Funding, Grants & Awards
Program for Teaching with Drones in Middle School Receives STEM Grant
Long Cane Middle School has won a grant of more than $8,000 to launch a drone project focused on STEAM education.
The school plans to use drones to teach students about aeronautic principles, drone-use ethics, unmanned aerial systems careers and pathways to university programs.
The grant was awarded as part of Georgia's Innovation Fund Tiny Grant program, which provides "traditional public schools, charter schools and school districts [grants] to implement an innovative project that will deeply engage students," according to information released by the state. "An innovative project solves an existing problem in an inventive way and has the potential to have a large and lasting impact on the academic environment."
Projects awarded grants under the program must focus on applied learning in STEAM, creation or replication of a blended learning program or language and literacy development for children from birth to eight years old.
Long Cane Middle School won a second grant through the program for a project that will have students build and race electric cars to learn about renewable energy, and the school's district, the Troup County School System, also won a grant for a literacy project that will send a bookmobile around the county.
In total, the latest round of grants from the program, which are awarded three times a year on a rolling basis, will help to fund 39 projects around the state, including:
"The Innovation Fund Tiny Grant provides funding for educators to develop and share best classroom methods with their peers," said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal in a prepared statement. "As we encourage Georgia's students to reach new heights, we must also expand opportunities for more effective academic growth and success in the classroom. Congratulations to the award winners and we look forward to seeing the impact each Tiny Grant will have on the futures of students in Georgia."
The grant program has been providing funding of up to $10,000 per project, but future grants will have a slightly lower cap, with awards ranging from $1,000 to $7,000.
To see a full list of grant winners and their projects, visit gov.georgia.gov. For more information about the Innovation Fund Tiny Grant program, visit gosa.georgia.gov.
About the Author
Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at jbolkan@gmail.com.