We have a wonderful little rural elementary school situated in northwest lower Michigan. The students love school and come ready with big hearts every day. Most students come from generational families that have attended this school for decades.
Our students have very high needs, with our school having an average free and reduced cost lunch count of 80%+ (families of 4 making +/- $35,000 annually).
As teachers and staff, we try to give these students as many opportunities as possible to better their lives, and fill them with great learning and experiences.
My Project
With many students who may never leave the state of Michigan let alone travel the world due to financial hardship, it is our goal as staff to give our students the most genuine experiences possible. However, funding and geographical location drastically limit what we are able to do. Through this project, we can virtually take students anywhere their minds can imagine.
Virtual reality headsets will open our curriculum to genuinely rich experiences that will enhance the depth of learning exponentially.
If we are learning about continents and oceans, we can place students to Antarctica or snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef. When learning about space, students can now step foot and walk around on Mars. Learning about a historical event, now you can virtually see and hear what it would look like to be there. Maybe we are working on a STEM project where you need to create a roller coaster, but most students have never ridden, let alone seen a roller coaster. Now you can put on the headset and "ride" your first roller coaster.
The opportunities for the students through a couple of VR headsets would be endless. No longer would we as teachers just show a simple video to help students connect to our learning, now we could engage them and their senses to entirely new levels. The awe on their faces and excitement in their words would make teaching and learning a pure joy. The experiences we could give students, even if at a virtual level, would inspire for a lifetime of learning.
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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. Kelly and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
