My students are 3rd graders and we are in a middle class neighborhood. Because we are considered "middle-class," we don't get government funding (Title 1) and we don't have "rich" parents that donate money or products for tax right offs. Our school has been open for 21 years and still has the same carpet as opening day. Things are aging. Our PTO has raised money over the last five years to get a smartboard in each classroom! This has helped move us into the 21st Century, however, many of our students don't have internet at home and school is their only access to technology. We do have laptop carts, however with 800+ students at our school, these carts are utilized for traveling room to room for assessments. In my classroom, I have two school computers, one donated laptop and one smartboard. I have 25 students vying for time on these computers to take digital book tests, practice typing and engage in math flashcards. I'd like to kick it up a notch and have the students actively engaged in projects and presentations where they work collaboratively to construct knowledge by generating new ideas, discussing an issue and problem solving. I would like to increase the usage of technology for learning and offer students multi-modal ways of communicating.
About my class
My students are 3rd graders and we are in a middle class neighborhood. Because we are considered "middle-class," we don't get government funding (Title 1) and we don't have "rich" parents that donate money or products for tax right offs. Our school has been open for 21 years and still has the same carpet as opening day. Things are aging. Our PTO has raised money over the last five years to get a smartboard in each classroom! This has helped move us into the 21st Century, however, many of our students don't have internet at home and school is their only access to technology. We do have laptop carts, however with 800+ students at our school, these carts are utilized for traveling room to room for assessments. In my classroom, I have two school computers, one donated laptop and one smartboard. I have 25 students vying for time on these computers to take digital book tests, practice typing and engage in math flashcards. I'd like to kick it up a notch and have the students actively engaged in projects and presentations where they work collaboratively to construct knowledge by generating new ideas, discussing an issue and problem solving. I would like to increase the usage of technology for learning and offer students multi-modal ways of communicating.