Professional Development Grants assist funded entities in providing technology-related professional development opportunities for their teachers and administrators. The legislation providing this funding specifies that the technology-related professional development provided must "be consistent with a school district's Technology Plan."

To ensure appropriate use of the funds provided by eTech Ohio, please adhere to the following guidelines for the use of FY08-09 Professional Development (PD) 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 FY08-09 PD Grant opportunity.

1. State Technology Conference:
   
   For teachers and administrators, Professional Development 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 Eighty Dollars ($80) per night, per person for lodging.
     
   
   For technical support staff that PROVIDES 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 Educational Technology Conference Workshop fees.
     
     
   NOTE: This is the only professional development opportunity for which Professional Development Grant funds may be used by technical staff.
   
   
2. Other Conferences
   
   
   1. Other In-State Conferences:
      Professional Development Grant funds may be used to assist teachers and administrators in attending other state, regional and local technology-related professional development conferences. Professional Development 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 Eighty Dollars ($80) 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., Teachers Discovering Computers, PBS Teacherline, etc.) to support technology-related professional development opportunities for their teachers and administrators.
      
      Only the professional development portion of online video streaming products (i.e. United Streaming, Powermedia Plus, etc.) is allowable. The professional development component of this type of media must be invoiced separately and should not exceed 1/3 of the total cost of the online video streaming product.
      
      
   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.) at the entities established rate.
   
   
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 Three Hundred Dollars ($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 Professional Development Grant officer at pd@etech.ohio.gov listing Professional Development (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 Professional Development Grants Officer 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.

• Food and beverages
• 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 Technology 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, Professional Development 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 Professional Development Grant 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.

Each funded entity selects a Professional Development Grant Contact whose responsibilities include:

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

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

Changing the FY08-09 Budget
The FY08-09 budget submitted within the FY08-09 Professional Development Grant application is an estimated budget. Entities may make changes to their budgets that are within the FY08-09 Spending Guidelines without approval of the Professional Development Grant administrator. Budget revisions should be reported, as expenditures, on the FY08 Interim report and/or the Final Report and Final Expenditure Report.

FY08-09 Professional Development Grant Application
The online application for FY08-09 Professional Development Grants will be available starting Tuesday October 16, 2007. It can be accessed by the Professional Development (PD) Grant Contact on the eTech Ohio website through the My Applications feature in Hall Pass.

To receive FY08-09 funding, eligible entities must submit the FY08-09 Professional Development Grant application. The deadline for submitting this application is Thursday, December 6, 2007.

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

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 Professional Development (PD) Grant Contact. If an entity wishes to change the person designated as Professional Development (PD) Contact, please call the Professional Development Grant administrator or the Professional Development (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 Professional Development (PD) Contact.

Interim Report

• An interim report is required at the end of FY08. This report will simply account for any dollars spent at that time. Unspent funds can be used in the next year and total funds spent will then be reported in the Final Report and Final Expenditure Report (FER). The interim report is due Thursday, June 19, 2008.

Conclusion Requirements
All entities funded in FY08-09 are required to complete and submit online Conclusion Requirements. The online Conclusion Requirements consist of two parts: Impact and Financial Reports. We anticipate that these reports will be available online April 7, 2009. All funding recipients must complete and submit the online Impact and Financial Reports by May 28, 2009. The online Conclusion Requirements 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 FY08-09 Final Expenditure Report by Thursday, June 11, 2009. The Final Expenditure Reports (FER) can be accessed by the PD Contact on eTech Ohio's website through the My Applications feature and must be mailed to eTech Ohio.

By submitting the Final Expenditure Report (FER), the entity certifies that the Professional Development Grant funds have been spent according to the FY08-09 Professional Development Grant Fund Spending Guidelines.

Because data from the Project Report automatically populates the Final Expenditure Report (FER), the FY08-09 FER cannot be accessed until after all of the Conclusion Requirements are eTech Ohio approved. The FER is a PDF that must be printed for the Superintendent and Treasurer to sign.

The Fund Code for Professional Development Grant funds is 452.

Unspent Funds
The deadline for spending FY08-09 Professional Development Grant funds is Thursday, May 22, 2009. Funds that are not spent by the deadline totaling more than One Hundred Dollars ($100) must be returned to eTech Ohio, along with the Final Expenditure Report (FER), by Tuesday, June 11, 2009. The refund check should be made out to the Ohio Treasurer, Richard Cordray, 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 Final Expenditure Report (FER).

Deadlines

• The deadline for submitting the FY08-09 PD Grant application is Thursday, December 6, 2007.
• The FY08 Interim Financial Report is expected to be available on the eTech Ohio website in late May and due Thursday, June 19, 2008.
• The deadline for expending all FY08-09 PD Grant funds is Thursday, May 22, 2009.
• The FY08-09 Conclusion Requirements (Final Impact and Financial Reports) and FER are expected to be available on the eTech Ohio Website as of Tuesday, April 7, 2009 with Conclusion Requirements being due Thursday, May 28, 2009 and FER being due Thursday, June 11, 2009.

Contact Information
If you have any questions, please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Professional Development Grant web pages or contact one of the PD Grant staff members listed below.