Blennerhassett is S.T.E.A.M. Powered and Starting a New Digital Era
My students need a highly functional, multipurpose camera and accessories for use in classroom video-editing projects, extra-curricular and athletic projects, and school informational announcement broadcasts.
How do students from Parkersburg, WV see the world? The answer: through the eyes of technology and hands-on experiences. The students of my 5th grade classroom are making a difference through their actions in and out of the classroom. These students are the role models of our school by attacking tasks they are given using critical, higher level thinking.
These students utilize their diverse prior knowledge to solve real-world problems on a daily basis.
These high achieving students keep outgrowing our technology and crave more intellectually. Our S.T.E.A.M. program is not only making a difference in our community and county, it is turning heads at the state level. We have been featured by multiple media outlets as well as received a citation from the WV House of Delegates.
In the past three years, our students have worked on the following projects: a Skype interview with current Disney/Pixar President and Co-founder Edwin Catmull, competing in LEGO Robotics competitions, video editing, 3D printing, designing and producing trophies for a school-wide egg drop, making mathematics games for kindergartners, being reading buddies with 2nd graders, tutoring 3rd graders in math, taking Google Expeditions and broadcasting school-wide morning announcements just to name a few.
My Project
With the recent upgrades in our BES Innovation Center and our cafeteria thanks to funding from our PTA and LSIC as well as the WV Governor's STEM Initiative, the fifth grade is in need of a video technology upgrade. We are looking to purchase a Nikon 3400 DSLR camera to use in video editing, recording academic and athletic events, and numerous STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) projects. This camera and the accessories package will be used by my fifth grade and be available for use by our other fifth graders as well as our feeder middle school BMS as well.
We at the Blennerhassett schools are setting the bar much higher for which STEM programs will be measured in our county and our state.
My class, as well as Mrs. Smith's 3rd grade class, was awarded a total of $6,000 in grant money to expand our Robotics program. Our PTA purchased expert level video editing software, two 50" 4K resolution VIZIO Smart TVs, and brackets. These will be used to broadcast information for students and parents throughout the school day and beyond.
The requested equipment will allow our school to provide top level technology to our students. Since our excellent auditorium is the hub for Wood County Schools as well as other community events, we will continue to show why Blennerhassett is a great "... educational environment to address the needs, talents, and abilities of all our students."
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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 Mr. Marty and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
