Throughout this semester in LDTE5700, my understanding of grant writing and its connection to Learning, Design, and Technology has evolved substantially. As I reflect on this journey, I recognize how this course has transformed not only my approach to seeking funding but also deepened my understanding of how grant writing intersects with research, practice, and innovation in educational technology.

From Individual Ideas to Organizational Context

When I began this course, I approached grant writing primarily from my personal research interests in rural EdTech sustainability and technology access gaps. However, one of the most significant shifts in my thinking came when I realized how deeply embedded grant writing is within institutional contexts. As I shared in our February discussion, “This opened my eyes to how grant writing is far more embedded in partnerships/institutional knowledge than I previously thought.”

Working at Black Hills Special Services Cooperative provided real-world context that shaped my approach to both grant cycles. Rather than pursuing funding solely based on my research interests, I learned to align my proposals with organizational relationships and priorities. This organizational perspective led me to the Spencer Foundation’s AI and Education initiative for my first proposal, which connected perfectly with our existing work in examining AI’s impact on rural K-12 teachers.

Developing a Cross-Sector Collaborative Mindset

My second proposal to the Black Hills Area Community Foundation represented another evolution in my thinking. Rather than focusing on building capacity within a single organization, I designed a collaborative approach to AI training that would cross traditional boundaries between government, business, and non-profit sectors. This shift toward community-centered capacity building demonstrated my growing understanding that the most impactful grants often create value across multiple stakeholders.

The experience of writing reviews for my classmates’ proposals further enhanced this collaborative mindset. Analyzing the strengths of proposals like Kristina’s “Access for All” and Sarah’s VR initiative helped me recognize different approaches to addressing educational technology needs. As I noted in my reviews, both targeted and district-wide approaches have merit depending on context, and the most compelling proposals clearly articulate their alignment with funder priorities.

From Implementation to Research

Perhaps the most significant transformation in my thinking came from connecting implementation plans to potential research opportunities. In my first grant cycle, I focused primarily on what AI tools could do in rural special education classrooms. However, by the second cycle, my thinking had expanded to include questions about how these implementations might be studied.

The Spencer Foundation proposal shifted my perspective from simply implementing AI tools to designing research frameworks that would examine the impact of these tools on learning outcomes, teacher workload, and ethical considerations. This planning grant approach positioned research as a critical component of responsible technology adoption rather than an afterthought.

From Tools to Methodologies

Another area of growth involved my understanding of methodological approaches in both grant writing and research design. The World Café methodology incorporated into my second proposal represents this evolving awareness of how participatory approaches can enhance both implementation and research outcomes.

Reading about Learning, Design, and Technology issues throughout the semester, particularly Matt Bower’s work on mobile learning design, helped me recognize that effective grant proposals must be grounded in sound theoretical frameworks. As I noted in our April discussion about mobile learning design, “effective mobile learning isn’t just about the technology—it’s about thoughtful instructional design that creates meaningful, accessible learning experiences.”

Project Management Reality

The course also transformed my understanding of project management within grant contexts. Our discussions about project management tools revealed that successful grant implementation often depends less on sophisticated tracking software and more on communication strategies that meet stakeholders where they are. This insight informed how I structured the sustainability sections of my proposals, focusing on accessible communication channels rather than complex tracking systems.

Future Research Directions

Looking ahead, I see several potential research directions stemming from my grant proposals:

1. AI Impact Study: Building on the Spencer Foundation proposal, I envision a mixed-methods study examining how AI tools affect both administrative workload and instructional quality in rural special education classrooms. This would involve collecting baseline data on time allocation, followed by AI implementation and post-implementation assessment of both time savings and instructional quality measures.
2. Cross-Sector Knowledge Transfer: Following the Black Hills Community Foundation proposal, I’m interested in research that examines how knowledge and practices related to AI implementation transfer across different sectors (education, government, business). Using social network analysis methods, this research could map how innovations diffuse through communities of practice established during collaborative training initiatives.
3. Ethical AI Guidelines in Rural Education: Another research direction would investigate how rural communities develop and implement ethical guidelines for AI use in educational settings. This could employ a participatory action research approach that engages diverse stakeholders in creating context-specific frameworks for responsible AI adoption.

Conclusion

This course has fundamentally transformed my approach to grant writing, moving me from a focus on individual ideas to a deeper understanding of organizational contexts, collaborative frameworks, and research-informed implementation. I’ve learned that effective grant writing is not just about securing funding but about designing thoughtful interventions that address genuine needs while contributing to our collective understanding of learning, design, and technology.

The skills developed throughout this semester—critically analyzing requests for proposals, aligning projects with funder priorities, designing sustainable implementation plans, and connecting practice to research—have significantly expanded my professional toolkit. As I continue my work in rural educational technology, these insights will inform not only how I seek funding but also how I design, implement, and study interventions that serve diverse communities across South Dakota and beyond.