Help Our Class Get Tablets for Research Projects!

My Students

Our classroom has 3 computers for student use, but what usually happens is one student sits in the chair working while the other 2 or 3 watch. Imagine if they had tablets at their desks where they could spread out, pass it around, and have not just a website, but a book, app, or video to find info!

My students are fourth graders in a gifted program in Louisiana.

They come from culturally varied backgrounds, so our reading curriculum is based heavily on multicultural literature, and a lot of historical fiction. Most of my students are working between one and three grade levels above, and they enjoy a challenge. They LOVE to research information to learn new things about whatever topic we are studying, and then decide a method to present their findings to their classmates, or assume a career role pertaining to the information. Many of them participate in talented art, music, or drama class, strings, the school choir, dance team, and school soccer team, so they take advantage of pretty much everything our school offers. This also cultivates their enjoyment of doing research based projects, as they can incorporate their love of the arts and all of their different hobbies into their presentations.

My Project

We do a ton of research projects on topics like Westward Expansion, inventions, economics, ecosystems, endangered species, and independently chosen topics matching a particular theme. Our classroom has 3 computers for student use, but more often than not, I see one student working on the computer while classmates simply watch, and I can only have 3 of my 6 or 7 cooperative groups on the computer at a time. If we had tablets, the kids could stay at their desks and it would help each member of the group be more effective and be able to use the tablet, instead of watching one person do it all. They could also view educational videos without distracting the kids at the computer right next to them. I could download books on the topics and apps so that they could have a ton of resources at their disposal right there at their desks! Imagine how many research projects they could do if I could help them get everything they need, without cramming 3 or 4 chairs in front of one computer.

My students will become such effective researchers through the use of tablets.

Books, websites, videos, and apps, all in one place, right there at their desks! Educational standards are shifting to ensure students can engage in text, make sense out of it, and use it, and encourage more effective speaking and listening skills. To have all of that in a tablet for my students to use will get them excited, get them into their research projects, and get them engaged in reading EVERY day.