Students spend most of their time in middle school learning core subjects like English, math and science so that they can be successful later in life. However, content knowledge is no longer enough for future success. Modern students need to become competent using modern technology!
I teach 7 classes of 7th grade science for a total of 242 students.
My science department teaches over 900 students, the entire student body. The students are quite a diverse group, representing a variety of socio-economic levels, academic ability levels, nationalities, and more. We are a full-inclusion school, so I teach all students, including those with special needs, gifted, and English learners. All of them receive a rigorous STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and humanities education, along with a wide variety of engaging and relevant elective courses. Following STEM principles, we have developed activity-based science courses in which students are guided through the topics while acquiring skills in experimentation, measuring, and lab techniques. I believe science class should be fun, relevant, and engaging. I want students to love science so much that they choose to study it in high school and college.
My Project
With netbooks, students can engage in activities on a daily basis right in science class, instead of waiting for a special trip to the computer lab! Our science department participated in The Hour of Code in December of 2013, exposing every student in the school to at least one hour of computer programming. Several classes also expanded their computer programming skills by creating computer programs that would quiz other students on science vocabulary. My fellow science teachers and I want to do more activities like this, integrating computer programming into the science content that we normally teach. This will allow students to gain impressive programming skills that can lead to extremely successful careers later in life. Our science department's dream is to have a class set of netbooks so that we can use them consistently throughout the year instead of waiting for the computer lab to be available. These two netbooks will help us get a step closer to making this dream a reality.
By not having enough computer access, my students are missing a vital component of future success!
Only with a solid conceptual foundation and familiarity with technology will they be best prepared to pursue a college education, career, and become informed citizens. Strong computer programming skills will open up many job opportunities for them in our technology driven world.
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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 Mrs. Kirshen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
