Chicago schools to get $100K technology grants

Seven Chicago schools will receive up to $100,000 each in technology grants to explore how laptops, smartphones and tablets can be used in the classroom to create a more individualized approach to learning.

The grants will be provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, with money going to three city charter schools, one high school managed by the Academy for Urban School Leadership, a district-run magnet school and two neighborhood grammar schools.

“This isn’t just about using iPads as a fancy note-taking device,” Heather Anichini, CEO of the Chicago Public Education Fund, told the Chicago Tribune. “This is about radically changing how schools are doing school, to incorporate technology into the classroom to allow for more individualized learning.”

The $100,000 grants will be used to train teachers on new technology, provide wireless systems and furnish classrooms with couches and U-shaped tables.

Some of the schools will be selected for an additional $350,000 in grant money based on results of the pilot programs.