My students need iPads tablets and protective cases. The iPads will allow the students to access the internet and math/literacy apps that are offered at the app store.
The mediocre teacher tell. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires-William Arthur Ward. No device should ever be hailed as the silver bullet in saving education, but portable devices such as the iPad may play a pivotal role in the life of a student.
I am an educator of lower income, inner city students.
My students, like all children, have a thirst for learning, and are capable of doing big things in life. Unfortunately, they come to my class ill prepared and underexposed. This due to a digital divide and disparity in the experiences and exposure that these students are afforded. The children want to be better, but they sometimes start out behind the learning curve, and their possibilities of catching up seem dismal to most, Well not me as their teacher! I attempt to expose them to as much as I can in the time that I am with them during the course of a day and school week. One day I brought my iPad to school to expose the students to and to show them the multiple things the iPad can be used for and the look on their faces and in their eyes were priceless. Education is tending towards technology and if students do not have access to technology, they are going to be left behind in the 21st Century of a world we live in.
My Project
Let's imagine a math class full of geometry students with iPads. The teacher says, "OK, class, take out your iPads and find the best geometric form for a deep sea submarine." What can the students do? The students can find the necessary information about a sea's depth and what kind of pressures exist there, and they can figure out the math necessary to determine the strongest geometric form. They can also collaborate with their peers by walking across the room and showing them their results on the iPad. They can ask the teacher questions through the network, and the students can find or, better yet, create pressure simulations to predict the results. They can check out lectures from experts and professors at iTunes, and they can share and save what they learned with other students on the network. They can graph their results, sketch a possible example of what a submarine of this form might look like, and then do a presentation about what they learned.
Everyone should access to a quality education regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds.
An iPad in the classroom brings education to life. Children have endless access to valuable information such as the dictionary & thesaurus. Interactive technology makes learning more engaging and memorable. You have a chance to make a HUGE difference in the lives of deprived children. These children are thirsty for exposure & experiences. Please help them quench their learning thirst!
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. Murphy and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.