Have you ever gone on vacation, to come back and not be able to explain what you have all seen? This is exactly what happens to my students everyday in the classroom. I teach high school special education to students with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities. We are part of a small charter high school located in an urban low-income/high-need community.
My students struggle with remembering what they have done from one day to the next. They love to share with others what they are doing in school but struggle with remembering what they did, and having the words to describe what they did.
In addition, they have very limited technology skills. Many of their families take very few pictures of anything - including pictures of my students. Being able to use technology is something that every single job requires in today's society. Being able to operate a camera, upload pictures to a website, and to do picture editing are huge skills to have for becoming a marketable employee.
With 5 digital cameras, my students would be able to take pictures of what they are learning. They can put together sequence manuals; create story books with real pictures that they took; contribute pictures to the classroom blog; and have pictures of themselves that they can print out. They can become marketable employees when in most scenarios they would be unable to do so.
You will make it possible for my students to have real learning opportunities that are relevant to today and significantly increase the amount of learning that occurs on a daily basis.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Josiah and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.