To ensure appropriate use of the funds provided by eTech Ohio, please adhere to the following guidelines for the use of FY07 Professional Development Grant funds. Opportunities supported by these funds should be designed to provide teachers and administrators with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively integrate technology into the classroom or district to promote student achievement. Funded entities are encouraged to refer to information provided on the Professional Development Grant fund website.

Apply for the FY07 PD Grant opportunity.

1. State Technology Conference:

For teachers and administrators, PD Grant funds may be used to:

• Pay/Reimburse registration fees;
• Pay/Reimburse State Technology Conference Workshop fees;
• Pay substitute salaries and benefits;
• Pay/Reimburse for mileage and parking expenses; and
• Pay/Reimburse up to seventy-five dollars ($75) per night, per person for lodging.

For technical support staff that PROVIDE technology-related professional development to their teachers and administrators, Professional Development Grant funds may only be used to:

• Pay/Reimburse registration fees;
• Pay/Reimburse State Technology Conference Workshop fees.

This is the only professional development opportunity for which PD Grant funds may be used by technical staff.


2. Other Conferences
   
   
1. Other In-State Conferences:
   PD Grant funds may be used to assist teachers and administrators in attending other state, regional and local technology-related professional development conferences. PD Grant funds may be used to:
   
   
   • Pay/Reimburse registration fees;
   • Pay substitute salaries and benefits;
   • Pay/Reimburse for mileage and parking expenses; and
   • Pay/Reimburse up to seventy-five dollars ($75) per night, per person for hotel accommodations.


2. Out-of-State Technology Conferences:
   Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay registration fees only for teachers and administrators to attend out-of-state technology-related conferences. No other expenses for attendance at out-of-state technology conferences are permitted.


3. Workshops, In-services and other State, Regional and Local Professional Development Opportunities
   
   
   1. Internal Instructor Trainer Preparation and Contact Time:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay salaries and benefits to an internal instructor for trainer preparation and contact time while providing technology-related professional development for teachers and administrators. The preparation time for trainers teaching the same course more than once should decrease with each repeat of the course to cover the minimal preparation time to market the course, organize materials, check that websites are still viable, etc.
      
      
   2. Keynote Speaker:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay up to five hundred dollars ($500) for a keynote speaker on a technology-related topic that supports the entity's state approved technology plan.
      
      
   3. External Provider:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay an external provider for technology-related professional development for teachers and administrators.
      
      
   4. Mileage:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay staff (whose jobs relate to classroom technology integration) mileage to participate in professional development that relates to classroom technology integration. It is requested that the newly acquired knowledge and skills be shared with others within the organization. Supportive documentation that highlights this sharing should be kept with the entity's eTech Ohio Professional Development Grant fund records. Mileage rates should be commensurate with the entity's established rate.
      
      
   5. Substitutes:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay substitutes salaries and benefits in order for teachers to participate in technology-related professional development during normal school hours. This pay should be commensurate with the entity's established rates.
      
      
   6. Teacher Stipends:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay stipends to teachers and administrators (whose jobs relate to classroom technology integration) to participate in professional development that relates to classroom technology integration outside their normal contract hours. It is requested that the newly acquired knowledge and skills be shared with others within the organization. Supportive documentation that highlights this sharing should be kept with the entity's eTech Ohio Professional Development Grant fund records. Stipend rates should be commensurate with the entity's established rate.
      
      
   7. Credits/Vouchers:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to purchase training credits/vouchers to be used at a later date, provided that the training provider can supply the organization with an invoice stating that expenditures funded through the Professional Development Grant funds were spent on technology-related professional development for that organization, as allowed by these guidelines. This supportive documentation should be kept with the entity's eTech Ohio Professional Development Grant fund records.


4. Graduate Credit:
   Professional Development Grant funds may be used to reimburse/pay for graduate credit that is technology-related for their teachers and administrators to a maximum of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150) per teacher or administrator per year.


5. Online Accounts/Media
   
   
   1. Online Accounts/Media Delivered Professional Development:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to purchase online accounts (e.g. Element K, Atomic Learning) or other media-delivered technology-related professional development (e.g., Mac University, Teachers Discovering Computers, PBS Teacherline, etc.) to support technology-related professional development opportunities for their teachers and administrators.
      
      
   2. Online Development Cost:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay for an entity's development and management of online professional development courses for teachers and administrators.


6. Technology-Related Committees:
   Professional Development Grant funds may be used to pay mileage, substitutes and/or stipends for staff (whose jobs relate to classroom technology) for participating in technology-related committees (e.g., Technology Planning Tool (TPT) Committee, Technology-Oriented Curriculum Committee, Software Selection Committee, etc.).


7. In-service Resource Materials:
   Professional Development Grant funds may be used to purchase training materials and other resources that specifically pertain to the integration of technology-related professional development in the classroom, at an entity maximum of $300 each year. Examples include:
   
   
   • The purchase of one professional organization membership per entity (e.g., International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), National Staff Development Council (NSDC), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
     
     
   • CDs, DVDs, videos or other electronic or print media to be used specifically for professional development (e.g., "Teaching in the Digital Age: Project-Based Learning and Assessment," a videotape from Edutopia, "Just in Time Technology: Doing Better with Fewer", a book from FNO Press) and Video Professor (CD-ROMs on using technology).
     
     
   • Resources that support the development of technology-related professional development, such as "Assessing Impact: Evaluating Staff Development," a book from NSDC).
   
   Under extenuating circumstances, exceptions may be granted to funded entities for purchases that exceed Three Hundred Dollars ($300) in a fiscal year. In such cases, the funded entity must have written approval prior to the purchase. Request for Approval Process
   
   Please note that exceptions cannot be made for prohibited items. To submit a request for an exception, please email the PD Grant officer at pd@etech.ohio.gov listing PD Grant Exception in the subject line. Requests for exceptions must be made PRIOR to any purchases. Exceptions are allowable only if approved by the eTech Ohio PD Grants administrator in writing.
   
   In the request, please indicate:
   
   • The name of the resource/material needed.
   • The source of the resource/material.
   • The desired quantity for purchase (i.e., I would like to purchase ten copies of xxxx).
   • The cost of the resource/material needed.
   • An explanation of why this resource is essential to sustain the technology-related professional learning within your organization.
   
   Upon receipt, the Request for Approval will be reviewed, and an email approving or denying the request will be sent to the originator of the Request for Approval. A copy of the approval should be filed with the entity's eTech Ohio's Professional Development Grant fund documents.
   
   NOTE: To discuss options that may be allowable under these guidelines, please contact your eTech Ohio educational technology consultant, who will be able to provide assistance and guidance on the use of your Professional Development Grant funds. A list of educational technology consultants and their contact numbers is available online.

• The name of the resource/material needed.
• The source of the resource/material.
• The desired quantity for purchase (i.e., I would like to purchase ten copies of xxxx).
• The cost of the resource/material needed.
• An explanation of why this resource is essential to sustain the technology-related professional learning within your organization.

• Food and drinks
• Facilities and connectivity
• Hardware and software
• Student resources, such as video streaming and online accounts
• Double dipping (e.g., PD Grant funds may not be used to pay a trainer for time for which they are already being paid by their employer)
• Indirect costs or fiscal agent fees
• Airfare
• Any travel expenses associated with participation in out-of-state events and conferences (e.g. mileage and lodging)
• Registration fees for technology staff to attend eTech Ohio's Technology Training Academies and eTech Ohio's Summer Summit
• Training, such as EMIS, for uncertified support staff (secretaries, aides, etc.)
• Non-instructional supplies/materials, such as cartridges, pens, paperclips, tablets, paper, staples, etc.
• Bundled Professional Development with hardware, software and/or student resources
  
  NOTE: When a provider bundles the cost of professional development with the cost of hardware, software and/or student resources, PD Grant funds can only be used to pay for the cost of the technology-related professional development. The funded entity must obtain a separate cost for the professional development from the actual cost of the hardware, software and/or student resources. The entity may submit only the cost of the professional development as a PD expense to be paid with eTech Ohio Professional Development Grant funds. This includes, for example, the "free gift" and "two for the price of one" of hardware, software and/or student resources that a provider may gift to attendees.

• Communicating questions and concerns about technology professional development to the local eTech Ohio Educational Technology Consultant or PD Grant administrator.
• Completing and submitting the Professional Development Grant Application.
• Completing and submitting the Professional Development Grant Project Report.
• Making sure the signed FER is mailed to the PD Grant Coordinator by the deadline.

The person designated as PD Contact is the only person able to process the online PD Grant documents.

FY07 Professional Development Grant Application
The online application for FY07 Professional Development Grants will be available starting Tuesday, October 17, 2006. It can be accessed by the PD Contact on the eTech Ohio website through the My Applications feature in the Hall Pass.

To receive FY07 funding, eligible entities must submit the FY07 Professional Development Grant application. The deadline for submitting this application is Thursday, December 14, 2006.

Reporting Documents
Professional Development Grant reporting documents can be accessed by the designated PD Contact on the eTech Ohio website through the My Applications feature in the Hall Pass.

Treasurers will be able to view the application and reporting documents through their Hall Pass. However, unless they have been identified by their organization as the PD Contact, they will not be able to enter data.

Opportunity Tracking, the eTech Ohio online reporting tool, is designed to only accept input from the person designated by the funded entity as the eTech Ohio PD Contact. If an entity wishes to change the person designated as PD Contact, please call the PD Grant administrator or the PD Grant officer at 1.877.383.2406 to have the designation changed. It is important that this designation remain up to date, as all communications about Professional Development Grants, such as deadline notifications, are sent to the PD Contact.

Project Report
All entities funded in FY07 are required to complete and submit the online Project Report. The online Project Report consists of two parts: Impact (what differences has it made) and Financial (how was the funding spent). We anticipate that this report will be available online Wednesday, May 16, 2007. All funding recipients must complete and submit the online Project Report by Thursday, July 26, 2007. The Project Report can be accessed by the PD Contact on eTech Ohio's website through the My Applications feature.

Final Expenditure Report (FER)
All funded entities must also complete and submit the hardcopy Final Expenditure Report (FER) by Thursday, August 9, 2007. The Final Expenditure Report (FER) can be accessed by the PD Contact on eTech Ohio's website through the My Applications feature.

By submitting the FER, the entity certifies that the Professional Development Grant funds have been spent according to the FY07 Professional Development Grant Fund Spending Guidelines.

Because data from the Project Report automatically populates the Final Expenditure Report (FER), the FER cannot be accessed until after the Project Report is approved. The FER is a PDF that must be printed for the Superintendent and Treasurer to sign. The Final Expenditure Report must include original signatures from the entity's Superintendent/CEO and Treasurer/CFO.

The Fund Code for Professional Development Grant funds is 452.

Unspent Funds
The deadline for spending FY07 PD Grant funds is Saturday, June 30, 2007. Funds that are not spent by the deadline totaling more than One Hundred Dollars ($100) must be returned to eTech Ohio, along with the FER, by Thursday, August 9, 2007. The refund check should be made out to the Treasurer, State of Ohio, and mailed with the Final Expenditure Report (FER) to Professional Development Grants, eTech Ohio, 2323 West Fifth Avenue, Suite 100, Columbus Ohio, 43204.

Refund checks can not be processed without the FER.

Deadlines

• The deadline for submitting the FY07 PD Grant application is Thursday, December 14, 2006.
• The FY07 Project Report and Final Expenditure Report (FER) are expected to be available on the eTech Ohio website as of Wednesday, May 16, 2007.
• The deadline for expending (check cut) FY07 PD Grant funds is Saturday, June 30, 2007.
• The deadline for submitting the FY07 Project Report is Thursday, July 26, 2007.
• The deadline for submitting the FY07 Final Expenditure Report (FER) is Wednesday, August 9, 2007.