My students need a computer in their support class that is capable of running the multimedia software (animation, video editing and sound software) that they are being taught to use in their general education classes.
My students come to school everyday ready to learn, but they often don't have the tools to do so. I manage a caseload of 28 students with mild to moderate disabilities such as learning disabilities, ADHD, emotional disturbance and more. They are smart kids but public schools are not set up to utilize their strengths.
73% of our 1800 students receive free or reduced breakfast, lunch and dinner and are considered "economically disadvantaged." They do not come to school with the materials they need to learn.
My students are lucky enough to be in the Computer Science Pathway, but they don't have any additional supports to help them access the amazing curriculum that they have a chance to learn.
My Project
My students all have documented learning disabilities. They are cognitively the same as the rest of the students around them, but have disabilities that keep them from processing and/or accessing information in a traditional classroom setting at the same level as their peers. In this case, the traditional classroom setting is in the Computer Science and Technology Pathway. In their classes, they use Macbooks and IMacs to run the programs they are learning.
These students have 1 hour a day to get small group support from their case manager, but they DO NOT have ANY computers in their support class that can run the programs they are supposed to be learning.
My students would greatly benefit from having a Macbook in their support class. They are currently learning to use Adobe Premier &Photoshop, Maya, Scratch and more and these programs need computing power that is not available on the technology provided to special education teachers.
Even one Macbook would make it possible for students to be able to get the support they need, when they need it, in a quiet, structured environment.
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