Collaborative GrantProposal

Working together to write a grant proposal are the following people and their affiliations

Please list here

This is the link to the Grant Opportunity. [1]

Read and let's start writing! I am pasting a proposal that I have submitted to local funding sources about what I would like to do. This grant proposal has to be more comprehensive than this but I will post it as a starting place. Feel free to edit!

21st Century Skills for Ugandan Students

So many children; so little time: In the time it takes to get a government to react, a generation of children will have completed their limited education. The need is great and so urgent in Uganda where most children complete only primary school, that only a forward minded foundation can see the benefit of infusing this precious primary education with the tools of the 21st century. Having just returned from a humanitarian visit to the Kampala environs with the purpose of introducing an XO computer project to a totally receptive audience of university administrators, I am now back in the US seeking funding to bring the concept to fruition. All over the world in underdeveloped countries, volunteers such as myself, are introducing and deploying hundreds of these amazing XO machines to primary schools. Born at MIT, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative has captured the hearts and most importantly, the minds of the world’s high school and college students, as well as professors and professionals in an effort to provide low-cost computers to the children in underdeveloped countries. All over the world, adventurous souls are training children, teachers and administrators in the value of a computer that instantly networks within a classroom, fosters collaborative learning, and is capable of communicating with the rest of the world. How much better is an education, if not only a village educates, but an international community is enabled to provide the support for children to enter the global economy in their near future! How much better is an Africa where its students have the education, the connections and the love of learning to pursue their dreams! So what is this XO computer? It is an amazing little machine that looks deceptively like a toy. Instead, it embodies the tools of learning, creative expression and communication so necessary for today’s effective education. From research to writing, from drawing to animation, from email to browsing, this low-cost machine is transformative. In a country where pencils are precious, these machines provide pencil, paper, library, telephone and geographic independence. The strategy I will employ is that with which I am extremely familiar as a as a former professor in the Teacher Education Division at New York Institute of Technology, and currently as the Director of Academic Technology at Dominican College. In my experience, I have seen that teachers tend to teach as they were taught. By targeting pre-service and in-service teachers in universities, we can effectively infuse Uganda’s teacher education programs with the tools to enhance and deliver a technologically-rich curriculum to primary schools, with assistance from the international community and the speed of light. Daily, new ideas for teaching, and instructional programs are uploaded to the OLPC wiki, so that with this XO, teachers can employ new and innovative ways to teach age-old skills as well as those needed to compete in the global economy. Each teacher is not alone, not isolated, in no matter how remote a village. Power? These machines can be charged by solar energy, a free resource planet-wide. They can also be charged by electricity and gas powered generators. This remarkable, low-cost product is truly an investment in Uganda’s children, Uganda’s future. I am writing to you to help fund the results of an ongoing collaboration between US teachers and Ugandan teachers, college to college. Through Dominican College’s online learning environment, Ugandan teachers can be trained to utilize these XO machines effectively, and we are happy to do our share to provide this education to teachers. Our college has already initiated a University Chapter of the OLPC initiative in which our college students can participate as well. However, the seeds planted in this initiative will only bear fruit if computers are delivered to the primary schools in which these Ugandan teachers work. The OLPC mission is one that espouses equity. Computers must saturate one Ugandan classroom at a time in order for students to experience the fullness of available activities. Each classroom in Uganda contains anywhere from 50 to 100 students. At a cost of $229/computer, the cost to provide a classroom full of XO computers will range from $ 12,000 to $25,000. Rest assured, any funding you can provide will go directly to the purchase of these machines. OLPC has already provided 9 computers which have been distributed: 2 to each of 3 Ugandan Universities (Makerere University, Kampala International University, and Kisubi Brothers University) and 2 to Dominican College. One has been delivered to a technologist in Uganda who will help with deployment, repairs and training. By empowering the local teachers and individuals to help themselves, we are doing more than providing aid; we are helping to build a sustainable future for Ugandans. In Kampala International University Teachers College alone, there are more than 1300 teachers attending classes. We would like to start with 10 teachers and move upwards to training 25 teachers at a time. The challenge is great but the need is greater. With your help, we can bring 21st century skills to the children in Uganda. It is only then that, as educated and empowered adults, they will know how to thrive in today’s global economy. In summary, our mission is to: • provide university students, administrators and teachers with online training to effectively utilize the XO computers to deliver Uganda school curriculum. • emphasize the importance of educating girls for HIV/AIDS prevention and for family/community improvement. • Take a pre-emptive stance… Our strategy: • Utilize undergraduate and graduate classes at Dominican College to infuse global responsibility and service learning for Dominican College students. • Utilize our Blackboard System to deliver online training to students in US and Uganda • Deploy local technology specialists in Uganda for local support. • Raise the necessary funds through grants to provide primary school children with XO laptops, 10 schools at a time. • Raise additional funds through art projects produced in Uganda for sale on the web and at exhibits in the US. As you can see from the following report from Kampala International University, there are many strains on their educational system. By working collaboratively with Dominican College teachers and students, we can help to alleviate some of these burdens while making Ugandan teachers better able to minister to their own needs. “Current Situational report on Primary Schools where our students practice: Our In-service student are spread/scattered in 50 Primary schools in 10 (ten) Districts of Uganda; Masaka, Rakai, Lyantonde, Lwengo, Sembabule, Bukomansimbi, Kalungu, Kalangala, Yumbe and Butaleja.

General Information about practicing-in schools i) Total number of pupils per school range from 100 – 1500. ii) Male pupils vs female pupils ratio per school 60% males and 40% females. iii) Number of classes: Most of them have Primary 1 – Primary 7. iv) Number of pupils per class, range from 10 – 200 v) Male pupils vs female pupils ratio per class 60% males and 40% females. vi) Teaching staff range from 04 – 20 teachers vii) Female teachers vs male teachers; ratio 40% male 60 female per school. viii) Support staff and non-teaching staff: these range from 0 – 10 per school. ix) Facilities / equipment and utilities available in schools.

 Classroom blocks  Play grounds  Water (pipe and rain harvested, dam, spring wells, boreholes, rivers and lakes).  Electricity  Store  Kitchen  Prayer houses  Latrines/Toilets, Bathrooms  School vehicles  Sick bays/infirmaries  School farms  Computers  Libraries / resource rooms and laboratories  Hostels / Dormitories  Internet & DSTV and TV facilities.  Telecommunication.

Note: Some schools have some of these facilities while others don’t have some of them. Pupil Drop-out Cases and Causes There are dropout occurrences in each and every school and in each and every class each term and each year. Rate: 3 to 10 per term Causes among others:-  Curriculum caused  School caused  Teacher caused  Parent / Guardian caused  Community caused  Environmental caused  Learner caused i.e. peer influence, drug abuse etc.  Some Government policies  Social/economic situational factors i.e. poverty  Health related problems/learning difficulties i.e. diseases, disorders, impairments etc.  Loss of parents.  Security problems  Unknown.”

I have recently returned from a humanitarian visit to Uganda and I would like to add in reference to the above statement “Some schools have some of these facilities while others don’t have some of them” is an understatement. Most rural areas do not even have electricity or clean water. A generation will grow up all too quickly. Please consider this project for funding. I believe strongly that, with your help and the collaborations in place between the schools in the US and Uganda, this project will be successful. Please note that the OLPC community is worldwide and as such, each deployment benefits from the successes and trials of the others. I am an active member of OLPC-NYC and am in active communication/collaboration with other deployments in Uganda. Respectfully, I am happy to answer any questions and to provide any data, reports or receipts that you request. Thank you!

Joanne Clemente, Ed.D. Director of Academic Technology Dominican College Orangeburg, NY 845.848.4017 work 914.260.6237 mobile