ISTE Discount for #WEMTA Members

Join ISTE or renew your ISTE membership now through December 31, 2016, and receive a discount of 25% off your basic or premium membership just for being a WEMTA member. Use coupon code: ISTEfriends25.

More information can be found here.

December 15: Application Deadline for PET Scholarships and Grants

Are you looking for a way to expand or fund an innovative program at your school? The Outreach Grants from the WEMTA Permanent Endowment Trust are a great opportunity for you. These are three factors to consider when creating your application:

• Does your project provide a direct and recognizable benefit to WEMTA members?
• Does your project support innovation in school library media or instructional technology programs?
• Is your project a community-based one that promotes professional partnerships?

Examples of previous outreach grants include a Learning4Life professional development program, a book study of Invent to Learn along with accompanying makerspace technology, and the integration of iPads into a literacy program for students in transitional housing.

The Permanent Endowment Trust also funds scholarships. One of these is the Lowell Wilson Scholarship. This scholarship of $1500 is provided to cover tuition costs of graduate level coursework in a licensure program. Preference is given to practicing, certified teachers in a Wisconsin school, including those working as library media specialists on an emergency license. 

WEMTA membership is a requirement for applicants for PET grants and scholarships.

Application forms are due Thursday, December 15th.

January DEADLINE Approaching

DEADLINE Fast approaching on all nominations for WEMTA Awards: January 13, 2017. Need more information? see: http://www.wemta.org/awards/index.cfm

Legislative Update for WEMTA Members

Governor Walker released draft legislation, which he called on the Legislature to pass, Thursday that would provide an additional $35.5 million in broadband expansion grant and TEACH funding over the next three years.  

The bill draft makes the following funding changes:

1. It transfers $6 million from the Universal Service Fund and $5 million from the Federal E-Rate Program to provide additional funding for the state's Broadband Expansion Grant program. It also allows the Public Service Commission (PSC) to distributed an unlimited amount of broadband expansion grants each year—they are currently only allowed to issue $1.5 million in grants per year.
   
2. Transfers all unspent funds in the Universal Service Fund (which currently provides funding for Newsline for the Blind, the Digital Learning Collaboration, Public Library System Aids, TEACH grants and Library Service Contracts) to the Broadband Expansion Grant program on June 30 of each year.  It also allows PSC to use contributions made by telecommunications providers to the USF to fund broadband expansion grants.
   
3. Extends the TEACH Information Technology Block Grants to July 1, 2019 (it is currently set to end on July 1, 2017). The bill also allows the Department of Administration to award another round of Information Technology Block Grants to school district this year and expand eligibility for the program.  An additional $7.5 million is transferred from the Federal E-rate Program to fund TEACH contracts. 

More information on the Information Technology Block Grants can be found of page 11 of the draft bill. 

Wisconsin Technology Council. Applauds state proposal to boost rural broadband.

TDS. Lauds Governor Walker broadband announcement.

WEMTA Legislative Committee 

Michael Blumenfeld & Associates

Award application time is running out!

Two months remain to apply for the WEMTA awards. Give yourself and your program a shout-out by applying for one of the awards http://www.wemta.org/awards/index.cfm