The School District of Janesville received a matching technology grant for $25,000 from the Wisconsin Technology Initiative (WTI) funded by John and Tashia Morgridge, through the TOSA Foundation. Over the past five years, the district has received more than $700,000 in grant funding through the WTI, providing students and teachers with increased access to interactive whiteboard technology.
“With this grant, we will expand and extend the technology that is available to staff and students in several schools,” said Dr. Robert Smiley, Chief Information Officer. “It takes everyone’s effort to create and sustain a strong educational technology program, and working with foundations is one way our district is funding innovative technology for our classrooms.”
The school district will use existing Information Technology budget funds to match the dollars for this grant. The money will be used to purchase SMART Panels for the classrooms of thirteen exemplary teachers who have been able to successfully incorporate SMART Technology in their classroom instruction and have committed to sharing their knowledge with educators in the WTI statewide community, either through face-to- face workshops or via Telepresence. Telepresence technology utilizes high definition video conferencing to connect with other classrooms throughout the district, state, and world.
“The digitally connected classroom provides our students with exposure to, and experience with, the innovations that will prepare them for a successful future,” added Smiley. “Technology improvements in classrooms help educators connect and exchange ideas with their colleagues, allowing teachers to better prepare students to graduate from our schools career and college ready.”
