BYOD (Or Take One Of Mine): Chromebooks For My Classroom
My students need four Chromebooks for in-class and take home access to grades, documents, and online resources.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Thomas's classroom raised $536
This project is fully funded
My Students
I still have nightmares about showing up to class unprepared. What will I do if I forget my books or notes?! I see the same fear in my students; the only difference is their resources can be costly. Tech in the classroom is great, but it's easy to forget that not every student has equal access.
In North Dakota, we are simultaneously experiencing a huge population boom and a devastating housing shortage.
Because many of our students are coming from out-of-state, they don't always have access to the amenities that we sometimes assume (or hope) they do.
One of those amenities, Technology, is becoming a necessity in terms of college and career preparedness. In an informal, beginning-of-the-year survey, seven of my ninety students said they did not have regular access to a computer at home, and while our district already invests heavily in technology for students, labs and carts can be fully booked weeks in advance due to our growing student population.
To combat this, we've informally moved to a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) atmosphere. Students bring Wi-Fi capable smart phones, tablets, and iPods and connect to our school's public Wi-Fi network. I'd like to offer a little assistance to students not lucky enough to arrive with tech-in-hand.
My Project
I'm attempting to get funding for four Chromebooks to use in my Language Arts classroom. So much of what I do is an attempt to meet students in their comfort zone. They've grown up surrounded by technology, and I'm a giant nerd. A match-made in heaven!
Much of our writing, peer-editing, group presentations, and collaborative projects occurs within Google Docs. We also use Edmodo to keep track of assignments, notes, and online discussion, as well as a wide variety of informal surveys and quick online quizzes or games to check understanding. To me, it's silly to occupy an entire computer cart for fifty minutes when I really only need it for ten, especially when 23 of 26 students that period have a phone, iPod, or iPad sitting in their bags.
I'd like to have these laptops in my room for students who can't BTOD and, if necessary, I'd like to make them available for check-out overnight. Since Chromebooks are so inexpensive and fast, they make perfect back-up devices for students in need.
I've already seen how well students respond to the use of technology in my room, and I want to extend that opportunity to those who might not be lucky enough to have computer or Internet access on a regular basis.
My thinking is this: If I give students the opportunity to get something done, they will amaze me. Bridging the gap for "less-connected" students might be all it takes.
More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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