Giving Compass' Take:

• Crowdfunding platform, DonorsChoose, is helping teachers with their tech issues by ensuring that any hardware or digital devices they request from the site are compatible with school district guidelines and IT systems. 

• How will this initiative be helpful for teachers as more education technology flows into classrooms?

• Read more about the crowdfunding platform, DonorsChoose. 

Far from the bustle of bake sales and car washes, crowdfunding sites have made it easy for teachers, schools and even district officials to ask for donations of school supplies. Yet some schools hesitate to use such a powerful resource.

According to Damon M. Qualls, principal at Monaview Elementary School "Many teachers are very concerned about appearing to beg for money. Having teachers get past that idea is one of the initial hurdles. Once they are three or four projects in, they realize that more than just their immediate family and friends are investing in their classroom, and there are donors across the globe who want to help public school teachers,” says Qualls.

While money might be the initial stumbling block, it’s not the only one. Policies, technical guidelines and even legal fine print can occasionally throw monkey wrenches into school requests for resources, particularly on the technology side (imagine requesting a Windows tablet only to find the district doesn’t support that operating system).

New York-based DonorsChoose, is attempting to head off these problems with a new initiative designed to help teachers ensure that the hardware and digital resources they select are compatible with school district practices, priorities and IT systems.

Katie Bisbee, chief marketing officer and an executive vice president at DonorsChoose says,“We want to provide one source of truth for teachers; an easy way to get to accurate information about what technology they need, and what else they need to set up their technology, like licenses. We want to share this straight from their school district.”

School districts will be able to embed their edtech policies within the DonorsChoose platform, and teachers who generate new requests through DonorsChoose will, in turn, be able to view recommendations and guidelines from their school district.

Read the full article about crowdfunding is helping teachers by Greg Thompson at EdSurge