Brian Licata's Profile

Mr. Gates will deliver a lecture called “Bill Gates Unplugged: On Software, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Giving Back.”

The time of the event is 3:15 p.m. Pacific time. And you can tune in through UWTV, available in Seattle through broadcast, elsewhere on satellite through DISHnetwork, and (of course) over the Internet.

Since January, a high school in Craik, Saskatchewan, has instituted a pilot project to make phones a part of the curriculum. So far, students have been using the phones' calendar and alarm functions for class, and texting responses to questions teachers pose about books they have been studying. The program's effectiveness will be evaluated this summer.

Get that Grant—Five steps you can take this summer to find the money for your classroom.

Create a toolkit.

If at first you don't succeed…you probably tell your students to keep trying, but do you practice what you preach? Vacation is a good time to create a grant toolkit. Your toolkit will include a basic proposal refined and polished (reviewed by friends), a list of target grants, and a calendar of deadlines.

Schedule research time.

So many resources, so little time. The Internet is filled with grant listings, workshops, guides, and people who can help with grant writing and research. The amount of information can be overwhelming. If you schedule some time and set a few goals, you can narrow your research more quickly and focus on what will help get funding for your classroom.

Set your own deadlines.

Many foundations offer ongoing grant giving programs with rolling deadlines or no deadlines. They often fall below the radar without a pending date to apply. When you discover one of these programs, set your own deadline during the summer and be sure to apply.

Work together.

Exciting projects that require team teaching often don't happen because of a lack of planning during the busy school year. If you and your colleagues have a great idea, schedule time during the summer to make a plan for the next year. Working together on researching and writing grants makes the process more fun, more creative, and often more successful.

Subscribe to a grants bulletin.

When the year gets started again, it's easy to lose track of the deadlines for the best grants. There are many grants bulletins and alerts that can help. Find one that has the most relevant grants and sign up.

—Karen Greenwood Henke

Karen Greenwood Henke runs Grant Wrangler, a grants and awards listing service for teachers.

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