ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, believes that digital learning plays a significant role in ensuring that all students graduate college. Integrating iPads into my literacy and math curriculum deeply engages students in exciting ways.
If you were to take a walk through the urban environment where my elementary school is located, you would see university professors, prostitutes, small business owners, international grocery stores, homeless families, engineers, construction workers, venture capitalists and many more.
Each of them have children who attend my school.
Our school is incredibly diverse racially, socio-economically, and culturally. September in my classroom is spent getting to know the rich, diverse cultural roots of each student. Our elementary school is enormous with 100 new kindergartners this fall. As a staff we work hard to create a close intimacy between students and staff despite our large, overcrowded size.
My Project
I, along with a colleague, am applying for 5 iPads to be shared by each kindergarten teacher at my school. With these 10 iPads, each of the 5 teachers will have an iPad to use for instruction, and the remaining 5 iPads will remain as a set, rotating from classroom to classroom to be used by students in small groups.
The Common Core Standards expect digital technology to be used beginning in kindergarten. Additionally, there is an expectation that science and social studies content will be integrated into literacy instruction. In productive partners, students will do research and use the iPads to create multi-media presentations where they record their voices, insert photos, and present their work to their peers and families. Using the app Explain Everything, students will create research projects which can be shared with the families and our entire school community on our school's web site.
This is one of the many ways I can use the iPads to differentiate instruction.
Who are the families of our kindergarten students?
Some have computers at home, and many do not. Some parents are engineers and programmers in Silicon Valley while other parents don't even have an email address. Every student at our school deserves equal access to digital technology. It shouldn't be something we assume students have at home. Integrating iPads into our kindergarten curriculum is not only a way to engage all students, but it's an equity issue as well.
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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. Frederick and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.