My students are New English Learners. We used to call them English as a Second Language Learners but, because so many of them come to the United States already speaking several other languages, English, for many, is often a third, fourth, or even fifth new language. Our school is the second most diverse high school in the USA and the most diverse high school in Illinois.
We have children from countries many people have not even heard of!
My students are a wonderful group of kids spanning from grades 9-12. Many have had no prior schooling because they lived their entire life in a refugee camp or a war zone whereas others come from countries where they received a superior education. It is a daily struggle to teach my classes because everyone has such a unique background and knowledge base. Currently, I am teaching from home. This is where your support comes in! My computer is old and is often unable to keep up with the demands of all the online lessons I have to teach. When I am logged into a class, I cannot log into email or have to worry that the computer will crash altogether.
My Project
What good is a great lesson when you are unable to carry it out? I need a computer for my virtual classroom that will allow me to prerecord lessons on iMovie, download programs and add Apple Apps, and design interactive lessons for synchronous and asynchronous remote instruction. There are so many great programs I could access with my students if I only had a new computer. Besides the many great annotation programs that help students see exactly where I am at in a text, there are programs out there that will translate selected words into whatever language I need. When you work in a school where our students speak 72 different languages, having access to technology like this is a teacher’s dream come true!
Even before Covid-19, I felt that our school was not as technology savvy as other school districts and this became even more apparent when we started teaching remotely.
I want my lessons to be just as interactive and engaging for my students, virtually and in-school, as lessons I've seen teachers use who teach in more affluent school districts. Even when we go back to teaching from school, having a new computer will enable me to continue to use these helpful programs in the classroom while working with my students face-to-face. I find that when students have the chance to utilize innovative programs, they are more engaged and focused on their lessons.
Having a computer, I can use exclusively with my students, will allow me to download all the necessary teaching programs I need. This way I can easily access all programs and lessons without having to use my personal computer to teach. It would allow me to keep all of my lessons on my work computer and keep my personal computer exclusively for personal use.
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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. Alfred and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
