or have already received a charter.

A state may reserve up to 10% of its allocation to support successful charter schools wishing to disseminate information. A charter school may apply for dissemination funds whether or not it has applied for or received funds for planning and implementation. To qualify for the dissemination funds, a school must also have been operating for at least three consecutive years and must have demonstrated overall success.

Get the Funding You Need for the Technology You Want

Now that we’ve summarized the requirements for Title IV, Part B funding, 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, let’s tackle another U.S. Department of Education fund: Race to the Top. Find out whether this is a fund you can qualify for. Classroom technology may be within your reach.

Get the Funding You Need for the Technology You Want

The U.S. Department of Education offers a variety of funds that can help you get the technology you need and want for your schools, but the rules concerning these funds can seem complicated and confusing. To help clear away some of the confusion, we’ll be summarizing the requirements of five different funds over the next few weeks, beginning with the Title IV, Part B fund for 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Find out how you can make the technology you want one step closer.

How One School District Found Affordable Classroom Technology with Mimio

The largest district in the state of Montana, Billings Public Schools (BPS), was first introduced to Mimio in 2001, after Technology Integration Specialist Desiree Caskey secured a $1,000 grant from Billings’ school foundation to outfit classrooms with interactive whiteboards. She began researching what solutions might work, but soon realized that the district couldn’t afford the usual fixed whiteboard models. With a bit more research, she found the MimioTeach interactive whiteboard. Since the MimioTeach system uses the dry erase boards already in the classroom – and the device can easily be moved from classroom to classroom – its price is much more affordable.

“The Mimio technology has become the basis for my lesson
preparation and has enhanced both the way I teach and the involvement of my students in their learning process.”
- Bill Baumann, Teacher

Understanding, Practice, Engagement, and a New Model of Assessment

As Tech Specialist Lindy George notes, “District mobile devices…allow us to monitor student understanding of concepts to better inform instruction, and for formative assessment they have replaced the purchase of any type of ‘clicker’ system.”

While mobile devices are ideal for quickly checking student levels of understanding, there are other benefits to be gained from using them for assessment. We list the most popular ways to use them for assessment here.