Expand Your Art Room Budget with Grants

May 29, 2009 by Hillary Andrlik · 4 Comments 

head_nonprofitAs I was ordering supplies for next school year, while wrapping up the current school year, I noticed how much less I was able to get for the money. So how can we stretch our budgets and find additional resources to teach the curriculum?

One way to supplement the material needed to teach the curriculum is through grants. Half the battle is locating a grant that applies to your field. The other half is finding the time to complete the application process for the grant. As this school year comes to a close, consider using this summer to explore available grant opportunities.

For example ClassWish is a new nonprofit that offers an alternative to the traditional grant process. Teachers visit the site to create a wish list of the things they need to equip their classroom. ClassWish helps attract parents, alumni, local business and other potential supporters to see what is needed and to inspire their help. Their contributions are tax-deductible and ClassWish provides a receipt and ships the supplies directly to the teachers at the school.

Below is a list of other grant opportunities:

  • Adobe Youth Voices The Deadline is tonight! Eligibility requirements are that you must be a public or tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization. School or out-of-school program that serves low-income, disadvantaged middle and high school youth. And it must be located in San Jose/Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, or Ottowa. 
  • DonorsChoose A nonprofit web site where teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. Then individual donors can visit the site and choose different proposals to support.
  • Best Buy Teach Awards Grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 is awarded to educators based on teacher applications stating how they would incorporate student use of technology into their classroom.
  • National Endowment for the Arts The Arts Endowment’s focus is on identifying and supporting model programs and projects that provide in-depth knowledge, skills, and understanding of the arts to children and youth in schools and communities.
  • Illinois Arts Council A variety of grants to support artist-in-resident, artist fellowship and quick start micro grant for schools and school districts.
  • Target Through national sponsorships and local grants, Target supports thousands of arts activities, festivals and outdoor concerts.
  • Grant Gopher Helps locate grants and teaches you how to apply for grant money and avoid scams.
  • Fund For Teachers Enriches the personal and professional growth of teachers by recognizing and supporting them as they identify and pursue opportunities around the globe that will have the greatest impact on their practice, the academic lives of their students and on their school communities.
  • Calypso Systems Opportunity for K- 12 schools to apply for classroom presentation technologies such as projectors, amplifiers, speakers, CATV tuners, microphones, button panels, and graphical user interfaces.
  • Missouri Arts Council Funds projects with an artistic component that helps meet the nonprofit organizations strategic goals.
  • DCCAH DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities offers several funding programs for individuals and nonprofit organizations located in the District of Columbia. Individuals are not required to provide matching funds. Organizations are only required to provide matching funds as indicated.
  • Expressing Youth Voices in Pittsburgh Tell us how you would transform Pittsburgh’s public spaces with your artistic vision. We are looking for well-designed, sustainable public art that expresses the voices of youth. Winning ideas can receive up to $25,000 in funding to implement their “Art in Public” Deadline for entry is May 20, 2009. Public voting begins June 9, 2009. 
  • We Are Teachers A micro-grant that’s awarded based on number of votes by other educators. Just click on past winners to see how the process works.

Need help with the application process? Check out Grant writers on Ning for writing support.

If you know off any local, regional or national grant opportunities for the visual arts, please list it in the comments section below. Let’s help our fellow art educators gain access to the tools they need to teach. Remeber, The Teaching Palette has an international audience so no matter how small the grant opportunity, please share it. You never know who’s reading. Thanks!

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Student Self Assessment with Google Forms

May 17, 2009 by Theresa McGee · 1 Comment 

Google DocsSelf assessment and critique are great ways for students to reflect on their own work, comment on the creative process, or contribute to class discussion. Traditionally, I have had my students write a self assessment with various prompts on a separate piece of paper. I recently discovered the power of Google Forms for electronic collection of student responses.

Advantages of Google Forms vs. traditional pencil-paper responses:

  • You’re going “green” by eliminating paper use (impress your administrator/principal)
  • Integrates technology and builds 21st century skills (your students think you’re cool)
  • Collects all data with student names and responses in one place (easy for you)
Example of teacher data collection (click for larger view)

Example of teacher data collection (click for larger view)

Here are the basic steps to create a self assessment or critique:

  1. Create a Google account if you don’t have one already.
  2. Go to Google Documents and click New, Form.
  3. Choose your theme and title.
  4. First question should ask for student name (assuming you want to know who responds).
  5. Continue with questions as you might in a traditional format.
  6. Click Done and Save.
  7. Email link to yourself and use link for student access. Or, if you use a website, you can get the embed link.

Watch video below for a quick tutorial.
Can’t view video above? Try edublogstv.

The reality is that your students may not always have access to a computer in your classroom. In this situation you might consider using Google Forms following a computer graphics experience during access to the Internet or provide students link to access from home. Even if you try Google Forms only once in a school year, it helps manage some paperwork and collects valuable data about your students that you can use year after year.

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Blogs That Promote Unconventional Discussion

May 6, 2009 by admin · 7 Comments 

SchoolArtsWe were thrilled to see The Teaching Palette as a featured blog in the May/June issue of SchoolArts Magazine!  If you missed the article, “Building Your Personal Learning Network, Part 2,” by Craig Roland, you can read it here.

Like an artist that visits a museum for inspiration, we visit blogs to challenge our teaching and thought process.  Put simply, a blog is like a living website; it continually digests and shares information.  Considering our forum, we thought it might be appropriate to add to the SchoolArts list of blog resources:

There are some amazing art classroom blogs certainly worth exploring out there, so please list yours or any you follow in the comments area below!

Art Education Resource blogs:

Art Inspiring Blogs:

  • Esty – that place where artists sell their stuff has a “Handmade Blog” too.  Great inspiration for art projects.
  • Vi.sualize.us Inspiration in Imagery.
  • Hongkiat Great for digital media and Photoshop users.
  • Museum 2.0 The name says it all.
  • WebUrbanist Great alternative art and architecture.

General Education blogs:  (because we are all in this education thing together)

Blogs are most useful when you are notified that new information has posted; either through RSS feed or via email.  Keep up with new postings on The Teaching Palette by clicking here.

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