HISD Foundation Grants

Before you get started...
Many of you are preparing proposals for the HISD Foundation grant program and we wanted to provide some clarification concerning technology-based projects. All technology-based purchases, regardless of funding source, must go through the HISD Technology department. We want to help you get out in front of any tech problems before they arise and ensure your project's success by verifying that your proposal is compatible with our district network environment, is compliant with HISD security policies, and can be efficiently supported. For more info on HISD technology purchasing, please see https://www.hisd.com/Page/96.

 

If your grant proposal involves the purchase of devices or software that in any way interface with HISD computers, tablets, Chromebooks or the HISD network, it's technology based. This includes but is not limited to software, drivers, computers, laptops. Chromebooks, tablets / iPads, robotics kits, virtual reality (VR) gear and IOT projects. If you're in doubt or unsure of your grant's technology needs, give us a shout at technologypurchasing@hisd.com and we'll work through it together.

 

That's a negative ghost rider, we can't buy tech gear from just any vendor out there. We have to submit new vendors through our standard vetting process and depending on the purchase amount, get quotes from multiple vendors. If you need quotes for your proposal items, shoot us an email at technologypurchasing@hisd.com with the quantity, manufacturer, model and a link to the product, and we'll get that going for you.

 

Many devices are strictly "consumer grade", that is to say that they are not compatible with enterprise network and security protocols. The HISD network is a sprawling beast with 3000+ users connected wired and wirelessly at any given time, so it requires a much more advanced routing scheme than what you might have at home -- What works in a home environment might not work here. We also have to be more diligent concerning security; insecure devices can be easily attacked and then leveraged to compromise other services such as our SIS, HR and finance systems. Not good. Some devices and services require personal and/or financial information (think Amazon or PayPal) making them a personal security risk for classroom use. Here's a quick list of a few popular devices that are known to be incompatible with our environment: 

 

• Streaming TV devices (Roku, NVidia, Apple TV, etc.)
• Amazon Devices (Fire tablets, Show, Blink, etc.)
• Personal assistant devices (HomePod, Home, Nest, Dot, Echo, Sonos, etc.)
• Personal assistant services (Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, etc.)
• All ZWave / Zigbee controllers and devices