My students need four Osmo Gaming Systems for iPads to use for problem solving and creative thinking.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Cook's classroom raised $404
This project is fully funded
My Students
Years from now, my students will not remember the worksheets but rather the projects that engage their imagination. Classrooms have become more directed and focused recently, with less room for learning by exploring and experimenting. Yet there is evidence that this is how many students learn best.
My students are a very diverse group.
They come from numerous countries, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds. About a fourth of them are first or second generation Americans, and about a third are in families that struggle with poverty. Reading levels range from first to tenth grade. With their different learning styles, I am challenged to meet all students' needs while still addressing curriculum guidelines. A one-size-fits-all program cannot meet their needs.
This coming year, for the first time, all students in my classroom will have access to an iPad as a learning tool. In the past, even with only a few, my students have used them as research tools, references, writing and editing tools. These iPads have also been used to access a variety of apps for math, word work, and presentations. The demand for the iPads was high and, although I thought the Osmo System looked like an interesting tool, I could not justify getting them when the iPads were already being so continually used in other ways for learning.
My Project
Now that every student will have access to an iPad, I want to have the Osmo Systems available for students to use when applicable for their learning needs. My students need four Osmo Gaming Systems for iPads to use for problem solving and creative thinking. The Tangrams app will fit nicely with the work we do with tangrams and spatial puzzles during geometry, and the Words app will allow students to manipulate physical tiles to solve spelling puzzles. The Newton app will be ideal for those students who are drawn to creative engineering, and the Drawing app will appeal to those with an artistic bent. While they call it a "gaming system," it seems more as though it will appeal to my students as a series of games, while appealing to me as learning tools that will help meet a variety of students' needs.
Actively engaging students in their learning is most likely to result in learning they will remember.
My students look forward to games because they involve learning with a purpose. Because the Osmo Systems involve art, physics, word work, and geometry, students will be applying and reinforcing content knowledge they are learning through games. By actively engaging students, we help them retain their learning and also build their understanding of themselves as learners.
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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