I teach high school students in a rural school district who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and home lives. During this time of unprecedented school closures, I am working diligently to remotely engage with each of my students as individual learners despite challenges surrounding access to technology, access to educational supports, and student presence in virtual "classes".
My students are budding scientists who explore the world around them in an inquiry-driven classroom.
My students observe scientific phenomena, make predictions, synthesize their own experiments, and collect their own data to deepen their understanding of the scientific principles that govern life on this planet.
Many of my students are interested in careers in scientific or medical fields, and will depend on the lessons they learn in my class to adequately prepare them for their future studies.
My Project
Think back to the last time you were in a science classroom. What was the teacher doing? What were you doing? Memories of drawing diagrams, annotating models, taking notes, doing research, and collecting data might flash before your eyes. My science classroom is no different! In my classroom, students are the sense-makers learning to be scientists. And to be a scientist, you need technology!
With this iPad and pencil, I will be able to engage my students at a level that would otherwise be impossible.
iPads provide access to hundreds of educational applications, including apps that will assist in their scientific modeling and data collection processes. Ideally, all my students would have access to their own iPad. Given that this is an impossibility at this time, one iPad and pencil would enable me to create instructional materials that utilize this technology that could then be shared with my students both in the classroom and remotely.
During this time of extended school closures, working with technologies is even more important. I want to be able to construct educational materials that feel authentic and resemble the learning that would otherwise happen in our classroom. With this iPad and pencil, I can create lessons that are exactly like those I would teach in my class; I can record myself over my slides, I can record annotations I make on the board, I can share models and other representations of data with my students, and I can communicate with them with even greater ease. And someday, when we are able to return to the classroom, my students will be able to utilize this iPad for all the wonderful in-class applications.
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