School & Family Magazine Newstand Arlington Nov/Dec 2017 | Page 17

More Than $1 Million Awarded in TI Grants
By Ryan Pierce
Teachers at 37 AISD campuses got quite a surprise in early November when members of the AISD information
technology department showed up at their schools to let them know they had won a Transformation Through
Innovation grant.
Seventy grants were awarded, totaling $1,013,490.
The TI grant is funded by the 2014 Bond package and includes about $1 million in each of the bond’s
five implementation years to be awarded to AISD teachers and schools that develop innovative learning
environments for their students through technology. This was the final year of the program.
Teachers develop their own technology-based concepts and innovative ideas and then submit proposals to get
them funded. Winning grants this year included professional quality cameras for photojournalism, technology
for makerspaces, iPads, Chromebooks, robotics and more.
“Teachers who receive grants also receive individualized support from AISD instructional technology
specialists,” said Elita Driskill, AISD director of instructional technology.
The grant money’s purpose is to facilitate innovative teaching methods that will truly transform the classroom
and learning environment. It’s about using technology as a tool to teach in a new, more effective way.
“Transformation Through Innovation grants provide wonderful opportunities for teachers to acquire specialized
resources to prompt student creativity, collaboration and communication,” Driskill said. “Additionally, grants
will offer coding and problem solving experiences.”
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