Imagine this: a science class that takes place outdoors, in a lush and interesting school garden. Students are working in small groups with iPads that have microscopes attached. They are finding insects, zooming in to see a magnified view of them, and taking short videos of them in action.
Our school is an urban public school, with a diverse population and a high level of poverty.
Like all children, they are fascinated with the world around them and hunger for ways to interact with it. Technology intrigues them and they are very open to learning new ways to make connections and creations using the tools of technology.
Though our school district has done a lot of computer updating, and we have a school set of iPads, our microscopes are going on 30 years old. Most of them are barely functional, and the ones that do work have to be shared by up to 4 students at a time.
My Project
With this project, I'm hoping to bring students a new way to see their world and to share what they see with each other and beyond. The Bodelin microscopes attach to the iPad, and can be used for either still or video capturing of images. With it, students will be able to save microscopic images and use those images to create reports, presentations, and the like.
For example, with the microscopes we could do a pond water macroinvertebrate study. Students can use internet resources to identify and research information about the creatures they discover in the water. Their microscopic images can be then combined with text to create mini-movies about the life that exists in the pond ecosystem. This information can be shared on the internet and among classes in the school.
Our school has created a very inviting Outdoor Classroom space to take our students to.
It would be fantastic to be able to integrate the use of technology with time spent outdoors, investigating and interpreting our environment. This will not only provide students with ways to become more scientifically and technologically adept. It will also inspire authentic and compelling writing and reading practice, not to mention the social/emotional aspect of interacting in small groups with the technology.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Ms. Seguin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
